Thread 3825925

I’m wondering what RPG you think has the best story of all time. The picture I posted is kinda related, it’s a great story but maybe not the best. For me what makes a truly great RPG story is that it has more than just a good plot. It needs strong character development and romance if it fits the theme, choices that feel meaningful, a world that feels alive, and themes that stay with you long after you finish and leave you feeling empty and sad that its over like finishing a good book. What do you think is the greatest RPG story ever told?

>>3825925 (OP)
FF 7 or 10

Golden Sun and Digimon world do it for me.

>>3825932
Holy shit i forgot about Golden sun I should really replay it

>>3825925 (OP)
Mother 3, PoE1 & 2, or FF6 probably fit your bill the best. 7 and 10 were anime feces. BG2 is a great game but doesn't really have a lot to say about the human condition and characters are very limited in their development. Earthbound doesn't really have character development or deep plot. NWN2 is a great game but doesn't have a deep plot even though your companions do develop a lot as personalities.

Mother 3 has character development for your companions but is also a profoundly sentimental exploration about what it means to grow up and encounter a weird world while trying to develop your sense of self, including your sexuality. The plot is fascinating in its sensitivity but also it involves intensely profound moments relevant to life and the human condition generally.

PoE 1 & 2 have well fleshed out companions who are reasonably interactive and their stories develop their outlook and inner conflicts well. The overall plots are great in structure and are about themes of what might be the purpose of religion for humanity. How is / should society be structured and guided? What are the consequences of minds being malleable or transferrable (definitely inviting transhumanist sci-fi explorations)? What does it mean to love someone when who they are can be altered by external things beyond your control?

FF6 is babby's first epic, with all the bells and whistles. The plot is not difficult to follow. It's about the confrontation between the negative nihilistic response and constructing meaning and purpose in life on the premise of choosing to love and be loved. The characters are clear and concise in terms of what they're about. They don't really interact much, but you see their stories play out and it's fairly satisfying. The main downside is that it's a Final Fantasy game, so it's extremely anime-styled. So it's suitable for children, especially those without healthy socialization.

>>3825937
Do I need to play the other 2 Earthbound games to get Mother 3?

>>3825943
it's strongly recommended. they're both great games that you should play anyway tho.
if you do play m1, make sure you get plenty of use out of your buff/debuff/PP-absorb spells.

>>3825937
>best stories of all
>Pillars 1 and 2
sigh

>>3825937
9/10 bait

>>3825925 (OP)
Betrayal at Krondor

>>3825925 (OP)
For me it was indeed Witcher 3. I don't think anything else even comes close. It's even a bit upsetting that it set the bar so high because Witcher 4 really has no hope of matching it.

For me, it's Pokemon RBY. Boy sets out into the big world with nothing but a gifted level 5 and becomes the very best like no one ever was through nothing but hard work, determination and love for his Pokemon.

VtM:R
FF10
Prey

It's pretty obvious that Rance has the best story. The only thing that would compete is Trails and I didn't enjoy those enough to get through more than one so can't give an opinion.

>>3826002
1st Gen Pokemon is definitely up there.

>>3826002
Zoomers hate on GBY so being super buggy. I hate that

>>3825925 (OP)
FF7

>>3825937
>FF6/7/10 are anime feces
There is anime BS as well in Mother 3, EB/M2 is more original

>>3826002
>>3826040
>genwunners get BTFO'd by /vp/ and /vr/ so they are now in /vrpg/

>>3825925 (OP)
Pranu Skapu Toroman-to des

This thread genuinely feels like AI posters trained on reddit. Where the fuck am I that people are genuinely saying a game to sell children's toys like pokemon that has almost no characters has the greatest story?

To answer the question its probably Ultima 4 or Drakengard since they use the gameplay to reinforce the narrative themes so expertly.

>>3826164
I don't think any LLM would be even recommending Pokemon if we are talking about stories.

>>3825929
Too convoluted and the others too 2000s melancholic

>>3826164
Honesty I’m still new to RPG so I’m gonna just go and say something like Earthbound.

It’s weird and fun, and I kinda like the fact porky is just a dick

only one i can think of is yakuza 0 (only yakuza i played so far) , so story/cutscenes were so good i was looking forward to them , and i normally skip all stuff like that

>>3825925 (OP)
Baldurs Gate 1. Simple, but good without any bullshit.

