What game(s) do you think has/have the best and worst writing/storytelling?

[beni 2149]

Best pick:

 

999: There was the sense of urgency. The deepening relationships and the initial panic due to the setting, all represented fantastically by the writing. The well delivered silly/comical lines, plus the more depressing and sad moments all fit and are successful in making memorable and emotional scenes. The foreshadowing, and the twists and turns just adds to all these points. 

 

Worst pick:

 

Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel:

NSFW WARNING

 

*cringes to the moon and back*

 

From the top of my head~ 

 

How about you guys?

 

[Mihenno 4195]

Best pick: Final Fantasy X

Literally my favorite game solely because of the storyline. From start to finish, I can't tell you how many times it broke me down emotionally and left me for dead. Like damn dude fuck me up. Consecutive playthroughs dont make it any easier to handle.  Always find myself shedding tears throughout the story, but maybe I'm just a pussy. All the characters are memorable and have good back stories and you find out earth shattering information at key points that hint at the story as a whole and its just fucking hot. Like 10/10 game with a hot story. 

 

Don't really have a worst pick. If I feel a game is gonna have a shit story, I generally won't play it. 

[Atreides 454]

Best Story: Xenosaga I, II, III and Xenogears

 

It's so complex and well done that I can't even describe it properly.  If you like games that have almost more cutscene than gameplay then this is for you.  I also love the fact that Xenogears (for ps1) is the final entry in the series even though Xenosaga I, II, and III are for the PS2.  Even if you can't get your hands on the games, do yourself a big favor and watch a let's play or something.  If you like stuff like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Star Trek, etc.  then this is right up your alley.  It's simply amazing.  Storywise it's the best game series I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

[Tokage 5930]

It's definitely not the best, most profound or deepest plot in videogames, but I always did like the somewhat melancholic/moody tone Alundra had.

 

I've heard a lot of good stuff about Xenogears' plot, but I've come to find that jrpg gameplay just isn't my thing anymore these days. Does the game do anything interesting gameplay wise or is it the standard slow turn-based stuff?

[Atreides 454]

It has combos your characters can pull off plus some good mech action in certain battles.  However, Xenogears far outshine Xenosaga in every aspect battlewise.  The battles are pretty fuxccin spicy and they have mechs also.  All of the xenos are actually challenging also.  My only gripe is disc 2 on Xenogears, it's more of an interactive story than an rpg, but it's because Square was rushed for time as they were pushing out FF8 in the same timeframe.

 

edit: oops forgot to clarify something

Edited September 26, 2016 by Atreides

[violetchain 912]

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is a favourite of mine. Such drama. The fact that they kill off almost all the characters that you spend the first half of the game developing and getting to know in one swoop is pretty interesting.

 

It's also really cool to see the support relationships you build between characters actually impacting the second half of the game.

Edited September 25, 2016 by violetchain

[Flame-X 441]

14 hours ago, Atreides said:

Best Story: Xenosaga I, II, III and Xenogears

 

It's so complex and well done that I can't even describe it properly.  If you like games that have almost more cutscene than gameplay then this is for you.  I also love the fact that Xenogears (for ps1) is the final entry in the series even though Xenosaga I, II, and III are for the PS2.  Even if you can't get your hands on the games, do yourself a big favor and watch a let's play or something.  If you like stuff like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Star Trek, etc.  then this is right up your alley.  It's simply amazing.  Storywise it's the best game series I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

 

I'll one up you for putting  Xenogears.

 

However, let's back up for a sec. As the end of the game shows, Xenogears is episode 5 of the universe. The problem is, while Xenosaga trilogy was originally intended to be episode 1 of the Xenogears universe, due to creators parting ways with square creating their own studio and square's copyright & ownership, Xenosaga is just an alternate retelling of Xenogears episode 1 in a different universe, so it's got nothing to do with Xenogears. Of course this is not gonna stop fans from making theories based on some easter eggs and design aesthetics shown in Xenosaga. I haven't played Xenosaga 2 or 3 so I can't speak for them but Xenosaga 1 greatly disappointed me coming from right after playing Xenogears.

 

Otherwise, I still haven't encountered a jrpg story with so much complexity and in-depth-ness compared to Xenogears. It's not afraid to tackle mature and controversial themes, it's rated M for a reason. Disc 2 was definitely change of direction. The pacing was like a bullet train speed without giving you much of a break to digest the info dump. So it will take you a few rewinds to connect the dots. A good way to fully comprehend Xenogears is to check out the Perfect Works book which covers some things that wasn't fully fleshed out within the game. Anyone who's been wanting to experience an incredible video game story telling, look no further than Xenogears.

[Atreides 454]

True, true.  I just get excited everytime I play III because of all the homages to Xenogears etc, like Fei being in the game and Nephilim looking like a younger Elly etc.

 

Also, I can see how you're disappointed playing Xenosaga right after Xenogears but..  Xenosaga (in my opinion) is far far better than Xenogears.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Atreides

[greenops 1]

Last of us definitely is in the running for best.