'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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* The moment when the third Black Waltz massacred those poor Black Mages.
** The look on Vivi's face when it happens is enough to break your heart, despite the fact that he's TheFaceless and you can only see his eyes as he watches.
*** His body language in that scene thoroughly makes up for his lack of a face. Watching him press against the window as the mages fall, stumble backwards into Garnet's arms, or stand in front of the one hat on the railing is just heartbreaking.
** The Black Mages suffer even more when Kuja gleefully admits that he tricked them into his service with the promise of lengthening their short lifespans, saying they're going to die soon and there's nothing they can do about it. The Black Mages have no choice but to accept their fate. It hits harder considering that Kuja had been nothing but abusive towards the Black Mages, and they formed their village in the first place to get away from people like him.
* The moment where Queen Brahne dies on the beach outside her lifeboat. Yes, she might have gone mad with greed and killed thousands of innocent people, but that's still a young girl losing her adoptive mother and the only family she had left. Her last act is to stroke Garnet's hair and apologize, saying that [[SoProudOfYou the kingdom will be better under her rule.]]
** There's also the line where Vivi's narration says that he didn't feel sad at all, that he hated Brahne and wanted this to happen to her. And then he says "but then I saw Garnet cry".
** Also the aftermath, including the destruction of Alexandria, giving Garnet a HeroicBSOD moment and causing her to go completely ''mute'' from the trauma.
*** The ending of her period of being mute was also a tear-inducing moment, but for the completely opposite reason.
* And, yes, the moment when Zidane stays behind to be with Kuja in his final moments, who only just realized he had wasted his life and it had meaning just before he died. Like in the example above, Kuja is still Zidane's only real family, being his 'big brother'.
** Not quite Zidane's only family. Which brings us to another tear jerker. Their little sister walking along one of the now dead Iifa tree's roots, telling Kuja that what he did was wrong, then thanking him for showing that the genomes weren't created for the wrong reason.

* The final words of Vivi, saying goodbye to everyone and wishing they could have gone on more adventures. It's implied that he never lived long enough to see the reunion of Zidane and the others.
--> Vivi: Everyone... Thank you. Farewell. My memories will be part of the sky...
* "How did you survive...?" "I didn't have a choice. I had to live. I wanted to come home to you. So... I sang your song. Our song." (qualifies also as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}). This is then immediately followed by the [[AwesomeMusic/FinalFantasy hauntingly beautiful]] ''Melodies of Life'' over the game credits. They also reshow key parts of the [=FMVs=] over the credits to jog your memory.
* Beatrix's third victory becomes rather pyrrhic for her when she sees Garnet laying unconscious and in poor condition, prompting her to have a HeelRealization for all she had done and decides to pull off a HeelFaceTurn.
** Even earlier than that, Beatrix becomes horrified upon finding out that she was used as Brahne's puppet while the queen plans on killing Garnet for treason.
* One of the most well-remembered parts of the game, where Zidane's TrueCompanions break him out of his HeroicBSOD after he discovers his true intended purpose as the 'angel of death' and the destroyer of Gaia, telling him that since he always believed in them, that means that they're going to believe in him too. All while the famous track of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha6iWPqrJeE You're Not Alone]] plays.
** [-Dagger: "You've always protected us. But you still don't understand that we looked out for you, too! We watched your back while you watched ours. And we believed in you the same way you believed in us! Just like you protected us... We want to protect you."-]
* The siege on the city of Burmecia and the sadistic genocide against the Burmecians are possibly some of the most horrific parts of the game. Before even arriving in the city-state, a soldier carries the news of the attack to the party in Lindbulm and shortly dies after delivering his message. After going through Gizmolukes' Grotto and going in Burmecia, you're treated to sights of destroyed buildings and corpses laying around. The music that is heard when traversing Burmecia only serves to make the situation more dreadful.
** And to add insult to injury, unlike with Lindblum or Alexandria where both cities are shown recovering, there are little signs of Burmecia possibly getting better thanks in part to the game practically forgetting about the [[AbortedArc events revolving Burmecia]] and Freya's own doubts in the epilogue.
* The destruction of Cleyra. There's something just plain wrong about destroying the home of what were essentially a bunch of peace-loving, nature-worshiping hippies.
