30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[SuperStingray]

I'm going to split this one into favorite story and favorite narrative (i.e. best plot versus best presentation of plot.)

 

Day 14:

 

Favorite Story: The Walking Dead

I'm probably not breaking new ground with this opinion, but this is one of the few games that have made me cry.  Many games that offer moral choices end up failing because they aren't really choices so much as forks.  You take the obviously "correct" one then maybe play the game again to see where the "wrong" one will take you.  This game is different; no matter how nice you try to be, no matter who you try to save, you will always make a decision that will leave you wondering if you did something wrong.  Utilitarianism is useless because it requires certainty in the long-term consequences.  And for once I haven't had the urge to play through it again to find where other choices would take me because frankly I feel that would undermine the impact it had.  Because the choices I made weren't wrong, they weren't right- they were mine.  Decisions I made on a whim, with no context beyond what the story gave me.

 

For the most part, I'm pretty tired of zombies, but I love The Walking Dead because it's not about the zombies.  They aren't just an excuse enemy- an antagonist you can kill freely without guilt like Nazis or demons, they are there to provide a scenario to test the virtues of the humans.  When is acting for yourself justified?  Is there hope for giving the world a new future?  If so, what would it cost?  The Walking Dead is all about figuring out what should be passed on and what should be left behind.  This perplexing and introspective plot has left me questioning my decisions ever since.

 

Favorite Narrative: Demon's Souls

The narrative structure of Demon's Souls is downright revolutionary.  It's not the first game to prove the power of environmental storytelling but it is, in my experience, the most elegant and meaningful.  All of its mechanics coexist perfectly with its lore and story structure- other players represent those who've gone on the same quest as you and failed, leaving behind warnings and spirits from another time and place.  The items you acquire from the game world have greater meaning in the context of the story as revealed by item descriptions and placement.  The tutorial teaches you the meaning and permanence of death by ending invariably with your demise.

 

The story behind the world carries incredible weight, making heavy use of powerful symbolism, memorable characters and potent imagery.  You encounter people who've lost their minds, saints who've lost their faith, warriors who've lost their will and prisoners who've lost their humanity all to the evil slowly creeping over this world.  This is how symbolism is supposed to work- not by bluntly shoving the analogy in your mouth, but to let you feel its impact and comprehend the connection that is trying to be conveyed through the aesthetics of the story.  Even the difficulty the game is known for is itself part of the metaphor.  Witnessing the death and madness around you, including your own- Demon's Souls is a testament to the frailty of humans; how easily we die and how much of ourselves we are willing to sacrifice to avoid such a fate.  Gaze long into the abyss and the abyss also gazes into you.  Greed and wrath are necessity in Demon's Souls and through its gauntlet of misfortune and corruption, Demon's Souls asks: Is a world where a hero must be so desperate worth saving?

[Captain Fun]

Day 14: Favorite Story:

 

Ocarina of Time

 

I realize it's not the best story, but it's my favorite. Like with the gameplay, this was the first story in a game I felt so involved with. The quest felt gigantic at the time, and a lot of this is nostalgia, but there is another point of it I really like. Namely, that all of the bad things happening are kinda the fault of you and Zelda. You were the one who obtained the three sacred stones. Zelda was the one who gave you the Ocarina of time. While Ganondorf is the one who betrayed the king, you let him into the Sacred Realm by opening the Door of Time and removing the Master Sword from the pedestal. He even thanks your dumbass for letting it happen. Finally, you and Zelda almost let him get the Triforce by meeting with her in the Temple of Time- although that is more Zelda's fault. 

 

Speaking of which, that's another thing I like about the story- Zelda uses her alter-ego, Shiek, because she knows Ganondorf could be watching her and Link throughout the entire game. The player first gets a sense of this when they first become an adult, but it is also hinted at when Link defeats Puppet Ganon in the Forest Temple. At the end of the boss fight, Ganondorf, who has been watching the fight, speaks to you telepathically and just smites his own puppet remotely. The story does a very good job establishing a presence for the villain throughout the entire game. 

 

But really, I like a lot of the suggestions here. Bioshock and TLoU are on my to-do list currently. 

