Favourite Video Game Narrative?

[Spirit]

Simple thread, which game have you played where the story blew you away?

This includes the plot with key scenes that got to you as well as the key concepts that the narrative in question utilises.

for example do you love FF7's story because of the Life-stream idea and Aerith's (whatever she is called) death?

Which video game has a story you will never forget and did it make the game what it was for you?

 

[Ventus]

So far, Kingdom Hearts II has my favorite narrative. I can't put all of what captured me into words, partly because I don't have the vocabulary and partly because I'm not much of a storygoer.

Basically what got me was:
- Sora's irrepressible capabilities to make friends with all he meets for the most part.
- Sora and Kairi reuniting.
- The mysteries the game presented, like what the heck the Keyblade's actual purpose was as well as who Xehanort is/was back in the day.
- Riku's growth although he's still (whiny?)
- The Disney filler, ironically, because Sora blended in very well with things.

 

[Justac00lguy]

One of mine would be Twilight Princess....However I say this far too often so since this is general gaming I will choose something different

In fact am going to go all Retro here and choose Croc: Legend of the Gobbo's! Now this game certainly didn't offer any extraordinary narrative however playing this as a kid I followed the story as if it were a movie! I was only 5 so at the time my concept of how a good story worked was very basic and in terms of the game it was pretty basic! However the impact it left on me it generally stated my love for gaming

 

[1upmuffin]

For me it's Bioshock, it manages to tell a very interesting story that is richer if you want it to be by listening to the audio logs. Also, the story telling is more immersive since it doesn't take you away from the experience with overuse of cutscenes.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I enjoyed the first Mass Effect very much. Part epic space opera, part manhunt, part gritty detective thriller, part Rambo.

 

[Castle]

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The characterization is strong in this one, and the plot and narrative is extremely malleable. I like that how each major player has their own understandable motivations and how there isn't really any individual major bad guy. Everyone's an antagonist, and everyone a potential ally depending on how you play.

There's this one character who is little more than a light curiosity at first who ends up betraying the Witcher Geralt and taking his girl, Triss. This sends everything they'd just accomplished spiraling out of control. Later on Geralt meets up with her and I was ready to gut her for what she did. But I heard her out and she sticks her neck out for him and by the end of that story I had Geralt end up in bed with her!!!

That is pretty masterful! That the narrative and characterization can make me feel about a character in so many different ways!

Other than that, the stories in Mass Effect are among science fiction's best. Forget Mass Effect 3 and all the bullocks about the Reapers. Sure, Quorrian's and Geth is Battlestar Galactica, the Rachni is Starship Troopers... so Biowaste borrowed heavily from existing fiction with enough originality to make their own story unique, but it's the Krogan and the Genophage that is the richest in the series. That whole narrative is so nuanced and only a total jerk wouldn't feel pangs of regret for the misfortune of the surprisingly likable Krogan. Individual character stories may be light and the core plots of each game pretty weak, but the power of the narrative lies in the world lore and fictional history of the galaxy's many unique denizens.

 

[LalaCoyoteGamer]

I'd have to say Okami, without a doubt. It's a touch choice, but I really feel like the story was very well done in all parts of the story. Without giving too much away... The game starts out not really feeling totally serious, and there are a lot of very light and occasionally (im)mature jokes, but then there are points, especially when you get around halfway into the game, where the story suddenly gets dark, and you start really caring about some of the characters. There are enough subtle hints about major events in the plot that, if you're paying attention, you know something's up, but even then, you're still shocked when some of those things happen. The game's a masterpiece.

 

[DarkLordMenchi]

Final Fantasy 8, it was a nice blend of action emotion with time travel thrown in. everything was so well balanced that i may have finished it a few thousand time

 

[A Link In Time]

Chrono Trigger tops my list. Its a nice blend of companions from both the past and future in a fight against a being who transcends the span of time.

It's a pretty cliche narrrative nowadays but Chrono Trigger was among the first to do it successfully and with so many sidequests to delve into.

 

[OcarinaBoy]

The Metal Gear Solid series as a whole has the best narrative in my mind. It has wonderful plot twists, great character development, and always manages to tie everything together between each game. I've watched Snake's story unfold, and I don't think I've seen anything that's even remotely close to being more engaging. There are also very few minor characters; almost every person you meet and hear about plays an integral role in the story, both in the context of the specific game that they appear in, and in the series as whole. I dare say that this is the series that I have invested the most of my time into, more time than even the Legend of Zelda (and I've known Zelda for far longer than I have Metal Gear).

 

[toonlink]

For me, it's got to be Portal 2, it's so much more different than Portal, with there being a much larger enviroment, and with that plot twist (if you wanna know, just google it) And there are so many easter eggs that add to it. Only problem I had was that I had to play it twice, because it didn't make sense the first time. And then it just did the second.

 

[ThePurpleKnight]

Tales of Vesperia, such an amazing story, alot like code geass, 2 friends both trying to do good, but using different methods, one uses methods that would be considered wrong, but does because of it, and the other follows the law and does his best to change the system but ends up being the bad guy cause of it, nice story and it was done really well in ToV.