One word defined the best moments in gaming in 2024: Epic. While in previous years, this category has been full of twists, shocking story beats, and intimate character moments. This year the moments were the fist-bumping, pulse-pounding, eyes-widening kind. Games this year brought the heat over and over again. Scale is nothing new to video games. We have played games with world, galaxy, and universe-ending stakes. Games that feature gods and demons and everything in between. The moments featured here mix style with substance. Challenging gameplay with jaw-dropping audio-visual spectacles. With that said, here are the winners of Lords of Gaming’s 2024 Golden Lance Award for Moment of the Year.
Be warned though, spoilers ahead!
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Return of Sephiroth
I think I can speak for a lot of fans of Final Fantasy VII when I say that we did not expect to see Sephiroth like this at the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It was definitely expected for Part 3, but Square Enix nailed it here to deliver a phenomenal conclusion to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. What makes this moment so special is the stakes and emotional resonance behind it. With Aerith having just died again, starting the party with their Limit Breaks fully charged to show their anger over her death is a great touch. We then get a ton of fan service in a later phase of the fight where we get to play as Zack again, who has his own abilities to make him play uniquely from Cloud. The Cloud and Zack team-up moment reminded me most of Kingdom Hearts II’s finale, which is why I loved it so much.
Admittedly, the ending of Rebirth gets a little messy, but when time is given for it all to simmer, it’s almost darker than the original to have Cloud deny Aerith’s death in his own head. Cloud is in complete denial that she actually died and saw something different than the party did, adding another layer of emotional weight to this final battle. It’ll be fascinating to see how they play with those themes in the penultimate third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – Ichiban Discovers the Identity of His Father
Out of everything we have experienced as gamers this year, the moment that truly sticks out is when Ichiban reunites finally with his mom Akane and finds out Masumi Arakawa is really his dad. Can you imagine for years never being able to see your mom, to finally be reunited and then have her stripped away like in the game is an emotional roller coaster. So when it finally happens I wouldn’t be surprised if some people shed some tears of joy.
Then the only person Ichiban always felt was in his corner and he was always loyal too was Masumi Arakawa. So when Ichiban finally had it revealed who his dad really was it also hit you in the feels. So Ichiban reuniting with Akane his mother and finding out Masumi Arakawa was his dad was by far one of the best moments of the year!
