Tear Jerker / Dragon Quest VIII

• When Jessica joins the party, her overbearing mother doesn't take it well and threatens to disown her. Jessica isn't deterred, and walks out. It's incredibly depressing to see the family falling even further apart in the wake of her brother's death...
• Despite his flirty and roguish behavior, Angelo turns out to have a deeply depressing backstory. His father was a womanizer himself, who'd sired another son, only to cast him and his mother aside when his wife had Angelo. Angelo grew up unaware that he had a half-sibling until his father left his family in debt. With nowhere else to go, he moves into the monastery, where Marcello welcomes him warmly and reassures the poor child that "We'll be your family now!" ...until he introduces himself. The moment he hears his name, Marcello turns on him, accusing the boy of planning to "ruin my new life like you did my old one." Through no fault of his own, Angelo found himself punished for being born.
  • And how about the last time they meet (as far as we know anyway)? After Angelo saves Marcello's life, who was so reluctant to be saved that it becomes an actual suicide attempt. He only shows spite towards him for it and the unspoken question of why Angelo even bothered lingers in the air:
    More than ten years. It was more than ten years ago that I first came to the abbey after having lost my family.
    And you were the first person I spoke to. I had nothing. No family, no home... I was all alone and didn't know anyone at the abbey. You were kind to me. Just for those few moments, you were genuinely kind.
    As soon as you found out who I was, it changed everything.
    But I never forgot that moment of kindness.
• Just about any time Remembrances is used as the Background Music, really, but special mention needs to go to Abbot Francisco's funeral. The rain, the look of complete sorrow on everyone's faces (particularly Angelo, as the Abbot was pretty much the only one to truly accept him). And then that music plays... it's like the game is grabbing your heart and twisting it.
• Most of the deaths that occur in the game count as this.
  • The death of Abbot Francisco and his funerals are probably the first Player Punch you will encounter in the game. Especially because it happens after a brief Hope Spot, during which it seemed he would be the first victim you would come to save in time...
  • David spends most of his screen-time being The Woobie because of how harsh Dominico is treating him, then is killed by Rhapthorne. And it happens after another Hope Spot during which the party thought they had stopped the menace after defeating the possessed Jessica.
  • One of the most heart-wrenching deaths is of Marta, because the English VA playing her son did such an incredible job turning a stereotypical Russian guy into a bawling, tragic mess as he weeps over her body...
  • Many of the above are tear jerkers because the deaths are almost always the result of someone being murdered. The one exception to this- still a tear jerker but far more positive- is Baumren, who was Dead All Along for who knows how long, but is finally able to ascend to the afterlife and relay his thanks to Felix through the hero. If you ever owned a pet that you had a strong bond with, this can really hit home.
• Poor King Clavius. His brother Eltrio was supposed to take the Argonian throne, but disappeared, leaving him to rule instead. He does his best at it; sadly, however, his own heir is, well... Prince Charmles. The way his Rite of Passage resolves is quietly heartbreaking; you can tell he was sincerely hoping the hunt would do his son some good... Unfortunately, unlike past princes, Charmles learns nothing from his ordeal. Clavius starts to call you on it, but profusely apologizes after learning the truth.
  • When he gives Charmles a chance to confess shortly afterward, and he doesn't take it; it's just more proof of his son's true character...
  • When King Clavius first sees the Hero, he acts like he's seen a ghost given the Hero's resemblance to his father Eltrio, before brushing the moment off. Years later, it's apparent that he misses his brother deeply.
• Dominico's Heel Realization after David's death, and the truth coming out: Dominico wasn't an heir to the sages; David was. Dominico's family used to protect David's line, and switched places with them in order to draw any evil attention away from the true lineage. Unfortunately, by Dominico's time that truth was forgotten, and he'd spent his days flaunting his wealth and picking on poor David, never realizing he was failing his greatest duty...
• Then there's what happens with the Empyrea: the monsters stole the legendary bird's egg, and you try to recover it... only for the kidnapper to pull a Taking You with Me on the egg. As she and your party mourn, the unborn chick's spirit rises from the ashes and not only forgives you, but begs to be allowed to assist you, giving you access to flight... one of the most bittersweet powerups ever acquired. This one act cements Rhapthorne as the most vile monster in the entire series. Also qualifies as a Player Punch as said tears are tears of rage.
  • It does, however, make his theme song that much more endearing.
• The post-ending bonus dungeon leads to you eventually learning about a pair of Star-Crossed Lovers who echo the angel and woodcutter from Dragon Quest IV: While exploring the human world, a daughter of the Dragon Tribe met and fell in love with Prince Eltrio of Argonia. The leaders of her tribe disapproved of their match, and so forced her to return to their hidden village. Desperate to be reunited with her, the Prince left his kingdom and searched the whole world for any sign of her... eventually expiring just as he had finally located the village and was climbing up that last incline. As for his lover, she passed away shortly after giving birth to their son. The tribe allowed him to grow there for a short time, but eventually voted to kick him out, over the protests of his grandfather. They forced him to leave the village, erasing the boy's memory so that he wouldn't remember and return. Said boy would turn out to be none other than the hero himself.
• This post-final battle conversation is powerful for those who played Dragon Quest III:
  I am not a god, nor is my name Empyrea. Those are names you humans gave to me. That is not the name I was given in the land of my birth. There I was called... Ramia.
• In the 3DS version, Dhoulmagus' backstory is made of Alas, Poor Villain. He really wasn't such a bad guy before stealing the scepter, simply frustrated after years of his master refusing to teach him magic. After one particular scolding from Rylus however, his anger and desire for power got the better of him. The detail that kicks you in the gut is the Dramatic Irony that he did have a dormant power that could have made him a great magician. Master Rylus was about to finish an elixir that would awaken this magical power when Dhoulmagus sought Trodain's scepter to become a powerful magician. If only Rylus told him that... For an extra dose of irony, Rylus manages to finish his elixir right when Dhoulmagus comes back in Farebury. But by this point, it's already too late for Dhoulmagus as he is possessed by Rhapthorne. And the saddest thing is learning about this doesn't even become available until after defeating Dhoulmagus.
  • Possibly the only remnant of Dhoulmagus' conscious mind somewhere in the sadistic puppet of Rhapthorne are the words he utters over Rylus' corpse, which would go on to become a recurring phrase of his Faux Affably Evil character:
    "...Such a pity."