Board 8 > Board 8's Top 60 Stories in Gaming - Results Topic Part 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

Lightning Strikes posted...

Life is Strange is a really remarkable story that isnt afraid to actually try and tackle some serious subjects head on.

I disagree with this entirely. I think it's an incredibly dated game in regards to the three serious topics its known for (queer youth relationships, youth suicide, and disability), and its timidness in actually talking about these subjects instead of cheaply using them as hooks or cliffhangers betrays a lack of understanding in things they're writing about.

What Life is Strange is is a very good coming-of-age story with two excellent lead performances that carry it beyond its weak writing.

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pezzicle posted...

I like this list

Never played the VNs, disco or nier but interested in all and everything else was either on my list or one of my last few cuts. Pathologic 2 is so good

Thanks! Deus Ex, Suikoden 2, and Grim Fandango were very close to making mine, and I really need to replay MGS2 now that I would probably appreciate it more.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

Stuff like XIII's post is probably why I'll never play SH2. Just not into horror.

I honestly go back and forth on whether I am or not sometimes

I have to commend any game that had such a profound effect on me though

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Also, shit, I forgot about my favourite little touch in SH2: the letter from Mary in your inventory turning blank after a while and then eventually disappearing entirely. It's outstanding.

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85 Points
10 Supporters

The definitive JRPG for many people. FF7 was the one of the first games to combine nuanced storytelling with stellar cinematic presentation, and that led to it carving out a big place in a lot of young gamers' hearts. It defined so many tropes of the genre that are still used to this day - the biggest probably being Sephiroth, who codified the long-haired badass villain template to the point where it can be easy to forget how much of a unique, fantastically-executed of a villain he is in the original game. And of course, End of Disc 1 is *the* video game spoiler, and to this day nothing has come close that level of notoriety. Considering how much hype the Remake has been getting, it's clearly apparent that people still care about this story even so many years later.

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Fun fact: FF7 had an extremely high points-per-vote average for basically the entire nomination period, and was the easy winner of that category until a last minute +1 tanked the average.

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Top 20 so far!

6.Final Fantasy VII
7.Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
8.Life is Strange
9.Silent Hill 2
10.NIER
11.Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
12.The House in Fata Morgana
13.Disco Elysium
14.The Last Of Us
15.Planescape: Torment
16.Umineko: When They Cry
17.Chrono Trigger
17.Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
19.BioShock
20.The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series

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FFVII was a definite snub from my list. I realized I forgot it and then went "eh, doubt it needs the help".

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Can't exactly argue with ff7 making it. It's compelling despite some of it being unclear and a somewhat frustrating ending

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so the top 5 are
AA3
FFX
MGS3
UT
nier automata
i'm guessing
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Aw yeah FFVII

still a classic

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iiicon posted...

I disagree with this entirely. I think it's an incredibly dated game in regards to the three serious topics its known for (queer youth relationships, youth suicide, and disability), and its timidness in actually talking about these subjects instead of cheaply using them as hooks or cliffhangers betrays a lack of understanding in things they're writing about.

What Life is Strange is is a very good coming-of-age story with two excellent lead performances that carry it beyond its weak writing.

It's too bad they couldn't improve on that for Life Is Strange 2. Most of what I've heard is that 2 handles race issues even more clumsily than Detroit.
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I'm upset that Hotel Dusk didn't make the cut. Figured there'd at least be two other people to back me up on that one.

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I haven't gotten far enough to vote for FF VII...or LiS for that matter.

Also I tried playing SH2 but those...crawling...demons thing that come out of the car killed me so many times I just quit.

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MrSmartGuy posted...

I'm upset that Hotel Dusk didn't make the cut. Figured there'd at least be two other people to back me up on that one.

I'd have voted for Last Window over Hotel Dusk.

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I would've voted for both probably, but Last Window never saw a NA release, so that seemed wasteful.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

It's too bad they couldn't improve on that for Life Is Strange 2. Most of what I've heard is that 2 handles race issues even more clumsily than Detroit.

