Multiple Playable Parallel Storylines in anything other than Sonic Adventure?

[Newbiespud]

In studying game design, I've become fascinated with different types of story structures and their effect on the storytelling and gameplay. What I've been focusing on are some of the Sonic titles like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, which each had multiple parallel storylines that could be played in (mostly) any order.

But I have to wonder: Are there many other games that have had this kind of structure? Multiple storylines, that is? I'm drawing a blank at the moment, myself...

 

[Kenshuku]

Mario? I don't exactly understand what you mean. Could you please explain better?

 

[flora]

Are you talking about separate storylines from the get go (through selecting different characters from the start, for example), or a game that jumps in between multiple perspectives and stories in order to tell a bigger picture?

 

[BlindMessiah94]

I"m not sure, know Jedi Academy had a system where you could PICK any mission in any order, but it really didn't affect the overall storyline.
Are you talking about a game where you have sidequests ie- Mass Effect and one giant overall story that is affect by them? Or just a game where its basically an jazzed up level select system?
Sorry never played Anything past Sonic and Knuckles myself.

 

[Newbiespud]

Mario? I don't exactly understand what you mean. Could you please explain better?

Games where multiple different storylines are playable right from the start (more or less), where you can choose which storyline you play first.

Not like, say, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where you play different characters in one continuous narrative. Multiple narratives.

 

[flora]

In that case, you could go with some of the Resident Evil or Castlevania games.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

What he is saying, and I doubt I can say it any more clearly than he has, is a game that has one singular storyline, but allows it to be told through many character's eyes. As in Sonic Adventure, you were given the ability to play as many different characters, and you saw the same events unfold, but through that characters lenses.

 

[BlindMessiah94]

so a glorified level select system basically.

 

[Daedalus1942]

In studying game design, I've become fascinated with different types of story structures and their effect on the storytelling and gameplay. What I've been focusing on are some of the Sonic titles like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, which each had multiple parallel storylines that could be played in (mostly) any order.

But I have to wonder: Are there many other games that have had this kind of structure? Multiple storylines, that is? I'm drawing a blank at the moment, myself...

Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit) Call of Duty 4/MW2, Half life expansions, Alien Vs Predator II, Crysis Warhead (not great, but still an example noetheless), Devil May Cry 2 (haha, who am I kidding? Playing as the girl's the same damn game!), Kingdom Hearts II and Dissidia. That's all the games I can really think of. I doubt there are many more.
-Edit- I forgot ever grace for the ps2, and ephemeral fantasia).
Also Sonic the Hedgehog 06 (which no-one but me enjoyed). Also Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
Now I'm all out of ideas.

 

[Vimbert]

Star Ocean: The Second Story had this, though the two main characters are attached at the hip for 98% of the game.

 

[Trivun]

Dawn of War's expansion packs had this. In Winter Assault you could play as either the 'Good' side, which was Imperial Guard and Eldar, or a seperate 'Dark' campaign which was Chaos and Orks. And then there were the race choices that gave seperate storylines (though exactly the same missions and whatnot) in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm...

 

[Newbiespud]

Dawn of War's expansion packs had this. In Winter Assault you could play as either the 'Good' side, which was Imperial Guard and Eldar, or a seperate 'Dark' campaign which was Chaos and Orks. And then there were the race choices that gave seperate storylines (though exactly the same missions and whatnot) in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm...

Ah, that's right. A lot of real-time strategy games have done it with multiple playable factions... Not strictly parallel, but multiple playable campaigns nonetheless.

Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit) Call of Duty 4/MW2, Half life expansions, Alien Vs Predator II, Crysis Warhead (not great, but still an example noetheless), Devil May Cry 2 (haha, who am I kidding? Playing as the girl's the same damn game!), Kingdom Hearts II and Dissidia. That's all the games I can really think of. I doubt there are many more.
-Edit- I forgot ever grace for the ps2, and ephemeral fantasia).
Also Sonic the Hedgehog 06 (which no-one but me enjoyed). Also Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
Now I'm all out of ideas.

Kingdom Hearts II and MW2 aren't quite what I'm looking for. Yes, multiple characters are played during the story mode, but the stories themselves are linear and continuous. I'm looking for multiple stories. I do know that AVP2 did that, though...

Thanks so far, guys. This is getting really interesting.

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

How about the Saga Frontier games on the PS1?