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Signature Scene / Video Games

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Not once did his hair ever catch fire.
Top to bottom:

Signature Scene in Video Games.

  • Ace Attorney:
  • Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies: Mission #8, Shattered Skies is iconic for being an intense air-to-air battle with dozens of planes in combat at the same time and a memorable guitar riff for the level music. It's also the first time in the game you can damage a member of Yellow Squadron.
  • Alan Wake II: The entirety of "We Sing." It's a Musical Episode loosely covering the plot of the previous game, with the game's life action cast dancing along. An abridged verseion was even performed at The Game Awards 2023.
  • ANNO: Mutationem: After a pivotal battle at Freeway 42, Ann awakens and traverses through an Eldritch Location where she encounters a supernatural being that fully awakens a Super Mode within her, which at the same time presents a revelation that there is more to the Post-Cyberpunk story at first glance.
  • Assassin's Creed
  • Battle Garegga:
  • Battle Toads: Level 3: Turbo Tunnel, because for many gamers, it is That One Level that they have never beaten- and, to the horror of many, the rest of the game after is no less brutal.
  • Bayonetta has a few from just the first game alone, which set the tone for the entire franchise:
    • The game starts off with an Action Prologue where Bayonetta and Jeanne fend off a flock of angels... while they're standing on top the ruins of a clock tower that is tumbling down an increbily tall cliff. This scene highlights the franchise's over-the-top sensibilities, to the point that when Bayonetta was inducted to Super Smash Bros., this clock tower battle becomes a selectable stage.
    • Several scenes that show off the game's unabashed fanservice elements, such as Bayonetta getting Clothing Damage in the prologue or her stripping naked to summon a dragon to munch a giant angel. Even the enemies are not shy at this, such as Joy's... interesting introduction by spreading eagle.
    • And finally, at the finale, she summons a humongous demon to punch Jubileus' soul from Pluto all the way into the sun.
  • Bionic Commando (1988): Master D's head exploding, a shocking bit of violence for an NES game considering how rampant Nintendo of America's censorship policies were in that era. Rearmed makes it even more graphic, which stands out from the relatively nonviolent ways enemies die otherwise.
  • BoxxyQuest: The Gathering Storm: The peace summit in Chapter 3. It’s there that we learn the main plot, meet about half the cast, and really start to get a sense of the game’s epic scope.
  • Bramble: The Mountain King has the very end of the Nacken's Pond area wherein the titular boss of said level grabs protagonist, Olle, as they go over a waterfall; being frequently used as the thumbnail of most Let's Play videos on Youtube.
.* Call of Duty
  • The last minute of "Shock and Awe" and "Aftermath" from Modern Warfare, for ending very abruptly and unexpectedly.
  • Modern Warfare 2 has "No Russian", a very controversial level in which you play as an undercover CIA agent accompanying a group of Russian terrorists as they commit a mass shooting at an airport, with the player having the option to participate in the massacre. This level got a lot of media coverage due to its controversial nature, making it by far the most memorable part of the game.
  • Soap's death in Modern Warfare 3 and, because of the memes, Price decking Yuri down the stairs soon after.
  • The funeral in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, due to "Press F to pay respects" becoming a major internet meme.
  • Castlevania: In general, the staircase climb to Dracula's room. It's one of the most iconic locales of the series, and whenever the game takes place at Dracula's castle (or a copy of it in the case of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow), there's a good chance you'll eventually run into that outside staircase with the crescent moon and clock tower in the background. Even if you don't face Dracula at the top or if the boss fight that takes place there isn't the Final Boss, if you face a boss up there it will almost certainly be a challenging fight, one that's either a plot-pivotal one or what looks like the final boss at first.
  • Control has the Ashtray Maze sequence, where Jesse (and the player) barrels through a constantly-shapeshifting, seemingly infinite and possibly sentient Twin Peaks-esque maze, all while fighting off mooks and rocking out to the heavy metal badassery of "Take Control".
  • Chrono Trigger:
    • The trial scene greatly impacted players because, at the time, no one would suspect that their apparently random and meaningless actions in the beginning of the game would have moral consequences later.
    • The battle with Magus. It's a very difficult Climax Boss battle that plays heavily on the personal nature of the feud between Frog and Magus, it takes place in a dark castle with a superb atmosphere, has awesome music, and marks a major turning point in the game's plot, complete with a Wham Line that recontextualizes everything the heroes thought they knew at the end of the fight.
    • The battle at the end of the Ocean Palace. Crono gets vaporized by Lavos in a Hopeless Boss Fight. The main character not only dies, but it's entirely optional whether or not to do a sidequest to bring him back via time shenanigans.
    • The campfire scene and the ensuing backstory of Lucca's crippled mother, mostly because whether the woman is crippled or not in the present is entirely the player's decision. It helps that the campfire scene is often depicted in official art despite being a late-game scene.
  • Cragne Manor:
    • The boneless horse scene in the meatpacking plant bathroom left an impression on most players. It's very vulgar and shockingly hilarious, not to mention being one of the longest single puzzles in the game. It also comes relatively early into a very lengthy game, so most players will have encountered it.
    • Carol and Christabell's arc. In a game where most rooms are independent and there's not much continuity between them, having two rooms in different areas of the game that are completely interconnected (and with a LOT of optional dialogue) is highly unexpected. It helps that the scene is really impactful, with both characters being memorable in their own right, ending on a fantastic Player Punch.
  • Deltarune:
    • In Chapter 1, the fight against the Superboss Jevil thanks to him being a Fountain of Memes that introduces many players to the Game Over screen.
      • The ending scene, where Kris seemingly gets out of bed, and rips out the player's control of them, tossing their heart into a nearby cage. And looking at the player with an ominous stare. Giving the series a wonderful cliffhanger to keep everyone excited for what's to come next.
    • Chapter 2 has two:
      • Thanks to a mix of his memorably off-kilter characterization, the Surreal Horror surrounding him, and his surprisingly involved character arc (being introduced as a seeming Big-Lipped Alligator Moment before turning out to have a detailed and heavily existential sidequest), every single encounter with Spamton on the normal route can count: his battle in the garbage area, his discussions with Kris in his twisted shop, and his NEO battle (but especially his tragic death if you try to free him).
      • The Weird Route has Noelle snapping under Kris' pressure and freezing Berdly in a block of ice, seemingly killing him, namely for its emotional impact and being the culmination of all the horrific things done throughout the chapter.
  • Devil May Cry:
    • Devil May Cry: Trish's Disney Death, due to the infamous Narm in Dante's dialogue.
    • Devil May Cry 2: The battle with the Infested Chopper, for being an extremely tedious boss fight that's widely seen as an embodiment of the game's flaws.
    • Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: The battle with Vergil in Mission 20, considered one of the greatest final boss battles of all time.
    • Devil May Cry 4: Dante's Ham-to-Ham Combat 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 so disjointed from the rest of the game that it becomes memorable.
    • Devil May Cry 5: 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.
    • Dm C Devil May Cry: 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.
  • Donkey Kong:
    • Donkey Kong Country: The Game Over screen, known for being infamously spooky.
    • Donkey Kong 64'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 The Super Mario Bros. Movie during the scene where Donkey Kong appears for the first time.
  • Doom: The Doom mod Earth begins with you standing at a pier, looking at surprisingly realistic-looking waves crashing into the shore. This opening shot is easily the most remembered part of the mod.
  • Doom Eternal: Samuel Hayden advising against shooting a hole in the surface of Mars- and the Doom Slayer proceeding to do just that. It serves a major Memetic Mutation for the game.
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ:
    • The "I wonder how tasty you all will be" scene shown off in marketing, due to Memetic Mutation going all out with it. What makes it notable is that the scene was released before the game itself was.
    • Yamcha's Dramatic Finish against Nappa, essentially a major case of role reversal applied to Yamcha's most (in)famous moment.