[Debug Ring]

Day 14:

My favourite story would be that of Saints Row IV... So, yeah, it's crazy opening, with the missile, and landing in the Oval Office, that set it off. The game then takes you to aliens. So, simply put, you are the new president who just finished disarming a nuke, on,y to be attack by aliens and then placed in a simulation world. Though you have great friends like Keith David by your side. You progress further, building more of a grudge against the evil English-voiced alien leader, you relive moments from previous Saints Row games and re-encounter characters from the series. While the game might not be as impressive as it could have been, the story really made me chuckle at points and I remember it fondly. It has humorous moments, and nods to the series (and others) here and there.

[TearForFear]

 

Ghost Trick again. (I'm not cheating, right?)

 

The game immediately starts with the murder of the playable character, and that's a strong way to begin a story.

The dead man becomes a ghost with amnesia, and the main goal is to regain his memories. Simple, isn't it?

Except at the third quarter of the story everything we believed changes completely and the mistery becomes even more complicated.

But different colorful characters and their problems stand in the way between our hero and the truth, and as the story progresses each and every one of them proves to be important and more or less strongly related to the case of our murder

except for the guardian of the park, he's just a weirdo

A good mix of humor, action and drama completes this unbelievably amazing and well structured plot, where everything finds its meaning at the end of the game.

 

I like the story of this game so much, I do not want a sequel. It's perfect as it is.

[Sami]

 

Ghost Trick again. (I'm not cheating, right?)

 

But what can I do about it, I love this game, I love its plot, I love the characters it offers, I love the plot twists, and I love the huge amount of foreshadowing contained:

 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Foreshadowing/GhostTrick

 

Could you write a bit more about it?

[Kiah]

Aaaaaand back to the Spin-Attaxx-unfriendly "Favourite X" questions...

 

Is this a problem? I really hope not, especially since I just recently made a about complaining at the end of the 30 Days of Sonic event. Not all the questions are going to appease everyone as that is simply impossible to do. If you don't like it, keep the complaints to yourself, be a good sport, and just answer the question so you can get credit for participation for a badge if in fact that is what you are going for. Or feel free to skip any questions you don't want to answer. But let's keep the complaining off this thread, as it is counterproductive and was actually absent from my observations until now.  

 

Now that I got that out of the way...It's time for me to answer today's question.

 

Day 14: Favorite Story:

 

 

I have to go with Sonic Unleashed again. 

 

With the beginning of the plot, Unleashed's does a better job pulling you into the plot with its action-packed opening, I thought. Just so much goes on within the first 5 minutes of the game: including Dr. Eggman capturing Sonic not once, but twice! By the time the introduction was complete, Sonic had become the Werehog and the Chaos Emeralds were gray and useless. Also Dr. Eggman revealed his intentions with creating Eggmanland right after he fired the laser that woke up Dark Gaia and split the planet up and then sent Sonic down to Earth. That's a lot to happen in only in the introduction of the game with a lot more to come!

 

Sonic smiling in the face of danger...although that cockiness would end up costing him, I loved seeing that smile on his face 

 

While they didn't contribute much, I liked how Unleashed had more characters involved to various degrees including Tails, Amy Rose, Professor Pickle, his assistant, and other NPCs, all having charm to them and not taking away from the plot.

 

Chip on the other hand, has a story behind him that we know about, has a purpose, has a personality and had even allowed some of Sonic's characterization to shine through among their interactions among the story. Don't get me wrong, as Sonic and Tails' interactions is where it's at, but I also enjoyed seeing Sonic and Chip's friendship in Unleashed, as it was nice to see Sonic actually interact with someone friendship-wise other than Tails.

 

 

Sure the middle of Sonic Unleashed's plot with the chaos emeralds being restored and whatnot was rather repetitive and really wasn't much in regards to being developed, but there were little things going on, including humorous, that kept your attention during these parts: 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MoWprALEm0

 

Granted, Sonic Unleashed's story wasn't perfect by any means, and was guilty of missed potential as well especially in the middle of the story, but it just didn't leave me dissatisfied wanting more after all was said and done. The ending was good and very heart-warming. Sonic Unleashed's story was actually a story, with its plot feeling more complete compared to the stories in other Sonic games and having that balance between humor and seriousness. Issues aside, Unleashed's story left me delighted and content with it's plot from beginning to end due to it being both entertaining and enjoyable.

 

Overall, Sonic Unleashed's story is really good and is one of my favorites in the series. That said though, while the story of Sonic Unleashed is my favorite, it isn't necessarily the best story IMO. That honor would go to Sonic and the Secret Rings for me 

[TearForFear]

Could you write a bit more about it?

