History SignatureScene / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'': Trish's DisneyDeath, due to the infamous {{Narm}} in Dante's dialogue.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'': The battle with the Infested Chopper, for being an [[GoddamnedBoss extremely tedious]] boss fight that's widely seen as an embodiment of the game's flaws.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'': The battle with Vergil in Mission 20, considered one of the greatest final boss battles of all time.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'': Dante's HamToHamCombat with Agnus prior to his boss fight against him. The fight happens in a trashed opera house, so Agnus starts off with a monologue under a spotlight, before he and Dante trade hams. If that's not enough, someone is apparently manning the spotlights, they even have ''confetti'', and after the fight Dante closes it with a Shakespearean line. It's [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment so disjointed from the rest of the game]] that it becomes memorable.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'': Nero unlocking his Devil Trigger and stopping Dante and Vergil from killing each other, halting the conflict that had driven a large portion of the series.
* ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'': Dante's pre-battle dialogue with Poison, most notably the "Fuck you!" exchange, as it is commonly used by detractors as one shinig example of the game's faults.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'''s intro, a song called the DK Rap, is known for being considered very cheesy yet very memorable due to its lyrics (which composer Grant Kirkhope went on record saying were deliberately written to be cheesy). It's iconic enough that it got featured in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' during the scene where Donkey Kong appears for the first time.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'': The GameOver screen, known for being [[NightmareFuel infamously spooky]].