  • Dragon Quest:
    • The battle between the hero and the Dragon Lord, from the Dragon Lord’s offer of ruling the world together to his transformation into a dragon, which has been parodied and referenced to throughout Japanese media.
    • Your very first battle with a Slime, the perennial icon of RPG monsters everywhere.
    • Princess Gwaelin’s insistence at joining the hero on his journey to faraway lands, becoming the first of many adherences to the But Thou Must trope in the Dragon Quest series.
  • The Shout-Out to The Oprah Winfrey Show in the opening of Duke Nukem is the one part that most remember from it. It's to the point where the screen is framed in Duke Nukem Forever in all its DOS glory.
  • Elden Ring:
    • The opening sequence, where the player gets tossed off a cliff, dragged into a graveyard, mocked for being 'maidenless' by Varre, and probably curbstomped by the Tree Sentinel.
    • Melina introducing herself to the Tarnished, giving them the ring that summons Torrent, and promising to take on the role of their Finger Maiden (i.e. level them up) if they'll take her to the foot of the Erdtree.
    • The Radahn Festival in its entirety, but especially summoning Patches (he immediately unsummons himself) and Radahn's phase change attack, where he leaps into the sky, the stars once again begin to move, and while you're distracted by the Visual Effects Of Awesome, Radahn comes barreling down on you like a meteor and probably kills you instantly.
    • Almost every first-time player is going to have a moment where they find their way into Caelid when they're still figuring out Limgrave and are unpleasantly surprised by a midgame area that introduces the extraordinarily deadly and difficult to cure Scarlet Rot ailment.
    • The Margit the Fell Omen and Malenia, Blade of Miquella boss fights. They're the bosses players have to attempt most often (Margit is a Wake-Up Call Boss whose job is to tell you to go back and explore instead of beelining it to the next story boss, and Malenia is the game's most challenging Superboss), so they tend to stick in people's minds. Their win quotes ("put these foolish ambitions to rest" and "I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella") are especially well-remembered, since they're going to be repeating them a lot.
  • The Elder Scrolls:
    • Morrowind: Stepping off the boat at the very beginning of the game. It's a bright day where, unless you've dallied in the boat, the orchestral swell of the main theme hits as soon as you step outside. One of your first views, letting you know that this isn't going to be a run-of-the-mill Medieval European Fantasy like the previous two games, is the Silt Strider (a giant flea-like athropod) against the far bank of the river.
    • Skyrim: The cart ride as your character wakes up at the very beginning of the game. The Memetic Mutation of the scene has only popularized it further.
  • The most memorable level in Elite Beat Agents is "You're the Inspiration", due to being an extremely potent Tear Jerker. The unusually serious cutscene when unlocking the level, the level being the only one with different hitsounds and ending on an unique star shaped Phrase marker doesn't hurt either.
  • Dr. Maximillian Roivas' chapter in Eternal Darkness, for being the most purely Lovecraftian element of the game from beginning to end.
  • Etrian Odyssey: Stepping into the Fifth Stratum to find the ruins of Shinjuku is by far the most well-known Plot Twist of the entire series.
  • Eversion: That moment in World 4 when the player hits the first smiling block, only for the game to abruptly shift to World 4-5, triggering a much creepier atmosphere and going from "kind of eerie" to an outright horror game.
  • F-Zero:
    • Any appearance of Mute City or Big Blue. In the original game, they were the first two tracks, and they've been mainstays in the series, as well as appearing in various forms in Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.. They're also the most frequently picked courses in F-Zero 99, so you will be seeing them a lot if you play it.
    • White Land II in the original game. It took players by surprise by coming immediately after White Land I (and is the only track to revisit the same locale twice in the same Grand Prix) with a different remix of the White Land theme. But it's most well-known for the massive jump near the end of the track. It is necessary to hold Down on the D-Pad to clear the jump, and nowhere in the game does it tell you that you can even do that. Countless attempts at the Queen League have been cut short by that jump.
    • F-Zero GX: Chapter 7 of Story Mode, which features the F-Zero Grand Prix and, on Very Hard, is agreed by many players to be the hardest challenge in the entire game.
  • Far Cry 5: The endings are very infamous to many players. The Resist ending is most notable where Hope County ends up being nuked, which leads up to the events of Far Cry: New Dawn.
  • Fate Series:
    • Fate/stay night:
      • Saber standing over Shirou and asking him whether he is her Master, the point at which the story truly begins, is one of the most recognizable images in the series, as well as one that is often referenced and parodied.
      • Archer summoning Unlimited Blade Works, accompanied by a lengthy Gratuitous English Magical Incantation and Awesome Music. The version in the Studio DEEN anime adaptation is arguably the most famous, and resulted in the creation of the "GAR" meme.
      • Unlimited Blade Works has four: Berserker versus Gilgamesh and the latter's brutal murder of Illya, which provides both a massive shock and one of the biggest Tear Jerkers in the game; Lancer being ordered to kill himself by Kotomine, then proving to be Not Quite Dead and both kill Kotomine and drive Shinji off before either can harm a captive Rin; and then Shirou's two climactic duels, the first with Archer and the second with Gilgamesh. The first is dramatic for the testing of Shirou's ideals and his commitment to them, and the second is awesome for Shirou taking on the most powerful character in the entire VN and one of the most powerful in the franchise and winning.
      • The Heaven's Feel route has three: "Nine Bullet Revolver," "Sparks Liner High," and "All Evils of the World." The first two involve Shirou using Archer's arm to create a powerful projection to defeat a seemingly undefeatable Servant; the former has Shirou copy Berserker's own sword and destroy him with his own "Nine Lives" technique, while the latter has him call upon all of Archer's knowledge to defeat Saber Alter in a swordfight at the cost of a fatal Heroic RRoD. Notably, Sparks Liner High is a dead end and thus never happened in the "proper" route, yet it's iconic enough that the "Kakuyoku Sanren" technique Shirou used in the scene - a technique which appeared nowhere else in the VN - has evolved into a Finishing Move used by both Shirou and Archer in the expanded universe. In the third scene, however, Shirou fights Kotomine Kirei in front of the embryo of Angra Mainyu, both of them on the verge of death and just beating the living holy fuck out of each other with their bare fists, no superpowers involved. It's fairly universally considered one of the most incredibly metal things in a VN full of incredibly metal things.
    • Fate/Grand Order:
      • Fuyuki: After defeating Saber Alter, Lev appears and reveals his true name to be Lev Lainur 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 Myth Arc.
      • Septem: Lev appears near the end, and then 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 class advantages and disadvantages.
      • London: The Big Bad finally shows his face, and it's 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 Establishing Character Moment for the main villain of the first Myth Arc.
      • Camelot:
      • Gawain appears as a major boss at the gate to the Holy City, and is one of the first examples of That One Boss 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 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 at the cost of his life. It's the first true victory Chaldea gets against the Holy City, and it 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 Human All Along. 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 sheer absurdity of Gilgamesh, of all people, dying of overwork, and for giving a proper introduction to Ereshkigal, one of the game's biggest Breakout Characters.
      • When the heroes succeed in their plan to drop 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 Big Bad). Many players had a "Hell, Yes!" Moment 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 Heroic Sacrifice. 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 Character Development across the franchise, and widely regarded as his 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 Player Punch 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 Heroic Sacrifice, and losing Dr. Roman at the same time 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 Butt-Monkey, 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 Good Old Fisticuffs 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 awesome remix of the title theme and Character Development that, despite being on death's door, manages to make Goetia wholly sympathetic. It reminded many of the finale of Heaven's Feel, itself a Signature Scene, and made the players empathize greatly with Goetia, to the point that many clamored for him to be Promoted to Playable.
      • Shinjuku: The party scene, where Saber Alter and Jeanne Alter force the protagonist to 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 Played for Laughs. It also gets a nice Call-Back at the very end of the story, when Jeanne Alter has the protagonist dance with her before Rayshifting back to Chaldea.
