Top 11 Video game stories of all time

no xenogears?? the game has the best story, soundtrack, and the graphics still holds up .best game ever.

[QUOTE="Rekunta"]

Nice to see that MGS is NOT on that list. I've not seen a worse piece of "storytelling" in any game ever. It is terribly written, incredibly convoluted, and struggles not to collapse under its own weight by the end trying to tie up all the loose ends. On top of that, it's horribly edited. I mean Christ, they had to release an entire encyclopedia to keep audiences up to snuff. Kojima and his team knows how to make a good game and have an incredible eye for detail, but a good storyteller he is not.

That's it's so heralded boggles my mind.

KH-mixerX

Why thank you. From what I see you're playing on your PS3, I'll take your compliment with a pinch of salt. :)

silent hill 2

kingdom hearts 2

and shadow of the colossus

Nice to see that MGS is NOT on that list. I've not seen a worse piece of "storytelling" in any game ever. It is terribly written, incredibly convoluted, and struggles not to collapse under its own weight by the end trying to tie up all the loose ends. On top of that, it's horribly edited. I mean Christ, they had to release an entire encyclopedia to keep audiences up to snuff. Kojima and his team knows how to make a good game and have an incredible eye for detail, but a good storyteller he is not.

That's it's so heralded boggles my mind.

Rekunta

Kojima is a really good game designer but a really bad storyteller, That said I think MGS3 story was the best out of them.

I agree with every game on this list In fact I aquired Baldurs gate 2 and Planet scape torment because everyone here goes on and on about them

No Vagrant Story? easily one of the greatest stories presented in videogame form :o.

Nice to see that MGS is NOT on that list. I've not seen a worse piece of "storytelling" in any game ever. It is terribly written, incredibly convoluted, and struggles not to collapse under its own weight by the end trying to tie up all the loose ends. On top of that, it's horribly edited. I mean Christ, they had to release an entire encyclopedia to keep audiences up to snuff. Kojima and his team knows how to make a good game and have an incredible eye for detail, but a good storyteller he is not.

That's it's so heralded boggles my mind.

Rekunta

[QUOTE="Rekunta"]

Nice to see that MGS is NOT on that list. I've not seen a worse piece of "storytelling" in any game ever. It is terribly written, incredibly convoluted, and struggles not to collapse under its own weight by the end trying to tie up all the loose ends. On top of that, it's horribly edited. I mean Christ, they had to release an entire encyclopedia to keep audiences up to snuff. Kojima and his team knows how to make a good game and have an incredible eye for detail, but a good storyteller he is not.

That's it's so heralded boggles my mind.

skrat_01

[QUOTE="gotdangit"]

Sorry, Needs Heavy Rain.

texasgoldrush

Agreed. My friend was playing it, and I was just watching. I easily noticed Heavy Rain's terrible writing and plot holes. This article (which has four parts) does a great job describing all the idiocy in HR. I was laughing throughout the whole thing.

http://www.gamecritics.com/daniel-weissenberger/heavy-rain-is-in-many-ways-not-well-written-part-1

My favorite part in the four-part article was this:

[spoiler] "But that idiocy pales next to how Madison and Ethan get away from the cops. Despite the fact that they are theoretically highly-trained and experienced investigators, neither bad cop, Druggy the FBI agent, nor any of the dozen other cops on the scene are familiar with the concept that buildings can have more than one entrance. Nope, they all sit outside the front door, completely ignoring both the rear of the building and the alley running along one side. Guess how our heroes make their getaway?" [/spoiler]

OT: Great list. Surprised The Witcher isn't there. I have yet to play Grim, but I guess I will soon. Also, nice call on not including the Metal Gear Solid series. MGS1, MGS3 and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake had great stories, but MGS2 & especially 4 didn't.

[QUOTE="KH-mixerX"][QUOTE="Rekunta"]

Nice to see that MGS is NOT on that list. I've not seen a worse piece of "storytelling" in any game ever. It is terribly written, incredibly convoluted, and struggles not to collapse under its own weight by the end trying to tie up all the loose ends. On top of that, it's horribly edited. I mean Christ, they had to release an entire encyclopedia to keep audiences up to snuff. Kojima and his team knows how to make a good game and have an incredible eye for detail, but a good storyteller he is not.

That's it's so heralded boggles my mind.

Rekunta

Why thank you. From what I see you're playing on your PS3, I'll take your compliment with a pinch of salt. :)

Wise decision.;)

no xenogears?? the game has the best story, soundtrack, and the graphics still holds up .best game ever.

___gamemaster__

The Mass Effect story is not that good.