>>3826002
It has a cool setting and a background plot that does the job but there isn't really any driving story beyond your own. Games like that can't even participate in a "best story" thread

>>3826227
>It has a cool setting and a background plot that does the job but there isn't really any driving story beyond your own.
The best kind of story

If you played it as a lil kid, like I did, that is.

>>3826164
>its probably Ultima 4 or Drakengard since they use the gameplay to reinforce the narrative themes so expertly.
A pseud gives his answer after seething at an idiot

>>3826227
I knew one of you fuckers would pop up.
>it isn't a *real* story unless a writer writes it
That's the gayest shit I've ever heard.

>>3825925 (OP)
out of the ones i played, planescape torment was the best

Mass effect

>>3826489
A touching tale of a human white male sowing his seed across the galaxy

>>3825958
>>3825957
If I said feces tastes like shit, you'd pop up to roll your eyes and snobbishly imply that I just don't know anything about good cuisine.
Meanwhile you just told everyone you love the taste of shit.

>>3826319
Thanks for your contribution to the thread. Great insight.

the best writing I think is Planescape Torment

for story I think its FF8 or FF14

>>3825925 (OP)
>open thread
>everyone saying FF7
I adore /vr/, it's so patrician and high IQ compared to other boards. The SKG edrama made me leave /v/ for good.

>>3826995
>comes in
>immediately shit talking
Okay drama queen, don't bring that shit here. This is /vrpg/ btw

>>3825925 (OP)
No video game has ever had any overly spectacular story. Some have had good concepts and ideas. But due to the medium, the people involved and the structure of game development the execution is never and can never be spectacular.
Indie devs can't write for shit. Triple A's don't care to have good writers or will neuter and handicap them. Then as soon as the story is to be implemented the entire lattice of the game itself will distort and mongrelize the story to something very unspectacular.
>muh mother
>muh earthbound
People citing those are turds unflushed. Flush for God's sake, flush

>>3826510
>don't believe Pillars 1 and 2 are the best examples of writing in all of video games
>UHHH YOU LIKE THE TASTE OF SHIT
????????????????????????????????? holy newfag nigger take your word salad shitposting elsewhere

>>3826999
>actually nothing's good
Quite the conversationalist

FF8 is the best story I can think of, which feels a bit muck to say, but I really can't think of much better.

>>3825925 (OP)
Chained Echoes

Dysco Elysium if that counts as an RPG

>>3827027
>vn
No

>>3825925 (OP)
I don't have best, but I have a top list of equals:
>Pillars of Eternity 1
>Witcher 2
>Dragon Age Origins
>Tyranny
>Disco Elysium

I'd say Pillars is probably the best. Tyranny and Witcher 2 are too jank, Disco is too nieche, Dragon Age just a bit too cliche. Pillars 1 is ultimately vidya-RPGs at their peak with how masterfully it ties all of its themes together while feeling distinct and unique.

>>3826489
Lowbrow Dragon Age Origins

>>3827168
Btw, when I call Dragon Age cliche I mean in the context of Fantasy as a whole, which includes stuff like the Wheel of Time, Witcher and good ol Tolkien. In context of Faerune slop that WRPGs are stained in, its another shining beacon of uniqueness.

>>3827173
>Wheel of Time
Well made world, but atrociously hollow besides the fact that's well crafted.

>>3825937
>>3826510
Not them, but how do you consider 2 a good story? 1 was at least interesting with seeing your past memories and becoming a watcher and all that shit. 2 is literally just you following Eothas and nothing happening.

What do you guys think about the Pathfinder series?

>>3827323
story-wise?
peak redditterino-core

Honestly a hard question because i keep losing intrest midway into almost every RPG i play. Ignoring that i recommend:
>Underrail
>Deus Ex
>Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
>Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous (only if you can ignore all the tranny and nigger shit)

>>3825925 (OP)
For me it's Black Souls. Checks every box you mentioned, unless you take "alive" literally.

>>3825925 (OP)
DAO

>>3827168
Is tyranny goes any better? Like i finished prologue locations few times but next town and i just burnt out and got too bored to finish.

>>3827168
When DAO came out it forced me to put all nighters just because i want to know whats next in the story.

I mean yeah its not completely original but it was extremely good story.

>>3827605
>DAO
Gets a vote from me too. Probably my favorite story in a western RPG.

