History TearJerker / GodOfWar

* Kratos ''himself''. Yes. Think about it. He's a violent, sociopathic, horrifically selfish, and constantly angry individual whom absolutely ''no one'' should even want to be...but underneath it all, to call him broken would be the hugest understatement you could make about him. He's lost pretty much everything, and it's mostly because of his own ruthless ambition. And he knows it. But he doesn't want to accept it, instead opting to put the blame on ''everyone'' else. And it's this self-loathing that pushes him to rage and froth like a monster, which gives him ''even more'' pain and suffering along the way. He's very much like a spoiled child, and in no way is that correlation something to be PlayedForLaughs; all in all, Kratos is just a sad man whose rage is just a defense mechanism to shield him from the pain of ''everything'' the Gods - and he - have dealt upon him.

* [[spoiler: Hephaestus's death]]. Believing that Kratos would kill [[spoiler:Pandora]], [[spoiler:Hephaestus attempted to crush Kratos but failed and gets impaled. With his dying words, he plead Kratos to spare Pandoras's life and ask her for forgiveness]]. Even after killing him, Kratos remains sympathetic to him and possess no ill will or grudge at him, as Kratos acknowledges that [[spoiler:Hephaestus]] only did what he was supposed to do as a father.

* In ''God of War (2018)'', all [[spoiler:Atreus needs is lots and lots and lots of hugs... And only does after melting that thick wall of ice adround Kratos' heart.]]

* Kratos hugging his wife and daughter, just sort of enveloping them in his arms, like he's trying to form a barrier of love and protection around them all.

* [[spoiler: Hephaestus's death]]. Believing that Kratos would kill [[spoiler:Pandora]], [[spoiler:Hephaestus attempted to crush Kratos but failed and gets impaled. With his dying words, he plead Kratos to spare Pandoras's life and ask her for forgiveness]]. Even after killing him, Kratos remains sympathetic to him, since [[spoiler: he was the only god he trusted and whom Kratos acknowledges only did what he was supposed to do as a father]].

** Hell, how about his suicide attempt at the end of the first game? As horrible as Kratos was, it's hard not to feel for someone that regrets what he did that horribly. He did everything to kill Ares as much to preserve his own sanity as it was for revenge, and it was AllForNothing as the Olympians welch on their deal to remove the memories of his crimes. Kratos just sounds so ''broken'' afterwards...
** Even worse: In ''God of War: Chains of Olympus'', upon reuniting with his daughter Calliope he is forced to abandon her to save the world. The scene where he must push his daughter away is made even more tragic as it is interactive, forcing the player to mash on the circle button to ditch poor Calliope as she tries to hold on to her beloved monster of a father.
* The last two hours or so of ''God of War III.'' Oh, where to begin?

[[redirect:TearJerker/GodOfWarSeries]]

