some others i neglected to add in my first list:
Freespace
Conkers' Bad Fur Day
Eternal Darkness
FEAR
Earthbound
Turok 2
Metroid Prime
Freespace
Conkers' Bad Fur Day
Eternal Darkness
FEAR
Earthbound
Turok 2
Metroid Prime
Best/Favourite Stories in a Game?
- Thread starter Gaz-L
- Start date
Don't know if this has been said, but the Shin Megami Tensei games are famously good for their surprisingly low-key, but emotional stories.
The most cinematic of these games, Digital Devil Saga, is a two-part story broken up in two games, and to get the full impact you have to play both--the first for the long build-up, the second for the rapid conclusion. The first game is tons of gameplay--twice as long as the second game, and arguably more haunting, which establishes, at first, the world in which the character's live in, but by the end it's become almost entirely about how the characters themselves perceive that world and themselves. By the end of the game, everyone has had at least one moment of self-discovery, and then the downward spiral sets in with teh second game, which is basically an emotional roller coaster ride from start to finish that, while lacking a bit on cohesive gameplay elements (It's really just a linear connection of Dungeon-cutscene-dungeon-cutscene, with all the side quests being lumped at the end of long segments of plot/dungeon with little to do in-between. Also, the last dungeon is a ten hour grindfest.) but it hits you hard in the gut with the most powerfully emotional scenes I've seen in any video game (I even nearly cried at quite a few of them, the game's rather tragic at times.).
If you haven't already, I'd highly reccomend picking up ANY of the SMT games, they have what can only be described as the truly best of the best in terms of RPG storytelling around.
The most cinematic of these games, Digital Devil Saga, is a two-part story broken up in two games, and to get the full impact you have to play both--the first for the long build-up, the second for the rapid conclusion. The first game is tons of gameplay--twice as long as the second game, and arguably more haunting, which establishes, at first, the world in which the character's live in, but by the end it's become almost entirely about how the characters themselves perceive that world and themselves. By the end of the game, everyone has had at least one moment of self-discovery, and then the downward spiral sets in with teh second game, which is basically an emotional roller coaster ride from start to finish that, while lacking a bit on cohesive gameplay elements (It's really just a linear connection of Dungeon-cutscene-dungeon-cutscene, with all the side quests being lumped at the end of long segments of plot/dungeon with little to do in-between. Also, the last dungeon is a ten hour grindfest.) but it hits you hard in the gut with the most powerfully emotional scenes I've seen in any video game (I even nearly cried at quite a few of them, the game's rather tragic at times.).
If you haven't already, I'd highly reccomend picking up ANY of the SMT games, they have what can only be described as the truly best of the best in terms of RPG storytelling around.
Final Fantasy VII: Bite me, it was the first RPG I played and thoroughly enjoyable.
Final Fantasy X: Hated some of the main characters but I loved Auron and the whole Sin thing.
Final Fantasy VIII: (Why didn't I name them in order? Because I didn't feel like it.) 8 has some of the most real characters in the series. People who actually change along the way and don't have static personalities. My favorite part is after someone does and Squall says that he will NOT have people ever refer to him in the past tense like that.
Ace Combat 4: I know I know, it was all told through cheesy still-shot flashbacks but still I think it was well-narrated and tied in nicely with the gameplay. Made me feel like I was really living and fighting in that time period. This is the only AC game I've played so I can't compare it to the others.
I can't really praise many games for story much, but if it were to include gameplay I'd add Dark Cloud 1 & 2 (moreso 1), and Kingdom Hearts.
Final Fantasy X: Hated some of the main characters but I loved Auron and the whole Sin thing.
Final Fantasy VIII: (Why didn't I name them in order? Because I didn't feel like it.) 8 has some of the most real characters in the series. People who actually change along the way and don't have static personalities. My favorite part is after someone does and Squall says that he will NOT have people ever refer to him in the past tense like that.
Ace Combat 4: I know I know, it was all told through cheesy still-shot flashbacks but still I think it was well-narrated and tied in nicely with the gameplay. Made me feel like I was really living and fighting in that time period. This is the only AC game I've played so I can't compare it to the others.
I can't really praise many games for story much, but if it were to include gameplay I'd add Dark Cloud 1 & 2 (moreso 1), and Kingdom Hearts.
