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Games with powerful stories?


SuperBrother
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I'll throw Bioshock's name in again, namely because I just got around to beating it and I loved last fourth of it. It's definitely something to make you think; it's pretty much Ayn Rand in video game form.

I'm also surprised no one mentioned The World Ends With You. Although the gameplay learning curve is a little high, it's really fun and has a really powerful storyline imo.

The ending to infamous is also really good, but the rest of the story was a little lacking.

From what I've heard, the professor layton games are pretty good in terms of plot. Shit ton of puzzles though.

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Seriously guys, why does no one else ever mention Silent Hill 2? One of the most insanely emotional powerful game stories ever.

Yeah, I think we both got the sniffles from Mother 3.

And Katie, why didn't I mention it? I should have. After playing through it for the first time a few years ago, I spent a whole week in a funk. That game really shook me up. I think you know that, though. :)

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How could I forget M3 and SH2?! Christ, I marathoned Mother 3 after christmas dinner, late into the night, much like I did with Earthbound. Mother also made me cry (big surprise). I really think EB made me the person I am today :J. I joined the Cult of Earthbound at 12 and never looked back.

SH2, first playthrough. In Water ending. Marathoned Christmas 2004. Oh god why.

I also submit Shattered Memories. Nice retelling of the SH story. I had to put it down for a while when my playthrough started echoing my life way too much.

Rounding out a good story I'd like to put forth The Dark Eye. A little known CD ROM game from 1995 published by the now-defunct inscape and featuring music composed by Thomas Dolby and his band Headspace alongside three Poe stories, its art propels the narrative. Along with the Poe stories it features an original story. The skill with which they are interwoven is crafty.

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Something I found emotionally powerful. Hmm....

Well Amnesia: The Dark Descent is pretty "emotionally powerful" in that I cry every time I play.

I don't care what you FF7 haters say, I found FF7 to be a little emotional.

Umm.. I'm having trouble thinking of others, give me a little bit.

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How could I forget M3 and SH2?! Christ, I marathoned Mother 3 after christmas dinner, late into the night, much like I did with Earthbound. Mother also made me cry (big surprise). I really think EB made me the person I am today :J. I joined the Cult of Earthbound at 12 and never looked back.

SH2, first playthrough. In Water ending. Marathoned Christmas 2004. Oh god why.

I also submit Shattered Memories. Nice retelling of the SH story. I had to put it down for a while when my playthrough started echoing my life way too much.

...

Yes. Absolutely Mother 3. Shattered Memories really surprised me. I was expecting a half assed Wii ripoff game but it really came out as one of my favorites. Maybe not so much my favorite Silent Hill, but more of a contender than Homecoming and The Room.

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Well Amnesia: The Dark Descent is pretty "emotionally powerful" in that I cry every time I play.

I'm not sure being terrified to tears is what he's looking for.

As for my contributions

Iji - (PC freeware) World invaded by aliens, nearly everyone is dead. Your only hope is to somehow barter peace with the invaders, or find a way to get rid of all of them. Your character's attitude changes based on how you play.

Terranigma - (SNES) You live in the underworld, in a village called crysta. The surface was long ago devastated and no life remains. After opening Pandora's box, you're tasked with reviving life on the surface. The ending still gets me to this day. The goat scene is rather disturbing too.

FFIV,VI,VII,IX are emotionally powerful without getting too...overblown or cheesy(I'm looking at you 8 and 10)

Lufia 2's was good. Should give it a check

As mentioned, Mother is a great series to check.

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Something I found emotionally powerful. Hmm....

Well Amnesia: The Dark Descent is pretty "emotionally powerful" in that I cry every time I play.

I don't care what you FF7 haters say, I found FF7 to be a little emotional.

Umm.. I'm having trouble thinking of others, give me a little bit.

I agree with Amnesia and the expansion, "Justine" sounds pretty good too!

I disagree with the legions of people who say Amnesia was super duper scary. It had atmosphere, that's for sure, but the monsters were such an anti-climax.

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I disagree with the legions of people who say Amnesia was super duper scary. It had atmosphere, that's for sure, but the monsters were such an anti-climax.

That's because nothing a game designer can come up with is a match for the shit that the human psyche imagines when they're hearing scary noises in the dark. I think the monster designs would be an anti-climax no matter what, especially with that amount of build-up.

