CelJaded’s Best Video Game Moments, Vol. 12

Best Video Game Moments is a series about memorable moments and mechanics in video games.

Exiting the Imperial sewers …For The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Year: 2006

Seeing Cyrodiil for the first time in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion begins with a tutorial quest introducing players to the lore and gameplay basics by means of a linear skulk through some dingy sewers. So far, so 2006, right? Well, it would be if it weren’t for what immediately follows: the unforgettable moment when your Imperial prisoner exits the dark interior and for the first time sees the daylight of Cyrodiil in all of its high definition grandeur and possibility.

This is the start of the true Elder Scrolls experience: seeing the massive world Bethesda created and wondering what to do with your newfound freedom. What landmarks can you see? Which direction will you go first? And what will your place in this digital cornucopia look like eighty hours from now?

So effective was this one moment, Bethesda reused it (again to great effect) a couple of years later in Fallout 3’s opening sequence. It’s a subtle moment, but it’s also one that every single person who played Oblivion, either on release or more recently in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, is very likely to remember.

Becoming one with The Shadow …For Prince of Persia

Year: 1989

The shadowy doppelgänger from Prince of Persia.

Intelligent encounter design is merely one reason why Jordan Mechner’s 1989 platformer is still considered a classic. It created dozens of unique moments one could induct onto a list like this, with the one I’ve chosen concerning The Shadow Prince.

When players leap through an enchanted mirror at the end of Level 4, they unleash an ethereal doppelgänger — a “Shadow” who unwelcomely appears across multiple levels thereafter to steal the Prince’s health potions, close would-be exits, and generally be a pain in everyone’s ass!

When the Prince finally comes face-to-face with his doppelgänger towards the end of Level 12, players will be itching to murder the annoying freak. However, killing the Shadow in any fashion also kills The Prince, meaning the only remaining solution is to embrace the loathsome copy by sheathing The Prince’s sword — normally a death sentence in regular combat — and walking him into the Shadow to unify both entities once more.

I think this is the only time the sheathe command is ever needed to solve a combat in this game, so it becomes a wonderfully nuanced bit of game design which challenges players in an unexpectedly memorable way.

Captain Royal Dominguez …For Inscryption

Year: 2021

Inscryption’s secret pirate boss finally reveals itself.

Throughout its nightmarish campaign, Inscryption loves to tell players about a fabled “pirate boss” who never materialises. Indeed, by the time the credits roll, this mysterious encounter has gained an almost mythical quality as a “lost level” that was lost on purpose!

But then came Kaycee’s Mod. In this free expansion pack for Inscryption, players are treated to a delightful roguelike mode featuring an escalating series of card-based challenges. It’s only after players obtain the final unlockable modifier that they’re at last introduced to Captain Royal Dominguez — the secret pirate boss himself!

The encounter with Dominguez is actually pretty easy, but this fact only makes it sweeter because players will have slogged through many hard runs to unlock the encounter to begin with. The reward isn’t meant to be yet another hugely difficult challenge, it’s purely about the excitement of the moment and seeing the mythical pirate battle even happening at all. And whether its because of its wacky mechanics, outrageous music, or hilarious one-liners — justice for Salty Daryl! – Royal Dominguez succeeds on all counts and treats players to a cathartic celebration of video game lore in the sort of elegantly weird way only a Daniel Mullins game can do.

Heave. Ho.

Heave. Ho.

The Box …For Monument Valley

Year: 2014

Princess Ida explores an enchanted box in Monument Valley.

Chapter VIII: The Box (“In which there lie strange delights“) is a level which captures the beauty of Monument Valley so quickly and succinctly, it’s sure to be the level you show to anyone who hasn’t played the game before.

The chapter takes place within an ever-transforming box which gradually unwinds to reveal an intricate maze of stairs and hidden switches. The way the geometry reacts to the player’s actions is spellbinding, and it’s all done through the unique design of the eponymous contraption. If nothing else, it’s sure to make older players nostalgic for those Polly Pocket and Mighty Max micro toy sets!

Stage 7 elevator …For Streets of Rage 2

Year: 1992

Axel Stone faces waves of enemies in Streets of Rage 2’s most furious set piece.

This is what video games are all about!

Arguably the single hardest point in Streets of Rage 2 is also one of its most satisfying. In what is now a familiar gaming trope, the latter half of Stage 7 traps players on a gradually ascending elevator as enemies spawn in from multiple directions. It’s a furiously exciting survival scenario that’s sure to cost players some precious lives, especially when they’re playing on higher difficulty modes (where this level is at its best).

Of special note is the remastered version of this encounter which BomberGames created for their Streets of Rage Remake. This rendition of Stage 7 amps up the challenge, the enemy variety, the music; everything to make the infamous elevator ride even more brutally awesome than it was in 1992.

Whichever version I play, though, the moment our characters step out onto that platform and the hard-ass music hits I always think, “This is it!” and immediately lock in for the gloriously stressful and pulse-pounding ride to follow.