Best/Favourite Stories in a Game?

[Gaz-L]

Fairly simple title I know, but it seems fitting to discuss this given the theme of the issue this week plus the recent trend towards talking about it anyway.

OK, in no particular order, I'll give a few of my faves and a brief explanation of why, but this isn't a full list. I may add more as they come up.

Sam & Max S1 Ep4: Oh come on, Max as president? [http://maxforpresident.org/] What's not to love?

KotOR: Slightly different as it's licensed, but that's kinda why. It feels like Star Wars, but with all the stuff you knew was in the background made clear. Plus a very in-universe late twist.

Tales Of Symphonia: Gonna get some flack for this, but it's not that it's original. It's that it's about 4 RPG plots smushed together and well executed. Good voice work helped, as it made the character's come to life even when they weren't speaking aloud.

Perfect Dark: Yes, cheesy, but it's basically a Bond story.

The Longest Journey/Dreamfall: Beautiful, lyrical, deep and touching stories with excellent characters, great dialogue and makes you genuinely mad at the ending of the 2nd, because there's no more for now.

FFX/X-2: i'm a sucker for sap and kistch.

Psychonauts: Haven't finished it, but it's so good and quirky and fun, and just perfectly integrated with the level design that I have to.

 

[Katana314]

I wouldn't say Sam and Max's STORIES per se are great, but the dialogue is definitely great.

I thought the slow-revealing story of Portal was very good, and GLaDOS is now slowly becoming as highly-analyzed a character as the G-man. Wierd thing is, GLaDOS is talking the ENTIRE time...the G-man barely says anything. And yet GLaDOS still seems to keep an air of mystery.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones had one good moment; basically, he realizes he can no longer attempt to solve all his problems by traveling back in time, because normally he ends up screwing up something else.

Grim Fandango: Just finished it earlier this month. Some very creative uses of the "land of the dead", without resorting to simple death puns.

Let's not forget Bioshock. I didn't much like the storyTELLING, but that's not to say the story itself wasn't great.

 

[Gaz-L]

I would like to note that some acknowledged classics, like Half-Life 2 and Deus Ex weren't on my list because I either haven't played or finished them. (haven't finished in both of those cases, just got HL2 about 2 months ago, actually)

 

[StaggerLee]

My favorie story from a game has to be GRIM FANDANGO, by LucasArts (before they want all star wars on us)

GRIM FANDANGO was romantic, funny, action packed and twisted with a macarbe nior feel that was so totaly unique it stands so far apart from all other games i have played.

From a "epic" stand point, id say the Half-Life series is up there, but it has done in 6 games what BIOSHOCK and SYSTEM SHOCK did in 1.

And a noble credit to the Japanese PS2 game "Shadow of Memorys (Shadow of Destiny)" for its amazing Time Travel story, the first game i have sene use time travel correctly.



My List:
1) Grim Fandango
2) BioShock
3) Half-Life
4) Deus-Ex
5) Shadow of Memorys

 

[StaggerLee]

OH! and Psychonauts!

 

[Jacques 2]

1. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
2. Bioshock
3. Half-Life Series
4. Portal
5. Deus Ex
6. Psychonauts
7. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Trilogy

 

[hooloovoonate]

A few of my favorites include:

Final Fantasy VII - I know its a cliche, but it is the first RPG I played and remains one of my favorite tales.

The Neverhood & Skullmonkeys - Stories that can hold up on charm alone yet have created their own complete mythology.

Indigo Prophecy - Unfortunately has a weak ending but it brings you in and keeps you playing only for the story.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - A sequel that improved upon the original in every way - graphics, voice acting, gameplay and story. Noir at its very best.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee & Exodus - Much like The Neverhood, fully created its own world but hits on moral and social issues.

Starcraft & Brood War - Science-fiction, warring races and wonderful characters.

God of War I & II - Epic Greek tale that follows mythology well enough but creates its own story that sits with the best of them.

 

[9NineBreaker9]

Some of my favorites include:

Bioshock: Yay, I'm a fanboy! Really one of the best stories I've seen in a game...it's just awesome.

Tales of Symphonia: Again, about 17 cliches per minute, but it still wraps up to be a great experience.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wraith: While the major plot twist can be seen a mile away, the...witty...dialouge is fun, as well as all of the...witty...characters.

... ... I guess that I don't have anything more than that. I still haven't gotten around to playing most of the above games...

