• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

Greatest combinations of gameplay, story, and music in a single moment?

SmartWaffles

SmartWaffles

Member
Nov 15, 2017
6,244
Escaping the Ginso Tree, Ori and the Blind Forest.

Mission 19 boss fight, Ace Combat 7.

Final boss fight, Project Wingman.

Final boss fight, Metal Gear Rising.

Honorable mention: Sam boss fight, Metal Gear Rising.
 
Truno

Truno

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Jan 16, 2020
4,812
Xenoblade Chronciles both visits to prison island. The mixture of how the music syncs with the movements of the protagonist, the fantastic VA and how the cutscenes are directed always give me goosebumps
 
Sems4arsenal

Sems4arsenal

Member
Apr 7, 2019
3,627
First thing that came into my mind was that Ace Combat 7 moment.

The ending of Journey as well.

Venice rooftops too
 
B. Spaceman

B. Spaceman

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,296
Spain
The endings of both EarthBound and Mother 3
They both make you feel helpless, in EarthBound facing Giygas incomprehensible nature and merely using Paula's pray command and healing yourself. In Mother 3, brother against brother just healing and not attacking him until he comes to his senses for the final time :( And it wouldn't be as effective if you didn't experience yourself in combat how little you can do. They're more or less scripted battles but the interactivity makes them hit a lot harder. Edit: I forgot, obviously the intense music elevates it all!
 
Last edited:
Drakhyrr

Drakhyrr

Member
Oct 27, 2017
682
Brazil
As the OP started with the Ace Combat series, I just have to hand it to them: the last missions of Ace Combat 4, 5 and Zero all fit into this.

But despite not liking the game as a whole very much, I gotta hand it to Ace Combat Zero.

I'll post the video here, but you really shouldn't spoil yourself if you haven't played it yet:
 
Trode

Trode

Member
Mar 27, 2018
310
Dragon Quest 8 and 11. Both of those games have a story moment that culminates in 'heavenly flight' playing and they always get me.
 
black070

black070

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
5,583
When the chapter title appears on screen as you walk through a warped world towards your house with this emotional piece playing.

 
Geeklat

Geeklat

Member
Feb 13, 2018
268


Spoilers for Final Mission of Saints Row III. A lot of good ones here, but Saints Row will always have a special place in my heart for just great, fun clashes of perfect music, gameplay, and what's happening on screen.
 
bob100

bob100

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,725
Red Dead Redemption

The music, The excitment I had as I never knew Mexico was in the game and riding the horse was epic
 
Damn Silly

Damn Silly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,187
A lot of my other examples have been said multiple times already, so I'll just add 999's final puzzle.
 

Deleted member 13560

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,087
oofouchugh said:
1b1c69bc9da9bd40-600x338.png


I don't care if it isn't played serious nothing will ever top this for me.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is the most hype I have ever been during a boss fight.
 
Fisty

Fisty

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,207
Gotta be launch day Journey, played through the whole thing with some random... we have a bit of a bond since we are both in the dark, then we lose each other in the blizzard at the end of the game. I was absolutely crushed, I couldn't believe I'd lost him/her.

I decided to trudge forward... and then that leap to the mountain, floating up further through the level i see my journey buddy!!!! The music swells, we are spamming the emotes like crazy in relief that we made it, floating up and up toward the peak as the music grows... and then we get to the end, for one of the most beautiful and satisfying endings of a game I've played.

I never did catch your name, journey buddy... but that was awesome.
 
TerremotoDePorta

TerremotoDePorta

Member
Nov 21, 2017
764
If we're mentioning Ace Combat 7 and the Arsenal bird, let's show the whole thing. For context (WARNING: STORY SPOILERS):

Mission 19 is the second-to-last mission in the main campaign. After a massive air-to-air battle, you try to attack a massive AI airship/drone fortress called "Arsenal Bird". A massive coordianted attack fails due to it's impenetrable shield, and all hope seems lost...except for the fact that one brave soul manages to get to the source that's powering the shield. Shield is destroyed, music pauses...and then comes back again, with a one-woman-wail singing the main leitmotif of the game. Watch the video, it's in the first minute.

 

Scruffy8642

Member
Jan 24, 2020
2,849
Undertale and Nier Automata are masters at this. Nier will have a cutscene with robots saying stuff that'll become a chant, and then become the boss theme once it gives you control. "This Cannot Continue" is one of the most badass gaming moments, even if I'm not a huge fan of the game itself. Then it also has like 16 bit versions of each song that transition in when you enter the hacking mini game. Undertale's "Undertale" OST is such a perfect reflection of everything in the game until that moment. And then it also has the boss tracks, many of which sync to the boss attacks and it becomes like a bullet hell x rhythm game.

