Dragon Quest/Tear Jerker

As a long-running RPG series, Dragon Quest has a rich legacy of Tear Jerkers:

Dragon Quest II

 * Dragon Quest II opens with a Tear Jerker: Hargon's assault on Castle Moonbrooke, filled with thwarted Heroic Sacrifices and a lone, heavily injured soldier making his way to Laurasia just to warn the King before succumbing to his wounds. Made all the more jarring once you travel to Moonbrooke yourself and see what became of the kingdom... to say nothing of the conversation the Princess has.

Dragon Quest III

 * Dragon Quest III has a major one shortly before the game's climax:
 * Even worse, in at least the GBC version?  Sure,.

Dragon Quest IV

 * Dragon Quest IV has one that doubles as an unexpected Player Punch:
 * When you go to Mamon, you can find the skeleton of a man in a puddle of poison. He's holding a letter from his daughter, Jill, telling him to come home soon. Later, you can find Jill, who tells you how she came to visit her father, but now that he's dead, he doesn't want her brother, Jack, to know, because it would break his heart.
 * The fourth chapter is designed to draw tears; after all, Maya and Meena's whole motivation is to take revenge on the man who betrayed and murdered their father. After hooking up with Oojam, who used to be apprenticed under their father and is also seeking vengeance, they track Balzack down, find a way to confront him...
 * And Chapter Five opens with one, as
 * Later on in Chapter Five, you meet Rose, who has a rather heartwrenching Backstory: her tears turn into rubies, so she was hunted by Greedy humans who would do anything to make her cry. Talking to others makes this much worse, as it's implied elves can will their tears to crumble away when touched... good in that it means they didn't actually profit from their actions, but horrifying when you realize this didn't stop them.
 * Throughout the fifth chapter, you can find references to the story of the angel and the woodcutter. Upon reaching Zenithia, you can finally hear the full tale:  For an extra punch,.
 * And then there's the ending...

Dragon Quest V

 * There's a very good reason why Bianca is considered the 'true' choice... Originally, Deus Angst Machina hits her like a brick if you picked Flora over her. Consider this: in the time you spent apart, she  and is finally reunited with her childhood friend after ten years only to immediately learn that he's in the middle of an Engagement Challenge so he can marry a beautiful princess. She helps him complete it, and against her better judgement accompanies him back to meet his bride-to-be, who immediately realizes she's in love with him, makes her admit it, then offers to step back and let her marry him instead so they can be happy together. After an emotional night spent waiting and wondering if he returns her feelings, the big moment comes... and he chooses Flora. And if that wasn't harsh enough,   No wonder they toned it down in The Remakes.
 * The scene where the character is petrified and sees the kid get stolen away by a monster in his front yard...then the dad takes it out on the petrified character and knocks him on his face.
 * And the fact that the character is - possibly - watching the baby grow up into a small child, while he is unable to do the same for his own children. And even if he isn't aware of what's going on, it's not much easier on the player.
 * Surely Pankraz's  On the other hand, when , it is both this and a crowning moment of heartwarming. And awesome, due to Mada putting up with being Nimzo's pawn for over twenty years. Even if it was off-screen. This troper is relishing beating the heck out of Nimzo.
 * Related to that, there's a small easily missable gutpunch in one of the random responses you get to looking in a mirror when the hero is a teenager:
 * Remember Maria's brother? The nice guy who deeply cared about his sister and helped you  Well, when you further advance through the game and head back to the temple where you were first started off in the second generation...   Poor guy.
 * Just chatting with your hero's kids can bring the tears. Particularly with his daughter, who tends to act Wise Beyond Her Years whenever her father comes face to face with his own personal emotional gutpunches. Seeing her respond by trying to comfort him, almost acting like a surrogate mother despite being eight  just makes it worse, somehow.

Dragon Quest VI

 * There's a subtle one in the town of Clearvale. In the dream world, you see a man standing in front of a grave of a young boy, and he tells you that he misses his master and hopes he's happy wherever he is; the player's inclined to think that he was a servant of some kind. If you head to the real world, you see that he was actually the kid's dog, who misses his master and wanted to say it properly in the dream world. Talking to him as a dog gets a message of "(sniff) Arf, arf!"

