The most shocking moments in video game history

I think one that should have been added was your first ever attack by a Zergling rush.

Oh yeah, nothing made me go "Holy shit" like when my machine suddenly slowed to a frightening crawl as hundreds of Zerglings swooped down on me for the first time. It was like lag functioning as dramatic slow motion. I'd put that at #11.

Two events I personally didn't find shocking might be partly because of the gaming I had done when I was much younger.

I mean, for Aeris' death, there was the logical issue I mentioned above. I also watched Tellah and the twins sacrifice themselves in Final Fantasy 4. I saw Shadow and Cid die during my first run through of FF6 (and saw Shadow basically commit suicide during the ending of my second run through the game). I saw the hero kill one of his best friends, Amanda, in Final Fantasy Adventure. It hasn't been a surprise for years that people can die in role-playing games (especially if Square made it). It's only a surprise that people don't expect it.

As for Mortal Kombat being a shock - I kind of expected it. Things were moving forward graphically, and I knew someone would want a bloody game (just like people like gory movies). Besides, I saw Hitler's head explode in Bionic Commando for the NES (I don't care what people say, that was clearly Hitler and his head quite obviously exploded). Bloody games were a foregone conclusion.

"I was shocked when Sheik unveiled herself as Zelda ..."

Oh come on! Most. Obvious. Disguise. Evar.

Otherwise I agree that the Monkey Island 2 ending should definitely be on that list. I'm STILL mad with them for doing that!

I think Aeris' death is magnified by the prominence of FF7, being the first PS FF game and a major departure from the ye olde dragone fantasye gamese of the paste. But you only have to go as far as FF2 (the real 2, not the American 2) to find major characters dropping like flies.

Eternal Darkness sanity effects. Some of the ones that repeat get a little predictable but the first time is always a shocker, and sometimes you get one you never saw coming (deleting savegames, rebooting the machine, "stay tuned for Eternal Darkness 2" stabbing at the Kain games, etc).

MK fatalities in general, but the spine-rip in 1 and Liu Kang becoming a dragon in 2, plus the babality/friendship ones, are the best.

KOTOR: The fate of Darth Revan.

MGS: Take your pick. The last couple hours of gameplay my jaw was dropping every 5 minutes.

Zelda: Ocarina - Gannon's True Form

Whoever said Chrono dying in Chrono Trigger, good call.

Unreal: stepping off the crashed ship onto the alien planet. Every other "wow look at the graphics" moment of an FPS is just a retread of this moment in time.

Conker: just the whole freaking game

Bruce Willis is a ghost

Rosebud was a sled

Ingrid Bergman gets on the plane.

when zelda took the sword out in ocarina and the water scene between tidus and (that other chick i forget her name)in final fantasy X

When the dogs crashed through the window in the first Resident Evil. I must have jumped 2 feet off the sofa!