>>3827464
good list honestly.
And i + to taht losing interest too. I feel like modern RPGs have too much writing. like take Pillars there is so much pointless shit like reading previous lifes of random NPCs etc. Its just too tiresome.

I'm not a jrpg guy but out of the ones I've played lately, I really liked SaGa Frontier 2's especially Gustave's political intrigue

>>3827446
WOTR wasn't that bad. Had a bunch of gay companions, but basically being a god and killing other gods was pretty fun. Especially going to hell and bitch slapping demons.

>>3827016
It is unfortunate that you are retarded, it stifles your ambition and leaves you laughable instead.
We're talking about spectacular stories. Games are a lens through which stories come out a blur. The best games are enjoyed for everything except their story

>>3827957
>The best games are enjoyed for everything except their story
Nta, but like what? That's a bold claim. Why don't you give us several examples.

>>3827957
>I enjoy games for everything except their story
Fixed

Changelog
- removed all the sperg stuff

>>3827957
What are you talking about? There are many people, myself included who only find games fun if they have a good story. If the story isn't good there is no point in playing ROLLSLOP 3, or ACTION RPG 5 or even JRPG 4990 because they all use the same game play loop. I think it says a lot about our society when people are reading less books and only wanting to play the same game but with a different fucking coat of paint. Look at KOTOR 1&2, gameplay is janky as fuck but it's some of the best RPG's ever made.

Why? Because the story. I swear that Tiktok and short form content has killed the brain cells of millions of people. I read a lot of novels, is it wrong for me to want a high quality story in my video games? like come on

PST, MotB
this thread is fucking cringe

The Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel IV (True Ending), Xenoblade Chronicles, YS VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, Metaphor ReFantazio

>>3825964
If you seriously think Witcher 3 should be considered a great story, you've never read a book.

>>3828714
It hits different when you’re a dad

Xenosaga did it for me

>>3827027
I love CE but it's not really that masterpiece of a story, although it's ahead of every indie throwback JRPGs (not the RPG maker ones) released recently, including shit like Octoslop

>>3828714
>If you seriously think Witcher 3 should be considered a great story, you've never read a book.
Uh what book makes you not enjoy stories?

>>3828714
The Witcher games are unironically better written than the Witcher books.

>>3825925 (OP)
>witcher1,2 and 3
great stories, but "small sized" and mainly focused on character drama, actually 1st witcher is the only one which has what I would consider an rpg story cos it deals with major power and world-ending threat. you can argue that space elves from 3 are that but they dont feel that way.
>bg3
pretty simplistic story written incredibly well using strongest aspects of dgd
>fallout2
unexpected ending to 1st fallout and a great story as well as world building
>vegas
most reactive story in gaming true to og fallout canons
>morrowind
completely crazy worldbuilding which werent surpassed since
>borderlands2
incredible villian and overall good story progression
>kotor2
incredible twist on childish star wars good-bad premise

>>3826489
>rgb ending
>good story
you cannot be fucking serious

>>3827323
one of few rpgs I have quited half way when I saw working 70s-80s computers in a bunker without faction posessing them conquering everything or industrializing the world. world building makes no fucking sense whatsoever. I cannot put in words how wrong and stupud such thing is. especially when there were games which did advanced tech in fantasy world semi-passable such as might and magic and age of decadence.

>>3825925 (OP)

Probably Valkyrie Profile or Tactics Ogre albeit Ni no Kuni also had a great story. I also like the Nier games, the original KH and FF IX very much.

arcanum
halfling jew quest alone dwarfs other rpgs

>>3829600
Checked. It's pretty ballsy for sure.

>>3829600
If arcanum actually felt good to play, I'd actually finish it someday

had shat on witcher 3 like decade but honestly? it's easily top 10 of best story driven rpg

>>3825925 (OP)
The overarching plot from MM1-8

>>3829581
>>borderlands2
>incredible villian
Now that you mention it, I played 1 and 2 with a friend, and I remember hating the villain. Playing the first game helped make the particular scene impactful.
Rarely happens, so I gotta say BL pulled it off.

>>3829651
Having never played 1, I was hooked on jack as a villain from the moment he bought a diamond unicorn. He was unhinged, well written and seemsed surprisingly approachable in the sense that I would get logical interactions. And by logical interactions I mean the bad guys ego is so big he perceives you as a toy.
The pre-sequel only served to round out his character. Unfortunately, the telltale series brought him down a few notches. I'm just glad the writers of BL3 never tried to bring him back, but BL4 is happening...