I didn't see it up there , but I really enjoyed Eternal Darkness's story. I agree with Bioshock also. Shadow of Colossus was just a brilliant game all around, and way ahead of its time. Who says games can't be art? Bioshock and Shadow of the Colossus had a incredible art direction!

[QUOTE="Rekunta"]

Nice to see that MGS is NOT on that list. I've not seen a worse piece of "storytelling" in any game ever. It is terribly written, incredibly convoluted, and struggles not to collapse under its own weight by the end trying to tie up all the loose ends. On top of that, it's horribly edited. I mean Christ, they had to release an entire encyclopedia to keep audiences up to snuff. Kojima and his team knows how to make a good game and have an incredible eye for detail, but a good storyteller he is not.

That's it's so heralded boggles my mind.

skrat_01

From my experience, Metal Gear Soild 3 suffered from many of the same narrative and editing flaws MGS1 and MGS2 shared, just to a lesser extent in some cases. The painfully slow beginning, pretty much any Ocelot scene, and pretty much any speech about moral relativism stand out as some of the biggest problems in the game to me.

[QUOTE="___gamemaster__"]

no xenogears?? the game has the best story, soundtrack, and the graphics still holds up .best game ever.

texasgoldrush

Good stories can't be better if they hold back.

Don't even think about comparing Xenogears to MGS.

[QUOTE="___gamemaster__"]

no xenogears?? the game has the best story, soundtrack, and the graphics still holds up .best game ever.

texasgoldrush

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"]

[QUOTE="___gamemaster__"]

no xenogears?? the game has the best story, soundtrack, and the graphics still holds up .best game ever.

Good stories can't be better if they hold back.

Don't even think about comparing Xenogears to MGS.

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] ummm no...it is just as pretentious and forced as the MGS series. Planescape Torment is an example on how to write a great deep game without the pretentiousness.

texasgoldrush

Good stories can't be better if they hold back.

Don't even think about comparing Xenogears to MGS.

Of course, if the story isn't good enough not holding back isn't going to help it, it's just going to make the problems more obvious. But Xenogears is superb, and therefore "pretentious" is a misnomer.

What do you know about Japanese storytelling? How many Japanese books have you read? Moreover, what do you know about how a "good writer" will use themes? You didn't even know what themes were until recently, and I'm still not sure you that you understand.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"]

[QUOTE="___gamemaster__"]

no xenogears?? the game has the best story, soundtrack, and the graphics still holds up .best game ever.

My list would be pretty similar to yours TC. I'd change:

- Take Suikoden II out since i don't really remember the story (although i played the game), and replace it with Xenogears, which would be my number 1 in the list (Planescape Torment would be n. 2).

- Take The Longest Journey out and replace it with the MGS series.

- Take Mass Effect series out, since the story is not actually that good. And i'd replace it with Full Throttle (mainly because of the storyline).

All in all, you made a great list imo.

But your take on the ending of SotC is not what the devs actually meant with the way things went... imo as well.

My list would be pretty similar to yours TC. I'd change:

- Take Suikoden II out since i don't really remember the story (although i played the game), and replace it with Xenogears, which would be my number 1 in the list (Planescape Torment would be n. 2).

- Take The Longest Journey out and replace it with the MGS series.

- Take Mass Effect series out, since the story is not actually that good. And i'd replace it with Full Throttle (mainly because of the storyline).

All in all, you made a great list imo.

But your take on the ending of SotC is not what the devs actually meant with the way things went... imo as well.

SambaLele

The Longest Journey's story is awesome...too bad Dreamfall didn't live up to it.

[QUOTE="jasonharris48"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] ummm no...it is just as pretentious and forced as the MGS series. Planescape Torment is an example on how to write a great deep game without the pretentiousness.

texasgoldrush

That could be because the reviewer couldn't catch all the references to Jung, Freud, Nietzsche, Xenophanes of Colophon and Zeno of Citium in the story...

The Xenogears story is flawless, it's only too complicated for the common folk. That's true, the game really is intelectual and elitist story-wise... but it's still greatly enjoyable to anyone who doesn't get all that implicit content and the background debate of the game.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="jasonharris48"] Don't compare any MGS titles (especially MGS4) to Xenogears. While I liked MGS3,1, Peace Walker stories even with their flaws. They are nothing compared to Xenogears

That could be because the reviewer couldn't catch all the references to Jung, Freud, Nietzsche, Xenophanes of Colophon and Zeno of Citium in the story...

