9 Video Games That Will Leave You A Changed Person

2. Final Fantasy VII

While Final Fantasy VII is stuck in a perpetual battle of nerds over which is the better game in the series, one thing that sets the seventh entry in the long running and impossibly titled series apart from its subsequent entries is the emotional weight of it's story and setting.

Despite the fact that at no point in the game does any character actually speak, Final Fantasy VII features some of the most heartbreaking dialogue and emotionally overwrought sequences that are guaranteed to break the hardiest of people into tears.

The epic, sprawling game takes you across an entire planet, from the dirt and grime of Midgar to the insanity of the Golden Saucer and right to the core of the world as you trail the nefarious Sephiroth in order to prevent him from destroying all life for his own gain. The defining moment for the game is at the end of the first disc, where Sephiroth murders Aerith/Aeris, the loveliest character in the game and the object of protagonist Cloud's affections.

The death of Aerith was one of the most shocking plot twists put into a game at that point, and fueled not only the rest of the game, but also the player against Sephiroth. By the time you finally defeat Sephiroth at the end of the game, you will feel like you have genuinely avenged the death of a friend, such is the impact that Aerith has on the party and the player in the early stages of the game. It is one of the strongest motivations any game has given a player to see it through to its natural conclusion.