What about Cyberpunk 2077? It's got a very fleshed out world in b4 "ITS NOT AN RPG"

>>3825925 (OP)
Breath of Fire 4.
It was a wild ride.

>>3826319
my thoughts similarly

>>3829765
>What about Cyberpunk 2077?
sloppa
>It's got a very fleshed out world
I didnt feel that anything about it being fleshed out, it felt very cheap and genetic wwith most things left out.

the only good thing I can say about it is that artstyle waas very throught and well-done, but its all style over substance.

>>3825925 (OP)
For me, its Ghost of Tsushima.

50% of the game may be formulaic generated slop quests, but the story is really why I still think back fondly on it from time to time.

>>3825925 (OP)
For me?
Unironically Chrono Cross until the end of the Lynx arc,
Then it turns into unsalvageable dogshit.
It might not be great for everyone but I love its themes

All games have shit stories when you compare them to actual good stories from other media.

>>3830628
You're just bat at roleplaying your role in the story

>>3830628
thats not true, other media also sucks

>>3827957
>>3828189
The eternal story vs. gameplayfag debate.

Personally by now I am also on the gameplayfag side, simply because I have played, watched and read so many games, movies and books, that almost no story ever seems new or exciting.
Add to that, that I am somewhat of a power gamer and the story at best quickly becomes a joke, or at worst becomes a nuisance that stops me from exploring.
I was raging hard when kingdom cum was pestering me with the whole mandatory 2 or 3 hour tutorial and bullshit and all of that for nothing special of a story.

On the other hand, when I was a kid, I greatly enjoyed even the most ordinary, cheesy, simple stories in games. I cried in Secret of Mana when they banned me from the starter village that I knew for less than an hour.

The last stories I enjoyed where The Expanse and Master of Gu, none of which are doable in a game without taking all the suspense.

>>3831421
this is most braindead pseudointellectual take I have read in a long time.
Its not OR its give me BOTH
I want good game and good story, simple as
also you are full of shit, most siplistic and cliche story can be executed well with lots of good writing like bg3. its not problem of the stories being predictable cliche. its porblem of bad writing not spicing stories with enough plot-twists, backhand tricks, reveals and more.
I would again bring arcanum. You wake up after zep crush and theres a guy which calles you are a chosen one. By the looks of its most mundane predictable shit you can ever think of. However it only seems that way because its all absolute bs.

>>3831515
In an ideal world, obviously both would be great.
In reality, arcanum already looked and played like shit at release, while we had full 3d ARPGs with way more action and interactivity at that time.

No matter how good a story for a game is, if the gameplay sucks, I won't enjoy it. For example BG3 or Arcanum. Wouldn't touch those with a 10 foot pole.

On the other hand, no matter how bad or non existent a story (and everything else) is, if the gameplay is good, I enjoy the game.
For example Dark Souls or Zelda. Of course I would love a game like that with a good story, but I don't see that happening ever.

One more thing, when I refer to story, it's not just about the plot, but also about the dialogues, setting, characters, world design, quests, interactivity etc.
Most of all, a video game is about interactivity, but also reactivity. I want to be able to make choices and not be railroaded to exactly one path, but the world also needs to react to those choices with more than a text message and no actual changes or a slightly different ending.

>>3829555
Never said the Witcher books are good. They're actually really shitty.
I'm just saying that if you think Witcher 3 is a great story you're not someone that reads books.

>>3829765
Cyberpunk 2077 felt like someone just fed the most popular cyberpunk stories into an AI and told it to turn that into a video game plot.
It's really bad.

>>3825925 (OP)
Mass Effect 1. 2 and 3 to a lesser extent. I didn't mind the three-colors for endings shit, though it could've been better, it was more about the journey for me.

Dragon Age origins ranks up there if I'm feeling more in a fantasy mood.

SWtOR's class storylines if MMOs are included, particularly the Sith Warrior class story for me. I wish they'd release the old vanilla experience as a single player RPG.

>>3829765
Its okay, not the best. The DLC's writing takes a nosedive, too.

>>3825925 (OP)
Based on what i played its Witcher 3 DLCs and Cyberpunk.

