Board 8 > Best story in a video game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

We need a damn Xenogears remake with a fully playable disc 2.

of those it's Xenoblade but I'm starting to think the actual answer is Dragon Quest XI
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Definitely Silent Hill 2. There's so many little details for such a small, intimate plot. And the reveals are heavy-hitting. Even the supporting characters get satisfying arcs.
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Voted 999, though it's worth mentioning that I have not played Xenogears.

Also the real answer is Trails in the Sky

Also the real, real answer is probably some visual novel if visual novels count for this question. Or maybe it's still Trails idk.

Edit: Also have not played The Walking Dead, though other than that and Xenogears I'm pretty confident in saying it's none of the rest of them (and have played most of them)
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Nier
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ninkendo posted...

of those it's Xenoblade but I'm starting to think the actual answer is Dragon Quest XI

Geez is it that good? DQ stories are usually very tropey cliches (beat all of them except 10 since it is online JP only) but not outright bad or anything. It just takes a backseat to the lore, atmosphere and gameplay

I'm really excited because I'm almost done with Spider-Man and that is the next game I'm gonna be playing.

Out of these, The Walking Dead.
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Out of those? Probably FFX.

Overall though it's Suikoden V.
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Actually I'd like people to say what is the best story they have experienced in a video game. Those are just my personal Top 10.

This is my top 10:

1. Silent Hill 2
2. Spec Ops: The Line
3. Silent Hill 3
4. Metal Gear Solid 3
5. Rule of Rose
6. Max Payne 3
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops
8. Metal Gear Solid 2
9. Mass Effect 2
10. The Last of Us

Honorable mentions to Assassin's Creed IV, Grand Theft Auto V, Uncharted 3, Call of Duty 4, God of War, Resident Evil Remake, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Final Fantasy X.
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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

ninkendo posted...

of those it's Xenoblade but I'm starting to think the actual answer is Dragon Quest XI

Geez is it that good? DQ stories are usually very tropey cliches (beat all of them except 10 since it is online JP only) but not outright bad or anything. It just takes a backseat to the lore, atmosphere and gameplay

I'm really excited because I'm almost done with Spider-Man and that is the next game I'm gonna be playing.

let's just say the 2nd half of the game is as amazing as people say it is
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I don't know about an order but here's my "top tier" I guess, which would be stuff that I'd give either a 10/10 or a high 9/10 to on the basis of story:

Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy X
Metal Gear Solid 3
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Trails in the Sky (counting all 3 together)
Persona 3-5
Tales of Berseria
Tales of Vesperia
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception/Truth
Virtue's Last Reward

And then I'll also list a few full-on visual novels (meaning not hybrid genre like 999 for example), which I typically consider to be a separate category from video games:

Clannad*
Ever17
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
The House in Fata Morgana
Steins;Gate*

*have only seen the anime adaptation
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It's important not to confuse "Best Story" with "Most Story".
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Girugamesh posted...

It's important not to confuse "Best Story" with "Most Story".

Eh. If you think a game like Phoenix Wright is 10/10, that's gonna be 100% for the story. Most of the other games on the poll have enjoyable gameplay to compensate for not being all story all the time.

FFX winning is pretty embarrassing though, since it has the worst story of any Final Fantasy (other than XV now, I guess).
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Ghost Trick
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ffx or t&t arrrrrrrghhhhhhh
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Girugamesh posted...

It's important not to confuse "Best Story" with "Most Story".

Eh. If you think a game like Phoenix Wright is 10/10, that's gonna be 100% for the story. Most of the other games on the poll have enjoyable gameplay to compensate for not being all story all the time.

FFX winning is pretty embarrassing though, since it has the worst story of any Final Fantasy (other than XV now, I guess).

XV > XIII
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voted Xenoblade from them choices but it's not my favourite story.
Yakuza 0, The Witcher 2, Grim Fandango, The Last Window, Hotel Dusk, Nier: Automata, Ace Attorney Investigations 2, TWEWY, and VTMB are all a few of my favourite stories off the top of my head.
I'm actually really surprised at the lack of Grim Fandango. That and Planescape have been praised for their stories for like 20 years at this point.

Probably Nier Automata
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Huh how am I the first Xenogears vote

I mean disc 2 is rushed as hell but I'd still put it over the others on the list
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Tales of the Abyss

Vesperia's not even in the conversation for best Tales story. So full of holes!
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Also Pyre
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Mac Arrowny posted...

FFX winning is pretty embarrassing though, since it has the worst story of any Final Fantasy (other than XV now, I guess).

LOL
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malyg posted...

Hotel Dusk

This is a good one
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Zigzagoon posted...

Also Pyre

Every goddamn Supergiant Games title tbh
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I voted Xenoblade Chronicles but my personal answer is probably Nier Automata.

I think the Silent Hill 2 and The Walking Dead are really excellent intimate narratives that are probably better in terms of telling a story in the manner of award winning books or movies, but Xenoblade just has a scope to it I adore. It's like the perfect execution of an RPG plot.
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Undertale

Slightly moreso than Nier Automata probably but I can see the arguments either way
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Grim Fandango and The Longest Journey.

Voted FFX.
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Planescape: Torment is widely viewed as the best storyline outside of b8.
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I voted Silent Hill 2 out of those. I also have some respect for Xenogears (a game I want to play again,) and Telltale's Walking Dead.