The Xenogears story is flawless, it's only too complicated for the common folk. That's true, the game really is intelectual and elitist story-wise... but it's still greatly enjoyable to anyone who doesn't get all that implicit content and the background debate of the game.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="jasonharris48"] Don't compare any MGS titles (especially MGS4) to Xenogears. While I liked MGS3,1, Peace Walker stories even with their flaws. They are nothing compared to Xenogears

SambaLele

That could be because the reviewer couldn't catch all the references to Jung, Freud, Nietzsche, Xenophanes of Colophon and Zeno of Citium in the story...

The Xenogears story is flawless, it's only too complicated for the common folk. That's true, the game really is intelectual and elitist story-wise... but it's still greatly enjoyable to anyone who doesn't get all that implicit content and the background debate of the game.

What does Xenogears preach?

No half life 2? That would be my number one pick.

Xenogears isn't good because of the ideas born from the influence of philosphers the creator and his wife were interested in. It is good becasue the game is good on it's own. It managed to tell a compelling story, with a considerable amount of depth. It has surprisingly well thought out, realistic characters (primarily Fei and Elly). It was more mature and adult than other JRPGs at the time, which is what separated it from the Final Fantasy VII game it was originally intended to be.

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] Xenogears is much better, however, it does feel forced like MGS. Even gamespot said the story was too preachy at times.texasgoldrush

That could be because the reviewer couldn't catch all the references to Jung, Freud, Nietzsche, Xenophanes of Colophon and Zeno of Citium in the story...

The Xenogears story is flawless, it's only too complicated for the common folk. That's true, the game really is intelectual and elitist story-wise... but it's still greatly enjoyable to anyone who doesn't get all that implicit content and the background debate of the game.

Not at all, they only took what was pertinent to the story. In fact they took few elements of those philosophers, just the enough to make the bonds between characters really profound, and to make you think about love, destiny, existence, and mental development (or evolution, in the aspect of surpassing traumas and such) in a really original way. All the ideas are there, and there's no forcing it, it's perfectly natural.

Take a look into some of the educated interpretations that people can take from this game. It doesn't require an master of arts to read this content, i bet you'd like to see the possibilities the story has:

read especially this one, this guy made a great work here: Xenogears and Philosophy.

http://www.xgam.org/

Having intellectual content in a game shouldn't be a reason not to like it, especially when that element is not crucial to the game itself, like in xenogears case. But it's a wonderful plus to the ones that embrace it, which could make a difference between seeing it only as a great game, or maybe the game with the best story yet.

I'm surprised you guys even bother trying to say what should be on that list or not. It always seem like no matter what someone says he'd never change his opinion about something.YuriSH

We know.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="SambaLele"]

That could be because the reviewer couldn't catch all the references to Jung, Freud, Nietzsche, Xenophanes of Colophon and Zeno of Citium in the story...

The Xenogears story is flawless, it's only too complicated for the common folk. That's true, the game really is intelectual and elitist story-wise... but it's still greatly enjoyable to anyone who doesn't get all that implicit content and the background debate of the game.

Not at all, they only took what was pertinent to the story. In fact they took few elements of those philosophers, just the enough to make the bonds between characters really profound, and to make you think about love, destiny, existence, and mental development (or evolution, in the aspect of surpassing traumas and such) in a really original way. All the ideas are there, and there's no forcing it, it's perfectly natural.

Take a look into some of the educated interpretations that people can take from this game. It doesn't require an master of arts to read this content, i bet you'd like to see the possibilities the story has:

read especially this one, this guy made a great work here: Xenogears and Philosophy.

http://www.xgam.org/

Having intellectual content in a game shouldn't be a reason not to like it, especially when that element is not crucial to the game itself, like in xenogears case. But it's a wonderful plus to the ones that embrace it, which could make a difference between seeing it only as a great game, or maybe the game with the best story yet.

I'm surprised you guys even bother trying to say what should be on that list or not. It always seem like no matter what someone says he'd never change his opinion about something.YuriSH

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] its far from flawless..its a good story...but its not perfection as some fans make it out to be. In fact, I can't say the 11 I picked are flawless either, they are just top tier. Just because something is intellectual doesn't necessarily make it good. In fact, knowing these philosophers made it seem even more forced in my eyes. texasgoldrush

Not at all, they only took what was pertinent to the story. In fact they took few elements of those philosophers, just the enough to make the bonds between characters really profound, and to make you think about love, destiny, existence, and mental development (or evolution, in the aspect of surpassing traumas and such) in a really original way. All the ideas are there, and there's no forcing it, it's perfectly natural.

