Top 8 “Gotcha!” Moments in Gaming

2. Super Mario Bros: “Your princess is in another castle…or is she?”

Imagine this: You’ve been traipsing castles, one after the other, looking for Princess Toadstool (before she was even called Peach). And lord, you had never seen this woman, but the lengths she was making you go to to save her were ridiculous. Each and every subsequent castle conquest revealed a simple denizen of the Mushroom Kingdom stating, “I’m sorry but the princess is in another castle”. So when we got to the end, finally laid eyes upon the princess and heard her speak, our hearts admittedly sunk. But she was the real deal. That is, until she announces a new quest. “FML,” Mario must’ve thought.

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty begins Kojima’s Saga of Trolling

There are surprises, and there’s just plain infuriating. Metal Gear Solid had gained an inordinate reputation for being one of the best games of all times, with it’s unique story telling style and stealth gameplay. The sequel was obviously hotly anticipated, but this would also be the first MGS on the Playstation 2. The first trailer released, depicting Solid Snake leaping off a bridge to board an oil tanker was met with uproarious applause when it was first shown. Sadly, those intial moments allowed you to play as Snake – the remainder of the game had you controlling a rookie named Raiden. You wouldn’t believe us, seeing his recent bad-ass turns, that Raiden was an immense wuss, but then the game splintered off into themes befitting a Ghost in the Shell movie. The question of identity, reality, virtual space, information and more just left most gamers scratching their heads. Nonetheless, MGS2 was a solid entry and a great update to the series.