My actual favorite is Mother 3, though. It makes such good use of the medium, using things like in-battle text and variations on RPG examine text to help tell the story. Even though the main characters hardly ever speak it characterizes them pretty well using sequences that deal with their inner minds - it still manages to tell a very personal story. The soundtrack is also organized to draw connections between different areas and sequences, which do a lot to enhance the emotional impact of the story. The final battle is still the most emotionally draining thing I've seen in a game.

Honorable mention to Shadow of the Colossus. Excellent minimalistic storytelling in that game. The twist is great in that it isn't actually a twist but still surprises a lot of people, which does a lot to enhance SotC's particular themes. I voted for SH2 for similar reasons. It's understated and heavy on symbolism.

Mother 3 is definitely the best story that isn't a visual novel
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As much hatred as Mass Effect 3 gets for its ending, I still maintain that it contains within it one of the best stories ever- if you get the best possible ending, then the entire Quarian/Geth war arc (spanning back to ME2) is just amazing. One of the best speeches too.

"Your whole history is you trying to wipe out the Geth. You forced them to rebel, you forced them to ally themselves with the Reapers. The Geth don't want to fight you. If you can believe that for just one minute, this war will be over. You have a choice. Please. Keelah Se'lai"

And of course, you find out earlier that 'Keelah Se'lai' means 'by the homeworld I hope to see someday', and you realise that Shepard means it literally- the Quarian fleet is reclaiming their homeworld, but Earth is still in danger, and Shepard is doing everything he/she can to take it back.

So yeah, I love that game.
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KamikazePotato posted...

Probably Nier Automata

This was my first thought as well
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OliviaTremor posted...

Planescape: Torment is widely viewed as the best storyline outside of b8.

Who cares
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Life is Strange
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Planescape definitely belongs in the discussion. It's really the opposite of the games I mentioned though: It's crushingly dialog-heavy. Sometimes the dialog options that it gives the player are paragraphs long, so that if you want to make sure you pick the proper choice you have to stop for ages at each branch and read through them all. Personally, I don't consider that to be especially good storytelling.

Ashethan posted...

Out of those? Probably FFX.

Overall though it's Suikoden V.

Hey look these are my thoughts too.

Nier Automata is one I'd consider too, I might have put it tops but the lategame brings it down a bit despite being a cool idea. Undertale's great too, as are various other Suikodens. Ace Attorney games are solid generally, I'm not even sure which one I consider to have the best overall story (besides "not Apollo Justice"). Xenogears is always a pretty solid pick.
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honestly I think I liked the original Nier's story better than Automata's
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Here are mine, in no particular order:

Silent Hill 2
Spec Ops: The Line
Metal Gear Solid 2
Danganronpa V3
Persona 4
The Witcher III
Ghost Trick
999
Detention
Bioshock
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Probably silent hill 2. Mass effect 2 and bioshock infinite are up there.

I also really like Nier automatas but I also think it goes too far out of its way at times.
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Bad Dudes.
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Yakuza 0 beats anything and everything.
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Odin Sphere needs some love.

Trails/Kiseki series would be my first thought.

HMs: Nier, Nier Automata, Ciel/Ar nosurge, Chaos;Child, Steins;Gate

Out of the games provided in the first post: ...Xenoblade, I guess. Not happy with any of the choices that I'm familiar with though. (Gears, FFX)
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I'm partial to the Half-Life series and 2 in particular, even though the story was never finished. It's rare to have a sci-fi plot involving aliens that's actually original, and Half-Life nailed it in that regard (having a bonafide author write the game's narrative surely helped it). Plus, I'm a huge fan of environmental storytelling, which the series excels at. Plus plus, the ending of Episode Two made me bawl harder than anything ever.

And the new God of War got me pretty emotional towards the end of it. The cycle ends here. We must be better than this.

E: Out of this poll, I voted Metal Gear Solid and would have BioShock Infinite as a runner up, but I haven't played lots of the games here.
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I love T&T. That being said, I wouldn't say that it has the "best story" in videogames (as a wide category). It's got good twists and characters, but it's also very much part of its own little world. An all time "great story" I think needs to do a bit more than just be entertaining... it needs to make you think and whatnot. It would be like saying an Agatha Christie novel has the best story in literature.

That being said, I'm not sure if any of the other choices are any closer.

colliding posted...

An all time "great story" I think needs to do a bit more than just be entertaining... it needs to make you think and whatnot. It would be like saying an Agatha Christie novel has the best story in literature.

That being said, I'm not sure if any of the other choices are any closer.

I think you can make an argument for Xenogears, Bioshock, MGS, and especially Silent Hill 2 having that quality, out of the ones Axl posted.

foolm0r0n posted...

OliviaTremor posted...

Planescape: Torment is widely viewed as the best storyline outside of b8.

Who cares

Good point, best storyline obviously Trials and Tribulations
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LeonhartFour posted...

honestly I think I liked the original Nier's story better than Automata's

same, I shall stand with you in solidarity
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Wow. So few votes and barely any mention of Xenogears. More people here need to play it and try to comprehend its truly spectacular story.

This was a stealth 'I want a Xenogears remake' topic.