* Kratos killing his wife and children in the last of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'''s flashbacks.
** Even worse: In ''God of War: Chains of Olympus'', upon reuniting with his daughter Calliope he is forced to abandon her to save the world. The scene where he must push his daughter away is made even more tragic as it is interactive, forcing the player to mash on the circle button to ditch poor Calliope as she tries to hold on to her beloved monster of a father.
* The last two hours or so of ''God of War III.'' Oh, where to begin?
** The entire Daedalus subplot is just.... depressing. He's been chained up inside the Labrynth, hanging from the ceiling because Zeus is a jerk, and is willing himself alive on the hope that his son Icarus will come and save him. His dream comes true when he sees someone with Icarus' wings flying around and solving the puzzle... and then he learns it's Kratos, who brutally killed his son in the previous game.
** Seeing Kratos' wife and child die in III. The scene implies that they ''knew'' that it was Kratos who killed them.
** The ending. Kratos finally kills Zeus, but has destroyed the world in the process. Athena pulls a FaceHeelTurn and demands Kratos surrenders the power of Hope. The spartan moves to finish her off, raises the Blade of Olympus... and then flips it around and runs himself through. Hope rushes across the world while Kratos bleeds to death. The last shot is a blood trail leading over the edge of a cliff, while the sun shines through for the first time since Helios' death.
* The ending of ''Ghost of Sparta'', where Kratos buries his brother Deimos after fighting beside him for the first and only time as a true Spartan.
* [[spoiler: Hephaestus's death]]. Believing that Kratos would kill [[spoiler:Pandora]], [[spoiler:Hephaestus attempted to crush Kratos but failed and gets impaled. With his dying words, he plead Kratos to spare Pandoras's life and ask her for forgiveness]]. Kratos expressed sympathy for him through the rest of the game, since [[spoiler: he was the only god he trusted and the reason why he attacked would be same as Kratos if his family was alive]].
** On that note, [[spoiler: Pandora's death.]] Especially cruel since it's one of the few times Kratos is trying to ''stop'' something horrible from happening.
*** Not to mention that [[spoiler:the box was empty and Pandora died for nothing.]]
* On somewhat the same level as Hephaestus' death; Athena. At that point she was practically the only god feeling something akin to sympathy for Kratos and then he runs her through with the sword meant for Zeus'. Hers was probably the only death he regreted. Made worse by the fact that Zeus, her father, [[UngratefulBastard ''leaves'' her there]]. If you think about it, it makes it even worse for Kratos, because he just saw a father abandoning his daughter.
* For all his ChewingTheScenery, Kratos' moments of emotion work. The sheer determination in his voice when he cries "I ''will save my family''!" fills the player with a sense of desperation; it's particularly heart-wrenching when you know he's doomed to fail.
* Kratos hugging his wife and daughter, just sort of enveloping them in his arms, like he's trying to form a barrier of love and protection around them all.
* [[spoiler: Kratos' mother was cursed to turn into a horrible monster if she revealed to him where Deimos was being held captive. She does it anyways, even knowing her own son will have to kill her. Kratos does the deed and mournfully carries her body out of the temple.]]
* Kratos being forced to [[spoiler: MercyKill Orkos]]. Orkos is one of the few truly noble characters in the franchise, and even Kratos has come to respect Orkos as a friend. However, the Furies have ensured that Kratos will only be free if he kills Orkos. Kratos genuinely doesn't want to do it, and it's only when Orkos begs him that Kratos ascents to do it. Than the memories that will haunt him the rest of the series resurface. It's at this point that it all goes downhill.
* The "From Ashes" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDhfTGkLTg trailer]] for ''Ascension''. It's Kratos' pained and rage-filled expression that clinches it.
* Kratos comforting The Oracle as she dies. He takes her hand, and for somebody who's usually as sociopathic and callous as Kratos, it's particularly jarring.
* Kratos ''himself''. Yes. Think about it. He's a violent, sociopathic, horrifically selfish, and constantly angry individual whom absolutely ''no one'' should even want to be...but underneath it all, to call him broken would be the hugest understatement you could make about him. He's lost pretty much everything, and it's mostly because of his own ruthless ambition. And he knows it. But he doesn't want to accept it, instead opting to put the blame on ''everyone'' else. And it's this self-loathing that pushes him to rage and froth like a monster, which gives him ''even more'' pain and suffering along the way. He's very much like a spoiled child, and in no way is that correlation something to be PlayedForLaughs; all in all, Kratos is just a sad man whose rage is just a defense mechanism to shield him from the pain of ''everything'' the Gods - and he - have dealt upon him.
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* For all his ChewingTheScenery, Kratos' moments of emotion work. The sheer determination in his voice when he cries "I ''will save my family''! fills the player with a sense of desperation; it's particularly heart-wrenching when you know he's doomed to fail.

* On somewhat the same level as Hephaestus' death; Athena. At that point she was practically the only god feeling something akin to sympathy for Kratos and then he runs her through with the sword meant for Zeus'. Hers was probably the only death he regreted. Made worse by the fact that Zeus, her father, ''leaves'' her there. If you think about it, it makes it even worse for Kratos, because he just saw a father abandoning his daughter.

* Kratos being forced to [[spoiler: mercy kill Orkos]]. Orkos is one of the few truly noble characters in the franchise, and even Kratos has come to respect Orkos as a friend. However, the Furies have ensured that Kratos will only be free if he kills Orkos. Kratos genuinely doesn't want to do it, and it's only when Orkos begs him that Kratos ascents to do it. Than the memories that will haunt him the rest of the series resurface. It's at this point that it all goes downhill.
* The "From Ashes" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9v9UoTc2Ug trailer]] for ''Ascension''. It's Kratos' pained and rage-filled expression that clinches it.
* Kratos comforting The Oracle as she dies. He takes her hand, and for somebody who is usually as sociopathic and callous as Kratos, it's particularly jarring.