** And before that, there is an Active Time Event where you see Vivi being yelled at by a Burmecian family who escaped from the destruction of Burmecia. The father blames Vivi for the death of his father before calling him a "bastard". The wife and kids follow suit, also calling him a "bastard". All the while, Vivi is saying that he wouldn't hurt anyone. By the time Zidane sees him, Vivi is huddled against a wall, trembling.
** If you see him outside of Story moments, he's standing at the inn, back to the door, holding his hat down and simply muttering "I never did anything bad." Really, anytime people are cruel to Vivi hurts when you know how sweet he is. The fact that you can't even really be that mad at the people who mistreat him because for all they know he is just another Black Mage, essentially a machine made explicitly to kill.
* A smaller TearJerker is near the end of the game, where you learn that Morrid, the CoolOldGuy who helped you earlier in the game and collected rare coffee, had died in an earthquake caused during the course of the game. However a villager girl mentions that he died happy, having tasted the rare coffee that you got for him at last. Morrid also stated that he was ready to join his departed wife, which means they're now TogetherInDeath. However, if you did not get him all the rare coffee beans, he will have died without knowing the pleasures of drinking the finest coffee. Speaking with Morrid's grand daughter will have her tell you that her grandfather died in depression. Either way, what makes it worse is that you can't comfort her. She remains in a mute state for the rest of the game, which is realistic, but harsh.
* The destruction of Lindblum is one of the most, if not ''THE'' most, devastating scene in the game, doubles as a NightmareFuel. It's made even worse by the aftermath. Where any other form of media would have an implied holocaust or only talk about it, in [=FF9=] you're forced to walk around a destroyed Lindblum, while the citizens give you short but horrific anecdotes about the attack and the Alexandrian soldiers waver between MyGodWhatHaveIDone and bragging about their superiority. The stories include a little girl in the very first screen asking for her (absent, probably deceased) mother not to leave her alone, the synthesist's father having lost the use of his hands, the pickle selling woman having been blinded, and that's only three out of dozens of potential conversations. The entire Industrial District was wiped out. Just think about how many people that would be and what that means.
** Earlier when Dagger is crossing the border you can see some monuments built along the way. They make it clear that Cid VIII and the former ruler of Alexandria had worked hard to end the constant wars between their kingdoms and had finally started an age of peace. Thanks to Kuja this did not last very long.
* A rare one for the enemy side, but Kuja learning that he's going to die soon, and the cackling fear in his speech when he realizes that Garland isn't lying about it, causing one of the most triumphant and saddening examples of the VillainousBreakdown I've ever seen.
--> '''Kuja''': What comedy! Zidane, isn't it hilarious?! I'll die, just like the black mages I so despise! [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds I singlehandedly brought chaos unto Gaia, but in the end, I'm nothing but a worthless doll!]]
* "Freya, you say? I believe this is the first time we have met..." Ouch. Followed by Vivi's innocent, "What's the matter, Freya? Are you crying?" It's capped off by Freya's lament:
--> '''Freya''': Ahahaha... What irony. To find the man about whom I have dreamt endlessly... ...only to discover that he cannot even remember who I am!
* Eiko's EstablishingCharacterMoment (the whole PrecociousCrush thing was basically just a front.)
--> (during Kitchen ATE) "Grandpa... I don't want to be alone anymore... Help me do this right..."
* The black mages' understanding of death, or, as they call it, "stopping."
--> "One day, Mr. 36 stopped moving. My friend who knows a lot of things says that this is what "death" was, and that we had to bury him. Mr. 36 is buried under the ground now, but I don't understand why. He's going to come out again one day, right? When he does, I'm going to wash him off in the pond."
* Mr. 288 explaining what a cemetery was for to Mikoto gets me teary every time:
--> "...You're right, but I don't think we build cemeteries for the dead. Sure, it may seem pointless to you, but... How can I describe it? It's so that we can think like this: 'We'll never forget you. We'll remember you every time we stand at your grave. And we won't let the fear of death, which each of us knows, stop us from living our lives. ...Because my friends will remember me when I'm here.'"
* Don't forget the ending: Not just a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}. Seeing Garnet basically say "screw everything, you're alive" in action rather than words has inspired many TearsOfJoy.