 

You're right, sorry

 

I'll edit my answer very soon

[Sami]

You're right, sorry

 

I'll edit my answer very soon

 

Thanks man.

[Conando]

Eeeh, stories aren't really my think when I comes to games, but I guess I got this.

 

Day 14-Favorite Story

 

Persona 4

 

I love me a murder mystery, and this one has a supernatural slant revolving around the nature of humanity. The game really does a good job of twisting both the darkness of the main plot and the more light fair of interactions with NPCs and doing goofy things like taste testing in the worst cooking contest known to man. Golden adds more interaction between the cast outside of the overarching plot, and it's all the better for it. Of course, I have to give dues to the acceptance of the part of ourselves that we aren't comfortable with, and it being part of growing up and all that.

[MamboCat]

Day 14 - Mambo's Favourite Story

 

For this I'm gonna use an example I already did a few days back, if that is OK?

 

 

Legacy of Kain

 

Right. Now, this story spans over several games. I'm not necessarily counting the first Blood Omen game, but the story from Soul Reaver onwards. This is because the lead writer was Amy Hennig, who now works for Naughty Dog. She oversaw all the games after Blood Omen and had differing ideas for the series. Blood Omen's story is background for the rest of the games, however... basically the story centres around the eponymous Kain and his fancy looking sword with a fucking skull on it, the Soul Reaver, which can er.. reave souls... yeah.

 

It starts with the self-declared Emperor of Nosgoth, the vampire Kain throwing his lieutenant and first "born" Raziel into the Lake of the Dead in an ostensible fit of jealousy. Why? Because our main man Raziel had sprouted an impressive set of bat wings:

 

Take that, Rouge!

 

Raziel awakens in the "Spectral Realm" a millennium later to the booming voice of Tony Jay the Elder God, who claims he resurrected Raziel using his awesome powers over life and death, forever spinning mortal souls in the purifying cycle, the hub of the world, to which all souls are drawn, the Wheel of Fate... *coughsplutter* Oooh-eer... ahem... excuse me... but the giant Cthulhu rip-off has a price for the favour that left Raziel missing half his face and the entirety of his internal organs.

 

Hey Elder God, you couldn't resurrect my dick, could you?!

 

Raziel is sent on a quest to kill his vampire brethren, who have all mutated into monstrous forms to evolve resistance against various environmental weaknesses... and using his awesome new party trick, consume their souls, thus gaining their power. In return, the Elder God gets to re-spin the consumed souls of every apostate vampire Raziel kills, and thus purify them. Hooray for fratricide! But when it comes to killing Kain... well the dude had some tricks up his sleeve, er.. besides the vampiric powers that is!

 

What am I? Antagonist? Protagonist? Deuteragonist? Who knows!

 

Kain proceeds to lure Raziel back in time, taking him on a mind-bending journey through Nosgoth's history, reshuffling the time stream, avoiding paradoxes, killing demons, killing humans, killing... weird other-dimensional beings... it can be quite tricky to follow every last detail of the plot. However Kain always has a plan, and as the story develops more and more is revealed about the very nature of Nosgoth, and what roles the characters really play.

 

I admit the story can be a bit of a mind fuck; there are hundreds of little details which all add up and tell the player about what happened in the millennia which preceded Kain's reign. There is also a shitload of dialogue, all in faux-Shakespearean English (which to be honest, drops a bit by the final game Defiance). Miss a bit, and you'll probably miss some extremely important exposition! However I think the twists and turns the story takes really grabs the player and takes them for a mahooosive rollercoaster ride. Despite the main characters all being horrible monsters, you really get a sense of what these guys are all about and certain scenes can really form the odd lump in one's throat... ripe for the eating! What's better, in my opinion this is what vampires should be about; no sparkly-arsed nonsense, no pretty boys the player is supposed to fall in love with (well Raziel is kinda hot before he's thrown into the Abyss!). These guys are power-hungry despots who have the ability to evolve into ghoulish forms. It is sooo badass!

 

The only issue for me is the cliffhanger the last game finished on. There were so many unresolved threads, so many layers of deceit and manipulation that the player can feel a bit left in the dark. It's a shame the last game in the series was shelved.

[sploit]

Day 13 - Most Disappointing Game? - The Winner of this Accolade is Chromehounds. Well what can I say, the cover seemed to promise so much (I have been told it is action packed when playing online, but I got it after the servers went down), so yeah in reailty when you get into it, really the game doesn't deliver like I hoped.