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
** Fuyuki: After defeating Saber Alter, Lev appears and reveals his true name to be Lev Lainur ''[[Literature/ArsGoetia Flauros]]'', then throws Olga Marie into CHALDEAS, killing her and removing her from the story. This was a huge twist as the player had spent the entire story chapter getting to know Olga Marie better and establishing a dynamic with her, so to have her unceremoniously killed off like that was a shocker. Her death would also haunt the characters themselves, prompting them to save Chaldea's next director from certain death when they didn't need to at the beginning of the second MythArc.
** Septem: Lev appears near the end, and then [[OneWingedAngel transforms into a Demon God Pillar]]. It's the first major clue as to what is happening in the larger plot, and takes everyone by surprise. It's also a challenging boss for the early game that introduces new [[ElementalRockPaperScissors class advantages and disadvantages]].
** London: The BigBad finally shows his face, and it's [[Literature/TheBible King Solomon]] (or so we're led to believe at that point in the story). He shows up by pitting ''four'' Demon God Pillars against the heroes, then singlehandedly vaporizes nearly all of the Servants that had gathered to aid the heroes, with only Mordred left standing. It's an extremely shocking EstablishingCharacterMoment for the main villain of the first MythArc.
** Camelot:
*** Gawain appears as a major boss at the gate to the Holy City, and is one of the first examples of ThatOneBoss in the game. Gawain had a 50% damage reduction on all attacks, and his Noble Phantasm meter charged twice as fast, making him an extremely challenging opponent and nothing like previous bosses. During the first set of Memorial Quests, the fight against Gawain was used to represent Camelot, in contrast with the other Singularities, which instead used their respective [[ClimaxBoss Climax Bosses]].
*** The Lion King uses Rhongomyniad to attempt to wipe a village off the map, causing a huge blast of energy to descend from the sky. Arash, already wounded in battle by Lancelot, uses his Noble Phantasm to stop it in its tracks [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost of his life]]. It's the first true victory Chaldea gets against the Holy City, and it [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap helped rescue Arash from the Scrappy heap]] and made him one of the more beloved low-rarity Servants.
*** Bedivere finally returns Excalibur to Altria, in the process revealing that he was HumanAllAlong. This ''completely'' recontextualizes everything we know about Bedivere's journey to reach his king again, proving that his journey took him a whopping ''1500 years'' and indicating that his soul would cease to exist when he finished. This moment turned Bedivere from being well-liked into one of the most beloved characters in the entire game, and led to many players vowing to use their grails on him and/or get him to [=NP5=] in gratitude.
** Babylonia:
*** In the middle of the story arc, Gilgamesh ends up dying of overwork. Chaldea is then tasked with going into the Mesopotamian underworld to retrieve his soul. It's remembered for the [[RefugeInAudacity sheer absurdity of]] [[PhysicalGod Gilgamesh, of all people,]] dying of ''overwork,'' and for giving a proper introduction to Ereshkigal, one of the game's biggest [[BreakoutCharacter Breakout Characters]].
*** When the heroes succeed in their plan to drop [[BigBad Tiamat]] into the underworld, she nearly overwhelms them. Then Ziusu-dra, an old man who had appeared several times throughout the story arc, drops the reveal that he is in truth, the ''very first'' Hassan-i-Sabbah, ''and'' that his true class is ''Grand'' Assassin. He follows this up by slicing Tiamat's wings from her body, and imparting the concept of death upon her. First Hassan had previously appeared in Camelot, and up to that point, ''no one'' had expected him to show up in the very next story arc. He was also the first Grand Servant shown to be firmly on the heroes' side (Solomon was Grand Caster, but he's the BigBad). Many players had a HellYesMoment as their reaction to the scene, and the game even gives the player the choice of the protagonist joining them.
*** Before Tiamat fell into the underworld, Gilgamesh had performed a HeroicSacrifice. Then, during the final battle, he comes back, this time sporting his iconic Archer spirit origin, combining the raw power of his Archer incarnation with the wisdom and maturity of his Caster incarnation, and joins the heroes in their fight. This is scene as the climax of Gilgamesh's CharacterDevelopment across the franchise, and widely regarded as his [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome most awesome moment]]. The anime adaptation cranks it up a notch even further, by giving Gilgamesh the privilege of striking the fatal blow against Tiamat with Enuma Elish.
** Solomon:
*** Goetia unleashes his Noble Phantasm, Ars Almodel Salomonis, which Mash tanks using Lord Camelot, at the cost of her life, all to save the protagonist. The sight of Mash's shield standing upright, its wielder lost to all time, dealt a massive PlayerPunch to the fanbase, and the image has endured long past the story's conclusion.
*** Dr. Roman reveals that he is the true King Solomon, and uses his third Noble Phantasm, Ars Nova, to return all his gifts to God and render Goetia vulnerable. This came right on the back of Mash's HeroicSacrifice, and losing Dr. Roman at the same time [[PlayerPunch only twisted the knife further]]. It's telling that the good doctor, who used to be one of the main sources of comedy as a ButtMonkey, has been treated with nothing but respect and melancholy by the players ever since.
