Best Storylines in Games

Started by guest5158, May 25, 2014, 17:45:41 PM

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guest5158

Hi All,

I wanted to start off a topic on seeing what (in your own opinion) are the best Storylines in games...Though some people say PS2 / Xbox / Gamecube etc. aren't completely retro, for me I've included a couple from my personal list...

1) Fahrenheit (The Indigo Prophecy)
2) GTA San Andreas
3) The Original Spyro Trilogy
4) Max Payne 1 & 2 (Also in my top 10 games list of all time)
5) Perfect Dark (bit whacky but definitely cool)

guest5158

By the way those were in no particular order

TrekMD

Hmm, I don't do a lot of modern gaming but there is one game that I like the story in:  Kingdom Hearts - Birth By Sleep.  :)

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


TL

The first one that springs to mind for me is Myst!


guest5158

Quote from: "The Laird"The first one that springs to mind for me is Myst!



I've NEVER played Myst but it's on my "to play" list. I've heard great things about it, just...never really made the time to give it chance.

Ben

Mine would all be older, this is one of my gripes with games since the 32 bit era.

1. Xenogears - PSX - I love philosophy, sci fi, and religious themes, and this game has them all.  My all time favorite RPG.
2. Shadowrun - Megadrive/Genesis - One of the few RPGs outside of Japan with a great story, another cool sci fi one in the near distant future.
3. Phantasy Star IV - Megadrive/Genesis -  Another great sci fi storyline, not as deep as the first two, but still great.
4. Kartia - PSX - Very underrated PSX RPG, set in a medieval/fantasy environment.  It defied most of the genre conventions and gave a more plausible explanation for how magic could work in a fantasy setting, plus had a conflicted heroine and non-depressed/emo male protagonist.
5. Final Fantasy VII - PSX - It's easy to hate on this one because of all the horrible add on content that came later (Advent Children), but the original game did have a fantastic sci storyline dealing with ecological issues.  I just pretend everything else never happened when I play it, now.

Bobinator

Off hand? I'd say the Quest for Glory series. I mean, it probably isn't entirely fair, given that adventure games tend to live and die by their stories, but... well, I'd say it deserves it. See, QfG is one of the saddeningly few stories where they set up an epic storyline that's continued in each game, AND actually manages to finish it. (Looking at you, Shenmue.) You start off as this loser who has a sword, some crappy leather armor, and some cash, and by the end of the fifth and final game, you become a king of your own country.

The game actually lets you save your character at the end of each game, letting you keep what stats you had at the end of it, along with a few other things. For example, if you do particularly well during the second game, you can become a paladin at the end, which gives you new abilities and opens up new plotlines in later games you normally wouldn't see. And while it's not quite as cool, characters you meet will acknowledge and respect you for stuff you did in previous games, which really helps avert the "Dude, where's my respect?" problem most RPGs have.

It's got a really interesting, too. While the first game is based on a lot of the usual European tropes that make up this sort of thing, (No dwarves or elves, though, so they're definitely being original there) other games take part in different parts of the world, dealing with things like Arabian, African, Eastern European, (with a hint of Lovecraft) and Greek legends and mythology.

It helps that it never takes itself entirely TOO seriously, and it's far, far less dry than most RPG sort of games. One of the scientifically recognized elements of the world is pizza. There's tons of puns all over the place. And there's tons of references pretty much wherever you go, from other Sierra games to meeting Groucho Marx in the second game, who sells you the beast you need to cross the desert. Did I mention the puns? Because there are a lot of puns.

Of course, there's quite a few dramatic moments, as well, even if it's not an overly dark series, but there are some some scenes that balance things out, like this one:

Quest for Glory Epic Part 122: Toby's Sacrifice

On the other hand, you can also "pick" your nose at any point in the game with your lockpick, and any NPCs will react just like they'd imagine you would. (Careful, though, this CAN kill you if you don't have the skills. Yes, really.)

Quest For Glory 2 VGA - Bad Habits

DZ-Jay

I know it's not retro, but I was always very impressed with the storyline of God Of War.

For old retro games, the one that made the biggest impression on me was Fahrenheit 451, for the C=64.

That game is the single reason I started reading the Classics--back when I was in high school!

(To this day, I know that "Call me Ishmael" is the first line to Moby Dick, and that "Tiger, tiger, burning bright" is from a poem by William Blake." Also, "It was a pleasure to burn" still resounds in me as a bad-ass way to start a story.)

The underground spy intrigue, combined with the Sci-Fi dystopian future themes, made the game very memorable.

   dZ.

TL

I have been thinking about this quite a bit and I think another game that really needs mentioning is Guardian Heroes on the Saturn. Not only does it have an excellent storyline but it also lets you choose the outcome of it by choosing what to do after each level. It was an incredible game when it came out and it's still an excellent game today, right up there with the very best games of it's generation IMO.

[align=center:m33qahdk]Guardian Heroes. SEGA Saturn. Gameplay[/align:m33qahdk]

WiggyDiggyPoo

Modern, but its my favourite.

Fallout 3.

I'm on my 5th playthrough ATM (sneaky thief murderer character that's as two faced as they come) and ignoring the main storyline I love all the side and hidden stories esp the vaults.

I just rediscovered the Gary vault, which is inhabited entirely by clones of Gary, who only say 'Gary'. its quote something to have a deranged idiot attacking you whilst screaming 'Gary Gary Gary' lol

Mire Mare

Some of the Infocom adventures had great stories.  Same with Level 9; Silicon Dreams trilogy was pretty darned cool! 

Point n click tended to have decent story driven gameplay....  Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Blade Runner(maybe), Grim Fandango, Monkey Island....

TL

[align=center:1ovfxgm7]I have the CD-i version, but it's the same game and has a great story:

Dave's Nostalgia Trip - Ep18 - Kingdom: The Far Reaches (3DO - 1995)[/align:1ovfxgm7]

Ben

I'm with you on Guardian Heroes, Laird, it and the Shining games deserve a mention as well.  The Saturn had so many RPGs with great storylines, the main issue is that most of them never saw an English release. 

SnakeEyes

I consider games with great stories as games that compel me to complete them to find out the end.

Full Throttle
Silent hill

are 2 that spring to mind.

Ben

Two games I really wanted to mention, and forgot about, were D and D2 (they were multiplatform, survival horr/puzzle games).  If you're into Silent Hill, you should definitely give them a chance (D was multiplatform, D2 was a Dreamcast exclusive AFAIK).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D_%28game%29  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D2_%28video_game%29


It's hard to sum them up without spoilers, but you can definitely see the influence the original D in particular on the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series.