Take a look into some of the educated interpretations that people can take from this game. It doesn't require an master of arts to read this content, i bet you'd like to see the possibilities the story has:

read especially this one, this guy made a great work here: Xenogears and Philosophy.

http://www.xgam.org/

Having intellectual content in a game shouldn't be a reason not to like it, especially when that element is not crucial to the game itself, like in xenogears case. But it's a wonderful plus to the ones that embrace it, which could make a difference between seeing it only as a great game, or maybe the game with the best story yet.

Wow. you did ignore a lot of what i said. It's exactly like i said: Xenogears is already excellent without you getting all the intellectual content. It is, although, a plus that can make the difference between you judging it like a great game, or maybe the best yet. That's exactly why the use of the complex content is not forced, it is there only to the ones that get it. And it's still a great game otherwise.

EDIT: not only Bioshock, but Planescape: Torment, and a lot of other games have a lot of this intellectual content. Like you said, the way it is implemented is the key to achieve a master piece. We just have opposing opinions about the use of it in one particular game.

Yuri, this discussion alone makes Xenogears look better.

[QUOTE="YuriSH"]I'm surprised you guys even bother trying to say what should be on that list or not. It always seem like no matter what someone says he'd never change his opinion about something.texasgoldrush

To evolve. But to do that one must face that he can enjoy and make use of an information given by someone else, even thought you don't agree with that at first. Like our little debate about Xenogears. You only say that the game is forced in the use of complex story elements, but without explaining it at all. Why is it forced, for example, is it because there are way too many characters? Or because there are situations that are way too impossible to happen? Or any other reason?

Yuri, this discussion alone makes Xenogears look better.

hakanakumono

The sad thing is, if you look at most of the lists, there are few current generation games, although the industry was never this big.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="YuriSH"]I'm surprised you guys even bother trying to say what should be on that list or not. It always seem like no matter what someone says he'd never change his opinion about something.SambaLele

To evolve. But to do that one must face that he can enjoy and make use of an information given by someone else, even thought you don't agree with that at first. Like our little debate about Xenogears. You only say that the game is forced in the use of complex story elements, but without explaining it at all. Why is it forced, for example, is it because there are way too many characters? Or because there are situations that are way too impossible to happen? Or any other reason?

You don't know what you're getting yourself into.

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] Why should I?hakanakumono

To evolve. But to do that one must face that he can enjoy and make use of an information given by someone else, even thought you don't agree with that at first. Like our little debate about Xenogears. You only say that the game is forced in the use of complex story elements, but without explaining it at all. Why is it forced, for example, is it because there are way too many characters? Or because there are situations that are way too impossible to happen? Or any other reason?

You don't know what you're getting yourself into.

No? I'm a level 30 just like you. I know this place quite well... sadly.

EDIT: wow, i just saw that you're a 2008 member. I'm a 2004 member, now i realize it that i actually know this place for so long it's not healthy.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="SambaLele"]

Not at all, they only took what was pertinent to the story. In fact they took few elements of those philosophers, just the enough to make the bonds between characters really profound, and to make you think about love, destiny, existence, and mental development (or evolution, in the aspect of surpassing traumas and such) in a really original way. All the ideas are there, and there's no forcing it, it's perfectly natural.

Take a look into some of the educated interpretations that people can take from this game. It doesn't require an master of arts to read this content, i bet you'd like to see the possibilities the story has:

read especially this one, this guy made a great work here: Xenogears and Philosophy.

http://www.xgam.org/

Having intellectual content in a game shouldn't be a reason not to like it, especially when that element is not crucial to the game itself, like in xenogears case. But it's a wonderful plus to the ones that embrace it, which could make a difference between seeing it only as a great game, or maybe the game with the best story yet.

SambaLele

Wow. you did ignore a lot of what i said. It's exactly like i said: Xenogears is already excellent without you getting all the intellectual content. It is, although, a plus that can make the difference between you judging it like a great game, or maybe the best yet. That's exactly why the use of the complex content is not forced, it is there only to the ones that get it. And it's still a great game otherwise.

Xenogears is a pretty good story, with some great characters. However, many stories in video games have been put together better than Xenogears. I view Xenogears as a good story overall, however, the dialogue, pacing, and some direction problems keep it from being truly great.

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] The Bioshock series has intellectual and philosophical content, and its on my list. Its not the intellectual content that makes it feel forced, its how it is used.texasgoldrush

Wow. you did ignore a lot of what i said. It's exactly like i said: Xenogears is already excellent without you getting all the intellectual content. It is, although, a plus that can make the difference between you judging it like a great game, or maybe the best yet. That's exactly why the use of the complex content is not forced, it is there only to the ones that get it. And it's still a great game otherwise.