LiS2 has a better handling on race than any of the subjects the first game touched on, and is certainly better than a David Cage game. I'm not sure where you got this impression.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

It's too bad they couldn't improve on that for Life Is Strange 2. Most of what I've heard is that 2 handles race issues even more clumsily than Detroit.

not sure who you heard that from but it's a bad take

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while i think life is strange deserves some recognition for being a big breakout hit with a queer teen relationship at its core, building a large community from that very community, it's still hella tropey regarding the serious issues it tackles

and also yeah the dialogue in general along with the wonky voice acting (apart from max and chloe) really drag it down for me that it wasn't too hard of a cut for me on my original list of like 25 games

life is strange 2 does handle its own set of issues much better, but god did the endings leave a bad taste

and as much as the writing improved, i still found a lot of the dialogue and voice acting to be inconsistent

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Life is Strange never really grabbed me (from what I played - up to that scene with Kate and the end of that episode). I liked Chloe, but Max felt like a complete filler protag and I didn't particularly care for anyone else either. Still planning to go back and power through one of these days.

also yay FFVII
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yeah my main problem with Life Is Strange is that I couldn't bring myself to care about anyone other than Kate (and Max a little bit)

the story is an interesting premise and I like how the powers and the choices work, but I think the final episode fell a bit flat

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KamikazePotato posted...

Fun fact: FF7 had an extremely high points-per-vote average for basically the entire nomination period, and was the easy winner of that category until a last minute +1 tanked the average.

That was me probably >_>

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The final episode had three main components. One was good. One was bad. One was cringey. (Cringy? I dunno how you spell that.) The two biggest moments are the end of ep. 2 and the beginning of 4.

Even if the story doesn't hit as many highs and the stakes are lower, I tended to like Before the Storm more because (a) Chloe was the protag instead of mousey Max, and (b) characters do really boneheaded things far less often and there's no real filler.

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I might have considered Life is Strange if it kept the quality the whole way through, depending on how they finished it.

Final Fantasy VII deserves a mention at the top every such list, especially when you consider its influence as a whole.

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+10 Final Fantasy VII
+9 The Last of Us
+8 Red Dead Redemption 2
+6 Life is Strange
+5 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
+3 Mass Effect 2
+2 The Walking Dead

At this point it's clear my +1 isn't going to make it, but I have faith that at least one of the other two games on my list will.

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Looking forward to seeing the Top 5

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UltimaterializerX posted...

My legit guess is Undertale, MGS3, and three unknowns. Ill guess at those later.

FFX

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6 was 30th in OP

others have said the third ace Attorney game could be the other one

Makes sense

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I'd be kind of surprised if T&T didn't make the list at all when PW1 and AAI2 did.

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Briefly considered a PW game but I took the games as a whole.

I think cases 3-1, 3-4 and 3-5 together make for a good story. Not sure it would make the list, but definitely a good story. 3-2 and 3-3 are fun to play but are largely separate so I'd struggle to include the whole game on a list like this, if that makes any sense.

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XIII_rocks posted...

Briefly considered a PW game but I took the games as a whole.

I think cases 3-1, 3-4 and 3-5 together make for a good story. Not sure it would make the list, but definitely a good story. 3-2 and 3-3 are fun to play but are largely separate so I'd struggle to include the whole game on a list like this, if that makes any sense.

it doesn't
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I can get people rallying around the first as it could represent the whole series, but AAI2 I just cant see making it over T&T.

My guess:

1. Nier Automata
2. Undertale
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Trials and Tribulations
5. Final Fantasy X

iiicon posted...

I disagree with this entirely. I think it's an incredibly dated game in regards to the three serious topics its known for (queer youth relationships, youth suicide, and disability), and its timidness in actually talking about these subjects instead of cheaply using them as hooks or cliffhangers betrays a lack of understanding in things they're writing about.

What Life is Strange is is a very good coming-of-age story with two excellent lead performances that carry it beyond its weak writing.