*** As Goetia's plan crumbles around him, and he begins to die, he amasses all he has left in him to take control of Solomon's decaying body and challenge the protagonist to GoodOldFisticuffs before they can return safely to Chaldea. The ensuing boss fight involves no gimmicks and eliminates class advantages, leading to as level a playing field as they could make. This is accompanied by an [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome remix of the title theme]] and CharacterDevelopment that, despite being on death's door, manages to make Goetia wholly sympathetic. It reminded many of the finale of [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Heaven's Feel]], itself a SignatureScene, and made the players empathize greatly with Goetia, to the point that many clamored for him to be PromotedToPlayable.
** Shinjuku: The party scene, where Saber Alter and Jeanne Alter force the protagonist to [[DisguisedInDrag crossdress]] in order to sneak in and ultimately serve as bait for Yan Qing, is well-remembered due to the protagonist's ''severe'' embarrassment and the delight of the aforementioned Servants plus Mash being PlayedForLaughs. It also gets a nice CallBack at the very end of the story, when Jeanne Alter has the protagonist dance with her before Rayshifting back to Chaldea.
** Shimousa:
*** [[BigBad Amakusa]] traps the heroes in a [[MentalWorld Reality Marble]] based around the disastrous conclusion to the Shimabara Rebellion. Senji Muramasa then uses his own Noble Phantasm to slice the whole thing in half with one blow. It established Muramasa, up to that point a supportive character, as a {{Badass}} in his own right, and it introduced a new remix of [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Emiya]] using Japanese instrumentation. Fans ate it up.
*** The PostFinalBoss, a duel between UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi and UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro. Two legendary swordmasters with a legendary rivalry, dueling amidst a burning castle. Again, fans ate it up with glee.
** Anastasia: Patxi's death. The protagonist has just learned the AwfulTruth of the Lostbelts -- that they must be erased, and all of their inhabitants with them, in order to restore Proper Human History. Patxi then [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet]] for the protagonist, and ''demands'' that they see through their cause to the very end. It's a huge TearJerker and really drives home the tragedy and the twistedness of the existence of the Lostbelts.
** SIN: Spartacus's HeroicSacrifice. Upon learning that one of their Lostbelt's inhabitants was reciting poetry, Emperor Qin Shi Huang deemed them Confucian and attempted to wipe out their village with a ColonyDrop. Spartacus requests the protagonist use a Command Spell on him -- something that would normally make him rebel and kill his Master -- and order him to "jump" to stop it. It's successful, and is such a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome that it gets the inhabitants of the totally-peaceful Lostbelt to begin wishing for heroes. Many fans were also reminded of ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''.
** Atlantis:
*** Kirschtaria Wodime appears before the heroes, and on his own, without even a Servant to back him up, he ''[[CurbStompBattle utterly curb stomps Chaldea AND their Servants]]''. The [[RefugeInAudacity sheer audacity]] of a human mage being able to defeat Servants on his own, a feat which is almost always regarded as [[BeyondTheImpossible impossible]], and its nature as a HopelessBossFight, made it really stick in people's minds.
*** Super Orion's shooting down of Lostbelt Artemis. Atlantis had given Orion a chance to get RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap, one he took with relish. It was also the debut of ''animated scenes'' in the game, and it was coupled with TheReveal that Orion was ''Grand Archer''. Needless to say, it succeeded.
** Olympus:
*** The boss fight against Demeter. It marked the first time you were to go up against a Greek god at full strength, with plenty of gravitas within the story. She was also ThatOneBoss, to a degree that Gawain could only dream of.
*** The reveal of the [[BigBad Foreign God]]. It descends to earth, and much to the heroes' shock, she turns out to be Beast VII as well as using the body of Olga Marie as a vessel. This was the biggest WhamEpisode of the second MythArc, and marked the end of the Crypters being the main threat with the Foreign God taking center stage.
** Avalon le Fae:
*** Morgan's death. At the beginning of the Lostbelt, Chaldea is led to believe (and rightly so) that Morgan is a tyrant. However, over the course of the story, they learn about how Faerie Britain is a CrapsackWorld due entirely to the fairies' nature [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves inevitably leading to their own destruction]], as well as Morgan's DarkAndTroubledPast as [[MessianicArchetype Aesc the Savior]]. Furthermore, the nature of Morgan's death -- not going out in a blaze of glory like the other Lostbelt Kings, but rather [[UndignifiedDeath stabbed in the back and then beaten to death by an angry mob]] while screaming and [[AintTooProudToBeg begging]] to be allowed to reach her throne [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath until her body is unrecognizable]] -- as well as her adopted daughter's death shortly thereafter, pushed it straight into AlasPoorVillain status and cemented her as a JerkassWoobie and BreakoutCharacter.
*** The boss fight against Cernunnos. Once again, a boss fight makes it here due to ThatOneBoss status, and to such a degree that makes Demeter seem like a walk in the park. For many people, not even using all three Command Spells could get them through the fight, and there was no real way to cheese it -- every strategy that can accomplish it requires tremendous effort and a lot of luck.
*** The final battle. It starts off with the HopeSpot that Faerie Britain will eventually rebuild, but then an EldritchAbomination shows up and finishes off the very island itself. This being is Oberon, who reveals that his true identity is Oberon-'''[[Myth/ArthurianLegend Vortigern]]''', a being destined to destroy Faerie Britain and who hopes to destroy the entire world the same way. The way the reveal is played, the additional backstory, and Oberon's ability to be a compelling villain made him one of the most popular villains in the game.