* Coupled with HarsherInHindsight in an optional little scene after Alexandria gets destroyed in disk 3. If Zidane goes up to the place where he had previously found Garnet singing in Lindblum, he'll find her again and try to talk to her. At this point the player doesn't know that Garnet has lost her voice. He continues to try and make conversation, growing even more worried as she doesn't answer him. He leaves thinking he's offended her and we see a thought bubble showing what Garnet is really thinking:
--> '''Garnet:''' (''thinking'') Zidane, you're so sweet. Thank you.
* At the start of disc 3, [[TheFellowshipHasEnded the fellowship has seemingly ended]] due to Brahne's death and the end of the war on the Mist Continent. [[LoveEpiphany Zidane only realizes how important Dagger is to him after they are separated]], and so he decides to drown his sorrows at the bar. Eventually, his friends arrive and pull him out of his slump, and they all go visit the castle to see Dagger together. They have an audience with the princess, but Zidane [[CannotSpitItOut can't quite spit it out]] when it really matters and so Dagger leaves. The two of them believe that they'll never see each other again.
-->'''Zidane''': I had a whole speech ready for her. But it would've been a lie! How could I lie to her!? 'Good luck, Dagger! I'll be watching you from afar. Come find me if you need someone to talk to.' It's a big fat lie! That's not how I feel at all! That's not how I feel... at all.
* There's a sidequest on Disk 4 where the player will eventually discover a message written on the Eidolon Wall in Madain Sari - from Garnet's birth father. He wrote it after the attack by the Invincible and was badly wounded - so he's writing it knowing he will die soon, in the hope that his wife and daughter will read it. Even sadder with the knowledge that Garnet probably will never know his name or remember what he looks like.
--> "I survived the storm. I wonder if you two are okay? I see the two of you smile every time I close my eyes. I imagine I see you when I open my eyes. I have a mortal wound. I won't be able to wait for you very long. I regret being so unemotional all these years. I'm writing down everything here in the hope that you'll read it someday. To my dearest wife, Jane, Although we fought many times, and I may not have shown my affection enough, I love you very much. To my beloved daughter, Sarah, My life changed when you were born. You made me happy. These are the things I want you to know."
** Of course it does become HeartwarmingInHindsight with the knowledge that Sarah ''did'' get raised by a family that loved her and she grew up to become a fine young woman, implied to be TheHighQueen by the end. Also her father and Jane are TogetherInDeath now.
* Two more messages can be found on the Eidolon Wall, these two directed at Eiko. Even those who survived the initial attack ultimately did not last long, and as they were dying, they were well aware of what it meant for the last Summoner to be born.
--> "Eiko. You are a treasure born to a dying village. We are dying, and there is little we can do for you. We will return to the stars with one wish in mind. If legends are not born of Eidolons, and eidolons but born out of legends, let us leave this place with one wish: if we can give birth to a legend, it shall create an Eidolon that is a friend and protector of humans."
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--> "Eiko, my lovely child. Until you turn 16 and have your own Eidolon to your control, stay in this village. Then build strong friendships with others. I wish for your happiness from far away."
* TheReveal of Garnet's origins also makes Queen Brahne a whole lot more tragic. We already know that she was once a kind and benevolent queen until [[TheLostLenore she lost her husband]]. But she lost her young daughter as well when she was no older than six. And chances are she could never speak about her lost daughter to anyone else (except her husband and possibly Dr Tot) in order to keep the charade up. Perhaps [[BelievingTheirOwnLies she even convinced herself that Sarah was her biological daughter after all]].
* How Vivi and Steiner react if they weren’t picked for the final battle. They feel useless, as if they can’t help their party members:
-->'''Vivi''': I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. Good luck.
-->'''Steiner''': Though I am unworthy, accept my powers.
* In a JerkassWoobie sort of way, the moment when Kuja learns of his shortened lifespan and has a FreakOut over it: for all of his posturing and narcissism, Kuja's growing horror and bitter hysterics are rather [[SympathyForTheDevil pitiable]].
-->'''Kuja''': [[LaughingMad Ha...HAHAHAHAHAHA!]] What comedy! Zidane, isn't it hilarious?! I'll die just like the black mages I so despise! I singlehandedly brought chaos unto Gaia, but in the end, I'm nothing but a worthless doll!
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