I dont really agree based on relating my own experiences to the game, but then again I havent played it since it was nee do my feelings might change. It was perhaps a sledgehammer rather than a scalpel, but given how many games dont even bother I think even that deserves credit. I also think that a lot of young people took away positive messages, definitely more than the opposite. That is a good thing.

On the other hand, I do agree with you on the topic of queer relationships. The whole thing feels like it was thrown in late as a hook like you said, and gives you the unfortunate subtext of the only way to actually confirm that relationship being to kill one of the characters. Its also entirely missable, I didnt go down that road do wasnt as put off by that. I feel there are other serious issues you didnt raise that it handles much better.

Either way, I think its interesting that weve got people both praising and bemoaning the handling of serious issues in this topic. It certainly beats David Cage at least!

Also what is up with teen media using sketchbook aesthetics Jesus give it a rest.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

it doesn't

oh well

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If that is the expected top 5, then yikes.

Of the four I've played, I only really liked the story of one.

And I only got like an hour into Nier:A because I was very bad at it.

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How many people supported FFX, out of curiosity? Is that the de facto FF choice for story? I mean, I certainly respect what it was doing and it has lots of neat touches, but is it going to beat out 6, 7, tactics, etc?

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me

yes

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azuarc posted...

I mean, I certainly respect what it was doing and it has lots of neat touches, but is it going to beat out 6, 7, tactics, etc?

I mean, it's not NOT making it, so the answer is clearly yes

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The story and characters being so incredibly uninteresting is why I don't like that game at all, even with it's setting and pretty solid ATB gameplay.

But that's clearly gonna vary person to person, and I'm obviously in the minority!

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I had FFIX higher than FFX but both were on the list.

Have notably not played 6 or Tactics though, which are some of the other ones that made it.
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azuarc posted...

How many people supported FFX, out of curiosity? Is that the de facto FF choice for story? I mean, I certainly respect what it was doing and it has lots of neat touches, but is it going to beat out 6, 7, tactics, etc?

ZenOfThunder posted...

me

yes

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

The story and characters being so incredibly uninteresting is why I don't like that game at all, even with it's setting and pretty solid ATB gameplay.

But that's clearly gonna vary person to person, and I'm obviously in the minority!

Your viewpoint makes me more interested in VNs cause if you didn't like FFX and love VNs then I'm interested in how I interact with VNs stories because I have always loved FFX

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Eh, I don't really feel like there's gonna be a direct give and take there. It's not like I dislike stories told in a structure like FFXs, VNs are just as varied as jRPGs.

Also I liked FFX when I was 13. Not trying to make a condescending statement there, just being completely honest, lol. There's a good chance I was saying positive things about X on this very board a decade ago.

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If Undertale makes it, I'm gonna be kind of surprised at its potentially high placement.

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

Eh, I don't really feel like there's gonna be a direct give and take there. It's not like I dislike stories told in a structure like FFXs, VNs are just as varied as jRPGs.

Also I liked FFX when I was 13. Not trying to make a condescending statement there, just being completely honest, lol. There's a good chance I was saying positive things about X on this very board a decade ago.

I more meant it as me being excited to try VNs because you give them such high praise
I also like FFX when I was that age and haven't played it since and the vote was nostalgia goggles for me but it was just such a profound experience for me as a gamer

My first system that I really got into was N64 (we had an NES but I didn't play if really outside of Mario) and I really only played Mario games, Zelda and banjo kazooie. FFX was lent to me with a PS2 and MGS 2 by a friend and they both blew me away


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It's honestly less common for me to still like a game from my childhood when I come back to it a decade+ later than it is for me to turn on it. I've actually avoided replaying FFIX for that very reason.

I can't express enough how upset I was when I replayed Dark Cloud last year.

There are some games that I have completely avoided playing that I KNOW are bad because I liked them back in the day and don't want to ruin it.

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FFX is fantastic and it's not the nostalgia googles talking. I didn't play it until many years later.

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