** ''{{VideoGame/Persona 2}}'':

** ''VideoGame/Persona4''
*** The scene in which the Investigation Team plays the King's Game in Club Escapade from the previous game is well-known, especially when Yukiko and Rise [[DrunkOnMilk somehow act intoxicated despite not having drunk any alcohol]].

*** Yuna's sending dance at Kilika, for being a fantastically-animated sequence showing the first onscreen instance of a sending in the game, and is usually referenced in promotional materials for the game.

*** The boss fights against Titan Lost and Bahamut, two boss fights recognized by fans for the sheer scale and spectacle of both sequences surpassing most boss fights seen in the series up until that point.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' was the first 3D entry, and like ''VI'' has its share of memorable moments:

%%* ''Videogame/{{Fallout}}'':

* ''VideoGame/UniversalPaperclips'' has one despite being a text-based game: "Release The [=HypnoDrones=]", particularly because the text suddenly flashes on-screen in huge-sized font, the horrific implications that follow, and the drastic change in gameplay following it.

* ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'': The Submerged Castle, particularly the player and their Pikmin being chased down by the [[EldritchAbomination otherworldly]] [[StalkedByTheBell Waterwraith]]. This cave proved so [[ThatOneLevel notorious]] that later games in the series would attempt to recapture its sense of NightmareFuel: the [[VideoGame/Pikmin3 Formidable Oak]] is a long chase sequence that culminates in a battle against the [[FinalBoss Plasm Wraith]]; and the [[VideoGame/Pikmin4 Engulfed Castle]] is a non-randomized [[NostalgiaLevel recreation]] of the original Submerged Castle, Waterwraith and all.

* ''VideoGame/FZero GX'': Chapter 7 of Story Mode, which features the F-Zero Grand Prix and, on Very Hard, is [[ThatOneLevel agreed by many players to be the hardest challenge in the entire game]].

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'':
*** Link sitting with Marin at the beach is fondly remembered by game players for offering a tender moment between Link and his [[ShipTease love interest]], before you lead her around Hyrule on a date.
*** The Southern Face Shrine, the moment where the game goes from a light-hearted adventure to something ''far'' bleaker, is considered one of the biggest plot twists in all of ''Zelda'' or in any 8-bit game.
*** Link playing the Ballad of the Wind Fish at the peak of Mt. Tamaranch. Considering the entire game has built up to this moment, no surprise it sticks in players' memory.

* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' outdoes its antecessor by a mile wide with an even bigger PlayerPunch, that is [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome Joel's murder]] at the hands of Abby Anderson, who kneecaps him with a shotgun blast and proceeds to [[CruelAndUnusualDeath slowly and methodically beat him to death with a golf club]], all while Ellie is helpless to do anything but watch.

%%Zero Context Example* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'': The first zombie's FaceRevealingTurn after having killed Kenneth. Referenced multiple times and considered an EstablishingSeriesMoment for the franchise.

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'': Leon's fight with the Ganados at the village square, holding them off until the church bell rings, considered a establishing moment for the game's atmosphere overall.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'': Chris punching a boulder inside a volcano, due to sheer over-the-top ridiculousness of it.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'':

*** Kefka poisoning an entire village's water supply ForTheEvulz. For many, this established Kefka as one of the most iconic and evil antagonists of ''Final Fantasy'' in general, along with the emotional payoff of Cyan finding out his wife and son died as a result of the poisoning.
*** The Ghost Train sceneis what Sabin Figaro is most remembered for, as he suplexed an entire train like it was nothing and cemented himself as a MemeticBadass to fans.
*** The Operahouse scene, where Celes impersonates a famous opera singer and provides one of the most emotional ''Final Fantasy'' moments InUniverse and out.

*** Celes' attempted suicide after the world ended, which features a reprise of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", the song she song during the Operahouse scene, and for being one of the bleakest moments in any ''Final Fantasy'' game.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' could be considered one for the entire series, but to narrow it down:

*** Cloud cross-dressing to save Tifa from Don Corneo, mainly for how [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments funny the scene is]] and for the surprisingly rauchy humor from a video game for its time.

*** Sephiroth's [[OutOfTheInferno walk into the flames of Nibelheim]] has become his signature scene: variations of this scene are used to introduce him in other media, such as the first trailer of ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''.

*** The Southern Face Shrine, the moment where the game goes from a light-hearted adventure to something ''far'' bleaker, is considered one of the biggest plot twists in all of ''Zelda''.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'': The PWT. It's a postgame, three-round tournament that allows you to battle high-level trainers and earn BP in a fancy stadium. And by "high-level trainers," we mean Gym Leaders, [[CallBack including those from other regions, and champions from other regions]].