You\’ve really never cried over the ending of a game, Patrick? I guess that\’s not all that weird, since the things that set off those kinds of emotions vary wildly from person to person. I\’m not saying it\’s an important metric in measuring the impact of storytelling in games. But with the amount of games that you\’ve played, I would have thought that at least ONE would turn on the waterworks for you.

I\’ve cried at the ends of games that weren\’t even all that sad. The first time I beat Ocarina of Time, I got a little misty-eyed. Zelda and Link saying goodbye among all those clouds, with that melancholy lullaby playing. Usually, it\’s the music in games that gets me. Big orchestral swells accompanied by an emotional gut-punch will hit me hard. That part in Valkyria Chronicles, you know the part if you\’ve played it, was a dick move.

I\’ll also just cry during the credits of games, especially long RPGs. After spending close to 100 hours with those characters, it feels like I\’m finishing a chapter in my life or something. The credits for Persona 3 and 4? Big ones.