Inconsistant quality of the dialogue? Wouldn't that one be valid to the Mass Effect series instead?

I think the dialogue is well done in Xenogears. It's way better than in most of the MGS games and, like i said Mass Effect. In fact, it's at the level if not better than some Final Fantasy games. How dialogue is itself a story is something i don't quite get it.

Aren't we discussing game stories?

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

To evolve. But to do that one must face that he can enjoy and make use of an information given by someone else, even thought you don't agree with that at first. Like our little debate about Xenogears. You only say that the game is forced in the use of complex story elements, but without explaining it at all. Why is it forced, for example, is it because there are way too many characters? Or because there are situations that are way too impossible to happen? Or any other reason?

SambaLele

You don't know what you're getting yourself into.

No? I'm a level 30 just like you. I know this place quite well... sadly.

EDIT: wow, i just saw that you're a 2008 member. I'm a 2004 member, now i realize it that i actually know this place for so long it's not healthy.

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

You don't know what you're getting yourself into.

jasonharris48

No? I'm a level 30 just like you. I know this place quite well... sadly.

EDIT: wow, i just saw that you're a 2008 member. I'm a 2004 member, now i realize it that i actually know this place for so long it's not healthy.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm already realizing it. But if we get on a loop, i'll just get out, this is the magic of the internetz.

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

You don't know what you're getting yourself into.

jasonharris48

No? I'm a level 30 just like you. I know this place quite well... sadly.

EDIT: wow, i just saw that you're a 2008 member. I'm a 2004 member, now i realize it that i actually know this place for so long it's not healthy.

Not completely pointless. Makes a better point for Xenogears.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="SambaLele"]

Wow. you did ignore a lot of what i said. It's exactly like i said: Xenogears is already excellent without you getting all the intellectual content. It is, although, a plus that can make the difference between you judging it like a great game, or maybe the best yet. That's exactly why the use of the complex content is not forced, it is there only to the ones that get it. And it's still a great game otherwise.

Inconsistant quality of the dialogue? Wouldn't that one be valid to the Mass Effect series instead?

I think the dialogue is well done in Xenogears. It's way better than in most of the MGS games and, like i said Mass Effect. In fact, it's at the level if not better than some Final Fantasy games. How dialogue is itself a story is something i don't quite get it.

Aren't we discussing game stories?

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] The thing is, it does feel forced, especially due to the inconsistant quality of the dialogue. The relgious symbolism also seemed forced as well. You can have all the intellectual ideas, but if they are not put together properly, they either feel forced or meaningless. Intellectual ideas alone do not make a story great.texasgoldrush

Inconsistant quality of the dialogue? Wouldn't that one be valid to the Mass Effect series instead?

I think the dialogue is well done in Xenogears. It's way better than in most of the MGS games and, like i said Mass Effect. In fact, it's at the level if not better than some Final Fantasy games. How dialogue is itself a story is something i don't quite get it.

Aren't we discussing game stories?

Wow, Mass Effect, the game where you choose the dialogue option, and Shepard decides to say something 50% different? And when you want to answer, and he makes a question instead? It's laughable.

The dialogues are mediocre, having choices doesn't change that fact, and the texts and scripts are also standard level.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="SambaLele"]

Inconsistant quality of the dialogue? Wouldn't that one be valid to the Mass Effect series instead?

I think the dialogue is well done in Xenogears. It's way better than in most of the MGS games and, like i said Mass Effect. In fact, it's at the level if not better than some Final Fantasy games. How dialogue is itself a story is something i don't quite get it.

Aren't we discussing game stories?

SambaLele

Wow, Mass Effect, the game where you choose the dialogue option, and Shepard decides to say something 50% different? And when you want to answer, and he makes a question instead? It's laughable.

The dialogues are mediocre, having choices doesn't change that fact, and the texts and scripts are also standard level.

[QUOTE="jasonharris48"]

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

No? I'm a level 30 just like you. I know this place quite well... sadly.

EDIT: wow, i just saw that you're a 2008 member. I'm a 2004 member, now i realize it that i actually know this place for so long it's not healthy.

hakanakumono

Not completely pointless. Makes a better point for Xenogears.

It's a game that should be discussed more. One of the reasons is that we need more games of that level, in terms of story and content. Shadow of the Colossus, Planescape: torment, Xenogears, Bioshock... that's what we players should be going for (story-wise, i'm not talking about gameplay).

Would you guys consider Zelda Majora's Mask to be a good story? bbkkristian