Character vs. Plot

[Wolf Kanno]

Which is more important towards your enjoyment of an RPG: The characters you play as or the actual story? Granted there is a bit of give and take here as both blend into each other but which would kill your interest in a game faster, having a dull cast or a nonsensical story? Why?

[Fynn]

Judging by my top three or so games and how most of their plots are pretty much on the "okay" side of things, in the end I think the characers are what make or break a game's story for me.

[KleinerKiller]

A story can be as complex and far-spanning as a single plot can possibly be, but if it doesn't have at least decent characters to ground its events and emotional moments, it all means pretty much nothing. All the same, a mostly lacking and underdeveloped story can be salvaged if I really like the characters trodding through it.

[Karifean]

Characters for sure.

[Rez09]

Stories can bore or annoy me, but very little kills a game for me like characters I actively dislike, as I am constantly forced to experience the entire game through / with them.

[Vermachtnis]

Characters, I'll put up with the most cliched by the numbers plot if the cast is entertaining. Look at Neptunia, some evil thingy is doing evil stuff. VII had a decent story, but I'm here for Neptune shenanigans.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say story actually. Largely because the plot has to intrigue me enough to play the game in the first place. It's rare to get a real taste of the characters before playing a game so often this is the deciding factor. The other thing here is that a good plot usually means good characters whereas a crappy plot tends to also have bad characters as well.

I can suffer through sub par characters if the story-line is interesting enough. I've also been pleasantly surprised with certain games that had obnoxious characters but the story was good and eventually the characters grew into real awesome people.

[Uchu]

Characters.

Of course if they live in a world of complete drivel then even the best written characters will have a hard time keeping my attention. But if I don't gel with the cast then it's usually game over for me very quickly regardless of the plot's quality.

[Skyblade]

Characters are more important. Good characters can make a boring story enthralling. Bad characters can ruin the best story.

That said, I still think the most important aspect of an RPG to me is world building. Even if the characters are relatively bland, and the story they're going through is basic, give me a fantastic, well crafted world to explore and live in, and I won't care.

[Del Murder]

Characters, plot, and world could all carry a game if done right. For character vs. plot, I'll probably side with character because really bland characters can ruin a good plot. On the flipside, a very standard plot could still be enjoyable if the characters are engaging and witty. World building could trump both but it needs to fit the game purpose, like in Breath of the Wild. A vast detailed world could still feel empty without the right motivation for exploring it.

[Loony BoB]

Characters. Most plots in the FF series are actually pretty average at best. The characters make the games incredible.

[Mercen-X]

My entire writing process is so utterly engorged in developing character histories and personalities that I seem to have virtually no concept of plot.

Basically, I've taken everything, every book I've read, every film/show I've watched, every game I've played, and every short story I've heard and crammed it into one massive epic just so that I have an excuse for the ways in which my characters behave and interact. Out of the close to 500 characters I've created, I have about 10 favorites. Considering the fact that I want even my "NPCs" to have some kind of individuality, I spend very nearly every waking moment coming up with backstories for everyone. The only way to prevent the eventualy onset of insanity from trying to literally create my own world is to tie as much human experience back toward a singular source.

In the game of plot, having most if not significant events be tied back to a single source is considered lazy and inevitably ineffectual, but it's the option I'm left with after spending years developing two planets with various cultures spanning multiple countries and continents. Granted my writing style had been greatly impacted by other writers I've worked with as I never originally would have cared so much about all this... detail.

So... yeah... Character

This is why games like Tekken and Mortal Kombat fair so much better than games like Deadliest Warrior.

[Psychotic]

Both.

I like the idea of characters over story in theory, but then that's exactly what FFXV did and I didn't like that aspect at all, so...

[Loony BoB]

Both.

I like the idea of characters over story in theory, but then that's exactly what FFXV did and I didn't like that aspect at all, so...
Really? I felt the opposite. :o

[Psychotic]

Huh. I came away absolutely in love with the quartet but I still have no idea what the hell the point of most of their adventure was.

[Loony BoB]

I guess they intertwined a lot. But looking back on the entire experience, I remember more about the plot than I do about the characters. I wonder how much playing the character packs changes that... I never did.

I mean, I remember key points in the plot and how they impacted the characters, that's for sure. I remember the characters being seriously central to it all. But for me, FFXIII is a better example of characters > world plot.

I learned so much about the characters in FFXV but I never really felt there was the character story to push them. They were just who they were, with a couple of exceptions. I get the feeling there was a lot of room for us to explore their characters if they just put more into the (original) game. I'll play the character things eventually... maybe. xD

[Skyblade]

Admittedly, my only experience with the characters is from the trailers (and, what stands out the most is the car trip trailer, which is what destroyed my interest in the game), but they seemed incredibly bland, stereotypical, and cookie cutter. It was actually part of what killed my interest in the game.

[Edge7]

They are kinda cookie cutter, and that was my biggest fear going into the game, but I think the English VA managed to give them enough personality to grow on me. Rather, as an English speaker, it had more fun listening to the dialogue than when I watched Brotherhood or previous trailers (or even the Duscae trailer, which was apparently dubbed way faster than the industry standard).

But anyway, to get on topic, I have mixed feelings about Character vs Story. I was going to say "story", because some of my favorite writing in RPGs has comparatively little character development (Valkyrie Profile, FFXII, SMT3). But then I remembered how much I love Persona 4 despite the fact that its story is... frankly it's kind of a mess. I know YMMV on the game's writing, but I kind of like that the story took a backseat to the characters. Oftentimes, the game's setting reminds me more of Rune Factory or Harvest Moon with a murder mystery to pull the plot along more than SMT or the other Persona games, but that's alright.

I guess what I'm trying to say "it's a case by case basis", or more specifically: "it depends on what the writers want, and how well they accomplish whatever they prioritize". Like FFVI is great because it expertly switches perspective between 3-4 "main" protagonists, and every character feels fully realized, but I equally like the writing in FFV, where the camaraderie among the 4 stock characters and the hijinks they get into during their quest is given more emphasis than any of their personal backstories.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, SMT3, Valkyrie Profile and FFXII all have strong world building in common... plus I've been interested in Chrono Cross for the same reasons. Hell, even what I said about Persona 4 is due to the fact that I love the "world" of Inaba for reminding me of farming sims. Might go with Skyblade and cast my vote towards the world being the most important element.

[Spuuky]

I agree with Skyblade - the most important for me is neither of these, but the game world and the world-building. I can get by with boring characters in a fascinating world just fine. I can even get by with a boring story in a fascinating world. I want the world to be interesting and compelling and explorable and discoverable. This really gets to the heart of why I hated FF13, really, even though the subject is overdiscussed to death. I didn't mind Lightning, kinda liked Sazh, the story had some interesting moments, but the world was just not THERE.

[Nicol Bolas]

I'd say the characters. I sometimes forget the story half way through.:p