Why is the story so important?

[Aradae]

When I play a game, I play it because it's fun, I play it because the game mechanics are enjoyable. However i see alot of people claiming a game is better because it has a better story. while story does motivate people to play the game and continue it, it alone does not make the game great.

Let's compare Diablo and final Fantasy. Diablo has interesting lore but it's story isn't on the level of Final Fantasy.

Diablo's combat is played out in real time and you have freedom to move around during a battle. In final fantasy you are stuck taking turns attacking without any freedom to move.

Each of diablo's spells are unique. You have spells that raise the dead, create have flames sprout where you walk, sacrifice your life for an atack bonus, etc. Final fantasy has spells that do different types of damage.

Diablo has the thrill and unpredictability of Multiplayer while Final fantasy has the continuous tedium of fighting against the AI.

How is it that most people would consider Final Fantasy superior to diablo when gameplay wise the opposite is true?

[DeathKnight]

What would Metal Gear Solid be without a story???????? another lame war-related game

[Aradae]

true

[Rostum]

When I play a game, I play it because it's fun, I play it because the game mechanics are enjoyable. However i see alot of people claiming a game is better because it has a better story. while story does motivate people to play the game and continue it, it alone does not make the game great.

Let's compare Diablo and final Fantasy. Diablo has interesting lore but it's story isn't on the level of Final Fantasy.

Diablo's combat is played out in real time and you have freedom to move around during a battle. In final fantasy you are stuck taking turns attacking without any freedom to move.

Each of diablo's spells are unique. You have spells that raise the dead, create have flames sprout where you walk, sacrifice your life for an atack bonus, etc. Final fantasy has spells that do different types of damage.

Diablo has the thrill and unpredictability of Multiplayer while Final fantasy has the continuous tedium of fighting against the AI.

How is it that most people would consider Final Fantasy superior to diablo when gameplay wise the opposite is true?

In your opinion.

[Zeromus_X]

Edit: Yeah, well he is posting it, isn't he? Not somebody else.

It's even more annoying when people complain about the story, like it's the only thing that matters. Games can have good stories, yes, but playing a game should be the more important thing. Then again, I don't whine about the story anyway.

[Rostum]

Edit: Yeah, well he is posting it, isn't he? Not somebody else.

Sorry I was referring to this:

Final fantasy has spells that do different types of damage.

Diablo has the thrill and unpredictability of Multiplayer while Final fantasy has the continuous tedium of fighting against the AI.

I actually still like Final Fantasy's gameplay better than Diablos'. I don't think it's fair to state the differences in the way that Aradae has, that's all.

I do agree that a story line isn't the most important thing in a game. But I sure do love them.

[Alive-Cat]

Not all games have to have a good story. I love playing the Crash Bandicoot games, and they're about as lame and unoriginal as you can get.

[Lionx]

Its like people go..Street Fighter has a bad story, therefore Mortal Kombat is the better game! and thats the only real reason they give...which to me is like wtf....

In general do you care more about a racing game's story than the actual competition/fun? Really now...story is supposed to enhance the gameplay unless that game is just there to tell a story. RPGs in general do tell a story, however this does not apply to every game out there.

[Lilliputian Hitcher]

FFI, FFVIII, FFTA and FFX-2 all have rather pathetic stories, yet they all manage to be pretty decent games otherwise. Xenogears has a fantastic story but its terrible battle system and deplorable pacing make it a chore to play. Story doesn't always count for much.

[DanteV9]

Story is pretty important, but it depends on the game. I mean, FFVIII wouldn't be able to have a story like Super Mario 64. Though, a really good story can be very enjoyable. Like in Fire Emblem.

[Madame Adequate]

Making an effort at a good story shows that the developers care about the game, and giving people a reason to play the game. That or they can just admit the game exists for its own purposes, and we can get on with playing it just as happily.

But yes, a story is important to me. I've grown up playing mostly games with a story, and when a game has a story that should be the point of playing - to find out what happens next. Often I've even played bad games with stories which interest me.

A game can be very good without a good story, but most of the best games have a good story on top of the good gameplay, graphics, and so forth. It's another part of what makes a game great, not something which you can disparage at will (Well you can, but if you don't recognize the brilliant storytelling in Suikoden or Planescape: Torment then you're really missing out).

[Dreddz]

A game with a poor story can still be a good game, I can think of plenty of games that have very bad cliched stories that Ive played endlessly because I enjoy the gameplay etc. But I will look down on them for having a bad story, and it will affect my view of the game. Everything comes into the equation, gameplay can make up for a bad story like a good story can make up for bad gameplay.
It depends how much you want a good story I guess....

[Slothy]

For me, you could have the greatest gameplay in the world, but without a good story to back it up, I lose interest. The only exception to this is when a game has some form of great multiplayer mode, but even that only holds your interest for so long. There have been plenty of games with great gameplay that just got repetitive and boring by the end, to the point that I either didn't beat them because I got my gameplay fill and didn't care about the story, or forced myself to beat them and didn't even enjoy the last half of the game. Games like RE4, DMC1&3, and more. A story gives me a reason to push on and keeps a game from becoming boring when the otherwise great gameplay isn't able to support a 10-20 hour adventure on it's own.

[Giga Guess]

For me, a story makes the difference between an epic game I can't put down, and a good way to blow a few hours here and there. Diablo has the replayability factor, this is true. But even under your own admission, it doesn't have the story FF does. I'm not saying storyline is the only thing that matters, but in my personal opinion, it'll bring a game to the level of reading a good book.

But that's just me.

[LunarWeaver]

I used to be able to play the Mario and Sonics of the world but at some point they just stopped interesting me. I need a minimum of a RE4/DMC3 plot and cutscene amount to hold my interest.

The games I truly replay again and again are ones with lots of story though. Metal Gear Solids and Xenosaga and all that. I sort of think I'm already spilling 50 dollars on the game, I'd rather there be lots of cutscenes in it then there not be. The game portions will still be there, but the story can enhance it to a level it wasn't before so I say bring them on as much as possible.

If there isn't a story I feel like there's no point in putting in the effort when I get little pay-off. Few games are fun enough on their own to hold my attention without a lot of story (I'm a huge Diablo fan and for some reason I like still like Zelda)

As for if Diablo has greater gameplay than Final Fantasy, that's an old real-time vs. turn-based debate. That isn't true for all, many people hate real-time systems.