Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

(Gaming discussion not related to Shenmue)

Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Thief » Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:32 am

Over the years I've become extremely picky with my media. I'm usually on a constant quest for my next great video-game/uplifting experience, yet when I search the internet for "games with good stories" or something similar, I usually find lists filled with either the newest -- and not necessarily the greatest -- games released, or games that are talked to death (such as Ocarina of Time, or Shadow of the Colossus). I think Videogames have the ability to give some really profound experiences; whether it be the exciting and completely immersive setting in Shenmue, or an interesting way of making you feeling empathy for its characters like in Soul Blazer, or even the sadness you feel after the end of a grand adventure and a farewell to friends like in Chrono Trigger. I want that feeling of emotion that I've only gotten from very few games. So I guess this is a topic for games that make you feel... something; something hard to place but something worth noting. Sorry for being very vague.

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Let's Get Sweaty » Fri Dec 14, 2012 7:35 am

I recently played To The Moon, a short, inexpensive PC game with little in the way of gameplay but one of the most touching stories I've ever encountered. I'd recommend it in the strongest possible terms if you're looking for something that'll stick with you.

In a less profound way, one of my favorite game stories/settings was Omikron: The Nomad Soul on PC and Dreamcast. The terrific atmosphere and background detail made up for some iffy (yet ambitious for the time) gameplay. It became one of those gaming worlds that would be interesting to visit in real life.

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Strikeout » Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:37 pm

check out terranigma, an enix snes game, it was only available in japan and europe, but this game is the better a link to the past, not good known out of europe and japan i guess, for me it is the best snes game i've played, the complete game is a masterpiece. story, music, gameplay and graphics are just insanely good


here check out the intro

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8tWG_atrTE[/youtube]

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Riku Rose » Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:27 pm

To The Moon was very good and touching.

I just beat The Walking Dead and it had a fantastic story. It was wrote by the guy who did the film Book of Eli so if you like that you may enjoy it.

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Bluecast » Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:39 pm

Fragile
Farewell Ruins to the Moon. My god what a touching game. So much character. The story is not to write home about but the stories little stories you collect and read at the campfire are so touching. The setting is great. The despair and hope is all there. The characters are all great. I did a big review on it a while back. Combat is it's major weak point but it's worth it to wade through.

My only warning for me it's one of those games that is so wonderful but so hopeless I can never play again as it just too emotional for me personally. One of my fave games this gen



Ryudo wrote: Image


I said this a little in another topic but here it goes. For years gamers usually got a long story from the RPG genre. In recent times in the west that was abandoned by many. More in favor of a FPS or something that seemed like a lifetime movie from a rejected wanna be film director into a series of QTE's or something very dark and gritty.
Maybe they should recheck the RPG genre. Don't look at those spiky haired group of teens going to save the world with swords so large it almost seems like it's trying to compensate for something RPGs. Take a look at Fragile Dreams for the Wii developed by Tri Cresendo. You may know them from more recent works as Eternal Sonata or Co developed Baten Kaitos on Nintendo Gamecube.

This is a game with no Phoenix Downs or Magic spells and long winded CG cutscenes.

Story
The game starts out as you play Seto a young boy who an old man he lived with he called his grandfather passes away. Seto is now truly alone in this post-apocalyptic earth. He sets out to find another human to be with. As he sets out he spots a silver haired girl singing in the moonlight he startles her making her fall. As he approaches she runs away. From her on he sets out to find her.
Along the way he finds out past souls of this world are confused upset and angry and linger everywhere. (these are mostly enemies but more on that in a bit) he encounters a talking mobile navigator until it's batt died. Then he encounters crow an odd looking human but plays around a bit with Seto but become friends. As he sets off alone once more he finds a kind and cheerful spirit of a dead teenage girl in a hotel and she tags along with him on his quest to find the silvered hair girl. Each point you hit a critical part in the story you get a very nice animated narrated cutscene. No not anime but with silhouettes. You will meet many more characters along the way and each has a personal story of tragedy.
Plus learn what it means to be alone and friendship and loss of ones you care for. Now why is this taking place after the end of the world. Well you have to play to find out.

