The Greatest Story Ever Told?

[MrBaskerville]

I think i'll go with DreamWeb, i rarely enjoy videogame stories but this was pretty solid. It's an adventure game where you play as a guy who starts to get very vivid dreams wherein he's told to kill a group of important people if he is to save the world from a cataclysmic catastrophe. It's quite interesting and you kinda keep questioning whether his actions are correct or horrible, and whether the dreams are real or not.

The violence drags it a bit down though, it is a bit excessive, first time i've seen somebodys brain splattered on the wall in a videogame (during a sex scene just to make it even more appropriate^^).

 

[Kaendris]

next: pacman
a story about the youth that is trying to find its own way in a disorienting sensoric overstimulating world that keeps demanding more and more performance from him and the only way he can withstand the demands of this society is due his abusive intake of performance enhancing drugs
<youtube=bflYjF90t7c>
and making quick decisions while trying to ignore the ghosts of his past mistakes that ultimately will haunt him and render him catatonic due depression.

Bwhahaha, that is an intriguing outlook. However, now I feel I have to know, how do you see the explanation of "eating" these ghosts. Why is he at times able to do so, and at others unable? Also, is there any way that the cycle can be broken?

 

[Kaendris]

But I am going to disagree with you in regards to that group being the best characters in the entire franchise. I agree Yuna is a powerful female protagonist but, as I have not played every female protagonist to date I would not claim she is the strongest either.

One last thing:

This makes no sense - you are okay with calling FFVI "The greatest video game story ever" without having played all games, but can't accept theclaim that Yuna is strongest female because you have not played every female protagonist ever made. Do you see the logic error here?

I make my claim based on the hundreds of games I've played over 3 decades of gaming. Yes, there are plenty of games that I've missed for sure, but the sample size from which I draw is large enough for me to make the call.

You are allowed to diagree with my choice, but I wouldn't state it like you did, considering the nature of the thread you created.

See, I think this line of thought is what is at the core of internet angst in the modern day.

You have read what you have read, and taken what you wanted from it, even gone so far as to twist the matter into something you believe fits what you wanted to hear. I never stated that I "would not accept" Yuna as the strongest female protagonist. I said I personally would not say so. Large difference there.

As for why I can pick a story, but not female protag... that is relatively simple. I have played perhaps... 5 to 7 games with a female protagonist? To me, that is not even close to a large enough sampling size to draw a conclusion. While I accept, and respect the idea that you may have more, I simply stated I could not agree or disagree.

As for your last point, not everything is about an agreement or disagreement. This is where the internet has taught individuals short shortsightedness and spread strife. It is why we have to have moderators and are constantly on the defensive in our discussions as posters, because everyone is out to be correct. I never said you were wrong, or that I disagree. You may have read that, but if you look again, it certainly was not written.

Case in point, the only person that has entered this the intent on being correct is you, with your summary dismissal of my opinion on FFVI. Which is fine, and expected. You do not believe there is a greatest story and so anyone else that does is erroneous. That is fine.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

The Xenosaga series.

This series primarily because it is so damn hard to follow. Everything gets tossed into the plot; sentient mechs, mystical artifacts, hallucinogenic planes of existence, extraterrestrials from another dimension, genetic mutants, cosmic entities, techno and religious cults, secret wars, government conspiracies, spirits, time travel, genocide, interplanetary travel, and of course, religious undertones and biblical references.

Yep, it's definitely not a story for your casual gamers, I'll tell you that. The best thing about this story is that it wraps up nicely at the end with zero lose strings.

 

[Kaendris]

[HEADING=2]Jacob's Ladder[/HEADING]

​

Anything Silent Hill (1-3) borrows from must be amazing. And it is. Easily the most fascinating and entertaining story I've ever known of.

People are saying Dark Souls? Aw man. I do not approve of that at all. Ick.

EDIT: And Final Fantasy? C'mon, people. Of every video game ever, Dragon Souls and Final Fantasy?

I'm taking my Silent Hill and going home. I don't like it here.

Hahaha, come on now, I am pretty sure people have cookies here!

Silent Hill was awesome, but the stories never enthralled me. I can completely see how they would though, in some of them at least. Some of the later iterations have been... less than optimal. Silent Hill 2 scared the wits out of me, that is for sure.

