JRPGs are home to some of the most wholesome and creative moments in gaming, but they also tend to break people's hearts due to the strong bonds you naturally form with the characters you spent the past 80 plus hours with. These moments are seared into our minds permanently and will always be part of our lives.
For a genre filled to the brim with genuinely fantastic characters, it can bring you to your knees in an instant with a gut punch you never saw coming. JRPGs are an essential and special genre that has pushed the industry forward in character development and storytelling for quite some time.
Mother 3 - Final Boss
The entirety of Mother 3 is dark and brooding, but the ending has you release all of that catharsis when you defeat the final boss, Claus. Throughout Mother 3, you experience loss, abuse, and cruelty, making the ending a tough pill to swallow for many players.
It's bad enough that Lucas, the game's main protagonist, loses his mother early on in the game, but having the kill your twin brother as your final act is unbelievably sad. Mother 3 lives on as one of the best JRPG experiences ever, and its more serious approach to storytelling is a large part of that.
Persona 3 - Last Month
One of the best months in any Persona title is January in Persona 3, which features an incredible soundtrack that matches the grim atmosphere. You witness your friends become emotionally drained as they are just waiting for the end to come, knowing there's nothing they can do to prevent it.
However, as the time to battle Nyx grew nearer, Makoto had one more plan in mind to save their friends. In a last, heroic effort, Makoto becomes the Great Seal, sacrificing their life to seal away Nyx for eternity. Persona 3 is a hard-hitting game from the jump, but the ending was genuinely gutwrenching.
Final Fantasy 7 - Aerith's Death
You cannot talk about sad JRPG moments without mentioning Aerith's death in Final Fantasy 7. Serving as the finale of disc one, the unthinkable would happen. The story's villain will strike down one of the core members of the story and your party, a dear companion.
"What is this pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!" are the words spoken by Cloud Strife as he cradles Aerith's lifeless body. This moment is one of the most shocking and pivotal scenes of any JRPG title and makes us wonder how the Remake will handle it in the future.
Nier: Automata - Pascal's Arc
There are many moments to pick from Nier: Automata that could justify as the saddest moment in gaming, but the finale of Pascal's arc is on a whole other level. Pascal, the friendly, pacifist robot and leader of a friendly Robot Village, has one of the most brutal and devastating scenes in gaming, which takes place in the game's third playthrough when you take control of A2. During this third playthrough, the Robot Village comes under attack, causing Pascal and A2 to evacuate the children and remaining citizens to a factory nearby.
In a last-ditch effort to protect the children, Pascal fights against the enemy, abandoning his pacifistic beliefs. After the smoke settles, you return to the children to assure them that they're safe, only to learn that they all took their life due to fear of what may happen to them. Pascal's reaction is soul-crushing, and he pleads for you to either kill him or wipe his memories, leading to one of the toughest, visceral choices in any game.
Lost Odyssey - Kaim and Lirum's Reunion
In the early goings of Lost Odyssey, Kaim is searching for his daughter, Lirum, and ends up reuniting with her towards the end of the game's first of four discs. However, this moment isn't as wholesome as one may like, as Lirum is on her deathbed, with not much time left.
This entire scene, and the funeral that follows, is one of the best moments in any JRPG. The dialogue, voice acting, music, and cutscenes are handled with much love and care, making the impact deliver a crushing blow to your heart. The Lost Odyssey is a phenomenal story of loss and an underrated gem.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - Aqua's Sacrifice
After the devastating events that transpired in the Keyblade Graveyard in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Aqua transforms the world into Castle Oblivion with Eraqus' Keyblade to hide Ventus' unconscious body. She then tracks down Terra, only to learn that he's under the control of Xenahort.
After failing to bring Terra back to his senses, Aqua battles Xenahort, ultimately leading to Xenahort stabbing himself in the chest to prevent Terra from leaving while simultaneously falling through a portal into the Realm of Darkness. Aqua dives in after them, sacrificing herself to bring Terra back into the Realm of Light while she goes into the Realm of Darkness.
Yakuza 0: Majima and Makoto
After nearly toppling an entire family to track down his love, Majima finally meets up with Makoto in the final moments of Yakuza 0. However, despite all they've been through, Makoto does not recognize Majima's face, making for one of the saddest scenes in the entire series.
The slight smile on Majima's face as he anticipates Makoto's reaction, only for her not to recognize him, is genuinely heartbreaking. Due to this unexpected response, Majima walks away, without saying a word, to avoid her getting in harm's way of the Yakuza.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker - Close in the Distance
The final moments of the Endwalker MSQ in Final Fantasy 14 is gut punch after gut punch, in an onslaught of emotional scenes. Endwalker is the culmination of hundreds of thousands of hours spent with some of the best characters in gaming that you grow to love and genuinely care for and displays that love flawlessly throughout.
From the moment the beautiful and haunting "Close in the Distance" track plays to the very end will have your heart in your throat, all while sobbing on the floor. We'll end this here to avoid heavy spoilers for the newly released expansion, but this moment will live on forever with anyone that experiences it. Endwalker is genuine, beautiful, and oddly intimate for an MMO.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - Jinana's Death
Digital Devil Saga is the first game of a duology and a spinoff of the main Shin Megami Tensei titles. Following the silent protagonist Serph, the game focuses on a demon virus that allows people to transform into demons. Still, that doesn't mean that the moments won't be as impactful or memorable, proving to be quite the opposite.
Prior to becoming infected by the demon virus, characters cannot feel emotion, with the virus allowing them to feel things for the first time. Jinana, a leader of a tribe separate from Serph's, goes berserk and attacks his squad, forcing them to kill her. In her final moments, Jinana acknowledges Argilla as a comrade, making Argilla cry for the first time and realize how much she meant to her.
Nier Replicant - Emil's Sacrifice
The Nier series has no shortage of dark, devastating moments, making it hard to choose which ones bummed us out the most. But, Emil's sacrifice towards the end of Nier Replicant continues to annihilate anyone who experiences it, whether it's your first time seeing it or the hundredth.
"Good-bye, my friends. Thank you for everything." is one of the last words spoken by Emil, which hit hard due to his past of being locked away as an experiment, with no access to the outside world. Before meeting Nier or Kainé, Emil had no friends and could only destroy things with his vision. This was his chance to save the ones he loved and to "matter" to someone else. Emil's sacrifice is tragic and haunting.