      • Shimousa:
      • Amakusa traps the heroes in a 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 Emiya using Japanese instrumentation. Fans ate it up.
      • The Post-Final Boss, a duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro. 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 Awful Truth of the Lostbelts — that they must be erased, and all of their inhabitants with them, in order to restore Proper Human History. Patxi then takes the bullet for the protagonist, and demands that they see through their cause to the very end. It's a huge Tear Jerker and really drives home the tragedy and the twistedness of the existence of the Lostbelts.
      • SIN: Spartacus's Heroic Sacrifice. 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 Colony Drop. 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 Moment of Awesome that it gets the inhabitants of the totally-peaceful Lostbelt to begin wishing for heroes. Many fans were also reminded of The Iron Giant.
      • Atlantis:
      • Kirschtaria Wodime appears before the heroes, and on his own, without even a Servant to back him up, he utterly curb stomps Chaldea AND their Servants. The sheer audacity of a human mage being able to defeat Servants on his own, a feat which is almost always regarded as impossible, and its nature as a Hopeless Boss Fight, made it really stick in people's minds.
      • Super Orion's shooting down of Lostbelt Artemis. Atlantis had given Orion a chance to get Rescued from the Scrappy Heap, one he took with relish. It was also the debut of animated scenes in the game, and it was coupled with The Reveal 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 That One Boss, to a degree that Gawain could only dream of.
      • The reveal of the 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 Wham Episode of the second Myth Arc, 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 Crapsack World due entirely to the fairies' nature inevitably leading to their own destruction, as well as Morgan's Dark and Troubled Past as 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 stabbed in the back and then beaten to death by an angry mob while screaming and begging to be allowed to reach her throne until her body is unrecognizable — as well as her adopted daughter's death shortly thereafter, pushed it straight into Alas, Poor Villain status and cemented her as a Jerkass Woobie and Breakout Character.
      • The boss fight against Cernunnos. Once again, a boss fight makes it here due to That One Boss 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 Hope Spot that Faerie Britain will eventually rebuild, but then an Eldritch Abomination shows up and finishes off the very island itself. This being is Oberon, who reveals that his true identity is Oberon-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.
      • Traum:
      • The reveal that Holmes is a Manchurian Agent for the Foreign God, followed by him throwing a massive wrench into both Ruler Moriarty and the Foreign God's plans by once more throwing himself into the Reinhenbach Falls, dying before he gets the chance to betray Chaldea.
      • Nahui Mictlān:
      • The finale of Part 1 where Tezcatlipoca gives everyone a Final Boss Preview of ORT at its full power. It's a Hopeless Boss Fight with a million HP on its first health bar alone, and ten more health bars with exponentially increasing HP. Even the Foreign God can barely scratch the Ultimate One. The whole encounter leaves everyone, both in-universe and out, dreading the prospect of having to face the thing for real.
      • The "All-Out Battle" against ORT at the climax of Part 2. Both Chaldea and the entire Lostbelt throw everything they have at ORT in order to defeat it. Gameplay-wise, the whole battle works like a raid boss, where every Servant needs to be brought to bear to beat down ORT, since ORT devours defeated Servants, forcing the player into a Final-Exam Boss where they have to figure out how to take full advantage of every Servant in their roster. Interspersed between each health bar is cutscenes of everyone in the Lostbelt desperately working to help try to slow down ORT, as it gets closer and closer to it's heart which acts as the Lostbelt's sun, which would allow it to power back up to full power.
      • Immediately after the above, ORT proves just how undefeatable it is by summoning itself as a Grand Foreigner. The sheer audacity of ORT subverting your greatest weapon in order to go for round two just cements just how much of an Invincible Villain it is.
  • Final Fantasy:
    • Final Fantasy IV: The scene where Tellah says "You spoony bard!", notable for being one of the most famous examples of a Woolseyism from the series.
    • Final Fantasy V: The fight against Gilgamesh on the Big Bridge, accompanied by what would become his Bootstrapped Leitmotif "Battle on the Big Bridge", is easily the most iconic moment from V, to the point where its referenced whenever Gilgamesh shows up in other Final Fantasy games.
    • Final Fantasy VI is considered the defining game of the entire Super Nintendo:
      • The opening showing Terra and two Gestahlian soldiers marching through the snow to Narshe using their Magitek Armored Suits, which established the Gaslamp Fantasy setting of the game.
      • Kefka poisoning an entire village's water supply For the Evulz. For many, this established Kefka as one of the most iconic and evil antagonists of video games 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 scene is what Sabin Figaro is most remembered for, as he suplexed an entire train like it was nothing and cemented himself as a Memetic Badass to fans.
      • The Opera House scene, where Celes impersonates a famous opera singer and provides one of the most emotional Final Fantasy moments In-Universe and out.
      • Kefka destroying the world at the end of the game's first part. If the prior scene of him poisoning an entire village's water supply didn't mark him as being Beyond Redemption, then this scene shows him becoming one of the few Final Fantasy antagonists to succeed in their goals, cementing him as the Big Bad for the series to beat alongside Sephiroth.
      • Celes' attempted suicide after the world ended, which features a reprise of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", the song she song during the Opera House scene, and for being one of the bleakest moments in any Final Fantasy game.
    • Final Fantasy VII was the first 3D entry, and like VI has its share of memorable moments. The whole game itself could be considered a Signature Scene for the franchise, but specific highlights include:
      • The game's opening, showing Aerith walking out of an alleyway while the camera zooms out, eventually stopped for a giant shot of Midgar as the opening theme's crescendo rises, and then panning in to show AVALANCHE arriving and jumping off of a train, Cloud included. It's one of the most famous intros for any video game, and was the introduction of Final Fantasy to many people.
      • The aftermath of Sephiroth's slaughter at Shinra, Inc. for being a giant Out-of-Genre Experience that feels more at home in a Survival Horror game, and for throwing the game off the rails from that point forward, with Shinra taking a supporting role while Sephiroth becomes the true Big Bad of the game.
      • The escape from Shinra, Inc. where Cloud rides on a motorbike has become one of the game's defining scenes, with Cloud riding a motorbike being a widely-referenced and replicated moment in media related to VII.
      • The Gold Saucer date, where Cloud goes on a date with either Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret if the player does badly enough, mainly for it taking account the previous interactions the player chose to have with other characters, which determined who they went on a date with.
      • Sephiroth's 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 Dissidia Final Fantasy and his reveal in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
      • Aerith's death at the end of Disc 1. By breaking all the rules about when, where, why, and how to kill a major character, Squaresoft produced a scene that's well-known beyond the game it appeared in.
      • Cloud's mental breakdown at the Northern Crater, where Sephiroth shows him the memories that Cloud had suppressed and leads him to believe that he is nothing more than a puppet for JENOVA, which was a radical depiction of mental illness in video games for its time and showed Cloud as a more emotionally and mentally complex character than given credit for.
      • The Final Boss fight against Sephiroth, both for his iconic transformation and the accompanying song, "One Winged Angel", which has become one of the most iconic video game themes ever.
    • Final Fantasy VIII:
      • The opening, where Squall and Seifer duel each other while "Liberi Fatali" plays, thus making for one of the most engaging intros of any Final Fantasy game.
      • The waltz between Squall and Rinoa, for establishing the two as the game's Official Couple and being their first meeting.
    • Final Fantasy IX has two scenes:
      • The opening of the game with the play gone wrong, where the player must control Vivi and perform well in the play to amuse the audience of nobles and Queen Brahne, which is then followed up with Garnet requesting Zidane to kidnap her, thus setting an Establishing Character Moment for the game's female lead.
      • The You Are Not Alone sequence, both for its soundtrack and for being the emotional high point of IX, both as a moment of awesome, heartwarming, and sadness.
    • Final Fantasy X:
      • The game's opening where Sin destroys Zanarkand, for fully showcasing the jump in hardware from the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, and for the usage of "Otherworld" to fully emphasize the sheer destruction shown.