*** For all the monstrous brutality of Kratos and all the heartless killing he has to do to get to this point, hearing Calliope crying and calling out to him in despair tears right into this troper every time, and forces him to hold back the tears while playing the game in a public place.
** The last two hours or so of ''God of War III.'' Oh, where to begin?
*** The entire Daedalus subplot is just.... depressing. He's been chained up inside the Labrynth, hanging from the ceiling because Zeus is a dick, and is willing himself alive on the hope that his son Icarus will come and save him. His dream comes true when he sees someone with Icarus' wings flying around and solving the puzzle... and then he learns it's Kratos, who brutally killed his son in the previous game.
*** Pandora's HeroicSacrifice. It's the one time in the series Kratos actively tries to ''prevent'' someone's horrible death. Not only does he fail, but the promised weapon, the one thing that can destroy Zeus, [[SenselessSacrifice is not inside Pandora's Box.]]
*** Seeing Kratos' wife and child die in III. The scene implies that they KNEW that it was Kratos who killed them. Calliope's screams made this troper tear up.
*** The ending. Kratos finally kills Zeus, but has destroyed the world in the process. Athena pulls a FaceHeelTurn and demands Kratos surrenders the power of Hope. The spartan moves to finish her off, raises the Blade of Olympus... and then flips it around and runs himself through. Hope rushes across the world while Kratos bleeds to death. The last shot is a blood trail leading over the edge of a cliff, while the sun shines through for the first time since Helios' death.
* The ending of ''Ghost of Sparta'', where Kratos buries his brother Deimos, after fighting beside him for the first and only time as a true Spartan.

*** And ESPECIALLY cruel since [[spoiler:the box was empty and Pandora died for nothing.]]
* On somewhat the same level as Hephaestus' death; Athena. At that point she was practically the only god feeling something akin to sympathy for Kratos and then he runs her through with the sword meant for Zeus'. Hers was probably the only death he regreted. Made worse by the fact that Zeus, her father, LEAVES her there. If you think about it, it makes it even worse for Kratos, because he just saw a father abandoning his daughter.
* Your first time through the underworld you hear a beautiful yet haunting tune called the melody of pandora. (look it up on youtube.) This song plays as you hear and see dead people falling through the underworld, and while killing enemies. It's a tearjerker because the song is suppose to be happy, yet people are dying while it plays.
* For all his ChewingTheScenery, Kratos' moments of emotion work. The sheer determination in his voice when he cries "I ''will save my family''! fill the player with a sense of desperation; it's particularly heart-wrenching when you know he's doomed to fail. What gets me is his broken sob of "No...not again."
* I also tear up when Kratos hugs his wife and daughter, just sort of enveloping them in his arms, like he's trying to form a barrier of love and protection around them all.

* ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9v9UoTc2Ug This]]''.

* [[spoiler: Hephaestus's death]]. Believing that Kratos would kill [[spoiler:Pandora]], [[spoiler:Hephaestus attempted to crush Kratos but failed and gets impaled. With his dying words, he plead Kratos to spare Pandoras's life and ask her for forgiveness]]. Kratos expressed pity for him through the rest of the game, since [[spoiler: he was the only god he trusted and the reason why he attacked would be same as Kratos if his family was alive]].

* [[Kratos' mother was cursed to turn into a horrible monster if she revealed to him where Deimos was being held captive. She does it anyways, even knowing her own son will have to kill her. Kratos does the deed and mournfully carries her body out of the temple.]]

* Kratos killing his wife and children in the last of ''GodOfWar'''s flashbacks.

* Your first time through the underworld you hear a beautiful yet haunting tune called the melody of pandora. (look it up youtube.) This song plays as you hear and see dead people falling through the underworld, and while killing enemies. It's a tearjerker because the song is suppose to be happy, yet people are dying while it plays.

*** The entire Daedalus subplot is just.... depressing. He's been chained up inside the Labrynth, hanging from the ceiling because Zeus is a dick, and is willing himself alive on the hope that his son Icarus will come and save him. His dream comes true when he sees someone with Icarus' wings flying around and solving the puzzle... and then he learns it's Kratos, who brutally killed his son in the previous game. His reason for living gone, he kills himself once Kratos leaves.

* [spoiler: Hephaestus's death]]. Believing that Kratos would kill [[spoiler:Pandora]], [[spoiler:Hephaestus attempted to crush Kratos but failed and gets impaled. With his dying words, he plead Kratos to spare Pandoras's life and ask her for forgiveness]]. Kratos expressed pity for him through the rest of the game, since [[spoiler: he was the only god he trusted and the reason why he attacked would be same as Kratos if his family was alive]].