Dark Cloud/Tear Jerker

• No Dark Cloud? This troper cannot believe. Okay, seriously, in Dark Chronicle (or Dark Cloud 2), Chapter 3 (The Sage who Became a Star). EVERY SINGLE FREAKING MOMENT after Lin wakes up. In this chapter, you must, at first, find a way to wake the apprentice of a famous Sage called Crest, who died some months prior to Max's and Monica's arrival while trying to protect a great magic crystal from Gaspard. The flashbacks of Lin and Crest are absolutely beautiful, but what really did it for this troper was his death. And even more, Lin talking to his corpse that he was the only sage for her. Oh god, it's happening again... * wipes tears*
  • Gaspard's final battle and death for me. After Max defeats him, he shares his backstory with the heroes in a deliberate Not So Different moment, pulls a partial Heel Face Turn (he basically decides to become neutral) and wishes them well on their quest, and prepares to leave the conflict. Then Emperor Griffon pulls a Villain Override on Gaspard and forces him to attack Max and Monica. After that battle, as Gaspard lies dying, he ruefully says he won't be able to see the end of their journey, and Monica, who had until then hated him for killing her father, grieves for him and curses Griffon.
    • This is made either worse or better, when you realize that the developers realized the scene was so heart-wrenching, they added a scene where Gaspard, now a child again, reunites with his mom in the afterlife, telling her his story about what happened, and with her saying that he found what she asked him to find. This troper always took that statement to mean that he found the will to forgive humans. In his last breath, he was able to finally forgive.
    • Chapter 7. EVERYTHING in chapter 7. As you run through the Chapter, you get flashbacks that define Griffon's backstory: He came to the Moon Flower Palace with no memory of his past, attempting to look at the flowers. He almost gets reprimanded, but the Palace leader, Alexandra, takes him in and has him watch over the flowers, because of how much he likes them. They develop a great bond for each other, but a great war ravages the area soon after, including the palace in its destructive wake. This war take's Alexandra's life, and all the plant life in the Garden dies soon after. Griffon, in his anger and pain, vows to destroy humans, so that something like this could never happen again. And finally, FINALLY, when you have to fight him, you are thinking in the back of your head about how to save him. And then, right when you think you saved him, the apocalyptic scenario predicted by Griffon and the Ancients activates, and the moon comes crashing down. Griffon (who's true name is Sirus) is the key to stopping this, but he has to give up his life... This game really, REALLY loves that trick. It loves to actually make you sympathize with the characters, and then kills them off as soon as you save them. It really hurts, and I can't stop crying when I think about it...
• Part of the ending. Max is reunited with his long-lost mother...but she can't stay with him in Max's time period and must return to her own time.
• No one's mentioned the reunion of Le Saia and Rando? Even if the last bit is just a vision for them, it's still a deserved ending for them.