      • For better or worse, Tidus' fake laughing scene has become this due to the sheer Memetic Mutation of the scene since its release, and will usually be the first thing brought up about the game by anyone.
      • 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.
    • Final Fantasy XV: The beginning of the game, where Noctis and his entourage have to push the Regalia by foot after it broke down in the desert.
    • Final Fantasy XVI:
      • The fight between Ifrit and Phoenix at the beginning, for being one of the darkest intros to a Final Fantasy game, and easily the most-remembered moment from its demo.
      • The boss fights against Titan Lost and Bahamut, two 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.
      • The Pre-Mortem One-Liner Clive gives to Ultima near the end, for being a near-Title Drop of Final Fantasy, has become ingrained with fans of the game for that specific reason.
      Clive: "The only fantasy here is yours, and we shall be its final witness!"
  • Fire Emblem:
    • Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War: Sigurd's death at the end of Chapter 5, the only time in the series when the protagonist is Killed Off for Real. It serves as the capstone on the tragedy that is Sigurd's story arc, and is a massive Tear Jerker, even if you've been spoiled beforehand (and by this point most players have been).
    • Fire Emblem: Thracia 776: The crossing of the River Thracia. In a game that's infamous for its difficulty, in a SERIES that's infamous for its difficulty, it is largely considered the most difficult chapter. It has three bosses, with a grand total of nineteen leadership stars among them, and with each star equating to +3 Hit and Avoid to each unit on their side, that amounts to every enemy unit having +57 Hit and Avoid. The boss with the most leadership stars will withdraw after a certain number of turns have passed or the player's army gets too close to him, but the other two must be thought. And one of them is Reinhardt, arguably the most difficult boss in the game due to his high stats, Dire Thunder, and Vantage skill. It's so infamous that Fire Emblem Engage used it as Leif's paralogue.
    • Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance has nearly every time the Black Knight shows up. In particular:
      • Ike's first confrontation with the Black Knight in the forests of Gallia. Ike has just watched him fatally wound his father, and Ike is all but powerless before him. This scene turns what had been a dispassionate job as a mercenary into a personal quest for Revenge.
      • The Black Knight appearing in the port town in Chapter 11, in the middle of the map. All but guaranteed to make anyone who went into it unspoiled shit their pants. Especially if they happened to have a unit within his attack radius, because at this point in the game, he can One-Hit Kill any character in the player's army. And this is a game with permanent death.
      • The climactic Duel Boss with the Black Knight toward the end of the game. It's a testament to how far Ike has come as a fighter, and is the only situation in the entire game where the Black Knight can actually be defeated. It also marks the first time Ike wields his signature sword, Ragnell.
    • Fire Emblem: Three Houses:
      • The Battle of the Eagle and Lion, which pits all three houses of the Officer's Academy in a big battle with one another. While the series is no stranger to Mêlée à Trois battles, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion is different because it's one of the few that falls into Best Level Ever instead of Scrappy Level due to better AI, including enemies that will attack each other and not just the player. It also gets revisited after the Time Skip in the Azure Moon and Verdant Wind routes, except by then, the three states have gone to war, and so all of the combat is for real.
      • The battle in the Holy Tomb, for being the game's Wham Episode. The Flame Emperor's true identity is revealed, and war breaks out in Fódlan. Special mention goes to the Black Eagles and Blue Lions versions of the battle — in the Black Eagles route, if the player has met a certain set of prerequisites, they have the option to turn against the church, which sends Rhea completely off the deep end. Meanwhile, the Blue Lions version features Dimitri's sanity snapping in utterly spectacular fashion.
  • Fuga: Melodies of Steel: The Soul Cannon's But Thou Must! usage in the tutorial, and the kids' reaction to the subsequent aftermath, due to hammering in the kind of situation the children are in and what the players are in for.
  • Gradius: The Final Boss fights against Doom from Salamander 2, Venom in Nemesis II, Central Server in Gradius NEO, Mother Computer Z in Nemesis for the Game Boy, and Guardian Core and Escape Ship from Gradius: The Interstellar Assault. In a series where the usual final boss is a Zero-Effort Boss, these five stand out by actually being difficult final bosses.
  • The level that most people remember from Hammer Brother is Entrance to Sorrow, which is a long Marathon Level that lacks checkpoints and has ear-grating ports of two different Mega Man fortress themes.
  • A Hat in Time: Among all the missions in the game, Queen Vanessa's Manor is probably the most remembered because of its Sudden Gameplay Changenote , the oppressive ambience of the big house lost in a snowy valley, and the titular antagonist's ominous presence. Many mods actually revolve around its gameplay and ambience to create horror masterpieces.
  • Hitman:
    • Hitman 2: Silent Assassin: The opening mission Anathema is fondly remember by fans due it's openness and beatiful atmosphere. The mission's iconic status would latter serve in Hitman (2016) as inspiration of the famous World of Tomorrow mission.
    • Hitman: Contracts: Asylum Aftermath and The Meat King's Party due both being one of the darkest and dirtiest missions in the franchise.
    • Hitman: Blood Money: Curtains Down opera mission due offering a rather unique and creative ways to eliminate targets.
    • Hitman: Absolution: 47 attempting to fiber wire The Big Guy Sanchez and unsurprisingly failing is seen for many fans as one of the worse cases of Cutscene Incompetence and 47's Out of Character moment.
    • Hitman (2016):
      • The Showstopper Paris mission as Win Back the Crowd for returning to the open-level structure of Blood Money compared to Absolution's linearity.
      • World Of Tommorow Sapienza mission is seen both as huge peak of Hitman's mission and location design, offering players numerous ways to explore and complete mission. The map is so iconic that it received several new missions compared to rest of the maps.
  • Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number: The introduction of the Fans at a party, which does a good job of showing how, unlike Jacket or the Biker, these are just ordinary people killing for attention.
  • The game over screen of Hong Kong '97 is the single most infamous moment of an already controversial game, due to it featuring an actual dead body, and spawning years of debates over the identity of the man in the photo.
  • House of the Dead:
    • The Final Boss fight with The Magician from the first game is this for the entire series, having been replicated in two additional games with the same music or an arrangement thereof, even when the game uses a different theme for non-final bosses.
    • The House of the Dead 2: Goldman's Motive Rant as James and Gary confront him, known for being the peak of the game's poor-quality voice acting.
  • I Wanna Be the Guy: The screen you access by going up from the start of the game, well-known for the first time that players will run into the lethal-on-contact Delicious Fruit that will fall upwards in order to kill the player.
  • Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier: Daxter being doused with Dark Eco a second time, and transforming into Dark Daxter. Though, this one is remembered for all the wrong reasons.
  • Kingdom Hearts:
    • Kingdom Hearts: The first time Sora flies in Neverland, and then whenever you visit Big Ben. It's a truly beautiful location, helped by the fact you get to fly freely around it.
    • Kingdom Hearts II: Sora vs 1000 heartless. Holding off Maleficent's invasion of Radiant Garden, Sora goes to the frontline and uses many limit breaks (or conventional attacks if you're so inclined) to kill 1000 invading heartless attackers. The most prominent sequence from the halfway point of the series, showing how powerful Sora's become as he fights alongside all the other characters who've taken up defending the people in this world.
    • Kingdom Hearts coded: The conversation with Data-Naminé at the end of the game was for a long time the only part of the story anyone cared about, as it's (1) the only part of (the original version of) the game with any direct connections to the Myth Arc and (2) it's where "Sora" finally gets to thank "Naminé".
    • Kingdom Hearts III
      • The "Let It Go" sequence in Arendelle, for recreating the scene from Frozen almost shot-for-shot, down to the way Elsa's body moves and the way the snow swirls.
      • The battle with Anti-Aqua, due to the trailers hyping up the character's Face–Heel Turn.
      • The chess game between young Eraqus and young Master Xehanort. It's featured in the reveal trailer, both opening cutscenes, and pops up a few times throughout the main story. It's so iconic that the world it takes place in, Scala ad Caelum is the site of the final battle with Xehanort.