Image
Sai one of the few you will meet and befriend along your journey

Gameplay
This one is a little tricky for me to get into but here it goes.
You will use the Wii remote as a pointer for the flashlight and works really well. A button is for using your weapon.
Weapons are normal everyday things for the most part. (apart from the occasional Bow & Katana) most weapons and healing items like Vitamins or water you get from save points which are bonfires from the merchant wearing a giant chicken head.(seems odd at first but later in the game you hear his story) now the only gripe in this game is the combat.
No other way to put it. It's clunky. So whatever weapon you use like stick or tennis racket or a pipe or whatever. Eventually after so much use they all break and must re equip a new one. There is no aiming so sometimes hit nothing and esp hard for flying enemies if you don't have a bow or slingshot. It's not frustrating to the point of tossing the controller but more of a minor annoyance. As you explore sometimes you will get lost and may have to be patient or to find someone or a certain task you don't know what to do. Be patient or if worse comes to worse always YouTube (last resort but don't think you need it to much). As you go along your journey from local to local whether just finding it or after defeating an enemy you get trinkets. This is one of the best parts of the game. At save points you get a narrative from the person who once owned it and get each and everyone's individual stories attached to the trinket. It can be a simple nice memory to a dramatic one. This is so rewarding when exploring each area. From amusement parks to malls to a Dam and more. Just be careful as in these places that are decaying some floors are not to stable so must be careful.
Just so fun to explore.

Image
A small idea of combat.


Visuals
No the Wii is no powerhouse but still very capable in it's own right.
The aesthetics are great and full of personality and the environments and characters are crisp and clean.
As a sample.
Image
Image

Music
I wish I could post it all as it's all so pretty. Composer Riei Saitō did a wonderful job of the music conveying the story the setting and the mood throughout the game.
I will only post two of my faves from the game. The Title screen music and the intro song.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vttph9W11-M[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pPsJd6bPOM[/youtube]

Last Thoughts
This is a game that will get you emotional all the way though. A true experience. If you can forgive getting lost a couple times and a combat that was under worked but want a great experience with a moving story that defies what an RPG or story driven game should be then this is for you. If I had one complaint other than the things I said it's the Silver haired girl herself. No not the character. Her clothes. This may sound a bit odd and maybe on the pervish side. She is like 15 and wears a bit to revealing outfit. This almost can play on a pedo side in all of us and can make anime nerds squel with joy at Cosplay. I mean look.
Image

Yeah. Maybe I'm just a total perv. In any case a wonderful game with nothing like it.
Last edited by Bluecast on Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Segata Sanshiro Jr. » Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:49 pm

its like a Makoto Sinkai(10 Centimeters per second, The place promised in out early days, voices of a distant star) movie as a game.

so great

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby KiBa » Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:08 am

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby OL » Sat Dec 15, 2012 2:51 am

I only just played through Journey yesterday, but the hype is completely warranted.
It's short. Very short. And the "story" is so simple that it's almost (almost) nonexistent.
But it truly is, as I'm sure has been expressed by others, the kind of game that makes you feel something. It's not the kind of thing that can really be explained in plain words; it looks great, sounds great, and functions well, but there's more to it than that.
The main thing you take away from it is how much it makes you feel uplifted, excited, or even worried within its short two-hour run, all without a single word being uttered. And the experience is even more incredible if you happen to be signed into your PSN account, as the game will drop other players into your game at random.
Now, initially this might sound like a bad idea. Why would you want some dumb, random kid dropping into your game and effing up your experience?
But it just doesn't happen that way. There's nothing they can really do to mess things up. They show up, and it's like they're just taking this journey along with you; you happen to be kindred spirits following the same path. That sounds cheesy, I know, but it's hard to describe it any other way. You help eachother, activate the game's puzzles together, and even, during the game's final stretch, keep eachother "warm" while traversing the game's frigid snow level (seriously, it's a gameplay mechanic). Truly the best use of online play I've ever seen, and it's so incredibly simple and innocent. You stumble across them and immediately bond without using words.
And the game's "ending" really is the kind of thing that will affect everyone a little differently.

It may be stylized, but it's immersive as hell, and it certainly will make you feel something. Don't judge it by the demo up on PSN; the full game has to be experienced to really "get" it.