Mario Odyssey's New Donk City and Finale are also incredible parings of soundtrack and gameplay leading to a climax. Metal Gear Rising and the beat drops when you get to the final QuickTime event of a boss battle.

These moments that pair with the soundtrack so we'll always end up as some of my favourite in all of gaming though.
 
NESpowerhouse

NESpowerhouse

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,658
Virginia
Kivvi said:
There's something really special about the start of the last battle in Persona 3.
Location, atmosphere, music, the final boss itself and the dialogue. Persona 4 and 5 never reached that "moment" imo. At least, not in the same way.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Was gonna post something from Nier and Ace Combat but now that I think about it, this is it. The final act of P3 does an excellent job at setting up Nyx as this ultimate bringer of death and that it's useless to try and escape it. Especially if you come into the fight unprepared like I did my first time, Nyx really does seem like this insurmountable threat with 13 fucking forms and attacks that'll fuck your entire party up if you don't see them coming. For me, it's the best executed final boss in any game.
 
Logan Hardy

Logan Hardy

Member
Dec 26, 2018
1,790
Ghost of tsushima : ghost of yarikawa mission unlocking
Ghost stance
One of the best moment in video games ever!
 
White Glint

White Glint

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,617
Fighting Archange for the first time in Ace Combat 7 was one of those for me. I'm sure there's something better later on in the game but I'm stuck on like mission 11 or something.


Armstrong, Ludwig, Laurence, Max Payne 3 airport and The Final Steps of Faith from FFXIV are up there as well.
 
Magnus

Magnus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,357
This is a thread about Jenova Quickening in FF7 Remake. Everyone who played it knows the moment.
 
Agent Icebeezy

Agent Icebeezy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,637
JasonMCG said:
My pick:

iu




HEALTH nailed this song.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I am good now. That, New Donk City and this



This has always been it for me because this is where Nintendo first started to care about continuity in the Zelda series and it was the lack of sweeping music that Zelda is known for that is the striking thing here. Maybe it is in line with the frozen I'm time stuff but I still think what EAD did here was perfect.
 
toadkarter

toadkarter

Member
Oct 2, 2020
2,011
Most of mine have already been named so I'm going to go with the Silent HIll Historical Society (from Silent Hill 2). This is where the game gets truly surreal, as opposed to just terrifying, and the level design / gameplay are built around winding, impossible geometries that make you feel lost and confused. The descent underground, which seems to go for ages, coupled with the increasingly loud boat horn type sound, is a classic, distressing moment.
 
Loxley

Loxley

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,607



Rockstar took one of the best moments from RDR1, when John enters Mexico, and improved on it for RDR2 - especially in the story department.

Everyone in the scene knows Arthur is going to die and this really is the final goodbye.
 

Deleted member 37928

Banned
Jan 10, 2018
6,927
The Lakay shootout in Red Dead Redemption 2 stands out. It has a very nice dramatic build-up and the music changes to fit the current mood of the sequence. The highlight is of course when Arthur kicks open the door in slow-mo and the dark melody starts playing. From 3:22 for anyone that wants to skip ahead:

 
MDSVeritas

MDSVeritas

Gameplay Programmer, Sony Santa Monica
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
1,025
black070 said:
When the chapter title appears on screen as you walk through a warped world towards your house with this emotional piece playing.

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I feel bad that Evil Within 2 sales weren't huge because there are some moments in that game that are so impeccably directed. This scene was so good and the first time in any survival horror game that I felt real emotional stakes with all the characters.
 
Chopchop

Chopchop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,171
Final boss fight of Metal Gear Rising. Or Monsoon.

Ludwig in Bloodborne. Lots of lore behind the character. Both the fight and the music change dramatically after the transformation.

Final cutscene in ffxiv shadowbringers 5.0. When the music kicked in, it was the best "fuck yeah" moment I've seen in a game in years.

T13 boss in Ffxiv. The finale of a really good side story, a good boss fight, and music that escalates in sync with the fight.

The final boss in a genocide playthrough in Undertale. Great story exposition, a reveal of why a certain character acts the way he does, an amazing boss fight, and great music with it.
 
Kinthey

Kinthey

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
22,270
The shockwave sequence in Inside might be the truest combination of gameplay and music to me



The moment where the music hits and how it integrates into the gameplay is magical
 
You must log in or register to reply here.