 

The game sees you travelling along what feels endless terrains, trying to find enemy bases and enemy 'Chromehounds'? Once you find them, destroy the bases and weapons and any enemy mechs etc. But the action felt far too sparse, like the effort to travel from one enemy area to another felt to much for the lack of pay off. The controls were kinda clunky and the whole thing felt so slow in pace. Really didn't enjoy it. I might give it another chance at some point, but for the time being, it is definitely a game that sticks in my head for being a disappointment.

 

Day 14 - Favourite Story - for games that I have a actually played recently, I would have to say this goes to Thomas Was Alone. This game is amazing, proving that there is beauty in simplicity. But the story and narration is arguably what makes it. The story isn't exactly epic in scale or anything, it is just really well thought out and gives the games a lot of depth. Wonderful game and such a great experience. The narrator's way of talking through the characters' thoughts and speaking on their behalf, it all just ties in so well. Won't spoil the story for those who haven't played it. But will say, I HIGHLY recommend this.

[Autosaver]

FAVORITE STORY: DAY 14

 

Final Fantasy VII (and the VII universe)

 

 

Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy game that I've experienced and fully beat. I sat down and beat it in the week that I got it. The game's pace, gameplay, music, and most importantly - the story made it impossible to put it down.

 

Final Fantasy VII and RPGs in general are known for their story. So what makes this game different?

 

The mystery behind Cloud.

 

Cloud has little memory of who he is. He has a lot of mystery behind him and a lot of this is explained in Crisis Core for PSP. This game continues off the death of Zack, an inspiration to Cloud. Cloud has no idea who or what he is fighting for and eventually join's Tifa's gang. Together, they fight off evil and go off to save the world while unraveling Cloud's history. Cloud also is controlled by an external force, which almost causes Cloud to kill Aerith. Cloud and his story eventually unravels to putting Cloud in a coma like state.

 

The death of Aerith

 

Aerith and Cloud form a relationship and they get along very well. Aerith essentially becomes a key part in stopping Sephiroth so it was important for her to stay alive. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it to the very end which puts an emotional stake not only on Cloud, but the gamer his/herself. Right before this scene, Cloud becomes controlled and almost kills Aerith. Cloud stops this but it's too late as Sephiroth dives down and kills her himself. Aerith is dead. She is not coming back. Cloud has to live on his life without someone he liked. This is the same girl you meet very early game after falling into her flower bed. Now, she's gone. Originally, she was planned to be revivable but I guess time restraints or other reasons stepped back on this idea. There are scenes within the game programmed for her. I guess this is for the better, as her death scene is still remembered and is one of Final Fantasy's top moments. It's also one of the best known death scene's of all time.

 

 

The Characterization

 

Every character in the game was well fleshed out. From Cloud, to Tifa, to Barrot, to Red XIII. There are many scenes where you get to know more of the character and see them interact. From the Gold Saucer Scene to Red XIII's journey to becoming a hero, it never stops. The build up of Red XIII's character was simply amazing. I also liked the relationship between Tifa and Cloud. Even though everything is lost, they still make it to the end. Their friends and family dying and the world becoming destroyed, they still continue on.

 

OMGGGGGGBBQ

 

The Ending

 

You defeat Sephiroth, but it's too late. The destruction of Midgar is going to happen. Holy is not strong enough to defend everything from blowing up. It's time to give up and accept fate.

 

Or is there still a chance? Yes. There is. The lifestream, and Aerith herself come to bring back hope by helping stop the meteor from destroying everything in sight. Aerith in death saves everyone.

 

 

btw this game is awesome if you havent played it please play it and please ignore the "OMG FFVII SO OVERARATED" its just a game my god just play it if you dont you are missing out if you have a psp or psvita i would reccomend those platforms instead because it looks ugly on consoles but looks alright on portable platforms please play it i beg you

[super saiyan weegee]

Day 14: Favorite Story

 

I'm not usually too critical about stories in video games, nor have I played many where the story was the main focus of it all, so I'm not exactly an aficionado or anything when it comes to this subject, but this game's story stands out to me as a really good one, so yeah it's my pick for today.