      • The Guardians of Light's battle against the Replica Xehanorts in Re: Mind, as well as Sora and Kairi's battle with a copy of Armored Xehanort. This is notable in that it allows the player to play as all of the heroes, including Kairi and allowing her to properly show her skills as a Keyblade wielder.
  • Kingdom Rush: The entire Dark Tower level, being a climactic final battle against Vez'nan, from the great number of pretty much every foe encountered so far, to Vez'nan himself spouting Large Ham Shout-Out threats and jokes, being a Proactive Boss thanks to summoning demons and stunning towers and then an awesome Final Boss with a surprising second phase, when he goes One-Winged Angel by becoming a gigantic fire-breathing demon, all set to an epic score titled after the level and not heard anywhere else in the series. Such combination makes the level perhaps the most iconic and nostalgic out of them all for many fans of the series.
  • Kirby series:
    • The True Final Boss of Kirby's Dream Land 3 ripping his own eye out with blood. Very jarring since this is taking place in a kid's game!
    • The start of the boss fight against Meta Knight at the end of "Revenge of Meta Knight" in Kirby Super Star. Meta Knight stands on a raised platform and leaves Kirby a sword while the timer counts down, wanting a proper duel with Kirby. This particular setup was such a popular one that Meta Knight battles from later games would often end up featuring a way for Kirby to acquire the Sword power beforehand.
    • Kirby Star Allies: Hyness casually kicking aside an unconscious Zan Partizanne before going on an insane Motive Rant to prove just how much of a vile monster he is in an otherwise lighthearted game. There's also seeing the true form of Void Termina, namely how its form wavers uncomfortably between Kirby's face and Dark Matter's eye, raising questions about the pink puff's own origins.
  • Klonoa: Klonoa: Door to Phantomile: The Ending Changes Everything, where Klonoa learns that he is actually not from Phantomile and that his entire life was all a lie, and is forced out of the world despite wanting to stay. Considering how saccharine the game was and seemingly about to have a happy ending, this really speaks volumes to how depressing it is.
  • The Last of Us: Sarah's death in the prologue, considering one of the biggest Player Punches in gaming.
  • The Last of Us Part II: it outdoes its antecessor by a mile wide with an even bigger Player Punch, that is Joel's murder at the hands of Abby Anderson, who kneecaps him with a shotgun blast and proceeds to slowly and methodically beat him to death with a golf club, all while Ellie is helpless to do anything but watch.
  • Legacy of Kain: The opening of Soul Reaver is indisputably this for the series, showcasing the height of Kain's vampiric empire, Raziel surpassing Kain in evolution and having his wings torn off for it, Kain throwing Raziel into the Lake of the Dead and permanently disfiguring him, and ending with Raziel being awakened by the Elder God. It's generally acclaimed by both fans and non-fans of the series as being an example of the stellar writing and voice acting featured in the series, for its music choice of "Ozar Midrashim" that adds to the ancient feelings and grand presentation, and the CG animations that still hold up to this day.
  • The Legend of Zelda:
    • The series in general has any time Link pulls the Master Sword out of its pedestal, with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past being the first instance of this. These moments are often used for marketing, but also usually represent the culmination of Link's efforts up to that point.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: 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.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Link's first meeting with Ganondorf at the gates of Castle Town. Zelda flees on Horseback and throws the Ocarina of Time into the town moat, and Ganondorf shows up trying to chase her down, completely upending the plans you had laid with her on your first meeting, shifting the tone of the game from that point.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask:
      • The first meeting with the Happy Mask Salesman, complete with the Signature Line "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" after the bleak opening section, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
      • The ending of the Anju and Kafei sidequest, which is widely regarded as the most heartwarming moment in the entire series and the perfect ending to one of the best sidequests in gaming history.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: The midgame sequence where Link is trapped in wolf form and Midna is critically injured that ends with Zelda apparently giving her life to heal Midna. It's memorable for many reasons: the emotional stakes and the profound effect it leaves on Midna, the unique gameplay element of being trapped in wolf form without Midna being able to help, and a Lonely Piano Piece mixture of the Hyrule Field and Midna's themes.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: Link and Zelda's reunion in the middle the game, right before the latter falls into a thousand-year slumber. It's generally considered one of the series' most emotionally impactful moments because of just what Link has had to do to even make it this far, and must now let go of for a while longer.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
      • The wide shot of Hyrule after Link gets out of the Chamber of Resurrection at the beginning of the game, revealing Hyrule in all of its widespread majesty to the player while the music swells in the background, setting the stage for the sheer scale of the adventure the player is about to undertake. Nintendo even used this moment in their trailers, knowing what effect it would have.
      • Zelda's distraught crying scene from the 16th memory (Despair) also serves as this, being regarded as one of the most impactful shots in the game's final pre-release trailer.
  • Life Is Strange: Chloe and Max holding hands and walking on the train tracks in Episode 2, an image that's iconic for the game.
  • Like a Dragon:
    • Kazuma Kiryu punching out a tiger in Yakuza 2 is not only a highlight of that game, but considered a benchmark other awesome moments in the Yakuza series are measured against.
  • Live A Live has second half of Oersted's chapter, which contains a huge amount of plot and stands out immensely from the rest of the game. The direct follow-up, Oersted's version of the final chapter is also lauded due to being a reverse Boss Rush that you can effectively Rage Quit by wiping out all of existence.
  • Lunar Silver Star Story: The part of the opening scene with Luna walking on water beneath the blue star (this scene was used heavily in promotional material.) Luna singing on the boat is also one of the most memorable scenes, this scene was even used as the cover to the soundtrack CD.
  • Mega Man (Classic): The eight-way explosion Mega Man makes upon death, due to its frequency in the classic games.
    • Quite a few have reached this status due to occurring once per game:
      • Dr. Wily appearing in his flying saucer, waggling his eyebrows, then flying into his fortress.
      • The Boss Rush pitting the player in rematches against the game's Robot Masters near the end of the game.
      • Dr. Wily begging for mercy at the end.
    • Mega Man 2's Boss Rush in particular is iconic, because it features the only Robot Master who is weak to his own weapon in the series. Metal Man will literally die in one hit (two if you're playing on Hard difficulty) from Metal Blade.
    • The ending sequence of Mega Man 3, for revealing that Proto Man — who repeatedly shows up throughout the game to test Mega Man's skills — is Mega Man's brother, and Dr. Light's first creation.
    • Mega Man 7's ending, because it features the only time in the series where Mega Man actually tries to kill Dr. Wily, despite being Three Laws-Compliant.
  • Mega Man X's most iconic scenes tend to revolve around Zero.
    • In the first game, it's Zero saving X from Vile's clutches in the opening stage. To X, Vile was a Hopeless Boss Fight, so it goes a long way in establishing Zero's badass cred.
    • Mega Man X2: The confrontation with the replica Zero, which goes one of two ways. If the player failed to recover all of Zero's parts, then it serves as a preview for their climactic conflict three games later. If the player succeeded in recovering the parts, then the real Zero shows up and blows the copy to kingdom come, once again reminding the player that he is a badass and is capable of being revived even after his own self-destruction.
    • Mega Man X4: Iris's death, especially in the English-speaking fandom. In both Japanese and English, it's a heartbreaking scene; however, the English dub is of such poor quality that it rockets straight into Narm.
    • Mega Man X5: X vs. Zero. It's the Climax Boss that comes after three games' worth of Foreshadowing. It would have been more shocking if it wasn't iconic.
    • Mega Man X7: The boss battle with Flame Hyenard is considered one of the shining examples of the game's poor quality, with the boss' constant screaming of "BURN TO THE GROUND!" having achieved major Memetic Mutation.
