The Greatest Story Ever Told?

[Kaendris]

"As soon as the battle was over, it was obvious that Terra was abhorred by the result. The smell of burnt flesh, the cries of the dying men around her, they struck something deep inside that an addled mind could not grasp. She had been used as a tool, a weapon of wanton destruction. Yet even now that the Imperial hold over her had been broken, she invoked the power again and again, instinctively destroying those that sought her. All she knew was death and pain...."

Final Fantasy VI (3 in NA (thank you for the correction)) is, to me, the greatest story ever told in a video game setting. An Empire bent on, and successful at, merciless domination, a ancient race of guardians extinguished one by one, a group of rag tag revolutionaries standing against the overwhelming darkness. No matter how I age, that story never leaves my heart. I can return to the world again and again, and wrap myself in it's pace and development like a warm blanket. The characters grow and it seems as if their lives have meaning. It was perfect to me, and became the standard that I judge all stories against.

Yet, this is only my opinion and as a lover of great stories, I desire to know what I may be missing.

So that is my question for this week members of the Escapist, if you will humor me.

To you, what is the greatest story ever told in this beloved medium?

 

[Glongpre]

Either Planescape Torment or The Legacy of Kain. They are very well written and are quite interesting but the gameplay is meh.

You can read the entire storyline for Legacy of Kain, I believe. It is somewhere on the internet...or watch all the cinematics on youtube.

I don't know if you can do that with Planescape.

What if I told you that FF10 has a better story than FF6? I found the strength of FF6 was in the characters and not the story.

 

[Kaendris]

Super Mario Bros. The story of one man's epic journey to save the woman he loves, and the obstacles he must overcome in order to rescue her. I think I speak for everyone when I say it is a perfect metaphor for the trials and tribulations of any committed relationship, and an incredible examination of what love is, and what it means to humanity in general. The obviously phallic symbolism of characters like Toad and Princess Toadstool (mushrooms have often been symbolically used to represent the penis), the subtext of "Your princess is in another castle" (Mario is stopped from finding Toadstool by Toad. A clear metaphor for being cock-blocked by another man), the combination of a romantic questline and surrealist imagery...

Truly, Super Mario Bros really speaks of the human condition.

Bravo! There is so much metaphorical, philosophical, and stunning critical insight in your analysis that, I must admit, I am ashamed I missed the obvious analogy of these elements before.

I am impressed by the critical depth it must have taken to arrive at the subtext of that seemingly simple plot. Tell me, what do you suppose the purpose of the plumber and coins are? Is there some metaphorical lesson to be based upon the act of wearing overalls and scouring sewers for coins?

 

[The Madman]

To its credit Final Fantasy VI is the only Final Fantasy game I can truly say I like. I don't agree that it's the 'greatest ever', but it does indeed have a nice charming story to it that's very reminiscent of a good fairy-tale or a decent fantasy novel, and most importantly it's both fun and endearing.

As for my own pick for best in the gaming genre I'd have to give it to The Longest Journey. An old PC point & click adventure game that sadly never did really get the recognition is deserved. Beautiful story, excellent dialogue, great voice acting, unique setting, and brilliantly realized characters. It's not nearly as complex as something like Planescape: Torment nor as long as Final Fantasy VI, but in my mind at least it's got more heart, more of a soul, and I really admire that.

Mind you I should also point out that game story in general are rubbish so this topic is mostly just going to be people repeating the same names over and over while others make snarky comments or the usual 'games dont need story' argument.

 

[Kaendris]

What if I told you that FF10 has a better story than FF6? I found the strength of FF6 was in the characters and not the story.

I find it interesting that you bring up the strength of FFVI characters making the game for you, because that is exactly what killed FFX for me. I have disliked very few characters as much as I disliked Tidus. The way in which his character blunders through everything, stumbling from "deep poignant inner voice", to "overly cocky and ignorant outer voice" just grates upon my nerves. How can he go from deep consideration about the pain of Yuna's quest one minute, to failing to understand/respect the necessity of tradition and seeker history the next. It just hurt my brain on more than a few levels.

I do enjoy the game though, primarily because Auron and LuLu are saving graces.

As for Planescape Torment, I have to confess, I never beat it, so I have no idea where that story heads. Something about the gameplay just crushes me about midway through.

 

[Clowndoe]

I don't know if you can [reading the storyline of] Planescape.

I don't think that's necessary or wise. It would take away from the experience because the story told is nothing without player agency and choices. You would also lose out on the exploration, discovery, and on all the little things, the quirky characters and the impact of choices you make. It would be as bad as a book based on Doom that was a literal translation of the gameplay: "And then he side-stepped the fireball before shooting yet another imp. Then he collected another row of floating armor shards."