I played Planescape but didn't complete it, heard its story is amazing, but game was boring so i didn't finish it.

Disco Elysium is overrated, its written well i guess and the worldbuilding is neat despite being a knockoff EE post ww2 which is like yeah whatever, but the STORY wasn't good, most of the time is you wandering around aimlessly having reddit political debates with characters and talking to yourself about some retard hallucination bullshit that doesnt matter to the story, the ending was shit to and came out of nowhere, there is a lot of plot armor as well.

Mass Effect could've been up there but the ending was bad, the 2nd game is more about the cast than the story.

Dragon Age story is solid but its a little bit too generic and the presentation is worse than CDPR

Story in Larian games is like miniscule and is never taken too seriously, so its out.

Fallout story is very simple and what they focus on is the side quests and how you interact with factions.

BG2 story is generic high school fantasy not that good imo

Souls is lore and the story is always the same.

Final Fantasy has some good stories.
X is good
7 is good
But i think they are not as well written or presented or even as mature as CDPR games
They are definitely the closest though.

VTMB is good but the ending is shit and the writing starts to go from good to edge cringeshit made by someone 16 years old

Owlcat games waste time of generic garbage instead of trying to go for something of value and something serious, its all hurr durr demons end of the world

Elder Scrolls has fun lore but the story is too simple
Chrono Trigger is time travel bullshit and contradicts itself, its also too simple and characters are shallow

Tactics Ogre is solid but waste too much time and the pacing is shit and it lacks a lot of context and depth

Honestly few devs can write, even fewer in RPG genre. most good stories are not from RPGs

>>3831678
Oh yeah KOTOR is also good.

So

Witcher 3 DLCs
Cyberpunk 2077
KOTOR 1 & KOTOR 2
--- Gap ---
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy 7
--- Gap ---
Shadowrun Dragonfall
The Witcher 1 & The Witcher 2
--- Gap ---
Dragon Age Origins
Metaphor Refantazio

Thats all

>>3825925 (OP)
I tought I'd see more of Planescape Torment in this thread desu.

>>3831860
It’s been mentioned multiple times, but my personal favorite was
>>3831678
>I played Planescape but didn't complete it, heard its story is amazing

>>3830626
Good choice.

What is good about Planescape Torment's story? I haven't played it.

>>3831640
>this game has a shit story compared to books, go read some
>no, not those, they're shit too
fuck off retard

>>3831594
bg3 gameplay is top notch
you just want action games, not tactical games
again, its subjective problem

>>3831642
hook is very good but after that story goes straight up into the shitter

>>3831678
pretty good summary

>>3831860
I fell like planescape is too dated and more of a vn
>>3831938
good companions, good writing, good dialogue. story is about pc being a main villian running from himself and being forced to accept the consequences, I dont think it stands test of time, especially with how much people tried to replicate it, but personal conflict opposed to LE EVIL BAD WANTS TO DESTROY was great for a time.

>>3831970
Also the writing feels smooth and natural, you want to read what npc's have to say. It's really different from the PoE era games where the studio was proud to announce the game will have tens of thousands of words and feel extremely bloated.

>>3831938
It really updated my journal.

OP here, the future of stories in games is looking bleak, I'm a writer, I read a lot, and have worked as a writer for non gaming companies. How would one get into a writing job in games? Also how do you pitch a story idea to a game studio? I feel like if i went there, got a job, I would have some pink hair tranny telling me what I can and can't write.

>>3827219
>he never replied

What a horrible fucking thread.
As expected of a shitty 4chins board.

>>3825925 (OP)
Planescape: Torment
PoE 1
Disco Elysium
The worldbuilding of Torment: Tides of Numenera was done by a schizo and i liked it

>>3825925 (OP)
i think it's FFX, isekai is a great trope when done well and this one does it well; and then having the additional twist of there being no way back, in fact the "home" world is the dream, and you must destroy it all - very good with strong payoff on repeat plays

>>3834891
>I feel like if i went there, got a job, I would have some pink hair tranny telling me what I can and can't write.
How is that different from any other industry? If it isn't a tranny, then it's gonna be a woman or a brown. No matter what you do, it all depends on the company/business you work for/with.

>>3825960
Holy BASED

>>3825925 (OP)
There is only one answer anon

>>3831938
It's full of torment

PS4 for me