Tear Jerker / Final Fantasy IV

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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• Final Fantasy IV has plenty of moments, especially when Porom and Palom, two child-wizards, turned themselves to stone to save their allies from being crushed by the walls of a collapsing room. Even though we get some good news about them during a later boss fight, that moment is still a heartbreaker. Made even worse when you remember they're only five years old. It is probably because of this that FWAKs regarding the ability to depetrify them appeared.
  • This deserves special mention - interacting with them causes the inventory to open, causing all sorts of speculation about how they can be saved, but there is nothing that can be done.
• Cecil gets separated from the party and washes up on Mysidia, the town he and the Red Wings terrorized at the beginning of the game. Naturally, the townspeople proceed to treat him like total shit, and while it is hard to watch, you have to remember that they're completely justified to react the way they do.
• Also there is the scene where Edge's parents, who've been horribly mutated into inhuman monstrosities, will themselves to die in front of Edge, as he is begging them not to.
• The sacrifices of Yang and Cid, within about two minutes of each other and the party pleading for both of them not to go through with it. They both get better, but it's still nonetheless heartbreaking.
  • Starting with Yang, who sought to stop the Tower of Babil's cannon from destroying the dwarves by using his own body to make it misfire. This makes the introduction to Edge, his inevitable fifth-slot replacement, sting a lot more.
    Yang: Forgive me...
    (Yang kicks the group out of the room and closes the door in front of them)
    Cecil: Yang!? Yang!!
    Yang: If you should see my wife again, tell her to live enough for us both.
    Kain: Don't be a fool! Open the door!
    Rydia: Yang!
    Rosa: Please, Yang, don't throw your life away!
    Yang: It's been an honor fighting with you.
    Cecil: Open the door, Yang! (desperately pounds the door)
    (commence final firing sequence)
    Yang: Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! *boom*
    Cecil: Yang!
  • And then there's Cid, who jumped off the Enterprise with the FFIV equivalent of a tactical nuke with the intent of shutting the underground behind them and stop the Red Wings' pursuit. And just when you thought you had him back.
    Rydia: They're closing on us!
    Cid: Come on... Enterprise!
    (cue a small explosion and smoke pouring from one of the engines)
    Cid: The engines can't take this! Cecil, take over!
    Rosa: Cid!
    Rydia: What are you doing?!
    (Cid runs to the siderail and pulls out the bomb)
    Cid: Once you breach the surface, I'll seal off the hole with this!
    Rosa: No, not you too!
    Cid': I was hoping I'd get to see your kids someday, but someone's got to keep Yang company. You get yourselves back to Baron, talk to my boys when you get there.
    Rosa: But Cid!
    Rydia: You'll die!
    Cid: And so young, too! (jumps of airship carrying hand-nuke) Bombs away! Try stopping this, Golbez! My once-in-a-lifetime unaided flight! *kaboom*
    (cue shift of scene to the Enterprise overlooking the sealed mountain behind Agart village)
    Rosa: Cid...(leans into Cecil)
    Rydia: One after another...
    Kain: Rushing to die like fools! (pounds his fist into the railing in frustration)
    Cecil: We go to Baron — for Cid.
  • In the Advance version, Kain gives us this line:
    Kain: Everyone chooses death too quickly...
  • In every version, these events and seeing Edge being too stubborn to accept help from the party- essentially throwing his life away- are what finally cause Rydia to finally break down in tears after having witnessed and endured countless slaughters and battles resulting in the deaths of loved ones. Becomes a Heartwarming moment when her crying is what causes Edge to soften up and accept healing.
    Edge: Leave! I can take care of myself!
    Rydia: Stop it!
    (everyone turns to look at Rydia)
    Rydia: Tellah, Yang, Cid... They're all gone... Please, no more... *sob*
    Edge: Hey...
• When Theodor AKA Golbez tries to use Cure on his dead father.
  • Just before this scene, KluYa is seen chastising his son for not being diligent with his magic studies, not even mastering a basic spell like Cure. So on top of failing to revive his father, Theodor was also burdened with the fact that if he'd just listened to his father, he could have saved him.
• Tellah's death, made even more poignant when you beat the game and realize out of all of the Disney Deaths, he's one of the only characters who actually stays dead through the end.
  • In the Final Boss fight, when Tellah shows up, you realize that it's probably his soul from the afterlife.
  • Tellah's very backstory; he wants revenge on Golbez for killing Anna and is seeking a Dangerous Forbidden Technique to do it, aware that trying to cast Meteor will drain his life force because at his age he's too weak to survive the strain. And he doesn't care. As far as the game implies, Tellah has no other family anymore, which is likely why he was so against Anna eloping with Edward, he didn't want to lose his only family. And now that she's gone, he feels he has nothing to live for anymore so he might as well spend his life performing a Heroic Sacrifice to get vengeance for her.
• When Golbez is reverted back to his senses, it is very sad to see Cecil's realization that he was fighting his own brother.
  • The fact that two brothers are forced to be enemies by no fault of their own is very sad itself. Golbez, really, was just as much a victim as everyone else because he was used by Zemus and is in fact a good person, and the fact is everyone has good and bad inside them.
• Almost every scene mentioned on this page usually play the theme Cry In Sorrow. A very fitting name indeed.
• Poor Edward loses his new love, his parents, and the majority of people in his kingdom in less than a day and his entire carefree life of being a traveling Bard is pretty much forever ended thanks to Golbez. While he gains a lifelong friend in Cecil and new found confidence and belief in himself it's telling that even years later in the sequel he's still dealing with the mental scars of everything he had to go through.
• Two small moments that are easy to miss: It's entirely possible to tell Edward about both Tellah and Yang after the former dies and the latter's Disney Death. He doesn't take either well at all.

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