Anyway, if anything, I just gave that game's story huge praise. A game that manages to be about a unified quest that only builds in depth, and that doesn't toss it all away at the last moment. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you think. Conversations are about more than just clicking through every option (on key points), because you can "fail" dialogue. And the combat, on default difficulty as a full warrior with brass knuckles was a push over, and it's a tiny part of the game when you think back to it, so I don't know why people bother mentioning it.

Did this just become some fanboy's review and shoving-down-your-throat of Planescape: Torment? I think it did. So yeah, good story.

 

[carnex]

Planescape Torment. There are many great stories, or what we perceive as great stories, told through the games. We must remember that stories in games do not follow same pattern as great stories in other mediums. Interactivity changes how stories are told and linear complexity gives quite a bit of way to interactivity and often branching.

And then we have Planescape: Torment. A story without a story. It has a lot of stories, mostly about our immortal protagonist but also about countless other characters and events, but not a great overarching one. And the reason is that great overarching story in only in the mind of players. It has one beginning, several endings but middle is only in the eye of the beholder. And there is always the best story for each individual, crafted out of countless facts to suit our own imagination. Task of creating game that would tell such a story is nearly impossible but Black Isle did it and did it as nearly perfectly as humanly possible.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Persona 3 and Persona 4.
Sure, each game is different and talks about different things. P3 is darker one and talks about death, depression and loss of meaning in life. P4 is much brighter and talks about self-identification, society and search for the truth. Cast is also quite different in both games. Almost every character in P3 is dysfunctional in some way and has to deal with practical problems. Cast of P4 is relatively normal (in giant quotes) and they more or less try to find their place in life. Both games have very different and unique feel to them. But, in the end of the day, complicated plot of both games boils down to one simple thing, to the power of friendship. And this is... well, beautiful.

 

[Elfgore]

Well with what I've played and remembered, Mass Effect takes the cake. Sure the ending was rocky but the journey there, I thought, was very well told. I also think that if they could have had the ending involving black matter it would be even better.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Bravo! There is so much metaphorical, philosophical, and stunning critical insight in your analysis that, I must admit, I am ashamed I missed the obvious analogy of these elements before.

I am impressed by the critical depth it must have taken to arrive at the subtext of that seemingly simple plot. Tell me, what do you suppose the purpose of the plumber and coins are? Is there some metaphorical lesson to be based upon the act of wearing overalls and scouring sewers for coins?

Well, clearly the drive to collect coins while wearing plumber overalls and climbing through pipes is a metaphor for the general drudgery we must all go through on a daily basis in order to make our loved ones happy. After all, what is a day job if not a symbolic scramble through sewer pipes in order to collect coins? That is what I love about SMB. It's not afraid to ask the tough questions like "Can a loving relationship endure all, or does it need some kind of financial stability in order to be secure?" It's also incredibly forward thinking in its acceptance of more bohemian lifestyles. Mario, after all, has to consume mushrooms and go through psychedelic effects in order to progress through the game. He is a modern day Dali, or perhaps even a Byron, searching for his muse in the middle of the contrast between psychedelia and general everyday boredom.

Perhaps the question the game asks isn't whether one has to accept a life of drudgery in order to find happiness, but whether it is possible to balance a life of work with more hedonistic tendencies? To which I would posit the answer is a resounding yes. After all, Mario is not only able to still collect coins while riding the effects of mushrooms, he is able to do so more effectively. Perhaps the game is our American Beauty, daring us to inject the monotony of day-to-day living with something radical, and to see if we don't become better people for it. We can't all stomp on Goombas all day, but perhaps by taking mushrooms at work, we'll all find out something about ourselves, and maybe even each other.

That was awesomely hilarious.

OT: My own pick would be Final Fantasy VII. A cliche choice I know but no video game story (except perhaps Persona 4 and Katawa Shoujo) has engrossed me so deeply.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Part of me wants to say Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for telling easily the best love story of any video game...

But I have to go with Xenoblade Chronicles. The game's story is basically an analysis and response to Nietzsche's famous quote "God is dead" (and I mean the whole quote, not just those three words), and that itself is sort of a gross simplification of what goes on in the story. It does a great job at presenting its main idea, and it also uses its other themes of time, fate, destiny, and transhumanism among others to work with this theme throughout a rather epic story. It's pretty easy to see the major twists coming, but they're still interesting and enjoyable to follow. The cast of characters, both major and minor, is the strongest I've seen in a game, and I've never come to care about a cast of characters so much so quickly. This also aids in making many of the side plots enjoyable to follow as well and really giving an added sense of purpose to doing what you do. The fact that it fully held my interest for 150+ hours is a major plus as well, as most stories, no matter how great, tend to overstay their welcome long before then.

 

[Kaendris]

That was awesomely hilarious.