 

[immortal88]

1. Deus Ex (don't bother with the second one, it's crap)
2. Secret of Mana (SNES game, wonderful story, I really wish someone would make a revamped version of this, wouldn't even have to have the same mechanics, just the same story.)
3. Half-Life 1
4. The Longest Journey: Dreamfall
5. The Neverhood
6. Portal
7. Myst

If you haven't played Deus Ex please do so. It's the only single player FPS i've played through more than once (and I've probably played through it 4 or 5 times). Secret of Mana, for anyone that knows it is the best RPG that will ever exist. I never really liked the story for HL2, but the original was amazing. Seeing sky for the first time really does something different to you in that game than in any other. The Longest Journey series in general is just excellent story telling with a game built around it, and Dreamfall is just a prettier version of it. The Neverhood just drips with style and a unique comical plot line. And Portal begins with almost no plot, which means it isn't really forced on you, it's just something that developes as you progress through the game. There's someone pulling the strings of the plot, but the strings aren't as visible as they are in most games. Myst was another one with a minimal plot like Portal. A lot of you have mentioned Grim Fandango on this list, I played that quite awhile ago, and while I really did enjoy the story line, the puzzles were often too random to grasp and because of that I never completed the game though it might have been a good one also.

 

[Keljeck]

So this thread isn't insanely repetitive, I'm going to add Shadow of the Colossus. Simple story, but marvellously realized. And sometimes the story doesn't have to be complex to be great.

 

[Kaelan]

1. Xenogears - Without a shadow of a doubt, goes on top of my list. The sheer amount of detail and complexity in that storyline is just something that I have yet to see matched in any RPG game, including (and I shudder to say this, being a fan) the Final Fantasy games. It's a shame they never quite had the funding to properly finish the entire storyline as they had planned in the actual game.

2. Not to go with the crowd here, but Grim Fandango was awesome.

3. Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories - I like all the quirky Nippon Ichi games in general, but this happened to be the first one I played. The only game I've ever played that actually makes me enjoy reading the item descriptions. And, of course, you'd have to try pretty hard to ever go wrong with Prinnies, Prism Rangers and talking-demonic-frogs-with-french-accents.

4. Final Fantasy XI - An MMO with a storyline worthy of the higher tier of single-player games. The best part about it being, of course, that the storyline is always expanding and if the last expansion is any indication, they definetly still "have it in them" to keep making more quality story content.

5. Twisted Metal Black - It certainly doesn't have the magnitude of the above games, but I spent a large part of my time growing up playing Twisted Metal 2 with my cousin and I love the direction they took the series and the whole general tone and feel of the thing. Shame they didn't go a little more in depth with the storylines, but I'll still always have a special place for this game.

 

[Widell]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, I loved it, it was awesome, factions quests hinting at a main quest in the late stages, an awesome main quest decently followed up by expansions.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, for all it's flaws and fishy coding, the story was neat and the characters intriguing.

And perhaps... Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic... I even liked the story in the second game, even if it feels like it was, and probably got, dismembered by a release date. I still remember when Malak revealed my identity.

These are not in any particular order, I just like them, a lot.

 

[Jenkins the Red [deprecated]]

One of my favorites is Warcraft III. I love the whole Arthas/ corruption of Lordaeron story-line.

 

[jezcentral]

Grim Fandango, for sure.
Bioshock.
Deus Ex.
Starcraft. (My first emotional ending. A right corker.)
Starcraft: Brood War. That was the first time I yelled "Noooooooooo!!!!" at my monitor as the last cinematic faded out.)
UFO: Enemy Unknown/XCom. (The slowly unveiled back-story, and the little stories you made up as you went along with your oh-so-precious little characters in the combat sections.)

J

 

[HighVoltage900]

I am about to show my geekiness with the obscurity of some of these games, but people who played them will know.

1) The Last Express (PC 1997)
2) KoToR (Xbox 2003)
3) Journeyman 3: Legacy of Time (PC 1998?)
4) Bioshock (Xbox 360 2007)
5) Shadow of the Colossus (PS2 2005)
6) Sonic Adventure (DC 1999 [Okay the story is great for a Sonic game piss off I wanted a dreamcast title on there])

 

[LucasSlatay]

Top 5 stories
1. All Metal Gear
2. Half life
3. Final Fantasy 7
4. Max Payne
5. Hitman contracts

Don't thin I've played a game with as good a story as the MGS games

 

[propertyofcobra]

In no particular order... (And I won't include Bioshock like everyone else and their dog, as my PC never could play it and I don't want an Xbox. ever.)