Dragon Quest VII

 * Given how Dragon Quest VII was set After the End and involved setting right what once went wrong through Time Travel, it's not surprising there were plenty of depressing moments.
 * Rexwood was named for its hero, as its residents are quick to brag. What they're not so eager to share is why he became a hero: . No wonder Matilda holds a grudge.
 * Then after you kill the Boss,.
 * Dialac is incredibly depressing. Its tale is told almost entirely by visions your hero receives after touching the bodies of its residents, who were all turned to stone by the Gray Rain.
 * It gets worse: Clayman, the strongman of the village, travels away to get water for the desert village while they pray for rain. The cursed rain turns them all to stone and he mourns not being petrified too so he stays around the village alone with the statues of his friends for 50 years.
 * Even worse is the fact that the main character is awoken by the Soul Moans of the petrified villagers and has to see their most treasured thoughts from the day they were petrified. Made even worse than that when one of the statues disintegrates by you doing that.
 * Furthermore, Clayman got the cure from a traveler. He never used it because Acid Rain in a land that had a problem getting rain to begin with damaged the statues too much.
 * Eri. A malfunctioning Mechsoldier who gets adopted and re-purposed by Zebbot into a Robot Maid and a weapon against her own kind. Despite being key to saving the kingdom of Falrod, the villagers respond by blaming her for everything, even beating her when she doesn't fight back. On top of that, it's made clear that Zebbot mainly sees her as a tool, a . To top it all off, when you return to Falrosh in the present, you find
 * Verdham has its Love Dodecahedron, best described as a comedy of errors: Linda, the center of this whole mess, has to shoulder her parents' debt to the richest man in town after they pass away. Borlock learns that his son Iwan has fallen for her, and so offers a compromise: he'll forgive their debt if Linda marries Iwan, However, Linda actually loves Pepe, who works for Borlock and Iwan as a gardener along with the rest of his family. Linda and Iwan's maid Kaya pressure Pepe to fight for her, or elope -- but even though he loves Linda more than his own life, he can't bring himself to abandon his family to whatever vengeance Borlock might visit upon them if their son steals away his son's fiance. Eventually, he chooses to  ...It doesn't help much.
 * Later, you get to revisit Verdham several years down the line, and learn how everything turned out.
 * To top it all off,.
 * All Zaji wants to do is protect his Ill Girl sister Neris... and all Neris wants is to not be a burden to others. The fact that they got trapped in a penal colony where the only way out seems to be making a Deal With the Devil doesn't help. It gets worse when Zaji takes a blade in the back for her. And the Trauma Conga Line doesn't stop there for either of them.
 * The kicker has to be when Neris . Zaji knows how to fix this, having   -- the trick is  . Which he does. Before the monsters drag him away without giving him a chance to see if it worked or not.
 * And how does it all turn out, once the temple is liberated?
 * Then there's Dune, where most of its strongest citizens have been enslaved to build the Sphinx -- which was meant to ward off evil rather than strengthen it, as its purpose has been twisted by Lord Seto. When you first arrive at the refugee camp, you see a nameless villager strike out into the desert, choosing likely death there than living in complete misery. Things go downhill from there.
 * Perhaps the darkest moment is when you're sent to find some sign that the legendary Tyrannos still exist and can help carry you to the Sphinx... and return with spoiler:a fossilized skull. takes this as proof that there is no hope, and falls into [[Death By Despair.
 * Then there's Queen Fedel's reaction when you finally meet, and she learns what has become of her people...
 * Sieble of Loomin. Poor guy just wants to be left alone with his exotic pets, but they both . Though the latter case only occurs if you don't kill Chibi yourself.
 * And if you did kill Chibi,.
 * Gorges has Firia, resident poster child for All of the Other Reindeer. Gorges is populated almost exclusively by the Winged Humanoid Lefans; little Firia is the only exception, an orphan adopted by their current leader, Pendragon. The adults all regard her with pity, while the kids bully and belittle her -- particularly her younger sister, who treats her like a servant. Only her grandmother treats her as something other than an object of pity and derision; her father does absolutely nothing to protect her, and won't even scold his daughter for treating Firia so poorly. The bullies eventually strand her on a narrow ledge, and she almost falls to her death, only surviving . After this, Grandmother Pendragon calls out Firia's father, and reveals.
 * Everything about Labres. You've got Lucas, who was just orphaned when his parents tried to help the priest deal with the monsters casting a fog over the town. Then there's the fate of the priest himself: . Oh, and it turns out.
 * And in the present day Labres, they've chosen to whitewash the truth about what happened, replacing the Monolith telling their tragic tale with one painting the townsfolk as the 'heroes' of the whole mess. It's incredibly depressing to see Lucas' descendant getting the All of the Other Reindeer treatment from the other kids just for telling the truth....
 * Coastal's even worse than Labres, given how it was punished for helping the heroic Sharkeye try and fight back against the Demon Lord... . When you arrive, you get to witness this firsthand, with the victimized completely breaking down...