OT: My own pick would be Final Fantasy VII. A cliche choice I know but no video game story (except perhaps Persona 4 and Katawa Shoujo) has engrossed me so deeply.

Yes, Jeffers is a witty one isn't he. Actually left me laughing quite hard.

I am curious, what is it about the FFVII story that you enjoy so much? I began to lose interest after the whole "clouds discontentment with his own life and shame at his inner failure is what has caused his own strife (see what i did there)" bit. I would love to know what kept you interested.

I will give VII credit for one of the greatest "i didn't see that coming" moments in gaming though.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords. A game that has the balls to not only break down RPG conventions, but to outright attack and criticize one of the biggest media franchises of all time and still feel like part of the shared universe does it for me.

 

[zerragonoss]

Super Mario Bros. The story of one man's epic journey to save the woman he loves, and the obstacles he must overcome in order to rescue her. I think I speak for everyone when I say it is a perfect metaphor for the trials and tribulations of any committed relationship, and an incredible examination of what love is, and what it means to humanity in general. The obviously phallic symbolism of characters like Toad and Princess Toadstool (mushrooms have often been symbolically used to represent the penis), the subtext of "Your princess is in another castle" (Mario is stopped from finding Toadstool by Toad. A clear metaphor for being cock-blocked by another man), the combination of a romantic questline and surrealist imagery...

Truly, Super Mario Bros really speaks of the human condition.

I may grant you that it speaks to the bro-man condition, but they are an offshoot of humanity that I am not sure I approve of.

On topic I would have to go with persona 3 and 4 great stories of self identity and discovery. Since I don't really have much more to add I will add in I think Kingdoms of Amalur actually had the most wasted potential in story I can think of. With very interesting meta ideas about free will and resuscitation that create a world in which the pc is the only thing with agency in the world. Of course all its discussion of this can fit in about 15 minutes, while the rest is just unitersting plot I can barely remember.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

And once again it is clear no one has played Suikoden II or III.

Stories from other video games simply do not even compare.

 

[tangoprime]

"As soon as the battle was over, it was obvious that Terra was abhorred by the result. The smell of burnt flesh, the cries of the dying men around her, they struck something deep inside that an addled mind could not grasp. She had been used as a tool, a weapon of wanton destruction. Yet even now that the Imperial hold over her had been broken, she invoked the power again and again, instinctively destroying those that sought her. All she knew was death and pain...."

Final Fantasy VI (4 in NA) is, to me, the greatest story ever told in a video game setting. An Empire bent on, and successful at, merciless domination, a ancient race of guardians extinguished one by one, a group of rag tag revolutionaries standing against the overwhelming darkness. No matter how I age, that story never leaves my heart. I can return to the world again and again, and wrap myself in it's pace and development like a warm blanket. The characters grow and it seems as if their lives have meaning. It was perfect to me, and became the standard that I judge all stories against.

Yet, this is only my opinion and as a lover of great stories, I desire to know what I may be missing.

So that is my question for this week members of the Escapist, if you will humor me.

To you, what is the greatest story ever told in this beloved medium?

Totally agreed. At the very least, the best FF. Kids that started on the PSX ones don't know what they were missing. Awesome twist leading to one of the best second acts in gaming history- They did the party thrown into disarray, find them all, prep them all, go after the big bad suicide mission style WAY before BioWare started cranking things out with that formula. Fighting on stage during an opera and making it part of the show, outstanding. Also, single most uplifting and memorable moment in gaming history,

Spoiler

seeing the Falcon airship rise from Daryl's tomb with this playing:

I think that was one of the few times in all of gaming when I shouted an honest YEEAAAH! audibly and pumped my fist, fully honestly coming from my soul. Best Story. Best Character Development. Best Music.

 

[Kaendris]

And once again it is clear no one has played Suikoden II or III.

Stories from other video games simply do not even compare.

Can you elaborate? What was the hook, what makes it beyond comparison for you, and that you feel other people are missing out on and should appreciate?

 

[ERaptor]

Im gonna go with Dark Souls and / or Berserk.

Specifically, because both Stories feature a Protagonist, who by rights should die in the very first moments of his fictional life. Absolutely everything around them reinforces the notion that their quest is helpless. Why continue? Why struggle? No matter how many times you lift your weapon, and against all odds, slay the next giant enemy before you, what do you accomplish? Eventually, as some light is shed on the world sourrounding the characters, you realise it isnt just about them. At some point, they arent swinging their swords for themselves anymore. It's for a greater cause. Other characters with their very own motvies and morales are introduced. Other strugglers, motivating the Protagonists to move on. A lot of Backstory is told just by visuals, small hints here and there. Both had absolutely fantastic immersion, and kept me hooked to the very end (altough Berserk is still runnng).