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That's because nothing a game designer can come up with is a match for the shit that the human psyche imagines when they're hearing scary noises in the dark.

Well I found the monsters to be boring because of how easy it is to escape them. I somehow managed to play through the game without running into the monster in the storage. I have no idea how I managed this as everyone else always talks about him.

Usually you go around a corner and you can see the monster coming down the hall, so ya run, go around a couple turns and crouch down into the dark and wait for the music to stop. Then the monster seemingly vanishes for good. I never ran into the same one twice. It's hard to be afraid of something that you can escape so easily.

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It's hard to be afraid of something that you can escape so easily.

I'm remembering the giant hall with the rift in it, hiding behind a pillar and staring into the darkness. There's a faint shuffling and groaning, the music starts, and it just keeps getting louder, but as much as I strain, I can't see this things form in the distance. At the point where I think it must be on top of me because it's so loud, it dawns on me to turn around.

Yep. I jumped, cursed at length and tried sprinting away. Those suckers are FAST!

On-topic, I really enjoyed the story for Bastion. I think the choice NEAR the end of the game can be pretty moving.

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The only three game that immediately come to mind (two of which have already been said) are Heavy Rain, Bioshock, and FFXIII.

FFXIII is the only game that has ever made me cry. A lot of people can't get through the game because of the ridiculously linear gameplay or "the battle system is too weird" or something...but it's totally worth it if you're in it for the story.

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This thread is like finding hidden gems all along, thanks guys. I'm a sucker for good game stories, so I dig a lot of your posts. :)

As far as good storytelling goes, I wonder why nobody has mentioned Max Payne yet. This is an extremely well told fim-noir story with love and passion and struggle and everything in between.

Then there is Devil May Cry 3, for me the best of the series so far. It's worth all the trouble just for the story where 4 different personalities intertwine in one dramatic climax.

Maybe not all too emotional or touching, I found Alan Wake to be a very good game with nice story elements. Worth checking out if you like books.

Oh yes and Mass Effect. Couldn't live without it, and I definatly need a lot of free time when part 3 comes out next year. The way the story evolves and how you take part in it with all your choices made can have quite an impact in the end, how you interact with different species and whom you sentence to death. Wonder how it will play out...

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As far as good storytelling goes, I wonder why nobody has mentioned Max Payne yet. This is an extremely well told fim-noir story with love and passion and struggle and everything in between.

I agree that Max Payne has an excellent story, but the original poster wanted rpgs, so it doesn't qualify :P

While we're still on non-rpgs with great story, I should probably say that in my opinion, best storyline in gaming belongs to Legacy Of Kain series. In fact, it might just be my favorite storyline ever.

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Well I found the monsters to be boring because of how easy it is to escape them. I somehow managed to play through the game without running into the monster in the storage. I have no idea how I managed this as everyone else always talks about him.

Usually you go around a corner and you can see the monster coming down the hall, so ya run, go around a couple turns and crouch down into the dark and wait for the music to stop. Then the monster seemingly vanishes for good. I never ran into the same one twice. It's hard to be afraid of something that you can escape so easily.

If you played the game without running into the monsters at all, you're doin' it wrong. The prison was probably the worst, in that it was really easy to get trapped, and each door potentially has a monster behind it, so it's really easy to spook yourself. Between the potential of imminent mauling and the background you find in journals, your imagination runs all too wild trying to fill in the blanks on what exactly you're up against, and that itself is terrifying.

But yeah, given the poster isn't looking to pee his pants, this probably isn't the best choice if you're just looking for story.

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I'm gonna go way out there and say: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

While the Main Series Pokémon games employ a setting which is so utterly ridiculous that it dooms every attempt of giving them a sensible plot, the Mystery Dungeon Series' setting makes a lot of sense and allows for some good plot.

I found the story to be very touching. The way the dialogue is written and the characters are presented makes it easy to get emotionally involved. While I've played a few games where I thought "interesting twist" here and there, this is so far the only game which made me feel genuine compassion for the characters in it.

I've played "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team" and "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky" so far. The only other games in the series (which are not just matched pairs of those two) are some WiiWare titles which haven't been released outside of Japan, so I don't know what they're like.

Another good reason to play them is that they have awesome music. Especially the respective BGMs of the final dungeons. Seriously amazing stuff.

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