Game with the longest story?

[Robert Ewing]

Hey guys, I have a month or two to spare.

So what is the game with the longest story line?

but before you comment!

1 - It has to be the STORY MODE, no multiplayer or side quest nonsense padding out the hours.
2 - Open worlds are technically a yes, but the endless free roam fun should not count towards the hours
3 - Any console, and any generation.
4 - MMORPGS are a no I'm afraid, as they're all technically side quest after side quest.
5 - I'm not after the hours that will be put behind getting 100% in a game either.
6 - If it is a series of games, the story MUST intertwine. I don't want a canon clusterfreck after getting invested in the story.
7 - Cutscenes, cinematics, long dialogue sessions DO count towards hours. So be happy MGS fans!

So escapists, cast your opinions!

 

[Ruzinus]

I don't know but I'm going to guess Persona 3: FES.

I've yet to play all the way through that game but my understanding is that with the added chapter it's around 100 hours.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Pokemon - anything? There's over 600 now, that'd take you a while.

 

[Stormz]

Star Ocean the Last Hope was about 80 hours when I finished it. A word of warning though. The story itself isn't that good nor are the characters. It's the gameplay that makes the game worth playing. This is only my opinion however.

If I remember correctly the first Witcher is also a pretty long game. I can't say how long though because it doesn't track hours played.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Pokemon - anything? There's over 600 now, that'd take you a while.

It's only about 40 for the actual story mode (from the start till beating the league champion).

OT: Honestly, I don't play too many long RPGs. The Longest ones I've beaten were Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced I & II.

 

[krazykidd]

I don't know but I'm going to guess Persona 3: FES.

I've yet to play all the way through that game but my understanding is that with the added chapter it's around 100 hours.

Can you really count that? There is a lot of grind . The actual story is kinda short . I mean if you skip all the extra stuff and just sleep/climb tartarus , it's actually pretty short .

I am going to say either legend of dragoon . Because there is practically 0 need to grind in that game and it can still take up to 50 hours to finish the story .the game is so long i was eager to finish it at the end . So the story just goes on and on and on, no grind and jusy gameplay , i vote for this one .

I would say dragon quest 8 , but it's a bit too grindy , so i personally disqualify it for that .

But of you want to include grind time , then definately a SMT game .

 

[Acier]

Starcraft and Brood Wars.

You can do Starcraft 2 as well. Good story and working through all the missions will take up decent chunks of time.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Pokemon - anything? There's over 600 now, that'd take you a while.

Not really, completing Skyrim (aka all the big quests) took me longer than that.

but before you comment!

1 - It has to be the STORY MODE, no multiplayer or side quest nonsense padding out the hours.

And that's why I didn't mention Skyrim. or any WRPG ever. The only time consuming element in them is the side quest XD

 

[Ando85]

I'd have to vote for Xenogears. If you have a PS3 you can get it on PSN. A steal of a value. I finished it twice and both times it clocked about 60 hours. There is A LOT of dialogue and I absolutely love the story. Sure there are lengthy dungeons and such but there isn't a need for endless grinding. It is a great game and I think anyone remotely interested in JRPGs owe it to themselves to play it.

There is also the Xenosagas. They aren't as good as Xenogears in my and most other's opinions. But, it does have a lengthy story when you combine all 3 games. The biggest complaint about the game is the amount of scenes and dialogue versus actual gameplay. But, I think that is what you are looking for anyways.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I hear Dragon Quest/Warrior VII is ridiculously lengthy. I see a fair few people claiming it still takes nearly 100 hours with a guide, an action replay and no sidequests. That's pretty impressive, if true.

SMT: Strange Journey can take about 80 hours, but this was with some grinding to make moar awesome monsters. But most fights can be won with good strategy, there isn't *much* need to level grind.

The overall Baldur's Gate story ends up being really long even without doing sidequests, too.

 

[Terminate421]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky has a campaign total of 35-40 hours long. (The last 15-20 are done with an "epilogue")

Also, the story is fucking aamzing.

 

[Mirroga]

snip

I suggest Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition. But alas, I doubt the side mission and extra challenge rooms would entice you. That's the most hours I got from the game outside doing New Game Plus.

 

[ShoryukenDude]

The Tales games are good timewasters, at least for me. I think my last run on Symphonia was somewhere around 40 hours, and somewhere around 25 for my (admittedly incomplete) Vesperia run.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Dango]

The Tales games are good timewasters, at least for me. I think my last run on Symphonia was somewhere around 40 hours, and somewhere around 25 for my (admittedly incomplete) Vesperia run.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Darn, ninja'd.

Those games just keep coming up with plot points to keep you playing.

 

[sextus the crazy]

1 - It has to be the STORY MODE, no multiplayer or side quest nonsense padding out the hours.

The Problem is that once you remove much of the padding, most stories don't last more than 40 hours. It's simply too hard to keep a story going that long.

 

[scorptatious]

Well for me, that would be Xenoblade Chronicles. The game took me about 75 hours to beat, including some side quests, so I'd imagine the game was about 60-70 hours in terms of story I suppose.

I'd have to vote for Xenogears. If you have a PS3 you can get it on PSN. A steal of a value. I finished it twice and both times it clocked about 60 hours. There is A LOT of dialogue and I absolutely love the story. Sure there are lengthy dungeons and such but there isn't a need for endless grinding. It is a great game and I think anyone remotely interested in JRPGs owe it to themselves to play it.

Hmm. Well considering Xenoblade Chronicles is made by the guy who made Xenogears, I may have to play that game myself one day. Probably not anytime soon though, as The Last Story is going to come out very soon here in America.

 

[The Madman]

The Longest Journey. It's in the name! Great story too, probably my favourite in the gaming industry.

(No it's obviously not really the longest, but it's definitely one of the longer adventure games out there.)

 

[The Wykydtron]

Persona 4, since I count the majority of the S.Links as mandatory story elements. The actual story is fucking long too.

There isn't really any "grind" as well. The only proper grind in my first playthrough was half an hour in one of the last dungeons just to get an extra few levels to beat the one boss.

Also the Phoenix Wright games, both in single games and the overall three game story. Yes i'm discounting Apollo Justice. Problem?

Edgeworth Investigations gets a mention for the absolute marathon that was the final case... Now the other cases were pretty lengthy but let me sum it up as:

Spoiler

MY DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY IS TOO POWERFUL TO LET THIS GAME END!"

HUBJECTION!!!!!!!!

^not that spoilery but hey whatever

The game even starts taking the piss out of itself over how long the last section is...