I think that is the interesting thing. This is more about what story meant the most to you, rather than, what should mean the most to everyone.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I know it's a cliché, but it has to be Planescape: Torment. The characters all felt so real to me and my quest felt like it had real meaning. I've seen a couple of people say about other stories that they "like the characters but not the story" or vice verse, but in PS:T the characters ARE the story. It's such an intensely personal narrative; it's not about the world, it's just about you and the people you care about.

After that is probably Silent Hill 2 and maybe Gemini Rue. Both similarly personal, low-level stories.

 

[Bad Jim]

I think... probably... Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid. The franchises as a whole, though the inaugural installments stand well on their own merits.

I'm not really sold on Metal Gear Solid. They talked way too much. Don't get me wrong, I like a bit of well written dialogue. It's just that I was supposed to be preventing terrorists launching nuclear weapons. I was supposedly in a bit of a hurry. Every time we stopped for a deep meaningful discussion on a topic tangential to the matter at hand, I wondered if Snake and his backup team were taking the situation seriously.

 

[JaceArveduin]

A personal favorite of mine is Ace Combat 5. Seriously, when things happen in that game, you start caring.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Lost Odyssey.

The game even had entire reading sections of back story for Kaim, sections I actually wanted to sit through and read.

 

[The_Echo]

I'm not really sold on Metal Gear Solid. They talked way too much. Don't get me wrong, I like a bit of well written dialogue. It's just that I was supposed to be preventing terrorists launching nuclear weapons. I was supposedly in a bit of a hurry. Every time we stopped for a deep meaningful discussion on a topic tangential to the matter at hand, I wondered if Snake and his backup team were taking the situation seriously.

When it came to the first game, yeah. Some of the Codec calls were kind of ridiculous. But as I recall, they had somewhere in the order of four or five hours before launch?

Other than that, the only time it felt like they were talking too much was the massive Codec call at the end of MGS2 (interesting as it was). I mean, Solidus was basically just hanging out on that roof for ten minutes.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I'd pick Final Fantasy Tactics for a lack of any better ideas at the moment.

 

[Kaendris]

Lost Odyssey.

The game even had entire reading sections of back story for Kaim, sections I actually wanted to sit through and read.

Now there is a game that I wanted desperately to like. I loved the story, as far as I got in it, but something about the combat just ruined me. Seriously, I was terrible at that game. I think about picking it back up every once in a while. see if I have gotten any better with age, but I never do.

Glad to hear at least the story seems to have fulfilled it's promise.

 

[Kaendris]

I know it's a cliché, but it has to be Planescape: Torment. The characters all felt so real to me and my quest felt like it had real meaning. I've seen a couple of people say about other stories that they "like the characters but not the story" or vice verse, but in PS:T the characters ARE the story. It's such an intensely personal narrative; it's not about the world, it's just about you and the people you care about.

After that is probably Silent Hill 2 and maybe Gemini Rue. Both similarly personal, low-level stories.

There are no cliches on this one, only things that give meaning to the gamer.

You know, there was something about Mort that always bothered me. Now again, I confess I never beat Planescape, but I just always found the floating skull odd. Right there with you in the beginning, all smiles and jokes, but oddly sinister. The characters in that game did seem to have an incredible level of depth.

Wasn't there a burning man, I seem to recall something about a guy on fire.

 

[nuttshell]

How often was Planescape: Torment mentioned?
Ah good, you can take one more.

Planescape: Torment

No contest. The overwhelming ammount of "exceptionally good" in long and short stories in that thing, can't be found anywhere else to date.

 

[Mobax]

Hrmm... I'm thinking of all the titles I've played, and none of them jump out and say "I'm the best" That's not to say I haven't enjoyed some great moments in the stories of various games. Some of the strongest moments in games I have played are the ending of Red Dead Redemption, the chopper crash in MW1. But I wouldn't say either of those games tells a greatest every story. I have enjoyed the Hitman story arc, I appreciate how it carries over all the games, I've played the last 4, and I think Blood Money was my favorite chapter of the story.

I see that I'm just rambling here and not really giving a definitive answer. I think my answer will be Morrowind, the first time I played through the game, I really felt engrossed in the world, I read the in-game books to learn the lore I was fulfilling. To me that level of immersion is the product of a good story.