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Vyse Hazuky » Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:17 am

I'm glad and even surprised you like it, OL.

As for Thief's request, I don't think you can go wrong with Red Seeds Profile/Deadly Premonition ( viewtopic.php?f=15&t=39098&p=888093&hilit=red+seeds+profile#p888093 ), but if you want something a bit different, why not try two of Tale of Tales' pieces:

The Path: http://tale-of-tales.com/ThePath/index.html

or Bientôt l'Été: http://tale-of-tales.com/bientotlete/index.html

Can't get more interesting and immersive than that, imo, even if I understand it might not be what you're looking for. Still, nowt wrong in giving it a try.

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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby MiTT3NZ » Sat Dec 15, 2012 3:50 pm

Gameplay-wise, Deadly Premonition is dreadful. Don't got near it if gameplay and controls are important to you.
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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Thief » Sat Dec 15, 2012 5:34 pm

Really great stuff guys! Although I wanted to use this topic as a place to get recommendations, I even more wanted this to be a topic where people can express their love and enthusiasm for some really exceptional games. This is one of the few communities that I really trust to have good taste in video games.
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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby ys » Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:35 pm

OL wrote:
But it just doesn't happen that way. There's nothing they can really do to mess things up. They show up, and it's like they're just taking this journey along with you; you happen to be kindred spirits following the same path. That sounds cheesy, I know, but it's hard to describe it any other way. You help eachother, activate the game's puzzles together, and even, during the game's final stretch, keep eachother "warm" while traversing the game's frigid snow level (seriously, it's a gameplay mechanic). Truly the best use of online play I've ever seen, and it's so incredibly simple and innocent. You stumble across them and immediately bond without using words.
And the game's "ending" really is the kind of thing that will affect everyone a little differently.

I've been mentioning the game a couple of times on the forum in threads regarding music, emotional games etc so I agree totally. As an experience it beat many big budget games that I've played this year. I know some don't agree but the ending floored me for some reason. I was a bit stunned when the credits rolled and when they went back to the title screen with the serene musis I had to snap out of my thoughts. So yeah, I thought that it touched on something very powerful/subconscious and the way the game was built up in combination with the music reinforced this.
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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby OL » Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:11 am

See, for me, I found the ending to be really, really melancholy.
After gracefully trekking across deserts, maneuvering across threats "underwater," and trudging through the freezing snow -- a pretty grand adventure altogether -- the character's fate actually left me pretty sad. Even though he/she is "revived" and flies through a sort of Heaven up to the mountaintop, they're then "reborn" and shot all the way back to the title screen, the start of it all. The whole journey is revealed to essentially be a neverending loop. And for some reason, that sort of idea in relation to life itself has always left me with a bit of a knot in my stomach. I like the idea of beginnings and endings. It's always much more appealing to me when an ending leads to a new beginning.
The idea, as communicated in the game, that everything repeats forever in a circular motion is, in an odd way, kind of unsettling to me.

But despite the game leaving me with this kind of feeling, I still absolutely love it. It left me actually feeling something, and pretty intensely at that. It's brilliant and it's beautiful and it made me feel like my experience with it was a unique one (which is likely the intention).
It really is one of those game that everyone should play at least once through. And considering that it's only a couple hours long, I don't think that's to much to ask.
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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby ys » Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:37 pm

Same here regarding the feel of the game. About the impact of the game :
Before climbing the mountain I could sense great sadness when the "vision" shows the journey ahead and the characters crawling. Then when I arrived at the last part of the game it felt so... incredibly delicate and ethereal. And the music just added to this even more. But that ending made such an impact on me. I maybe exaggerate by thinking this but it really got me thinking about life, death etc. And having a companion there with that melancholic music was genius. The person I played with actually waited a little while after he landed on the snow patch so we could both continue. The game pushing you to keep on walking there with the music...damn...


All in all, I would also recommend it to people who sometimes like to reflect a bit while gaming.
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Re: Games With Interesting & Immersive Stories/Settings

Postby Nankeiro » Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:39 am

Panzer Dragoon and of course, Azel Panzer Dragoon RPG.

Those are amazing, interesting, huge and immersive for sure.

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