I found The Longest Journey to be the most epic, satisfying, and gripping story I have ever played, followed closely by Dreamfall, my list would be this:
The Longest Journey: beautiful and well crafted
Dreamfall: epic and dramatic
Syberia: another great story, with some unusual elements
Half-Life Saga: great from every perspective
KoToR Saga: this one had me playing until the end
The Longest Journey: beautiful and well crafted
Dreamfall: epic and dramatic
Syberia: another great story, with some unusual elements
Half-Life Saga: great from every perspective
KoToR Saga: this one had me playing until the end
agreed it has lots of dialogue, but if you get past that and get into the story you'll find tons of little detailsLaggard said:
im talking about TLJforgot one, probably one of the only, if not the only, hentai game with a great story, filled with horror and suspense, Divi-Dead, truly creepy, and the music is great too
For me the best storylines in games were FF7&8 (yeah i know its a fanboy one but i dont care they were amazing), Max Payne also had an amazing storyline especially the weird ass levels where it was 1/2 realistic and making you feel he was going insane (creepy funhouse is all i have to say on that one).
Other good storys that havent yet been mentioned much is the C&C3 storyline was pretty good despite being cliche'd (yeah ok i'm a C&C fanatic and always have been).
And personally i found the Quake 4 storyline very immersive despite the random tangents the designers went along (big giant alien you 'force feed' to death being notable there).
Also MMO's can have some good storylines especially the ones where you have to work to find them (ie wow ashbringer storyline was one i particularly enjoyed having spent an entire night looking for the vaguest of hints). Also a game called X3 reunion struck me as having a good story when you got into it despite the fact i still havent got round to completing it.
Oh and the most fun storyline ever (in my opinion) timesplitters 2 just because...
Other good storys that havent yet been mentioned much is the C&C3 storyline was pretty good despite being cliche'd (yeah ok i'm a C&C fanatic and always have been).
And personally i found the Quake 4 storyline very immersive despite the random tangents the designers went along (big giant alien you 'force feed' to death being notable there).
Also MMO's can have some good storylines especially the ones where you have to work to find them (ie wow ashbringer storyline was one i particularly enjoyed having spent an entire night looking for the vaguest of hints). Also a game called X3 reunion struck me as having a good story when you got into it despite the fact i still havent got round to completing it.
Oh and the most fun storyline ever (in my opinion) timesplitters 2 just because...
I'm probably the only one who thinks so, but I think Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance(and by extension Radiant Dawn) had a great storyline and I genuinely liked many of the characters--even the supposedly virtuous Sephiran and I was genuinely shocked when I discovered he was the Big Bad(even though we didn't find out until the end of the sequel). And then it quickly showed him in a sympathetic light that didn't seem contrived at all--it all seemed to make sense. Also, the extremely direct way it dealt with the issue of racism was bold if nothing else. Again, this is probably just me.
I also enjoyed the story of Final Fantasy VIII even though Squall was one of those stoic closet emos for the first half of the game, but he fortunately did change and it's nice to see character growth throughout a game. Unfortunately I never got to beat the game and find out how it ends because my cousin took back his memory card and subsequently erased my file just as I'd reached the last boss. =(
Final Fantasy Tactics is another one I saw come up and it did indeed have an interesting story, but man, what a depressing end. That's Final Fantasy for you: downer endings-a-plenty.
There's more, but I'd say those are my top 3. I'm an RPG nerd, I know.
I also enjoyed the story of Final Fantasy VIII even though Squall was one of those stoic closet emos for the first half of the game, but he fortunately did change and it's nice to see character growth throughout a game. Unfortunately I never got to beat the game and find out how it ends because my cousin took back his memory card and subsequently erased my file just as I'd reached the last boss. =(
Final Fantasy Tactics is another one I saw come up and it did indeed have an interesting story, but man, what a depressing end. That's Final Fantasy for you: downer endings-a-plenty.
There's more, but I'd say those are my top 3. I'm an RPG nerd, I know.