 

 

Ah yes, I really enjoyed Portal 2's story, for various reasons. It had such memorable characters as Wheatley, the returning GLaDOS, and Cave Johnson, who appears via pre-recorded messages later in the game, and is hilarious. The character developments that happen throughout are very interesting to see as well. Man I also really like how they expanded the setting of Aperture, by telling some of the history behind the place. The twists and turns that happen in Portal 2's story made me want to push through even the game's most challenging puzzles, merely just to see what happened in the next sequence, and it payed off every time. The resolution of everything at the end of the story is a pretty interesting one, as well. Man I may have experienced it only recently, but it's a really great story in my eyes. So yeah, there ya go.

[Chaos Warp]

Day 14: Favorite Story

 

I can't say I'm played that many super-plot focused games sooooooo

 

Up until a certain BS twist which I won't spoil, I was really liking this story. It started out as Cole Phelps climbing up the ranks of the police force, but by the start of the second desk there started to me more and more overarching plot, and eventually you were beginning to uncover a bunch of corruption in the LAPD. Despite the really stupid twist I still quite enjoyed this detective story. 

[Noir]

Day 14 - Favorite Story

 

 

I've mentioned before that my memory is pretty mediocre - I'll forget just about everything that happened in a game, tv show, whatever. I can't recall a whole lot in detail, but I do remember how I feel about them at least, and Ghost Trick is definitely high up in this category. Since the gameplay is fairly intuitive and creative, it's easy to get sucked right into the story and start wanting to unravel the mysteries it's always throwing at you. The dialogue is funny and the twists are clever; it always pulls out something to amaze you when you don't expect it. I'd wager the big twist at the end blew my mind just about as much as Bioshock Infinite's ending.

 

Also, it has Missile!

 

[Wraith]

Just gonna list a few favorites again. 

 

 

 

"You are the arrow of light that pierces through the heart of darkness!"

 

Kid Icarus Uprising

Kid Icarus Uprising is an insanely fun game, partially due to it's fun characters. The game is structured like a short television series, with each level acting as a sort of "episode" with it's own story and characters that contribute to the overarching plot about the war between the gods that's tearing up planet earth. With each chapter focusing on a set of characters, everyone gets a decent amount of time to shine. The game is pretty short on cutscenes, but it makes up for this by most of the story and dialogue  going on during gameplay. The characters just basically commentate on what's goinig on and it works really well. It's all really fun stuff.

 

 

" Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt."

 

Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite is a pretty strange story that tries a bunch of extremely different things that don't all work. What DOES work here is a joy to watch and play through, though. Booker and Elizabeth's trek through columbia is one filled with so many twists and turns that it's hard to talk about without going into spoilers. It's a fun ride through a pretty fucking insane setting.

 

 

 

"I shall consume....Consume....Consume everything."

 

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

 

Majora's Mask is different from the vast majority of Zelda game in that you're pretty much on your own when it comes to finding out just what the hell is going on. Explore the small town of Termina for a bit and you realize that everyone's going to die in about 3 days and everyone in the game has their own ways with coping with that, whether it be through extreme amounts of denial, just huddling together with a loved one, running the hell away, or something else. Termina's small but insanely detailed. There's something interesting around every corner.

 

Some honorable mentions include Shadow of the Colossus, Portal 2, the other 3D Legend of Zelda games, Fire Emblem Awakening, and The Last of Us.

[Senator NinjaShark]

Day Numbero 14: Defense of the Ninjas: Ninja's "Makes Kamis plot look like it was written by Billy from the 1st Grade" Favourite Story Ever!

 

 

 

and since I mentioned TTYD last time, I'm just gonna go with this again

 

 

 

 

 

the Insanity that is the Metal Gear series Storyline is something that has a very, very, very special place in my Heart. I adore the entire Universe Kojima has build around the central Characters of Snake and Big Boss, how they shaped the world, and what impact their action made on it and how Kojima ties everything and everyone together and makes it feel like a whole Universe, in wich things are happening.

 

 

does it make no sense alot of times? Yes, it does, but frankly thats part of the charm to it, in a weird way. It combines all the Great aspects of Cinematic storytelling, with what makes Video Games such a fun Medium, from the Cold War Spy Thriller that is MGS3 to the Self Parody that is MGR:R, I am hooked to the stories from start to finish, and never get tired of seeing them unfold.

