If you hear an RPG has great characters, do you buy it? If you hear an RPG has a great story, do you buy it? What if you can only have one? Which do you pick?

Narrative, be it RPG or otherwise is an interesting beast. A great cast of characters can elevate a generic plot to greatness, and a sweeping and unique story can make you forget that most of the characters are cardboard cutouts with angry faces drawn on. But which of these is more important? Or at the very least, which of these do you value more?

My answer is a bit complicated since it depends on how bad the other aspect is. For me, if the other aspect is DECENT, then I'll absolutely pick characters over story - characters with a fun dynamic and interaction in my eyes really make even a mediocre or run of the mill story really shine. I enjoyed FFVIIR a whole lot more than I ever enjoyed FFVII in part because a lot of the expanded character interactions were just so much fun. I admit wholeheartedly that I've never really been a huge VII fan in general, but because the characters are written so well I'm absolutely gonna punch my next ticket for Mr. Nomura and Mr. Kitase's Wild Ride. It's also why I preferred Last Story over Xenoblade Chronicles, two games that came out at roughly the same time (well also the fact that Last Story had far superior gameplay but that aside...). Last Story had a really likable cast with a lot of fun banter and excellent localization. The storyline was basically typical JRPG fare but I was on board because I loved these idiots.

That said, if one of the aspects is going to be bad, then my answer is unequivocally story over characters. In terms of media consumption, I've never seen something earn so visceral hate from fandom as a garbage story with fantastic characters. You see this a lot in the more transformational fandom engagement and expression such as fanfiction where a beloved cast will be "saved" from the trash fire that is their original work and given new life by writers eager to do them justice. But if I had to pick game with either bad characters or a bad story, I'm gonna pick the bad characters pretty much all the time - at least I won't spend the entire experience in incandescent rage at the director's absolute wastefulness.