I'm no writer, but I'd agree with ya here. Most games just do the whole hero's journey thing over and over. You're some guy facing some big challenge..blah blah blah you win.NickCaligo42 said:
But here's a sign of hope: http://www.manifestogames.com/shivah - The Shivah is a point-click adventure where you play Rabbi Stone, a jaded rabbi who reluctantly investigates the murder of a former synagogue member. It takes place in modern-day NYC and you'll learn a thing or two about Jewish culture. It's solid as an adventure game, the voice acting is great, and it's cheap. Check it out if you want to experience something completely different.
Zero Wing - You have lost everything. All of it are belong to a polite cyborg villain. All hope is lost. But still, you make your stand against the oppressors. You're not fighting to save some princess, or even save the world. There's nothing left to save. At this point, the easiest thing to do would be to simply lay down and accept the destruction to which you are on the way. But no, there is one last thing to fight for. You're fighting for the most honourable cause known to man. You know what you doing. You're fighting for Great Justice.
I liked how the first Golden Sun was a generic "boy goes out to save the world after his village gets burned down" affair, only to have the sequel completely turn the whole thing on its head, and have you playing as the bad guys, who are actually doing the right thing. That was one hell of a plot twist.
Probably been said but despite them being somewhat far-fetched and the "that would never ever happen" type of stories, I really enjoyed the Metal Gear Solid 1 and 3 stories, they were very gripping, had a lot to say and would make you think for a long time.
The end of Snake Eater is quite brilliant, especially how Big Boss has just hawled the US through the largest and most painful bush you can imagine and out the other side with his bare hands, but then loses his faith in his own country, having lost someone immensely close to him, and his proposed lover all at the same time.
And of course Gray Fox from the first game, his memorable quote;
"We're not tools of the government, or anyone else. Fighting was the only thing... the only thing I was good at. But... at least I always fought for what I believed in."
Excellent!
The end of Snake Eater is quite brilliant, especially how Big Boss has just hawled the US through the largest and most painful bush you can imagine and out the other side with his bare hands, but then loses his faith in his own country, having lost someone immensely close to him, and his proposed lover all at the same time.
And of course Gray Fox from the first game, his memorable quote;
"We're not tools of the government, or anyone else. Fighting was the only thing... the only thing I was good at. But... at least I always fought for what I believed in."
Excellent!
Portal
The moments where you crawl through a narrow hole in the wall, and see all those random sentences scribbled on the wall are, in my opinion the greatest part in the story,really creepy...
I personally like games where you're supposed to have no idea whats going on*, and you only get small hints to the great twist,which is revealed later.
*I said 'suposed to' because in some games,you really have no idea whats going on because of bad story telling.
The moments where you crawl through a narrow hole in the wall, and see all those random sentences scribbled on the wall are, in my opinion the greatest part in the story,really creepy...
I personally like games where you're supposed to have no idea whats going on*, and you only get small hints to the great twist,which is revealed later.
*I said 'suposed to' because in some games,you really have no idea whats going on because of bad story telling.
Anything made by Lucasarts in the 90's.
(The Dig, Full Throttle, Indy and the Fate of Atlantis, DotT... it goes on)
Final Fantasy Tactics, followed by VII.
(I get pissed at the squandered potential of FFXII. You start the game wondering how far they're taking the plot, only to find a story as shallow as a MMORPG sidequest)
(The Dig, Full Throttle, Indy and the Fate of Atlantis, DotT... it goes on)
Final Fantasy Tactics, followed by VII.
(I get pissed at the squandered potential of FFXII. You start the game wondering how far they're taking the plot, only to find a story as shallow as a MMORPG sidequest)
Final Fantasy VII
Metal Gear Solid (haven't played any of the others, but plan to buy MGS4)
Bioshock
Chrono Trigger
Call of Duty 4
Metal Gear Solid (haven't played any of the others, but plan to buy MGS4)
Bioshock
Chrono Trigger
Call of Duty 4
Dunno if its been said but, Final Fantasy X is the greatest story ive played through. It held grip of me so tight that i had to play it at some stages just to see what happens next. The second i was home from school, a quick drink of water then to FFX. It was jsut amazing and quite sad how it all ended. Made me tear up inside a bit to.
Half Life 1, scientists, aliens, military cover ups...whats not to like!
KOTOR, the first one i just really liked the story and the characters.
and Morrowind, because the game is just soooOOOoOo immersive.
KOTOR, the first one i just really liked the story and the characters.
and Morrowind, because the game is just soooOOOoOo immersive.