  • Metal Gear:
    • Metal Gear Solid: The boss fight with Psycho Mantis, renowned for Breaking the Fourth Wall and messing with your controllers and TV screen, as well as reading your memory card data. Considered one of the clearest examples of the series' acclaimed game design. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots tries to recreate Mantis' gimmick, though it doesn't go the same way thanks to advancements in technology.
    • Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater:
      • The battle with The End, a lengthy game of hide and seek through a vast area and the reason he has become a very notorious That One Boss in gaming.
      • The ladder Naked Snake has to climb directly after the battle with The End, all set to the game's main theme, "Snake Eater". The scene has become of the biggest memes in a franchise not lacking for any.
      • The massive Tear Jerker that is Naked Snake saluting The Boss' grave at the ending sequence, with tears in his eye. Guns of the Patriots references this in the epilogue.
    • Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: The entire Final Boss battle against Senator Armstrong, particular the scene in which Raiden performs Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs while Armstrong isn't fazed at all, for being a massive Fountain of Memes and being set to one of the game's Signature Songs, "It Has To Be This Way".
  • Mother:
    • The final battles, due to them breaking formula and relying on emotion rather than strength, alongside the Nightmare Fuel factor and the fact that You Cannot Grasp the True Form of Giygas's/Porky's attack.
    • The dancing scene from Mother 3, if only because of how famous the music became after it got used in that Bear Animation video.
  • Muse Dash: The song "MopeMope", not just for the song itself and its creepy factor but also the game changing between stage skins, something that is not done in any other song in the game. As a result, many Virtual YouTubers will play the song to demonstrate their reactions to it.
  • Pikmin 2: The Submerged Castle, particularly the player and their Pikmin being chased down by the Waterwraith–a strange and otherworldly (and seemingly invincible) creature that spawns after five minutes have passed on a sublevel and causes instant death to Pikmin upon contact. This cave proved so notorious that later games in the series would attempt to recapture its sense of Nightmare Fuel: the Formidable Oak is a long chase sequence that culminates in the final battle against a similar creature called the Plasm Wraith; and the Engulfed Castle is a non-randomized recreation of the original Submerged Castle, Waterwraith and all.
  • Pokémon
    • Pokémon Gold and Silver: At the end of the postgame campaign, when the player has all 16 badges and reaches the summit of Mt. Silver, they encounter Red, the player character of the previous games, and face him in a battle. Red has far and away the strongest team of Pokémon in the game and among the strongest in the entire series, and this battle really cemented Red as the Memetic Badass the fandom has treated him as ever since.
    • Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: The battle with Sinnoh's champion, Cynthia. It starts with the ominous piano as you approach her, warning you that you're going to have a bad time. Then comes the actual battle itself, which is nightmarishly hard — Cynthia uses a balanced team that wouldn't be out of place in the actual competitive scene, and one of her Pokémon, Spiritomb, has no weaknesses. Finally, it ends with her signature Pokémon, Garchomp, which was a Game-Breaker for a long time despite it having a 4x weakness. When the remakes were announced, many people feared that they would nerf the difficulty of the battle against Cynthia, but if anything, they made it harder, as now her Pokémon all have perfect IVs and well-distributed EVs, and are using custom move sets and held items to further enhance their strengths (like Milotic using a Flame Orb to trigger Marvel Scale) or cover their weaknesses (like Garchomp holding a berry that reduces the power of an Ice-type attack and packing Poison Jab to counter any Fairy-types). It's the reason why Cynthia is considered a Memetic Badass almost on par with Red himself.
    • Pokémon Black and White: Ghetsis walking up to N after N lost to the player and subjecting him to horrific verbal abuse, followed by a battle with him. It's the first time the series has shown Parental Abuse on-screen, and comes as a shocking moment. The subsequent battle is also the hardest in the game, especially his Hydreigon.
    • Pokémon Black 2 and White 2: 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, including those from other regions, and champions from other regions. It is by far and away the most talked-about and most beloved part of the game.
    • Pokémon Legends: Arceus: Everything about the final battle with Volo. From the battle's start, where a chilling remix of Cynthia's theme plays, to Volo summoning Giratina and commanding it to strike the player down, to Giratina's fake-out defeat followed by it entering Origin Forme and engaging the player in a brutal second phase, all of this makes for one incredibly memorable finale, and one of the most infamous battles in the franchise.
    • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers: The player character fading away and leaving their partner as a result of changing the past by stopping Temporal Tower's collapse. It's considered the saddest moment in the entire series.
    • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The final story arc, which takes place in Area Zero. The area has been hyped up extremely hard from the beginning of the game, and when you finally arrive, you begin to see why — it has an atmosphere completely unlike anything you've seen in the game up to this point. As you descend, you learn about what Professor Sada/Turo has been doing there, until you reach the bottom, where the main facility is. You also encounter new kinds of Pokémon the likes of which you've never seen before, which are later revealed to have been brought to the present from either the ancient past or the distant future. Then you reach the main facility, and are treated to a series of Shocking Moments, culminating in two emotionally-fraught battles against a dispassionate and, frankly, horrifying opponent, the latter of which locks your Poké Balls to prevent you from battling, something that no one has ever pulled in the series. Finally, it results in a Moment of Awesome for your ride Pokémon and partner from the start, that ends with it becoming playable. It's widely regarded as the best part of the game and one of the best scenes in the entire franchise.
  • Psychonauts: Milkman Conspiracy is probably one of the game's most well-known levels, to the point of having its own Wikipedia article. One of the most memorable parts from that level is the cutscene of the Milkman waking from his slumber, which achieved memetic status.
  • Quake IV has the Stroggification scene. After the Player Character is captured by the Big Bad, he's Strapped to an Operating Table which moves across a facility designed to turn regular humans into Strogg. We see the process with every bit of detail, from the sedation phase to the mutilation to the implants being connected to the body, and the neurocyte being implanted in the brain. And just when the neurocyte is going to be activated, Rhino Squad comes in to save Kane. Everything, from the ambientation, to the whole process being shown without subtlety, makes this scene one of, if not the, most memorable scenes from the game.
  • Resident Evil: Upon encountering the first zombie in the game, it does a Face-Revealing Turn after having killed Kenneth. The scene was referenced multiple times in the series and is considered the most memorable one of the first game.
  • Resident Evil 4: 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 Actionized Sequel atmosphere overall.
  • Resident Evil 5: Chris punching a boulder inside a volcano, due to sheer over-the-top ridiculousness of it.
  • Romancing SaGa 2 is mostly remembered outside Japan for its final boss battle, where the Seven Heroes fuse together into an Eldritch Abomination that not only can attack multiple times a turn but inspired the final boss of Brutal Mario.
  • Scooby Doo: Escape from the Coolsonian, a web game made to promote Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed, would be completely forgotten if it wasn't for one moment where the player cracks open a sarcophagus and finds a message inside, which is interrupted by a Jump Scare that would be extreme by the standards of an M-rated horror game, let alone a tie-in for a movie for kids.
  • Shin Megami Tensei
    • Shin Megami Tensei I
      • Your mother being eaten and impersonated by a demon within the first fifteen minutes pretty much sets the atmosphere for the rest of the franchise.
      • Alice asking if you will die for her, which nearly every later game featuring her references via her unique move.
    • Shin Megami Tensei II: The Final Boss fight against YHWH, which happens on each of the game's three routes. You fight God himself alongside whichever demons you recruit, including, potentially, his own angelic legions, or Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness. It's because of this battle that many people think of the franchise as "that game where you kill God" and it has also influenced similar rages against God in other Japanese media, including its own sequels and spinoffs.
    • Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne has a couple:
      • The battle against the Matador, one of the most prolific examples of Wake-Up Call Boss in all of gaming. Use buffs and debuffs indeed.
      • The True Final Boss, featured in the Maniax and international releases of the game. This one is probably intentional, since the ending cutscene afterwards is partially featured in the opening. Still, fighting Lucifer After the End (which you caused, by the way) as a final, brutal test to see if you can lead his army against the Great Will and stop it from creating and destroying worlds until it gets one full of mindless worshippers is completely awesome.
