Storyline > Gameplay

[Orion]

I'm interested in finding games with spectacular or thought provoking story lines. I picked up 999 for the DS, which I haven't started playing, but I was wondering what games out there you guys have come across where the storyline is awesome?

[Super Buu]

I think you'd enjoy Alundra. It's my second favourite game of all time (under OOT) for several reasons, but partly because of the story. It's not a spectacularly intricate plot, and the protagonist is silent, but it is certainly thought provoking and emotionally engaging. Such themes include religion, dreams, repression and expression of thought, death, insanity and so on.

It also happens to be very good gameplay-wise. Think classic Zelda, but with jumping and slightly higher difficulty. Some of the puzzles are insanely difficult but also awesome when you figure them out ... but there are tons of guides out there if you're a pussy.

[Vad]

Storyline is not always greater than game play in my book, but if the story is absolutely horrid it will ruin the game play and I will immediately lose interest. The same goes in reverse.

[Sigfried Hunin]

SHAADOOWWWWWWW OF THE COOOOOLLOOOSSSSUSSSSSS

[Jonathan Meer]

Illusion of Gaia.

Maybe it's a nostalgia thing. That game makes me jellied.

EDIT: I'm just going to assume you've never played any of the following:

Beyond Good & Evil

any MGS game

Bioshock

Mass Effect 1/2

Dragon Age: Origins

Half-Life 1/2

Kingdom Hearts (if you're into that weird japanese mystical shit)

FFX (if you're into that weird japanese mystical shit)

Persona 1/2/3/4 (I've never played these but I've heard nothing but rave reviews)

Metroid Prime (it's...not quite story in the sense of the others, but if you're willing to blur the line between narrative and atmosphere, it simply doesn't get better. There are no characters except yourself, the silent protagonist, but it is a beautiful, beautiful thing)

Shadow of the Colossus (seriously. Fucking seriously. This game reached a certain point that simply hasn't been touched since)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (FUCK YEAH. FUCKING FUCK YEAH)

Mother 1/2/3 (Another that I haven't played, though I plan to when I have more time. Old JRPGs, though hardly your typical FF-clone)

Deus Ex (...ish. For it's time, it was great, though I don't think it's aged so well.)

System Shock 2 (commonly known as the spiritual predecessor to Bioshock)

Dead Space (as with Prime, atmosphere is the most striking character here; the story is actually a bit bland-ish, but the game sings with detail and legitimacy)

Infamous (Not the BEST story around, but pretty neat, and a bit of a different take. Definitely a worthwhile ride)

The Witcher (Haven't played; heard it's great)

Phantom Brave (PLAY IT. As far as story goes, fuck Disgaea. Phantom Brave trounces it hands down.)

Borderlands (if, again, you're willing to blur the line between narrative and atmosphere, this one's a winner. And it's fucking fun)

[Milk Bubble]

You should try playing visual novels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_novel

[Dr. Cringle]

Visual novels are good, and yes I think some are definitely worth a shot at reading... However, the medium has a certain stigma attached to it due in part to the dating sim stuff. Most publishers in the visual novel format won't publish anything else. Only some of the really creative, succesful writers can get away with breaking up the formula, and that stuff is usually only produced and published for Japan, in Japan. You may get lucky with some translation groups, though, if you find a visual novel your interested in.

[Tyr]

Hehehe.. Visual novels... ;D

As someone who played the Witcher a lot, it's definitely got a very interesting storyline with the added element of you choosing how the story unfolds on a rather grand scale. Not to mention of when you're bored, you can play Naked Girls, the card collecting game!

Lunatea's Veil (sp?) is a standard platformer with some added bonusses of untraditional gameplay. You play this blue guy with his best friend the flying guy (a name which I forgot) with a storyline ending you never see coming. Granted I completed this when I was 10 or 12 (cannot recall) and maybe for an adult the storyline is revealed way before.

Fahrenheit has multiple good storylines with lots of good writing and a not so demanding gameplay. It's Heavy Rain with REAL multiple endings. Though I bet the graphical expectation of our time reduces the quality of this game a bit, the storyline is still relatively solid (until the fucked up parts but whatevs.)

[Super Buu]

Storyline is not always greater than game play in my book, but if the story is absolutely horrid it will ruin the game play and I will immediately lose interest. The same goes in reverse.

Personally I can compartmentalize bits of games, and say I loved the story but not the gameplay or vice versa. That said I play games for the gameplay mostly, the vast majority of games have terrible stories anyway and I never had a problem finding motivation when it was just "YOU ARE MANS, WIN THE GAME."

[Orion]

Storyline is not always greater than game play in my book, but if the story is absolutely horrid it will ruin the game play and I will immediately lose interest. The same goes in reverse.

I agree, but I've found that I'm getting sick of playing games that have a superficial context for doing so. The reason I fell in love with video games was because of epic stories and moments like in the days of yore.

[Milk Bubble]

I agree, but I've found that I'm getting sick of playing games that have a superficial context for doing so. The reason I fell in love with video games was because of epic stories and moments like in the days of yore.

Good stories keep you interested, and wanting to keep playing the game to find out what is going to happen next.

[Vad]

Knight of the Old Republic's story made me play for 12 hours straight without food and bathroom breaks. That's the kind of interest I want.

[Kole T. Merr]

Remember back in the old days, when video games didn't require an epic story?

Super Mario Bros. was fun. The story? "Bad guy takes princess...go get her"
Pac-Man was fun. The story? "You're a yellow circle...eat things"
Q-Bert was fun. The story? "Who the fuck knows?"
Tetris IS fun. The story? "You're a construction worker?"

Games do not have to have epic stories to be good.

[Vad]

Super Smash Brothers N64 =(

[Jonathan Meer]

Remember back in the old days, when video games didn't require an epic story?

I spent time thinking about Mass Effect.

I don't spend time thinking about time sinks like Tetris or Pac-Man.

Q-Bert was fun. The story? "Who the fuck knows?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMnJwPbX1fA&list=SL

[Orion]

Remember back in the old days, when video games didn't require an epic story?

Super Mario Bros. was fun. The story? "Bad guy takes princess...go get her"
Pac-Man was fun. The story? "You're a yellow circle...eat things"
Q-Bert was fun. The story? "Who the fuck knows?"
Tetris IS fun. The story? "You're a construction worker?"

Games do not have to have epic stories to be good.

8bitopinion.wordpress.com

I explored exactly that in the above link. I also am well aware that story isn't everything. I asked for games where stories are central to the game.

[Josh]

Remember back in the old days, when video games didn't require an epic story?

Super Mario Bros. was fun. The story? "Bad guy takes princess...go get her"
Pac-Man was fun. The story? "You're a yellow circle...eat things"
Q-Bert was fun. The story? "Who the fuck knows?"
Tetris IS fun. The story? "You're a construction worker?"

Games do not have to have epic stories to be good.

And Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest...

Games still don't need epic stories, look at Street Fighter, Angry Birds, Game Dev Story, Infinity Blade, etc.

I don't get why people are enamored with games from the past, yeah they were good and fun. But they weren't any better than what we have now, and I would rather play Super Mario Galaxy than Super Mario Bros- and I was old enough to have and play the original NES when it first came out.

And Duck hunt was a shitty game, with shitty accuracy and I cheated like you wouldn't believe.

[Orion]

THANKS FOR ADDRESSING THE OP

[Josh]

THANKS FOR ADDRESSING THE OP

SMT: Devil Survivor
SMT: Strange Journey
Yakuza 1, 2, 3, 4

[Super Buu]

I've been hearing a lot about Nier. Supposedly the story is incredible though the gameplay is mediocre.