Dragon Quest VIII
"More than ten years. It was more than ten years ago that I first came to the abbey after having lost my family.
 * Despite the fact that Angelo acts like a troublemaker, he actually sorta has a depressing backstory in Dragon Quest VIII. It's mostly sad when you think about it from the perspective of a child, especially one who had already lost his family and had nowhere to go but the Abbey unless he wanted to live on the streets. (Which really wouldn't be a good option in the settings of Dragon Quest.) So the first person he comes across just so happens to be his half-brother who hates his guts simply for existing. He's incredibly kind to him at first, and saying "Well we'll be your family now!" but the second he hears his name, this person looks at him angrily and tells him to leave, and when Angelo responds by simply staring at him in confusion and sorrow, he bitterly asks if he "intends to ruin [his] new life like you did [his] old one". Really Marcello, he didn't even know, and you're taking it out on him for ruining your life... like he actually had something to do with it other than simply being born!
 * And how about the last time they meet (as far as we know anyway)?  and the unspoken question of why Angelo even bothered lingers in the air:

And you were the first person I spoke to. I had nothing. No family, no home... I was all alone and didn't know anyone at the abbey. You were kind to me. Just for those few moments, you were genuinely kind.

As soon as you found out who I was, it changed everything.

But I never forgot that moment of kindness."


 * Then there's what happens with the Empyrea:
 * Just about any time Remembrances is used as the background music, really, but special mention needs to go to Abbot Francisco's funeral. The rain, the look of complete sorrow on everyone's faces (particularly Angelo, as the Abbot was pretty much the only one to truly accept him). And then that music plays... it's like the game is grabbing your heart and twisting it.
 * The post-ending bonus dungeon leads to you eventually learning about a pair of Star Crossed Lovers who echo the angel and woodcutter from Dragon Quest IV:

Dragon Quest IX

 * Dragon Quest IX is practically overflowing with Tear Jerkers and Bittersweet Endings. First mention has to go to your hero's entire situation, though. Knocked from your home in the Observatory after the opening incident, you awaken without your wings or halo and only a few scraps of your Celestrian powers left, retaining your ability to see ghosts, faeries and other Celestrials. And in the end, . This is really driven home at the start of the post-credits gameplay, the first time you.
 * This Troper really hated the ending when you realize . How are you rewarded? Even worse is the fact that
 * Really has a Nice Job Breaking It Hero moment when in the Bonus Game
 * The final task for the Hero is for them to
 * The secret history of the Wight Knight, and  O
 * In Coffinwell, you meet Doctor Phlegming and his lovely wife, Catarrhina. Phlegming doesn't get along with his father-in-law -- or anyone else, for that matter -- and Catarrhina is the only one who can draw him out of his shell. He agrees to help you save the town from a plague mostly so he can impress Mayor Laria and have an excuse to explore the local ruins; with your help, he succeeds, and sends you back to announce his triumph...
 * The Heights of Loneliness. At least that gives you an idea what you're in for when you go looking for Mason.  Of course, Stella doesn't understand it herself, and says as much.
 * One word: Marione
 * Pretty much all of backstory.
 * Greygnarl's.