    • Digital Devil Saga: The Demi-Fiend boss fight, one of the hardest fights in the series, and perhaps even all of gaming. This one fight is far better known than the rest of the duology, and is frequently the only thing people know about the game, despite being an out-of-the-way New Game Plus sidequest which requires jumping through some hoops to unlock.
    • Persona 2:
      • The first of the two final battles of Innocent Sin is among the most famous parts of the series entirely due to the fact that the boss is Adolf Hitler wielding Nyarlathotep as his Persona and the Lance of Longinus as his weapon. Even though it's actually just Nyarlathotep posing as Hitler, who really did die at the end of World War II, it's still presented as Hitler until his defeat.
      • The second fight and actual Final Boss, the Great Father, is remembered by fans for how insanely difficult it is.
      • The actual ending, widely considered one of the darkest moments in any Shin Megami Tensei game, in which Maya Okamura kills Maya Amano, which allows Nyarlathotep to destroy all existence outside of the final dungeon. This comes with the revelation that Philemon agreed to a bet with Nyarlathotep that led to this happening and that the only way to bring back Maya and restore the world is for the party to have never met as kids, which is what Nyarlathotep used as a starting point.
    • Persona 4: 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 somehow act intoxicated despite not having drunk any alcohol.
    • Persona 5
      • Shiho attempting suicide after she was heavily implied to have been sexually assaulted by Kamoshida had a huge impact players, and hammers home how much Darker and Edgier 5 will be compared to the third and fourth games.
      • Goro Akechi's first encounter with the Phantom Thieves, in which he claims to have overheard them talking about pancakes. This is perhaps the best example of a seemingly innocuous scene serving as foreshadowing for later revelations.Explanation.
    • Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth:
      • Ken and Yosuke's interaction during the Group Date Cafe labyrinth, as it is one of the few instances where a P3 and P4 character bond over the hardships they both faced (in this case, the loss of a loved one).
      • Rei's past told by Zen, shown after the fourth labyrinth is completed and Rei is kidnapped by the Shadows; the scene itself is emotionally intense, thanks in part to the amazing voice-acting and the heartbreaking context behind it all.
  • Silver Surfer (1990): The pathetic image of Silver Surfer trembling in defeat. If you play the game, you are going to see the image a lot.
  • Skull Island: Rise of Kong: The game gained viral attention (and ridicule) upon release for a cutscene of Kong encountering a Deathrunner, triggering a memory of Gaw attacking. However, the flashback is visualized through a single low-quality and poorly cropped still image that blinks on screen for a literal second with no context, making some theorize it was some sort of pre-visualization placeholder that somehow ended up in the final product.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
    • Sonic the Hedgehog:
      • For a specific moment from Green Hill Zone's Act 1, running the first vertical loop. The action of running the loop epitomizes the high-speed gameplay, while the item on top of it as evidence that there are rewards for exploration. There's also Sonic rolling down two tunnels and getting launched into the air by a slope on the other side.
      • As That One Level examples, the fiery ruins of Marble Zone for its slower, blockier pace compared to Green Hill, and the flooded ruins of Labyrinth Zone, known for traumatizing many a player with the debut of the series' iconic drowning theme.
      • The Chaos Emeralds circling and spinning in the air in the Golden Ending, restoring South Island to its glory as a thriving paradise. The shot of the Chaos Emeralds circling around was next seen in Sonic 3 & Knuckles during their upgrade process to Super Emeralds, then in a Sonic Adventure commercial, and has been typically done to denote Super transformations from Sonic Adventure 2 onwards.
    • Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The ending, with Sonic falling from space after foiling Eggman's plans, and Tails either rescuing him with the Tornado or meeting up with him in his Super Sonic form, as "Sweet Dreams" plays in the background. A few other Sonic games have homaged this scene in the decades since.
    • Sonic 3 & Knuckles:
      • The infamous hovering/bouncing red barrel in Carnival Night Zone Act 2, where it's not clear how to operate it in order to advance; many playthroughs of Sonic 3 alone and Sonic 3 & Knuckles end at this point (unless the player uses the level select or debug codes to bypass it). Urban legend has it that a Sega helpline would start calls with an automated recording on how to get past this.
      • That moment in a Sonic and/or Tails playthrough of Sandopolis Zone Act 2 when the player character(s) break open a capsule full of ghosts, leading to a potent source of Nightmare Fuel for many players.
    • Sonic Heroes:
      • Amy's Team Rose fighting Team Sonic… to get Sonic to marry her. If nothing else, this scene is memorable for marking the beginning of Amy's Flanderization into a Stalker with a Crush on Sonic.
      • Neo Metal Sonic's Transformation Sequence, which he kicks off by shooting a lightning bolt that blows up the tower he's standing on before he draws in all the metal to reshape into his draconic Metal Overlord form, complete with quick cuts and flashes of bright light.
    • Shadow the Hedgehog: The first cutscene, in which Shadow witnesses the Black Arms begin their invasion. The first stage, Westopolis, also sets the tone for the game as the city becomes a chaotic warzone between the Black Arms and the forces of GUN.
    • Sonic the Hedgehog (2006):
      • Elise bringing Sonic back to life by kissing him, which was intended to be emotional but instead universally-received as Squicky.
      • Sonic's boss fight against Silver, due to wonky game design leading to it being extremely punishing and confusing for one of the earliest bosses in the game.
    • Sonic Colors:
    • Sonic Mania:
      • The Chemical Plant Act 2 boss, in which the player faces off against Eggman in Mean Bean Machine. Even players who aren't good at puzzle games such as Puyo Puyo fell in love with this fight and see this as one of the game's big highlights.
      • Studiopolis Zone for its aesthetics, music and being the first completely original level in Sonic Mania, along with being the one most promoted by the game's marketing.
      • Both the regular and secret versions of the true ending of Mania Mode, for different reasons. In the regular version, it's for the Egg Reverie boss stage as Super Sonic against both a powered-up Heavy King and Eggman as an epic theme with samples of "Fist Bump" plays, leading to the cliffhanger Sequel Hook for Sonic Forces. The secret version gets this for being the end result of an entire unlockable mode that exists solely as a Meme Acknowledgement for "& Knuckles," requiring to beat the game as Knuckles with an AI controlled Knuckles helping him to see that this version of the game is just a storybook by Knuckles.
    • Sonic Forces:
    • Sonic Frontiers:
      • The first Titan battle between Super Sonic and GIGANTO has become an iconic scene of Frontiers, with many fans citing it as one of the most hype moments of the Sonic franchise, with the presentation, Super Sonic's revamped over the top combat, and the killer rock track "Undefeatable" playing in the background. Fans note it as an incredible first impression of what Frontiers has to offer in terms of its boss fights and music.
  • Spider-Man (PS4):
    • The frantic helicopter chase, which culminates in the helicopter falling apart and Spidey frantically trying to keep it from crushing civilians below, captures the spirit of the Sam Raimi film trilogy.
    • The gathering of the Sinister Six, led by Doctor Octopus, is a memorable Wham Episode that signifies the moment when the stakes are cranked up.
    • The Final Boss fight against Doctor Octopus is by far the most memorable part of the game, due to being an emotionally heavy and visually gorgeous climax.
    • The scene where Peter's evicted from his apartment is also seen as the embodiment of the game capturing Spider-Man's hard luck double life and doing justice to both.
    • The cutscene where Peter and MJ text to each other while Spider-Man is swinging, is seen as the perfect moment of the developers capturing and updating Spider-Man's romantic woes to a contemporary setting while also being hilarious at the same time.
  • Splinter Cell: Conviction: Sam interrogating hell out of Kobin's hitman, setting up tone of the game.
  • The most recognizable scene of Sponge Bob Square Pants Operation Krabby Patty is the cutscene after the Wrong Side's version of "Who Cut The Cheese". SpongeBob talks to Squidward, who has Patrick's voice, then a random anchovy, then goes back to Squidward, all animated with janky 3D models. Its utter lack of context even within the story have made it a go-to example of the game's bizarrely hilarious nature.