 

 

 

Honorable mention goes, yet again, to Okami for creating an awesome and at times sad/heartwarming story full of great little nods and references to Japanese Mythology

[Starman Swift]

Day 14: Favorite Story

 

The Walking Dead

 

 

The Walking Dead was one of Telltale's first story-oriented adventure games, and man did they do a good job. In fact, this game is even better than the show in some ways. While the story contains some zombie genre staples, it focuses much more on the characters than the zombies, much like the other Walking Dead media. And man what characters you get. There's Lee, the main character of season 1 and one of the greatest men on Earth or possibly kind of a mean guy but he's still great depending on dialogue options you pick, Saltmaster Kenny, and of course the young but resourceful Clementine, to name a few. You get to watch great characters like these interact, fight, and possibly get offed throughout the game's episodes. If you like story-based games and don't care too much about actual gameplay, you should probably check out this series.

 

Other story games to check out:

 

 

Ghost Trick

 

 

Like TWD, this game has some great characters like Missile. Great characters can make a great story. Strap in and prepare yourself for a good 12 hours of plot and plot twists. Solve the mystery.

 

Mother 3

 

 

The story of this game is actually pretty simple, but there's this one moment late in the game that I felt added a whole new layer to the plot as a whole.

 

[Krockhead]

Favorite Story

Will I ever make a post in here that isn't Rare-related? Who knows. But this is my favorite game story. I find myself quoting it all the time. We all know that it has fantastic comedy, but it surprisingly pulls some tear-jerking moments near the end. A lot of the references are dated, I'll admit that, but it doesn't ruin anything for me.

 

 

 

Oh hey, something that isn't made by Rare. What can I say about this story that hasn't been said already? It pulled off the dark and depressing mood perfectly without forcing a single thing. The NPCs all show emotion and provide a very interesting psychological analysis on how different people handle tragedy. It's intriguing to this day. The story and the atmosphere are my favorite parts of Majora's Mask, and I'm sure that's the case for a lot of people.

[Serperior]

Day 14 - Favorite Story

 

I've wrote about Okami before, and others have covered The Walking Dead already, so I'll go with.....

 

 

I could say the whole Ace Attorney series has my favourite story, with it's interesting and varied characters, all of the over-arching plot lines, the strange oddly court centric world and the many twists and turns that occur from seemingly nowhere. All of the games I've played in this series (Which is all of the "main" games barring Apollo Justice, which I still need to get around to playing) have had excellently written plots that are worth seeing from start to end......except the third case in Justice for All. Fucking Moe. But that's besides the point.

 

I'm giving Trials and Tribulations special mention here, as I feel it has the best story out of the games I've played so far. All but one of the cases feel really strongly tied together to form a plot that's thrilling from start to end. Seeing how it resolves both it's own plot lines and ones left over from the previous 2 games makes it an exciting experience despite you having very little interaction as far as gameplay goes. The game feels like a true ending to the original trilogy, pulling out all the stops and making sure everything is resolved by the end.

[Cola]

DAY 14 - FAVORITE STORY - TELL ME A STORY, PA

 

I'm not quite done with this game yet, but...

 

 

Earthbound is something special.

 

I'm only about halfway through the game, but what I've played so far is really incredible. You're thrown into this colorful world with all these wacky characters, and it's great. So many times have I chuckled at jokes in the game, or started tearing up at heartfelt moments. Earthbound is a game that captures you with its great writing and lovable world, and it takes you along for the ride.

 

I haven't finished it, but I've already fallen in love with this game.

 

 

Very Honorable Mentions go to Super Mario Galaxy, the Mario RPGS (all of them), Solatorobo, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and The Wonderful 101

[Your Vest Friend]

Story is honestly not something I pay attention to a lot. Erm...

 

 

Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer

 

Is this a deep story with characters arcs and exposition? Far from it, it's actually very simple and short. Elora, the Professor and Hunter are testing out a superportal when they accidentally pull a dragon-hating egomaniac into their world who instantly starts a bid to take it over. After hijacking a portal to Dragon Shore to pull you in, you have to resolve local conflicts in the Spyro way and stop Ripto's madness.

 

What I said there is about as deep as it ever goes, but it's not like it does nothing with it. The levels reflect the idea of Avalar being thrown into conflict, the most prominent example being the Breezebuilders against the Landblubbers. Hunter is allowed to grow from being suspicious of Spyro's presence to being a loyal friend, and Elora gets to know their last resort plan a little better (although whether the same can be said for the reverse is...debatable). So yeah, small story, but it's different and carried well within the gameplay.