Final Fantasy VIII. I know, lots of people hate on 8 for being weird, and for Squall being too emo. But there's something people forget. Unlike some others (*Cough*CloudSephyandVincent*Cough*), he outgrows it and understands that there ARE things more important than his own whiny self and his oh-so-tragic past and existance, so he becomes a more positive, outgoing person and becomes...well, normal. Something Cloud never could attest to. Besides, I never felt sorry for any of the bit-actor bad guys in most games, but I really felt for Seifer when he holds back sobs after being told he'd NEVER be a SeeD. Purely for the fact that it's the only Final Fantasy where the main character changes through the game considerably, I'll put it on my list.

Silent Hill 2. Mentioning why the story of this is excellent, on any level, would involve incredible spoilers. This game has depth, and meaning. It's definitely very high on my list of stories for videogames. It's a tragic romance, more than a horror game, if you look at the plot at least. And the endings...wow. They make you feel for poor James, even if the plot didn't somehow (presumably because your heart was carved out of a chunk of oil-blackened ice)

Warcraft 3. Weird item, I know, but I honestly enjoyed following Arthas' descent into insanity. Most of the other storylines are a bit boring, but the human campaign is honestly great to sit through, as the young prince goes to lengths to save his kingdom, only to end up bringing about it's complete ruin. (Spoilers? Eh, it's an RTS, the story's secondary to the gameplay at best)

Blaster Master. Best story ever!!

And finally Half-life 2 (plus episode 1).
Two words as to why this is on my list: Alyx Vance. A real person in a videogame? Egads, she is as far removed from walking mountains of muscle or walking boobs (something games have too much of) as you can get. This is in no small part thanks to the facial expressions possible in the game, which lets her get things through in ways other than dialogue, a short pause and a lingering gaze at a gate, followed by looking down, speaks more than a hundred words could. Half-life 2 is on the list, if nothing else, because Alyx is my second to favorite videogame heroine ever.

 

[Bubble Six [deprecated]]

You guys are making me fly back to that bloomy past when I STILL HAD time to play videogames.
I still think they are the best form of creativity..what's more creative than forging your own world and use it to tell your story?
Or at least, that was..when producers weren't milking some franchises to death (just to be able to resurrect them, somehow...and then milk them again), when Valve was still a startup, and when Tim Schaefer was able to create videogames without the risk of going bankrupt every second day.
So, coming to the list (ascending order) I'd say:
Half Life
Half Life 2
Psychonauts

Now..a couple of considerations have to be done..
I used to love Half Life. While I was playing it.
I just needed months to recover from the shock of "the choice" its poor ending was posing me. So, Half Life was a great game, a light in the dark for the FPS genre, but not a perfect light. Just a good one shining in a really, really dark universe.

My personal opinion, the second Half Life told a much better story. But, at that point, someone must have realized that the cow was too fat to let her run free. You know..that's how the orange box was conceived! Buy Half Life 2..buy Episode One...and then buy them again!
And you know what? I even did it! And it's so good I don't even regret it!
But I'm NOT sure if the best story told about the Half Life 2 world IS actually inside Half Life 2 (and if you played it through, you MUST check it out: hlcomic.com).
But how can you say best story ever, if it's not even complete yet? I sulrely don't dare.
So, Half Life 2 wins the first place for "best story not told yet"..one of the best gaming universe ever created, one of the most creative..but the story, well, we'll see upon its completion (the cow can't be milked forever, can she?)

Come what may, I still prefere the Milkman to the G-Man.
I never -ever- found a better set of characters, a more creative environment and such a deep plot, able to be both complex and funny (REALLY, REALLY FUNNY) at the same time.
Psychonauts..I love you.

I think I'll take this thread as a shopping list for the next years. In the meanwhile you could (if you haven't done it yet) take a look at Psychonauts, winner of multiple awards such as..
"IGN 2005 Awards: Best Platformer, Best Game No One Played"
"PC Gamer magazine 2005 Awards: Best Game You Didn't Play"
"# Electronic Gaming Monthly 2005 Awards: Best Game No One Played"
(Sad, uh?)

 

[lord bolid]

Grim Fandango: Well, all you that have played it know why it is on the first place and if you dont know i suggest you play it.

Arcanum: Not so well known but i grew upp with this game so this is my favorite game. I think it has the best story of all games in the world.

Monkey Island: Another game from lucas art that is in the hall of fame.