  • Street Fighter III: When people talk about this game and its legacy, it almost always comes back around to EVO Moment #37, also known as "The Daigo Parry", when pro player Daigo Umehara seized victory from the clutches of defeat by pulling off the impossible and parrying the entirety of Chun-Li's Super Art.
  • Superman 64 has the first Pass Through the Rings stage, which has become how the game has been remembered by most people. It's such an awful level that many people assume the whole game is like that. It's not—the other levels are, if anything, even worse.
  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Rhythm Heaven: "Ringside", the game introduced in Fever involving a female reporter interviewing a wrestler, is easily one of the most recognizable minigames. It's been recreated many times due to its catchy song and memorable setup ("Wubbadubbadub, is that true?").
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
    • King K. Rool's reveal trailer, due to its sheer hilarity with King Dedede's fakeout and K. Rool showing up to smack him offscreen. It ended up being so popular and memetic that the same setup was used again for Banjo & Kazooie's trailer, with Duck Hunt in place of Dedede.
    • Persona 5's Joker being revealed at the 2018 Game Awards, and essentially setting the precedent that any video game character can join Smash, no matter how unexpected.
    • Sephiroth's trailer, for the sheer audacity (yet still plausible) of him one-shotting the Big Bad, the same entity that brought about The End of the World as We Know It in the World of Light's opening cutscene and wiped out all of the playable fighters except Kirby. It's also famous for the image of Sephiroth impaling Mario with his sword (even though it contains a fake-out, the shock value remains).
  • Tales of the Abyss: Luke and Asch's duel at Eldrant, for meme value, awesome music, and Tear Jerker status.
  • The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak: Van giving Aida a Mercy Kill at the end of chapter 1. This ended up being memorable as the previous arc protagonists have a Thou Shalt Not Kill policy on humans.
  • Total Distortion's Game Over screen, commonly considered the greatest Game Over of all time due to the funny song mocking you for dying, is the only reason anybody remembers this game. Also counts as Signature Song, since the game contains 29 songs (excluding instrumentals), but "You are Dead" is the only one most people know.
  • Uncharted:
    • Uncharted 4: A Thief's End:
      • The scene where Nate and Sam enter the Libertalia treasury and find the portraits of the Founders with the name Thief written on them. It's the first hint that Libertalia was an elaborate con.
      • The Twelve Towers, which was featured in the earlier demos. A large open ground that is traversable on a 4x4 jeep showing a mix of vehicle and foot traversal while also showing the detail with which different textured backgrounds are animated.
      • The scene where Nate and Elena find the banquet with the ten skeletons of the pirate captains, with Nate describing their fate while Elena watches his reaction with love and affection, which is a testament to the great character animation as well as driving home the themes of Libertalia's fraudulent utopia.
  • Undertale having many routes, each one of them has marking moments:
    • Let's start with the Neutral run:
      • For people who killed Toriel, then retried to spare her, Flowey's dialogue where he tells you that he knows what you did has been a haunting surprise.
      • Photoshop Flowey's boss fight at the end of a Neutral run is yet another memorable moment because of the impression of helplessness, the souls' trippy attacks alongside their progressive Heel–Face Turn, and the heartbreaking sequence if you decide to spare Flowey after the fight.
    • The Pacifist ending has many moments:
      • The True Lab's exploration due to how unsettling the place is, because of the Amalgamates trippy battles (and the infamous bathtub sequence), and the mysterious tapes revealing dark secrets about the royal kids' story.
      • The whole final boss fight due to the Awesome Music, the pretty colors, the revelations around Flowey's nature and his tragic delusions.
    • The Genocide run takes the cake for signature scenes:
      • Papyrus sparing you is a major turn for this run: unlike the previous monsters, he doesn't show any animosity towards you, even offering to improve your life after the dangerous turn you took. This lead many players to stop while the ones who continued felt dirty.
      • Undyne the Undying boss fight is another remarkable moment because of its (surprisingly efficient) use of shonen tropes for the Hero Antagonist you're fighting, but also because of the engaging "Battle Against a True Hero".
      • The battle against Sans on the Genocide Run, for many reasons including, but not limited to: the emotional torque, Sans cleverly circumventing the battle system, the infamous difficulty and Megalovania. The sheer number of times you will get dunked on will pound this scene into your head.
      • The end of the run: the mysterious entity who progressively gained control over the game finishes Asgore themself and only needs your approval to kill Flowey. Then you see its true form: a child who looks like a paler version of your player character who suggests you to destroy the world. While this whole moment is frightening, the Jump Scare who comes if you refuse their offer haunted many players' minds.
  • The first monster encounter in Uninvited, an innocent-looking Southern Belle archetype... who turns out to be a skeletal ghost that provides a very effective Jump Scare given the primitive hardware, as well as what is likely the first of The Many Deaths of You.
  • Universal Paperclips 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.
  • Warframe:
    • The cutscene that plays when you first enter Fortuna, with the Solaris workers singing "We All Lift Together", is the most-viewed video on the official Warframe YouTube channel. The Awesome Music makes it a favorite moment for many players, especially since its lyrics can also be interpreted as being about players helping each other farm for items.
    • One of the game's most memorable scenes is the ending of "The Second Dream", where the true nature of the Tenno is revealed. It's considered one of the greatest plot twists in an MMO, and veterans will often advise new players that if they play until they get there, they'll be hooked. Particularly memorable is the part where the Lotus places the Operator in the Somatic Link, causing the screen to fade into a Character Customization menu for your Tenno.
  • Wolfenstein:
  • Xenoblade Chronicles:
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 1:
      • The attack on Colony 9, consisting of Shulk first using the Monado, Fiora getting killed by Metal Face, and Shulk's scream of vengeance, is one of the most memorable scenes in the game.
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 2:
      • Meeting and talking to the Architect better known to fans as Klaus from the first game and the subsequent re-contextualizing of the entire game is probably the most significant and most talked about scene in the game.
      • ...except for The Reveal that Nia is a Flesh Eater Blade, which is probably the game's emotional scene and its narrative high point.
    • Xenoblade Chronicles 3:
      • Mio's Shut Up, Hannibal! speech at Moebius O and P, calling them out for how the Moebius play with the lives of everyone in Keves and Agnus by locking them in a Forever War where they constantly get sent to their deaths. It's the moment where the Ouroboros are all truly united and cement themselves as willing to wage war against the Moebius to free Aionios of their control.
      • N's breakdown at the beginning of Chapter 6, when he discovers that M and Mio pulled a "Freaky Friday" Flip and resulted in M being Killed Off for Real, while Mio is able to free the rest of the Ouroboros after they were marked for certain death. It's generally considered to be the most cathartic moment in the game, as well as an excellent display of voice acting.
      • The Reveal that Rex from 2 married and had a child with Pyra, Mythra, and Nia each, both for the sheer memetic factor that came with and for the fact that Rex and Nia's child is heavily implied to be Mio, the female lead of 3.
      • The story expansion teaser trailer instantly became talked about by fans after the February Direct despite the expansion not having been released by then - because it shows an older Shulk and Rex confronting Alvis in a giant example of Continuity Cavalcade for the series.
  • XenoGears:
    • Fei entering his Humongous Mecha and accidentally unleashing a destructive blast that destroys his Doomed Hometown.
    • Id's first appearance has him utterly trouncing everybody around him in a single strike, then lifts the Yggdrasil with a single arm before tossing it afar.
  • YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG: The fight against the Golden Alpaca along with its lead up for its horrendous Mood Whiplash.
  • Zero Wing: The Mega Drive port's horribly translated opening scene, which became one of the first huge internet memes. It's so iconic, in fact, that when Bitwave Games ported the arcade version to PC, they took the time to create an arcade-style remake of the Mega Drive intro, complete with CATS's lines being relatively unchanged.

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