[kalion]

Favourite Story

 

Honestly, I was saving TWEWY but seeing that's been used..I'll go with this..

 

 

This was a time when I was really a Sonic fan..and kinda only got into Mario games..I'd say this was one of my firsts actually..but wow, man the story..it takes you to so many places and locales, that you need a passport. And yes there is a lot of quests that keep chaining on and on but it feels organic, like an ongoing story with cartoony antics. And the characters just help flesh out the story even more. Who could forget Prince Peasley and Popple, see? And such memorable lines such as "I have FURY!" and " It will be the MUSTARD OF YOUR DOOM!" from delightful Fawful.

 

I also got a kick from Bowser being bullied around as comic relief..poor bowser. It's like worse treatment than even Eggman. It's such a huge epic game with a glue-like story which keep all the powers, abilities, characters, motives and antics together. There was character development too like Luigi's solo time when Mario was out. There were so many powers which enhanced the gameplay and we got stripped of more abilities..urgh(*coughdreamteam*) but that's another story..

[gato]

Day 14: Favorite Story

 

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure last year I mentioned Command & Conquer because Kane is the sexiest man in the universe <3 So I should probably bring another game, the Mario RPGs come to mind for being choked with charming moments but at the risk of sounding like an idiot there isn't a particularly moment that I can remember, so I guess my pick for today is going to be my first experience within a genre...

 

 

NieR

 

 

How far would you go to protect those dear to you?

 

This is the story of a man who tries to save his daughter, or a teenage boy trying to save her sister... Funny how things work when executives demand the main character to be replaced in order to appeal to other audiences. XD

 

 

 

To be honest I had a big ass post detailing the first chapter of the story but as I was writing I noticed I was spoiling things you are probably going to notice the moment you start the game... So I'll have to make things a little short, NieR is a story about the title character (who you get to name) and the trials he goes through to find a cure for his sister/daughter Yonah who fell under the influence of the Black Scrawl, a disease that is threatening to consume the entire world. To make things worse, the region seems to be invaded by some horrors called Shades, so you must not only find a cure for Yonah but also deal with them.

 

This game's story seems to be pretty standard fare at the beginning (except for the tutorial level) but as you progress you start getting hints and context about the world you are living in, what is the Black Scrawl and the monsters you are fighting against, the characters are all very interesting in their own way and each have their little secrets you find as you keep going. This game also makes a specially good job at pulling your heartstrings with each significant event and it doesn't even end after the credits screen! The game has 4 endings and each one keeps expanding about this realm, other realms! (but I can't say which because that'd be a spoiler) The characters, and certain themes... Lets just say, the question I made at the beginning of this post is very relevant.

 

 

 

Is pretty hard to talk about why I like this without spoilers, but this game really made me feel for the world and its characters and I'd recommend you to give it a try for that (even if the gameplay itself could use some polish). Also, the soundtrack is freaking epic (is actually the reason why I decided to check the game out)! But I think I'll leave my comments about that for another later.

[Nix]

Day 14

Favorite Story

 

 

Persona 4 / Persona 4 Golden

 

Persona 4 is a murder mystery with a focus on the supernatural.  Basically, a couple of people died right after being shown on TV during this supernatural phenomenon called "The Midnight Channel", and you and your friends decide to investigate the connection between these two events after discovering that there's a whole new mysterious world that can be accessed through TVs.  After learning that there is, in fact, a connection, you and your friends decide that it's up to us to rescue anyone who is unlucky enough to be thrown in there by the killer.  There's a lot of twists and turns, and finding the truth is a lot harder than it seems (you better be taking notes).

 

Persona 4 also has a few overarching themes flying around; the most prevalent being the one about facing your inner demons (figuratively and literally in this game's case) and accepting yourself for who you are.  This theme makes for some surprisingly meaningful character arcs for both the main cast and many of the side characters, as you play a role in helping them confront themselves.

 

It's all wrapped up neatly with a day-by-day story progression system, where you live out each and every one of your days the way you want to (normally anyways).  Everybody has their own schedules they live by, and it's up to you how you want to spend time with them.  It's really neat.

 

 

 

 

 

And gato is totally right about Nier too.  I'd argue that it doesn't tell the story well enough sometimes, but it still has a lot of really cool ideas and concepts, and the small cast makes for a really personal and feel-y story.