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What’s your favorite video game story? I’ll start:

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Shadow of the colossus convey it’s storytelling subtextually, the game doesn’t have dialogue, and the world is barren with no NPCs. And it’s still the most impactful and emotionally resonant game I’ve ever experienced. A love story that’ll be ingrained in me forever

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  11. It’s a beautiful game definitely; I’ve just ridden around for an hour several times, but I never really progressed the actual story. Maybe I will now. It sounds like the way Fromsoft games do storytelling? Through environmental clues and lore scraps here and there?

  12. I’m about halfway through the Trails games and they are really, really great story wise. Tons of political intrigue and interpersonal stuff. Really fun characters as well. The earlier games are a bit grindy but the later ones improve on this a bit I think.

    I also am really enjoying the stories in the Yakuza Series. I started with Yakuza 0 and am on Yakuza Kiwami 2 now, both the main story lines and a lot of the side quests are just great (some serious, some ridiculous), and of course some of the best characters of all time. Someday I want a bonded pair of kittens that I can name Majima and Kiryu-chan.

  13. FF14: Shadowbringers is amazing, although you do need to get through the base game and the first 2 expansions to get there. The whole FF14 series is awesome *and* has some amazing women as characters. Ysayle is still my favorite in the whole game, her story is so tragic and wonderful and hopeful at the same time.

  14. I don’t think I have a favourite overall story. God of War 2018 and Ragnarok probably felt the most well told for me with a satisfying ending.

    S.O.M.A. doesn’t feel like a traditional story, but it’s definitely another favourite of mine. I love it particularly because it deals with my existential dread of teleporters in Star Trek – but in a much more contemporary way. I can talk for hours about this game!

    Meanwhile there were definitely lots of story ‘moments’ that stuck out to me, many from Final Fantasy games:

    * 6 when Cyan sees his family on the ghost train; Celes and Locke’s will they won’t they
    * 7 when Cloud’s back story was revealed and you realised why he’s such a wet blanket
    * 9 when Zidane loses his sense of identity and purpose, but then ‘You’re Not Alone’ starts playing and he ghost walks through the corridors
    * 10’s ending when Titus kept his sacrifice a secret and Yuna says ‘Thank you’ (in the Japanese version) in the cinematic
    * Red Dead Redemption 2 end
    * Life is Strange’s ‘sad’ ending (which I see as the canonical ending

  15. Astlibra revision, a boy on a quest to find his childhood friend/love interest and reconnect with his past, it has a lot of touching moments and the way the protagonist never gives up hope on finding his friend it made me feel so sentimental, its genuinely on of the few games that made me cry with how good the story was😭😭

    Wish i could say more but its so easy to get into spoilers, if you dont mind 2D Jrpgs give it a shot and you will not be dissapointed!🙏

  17. Overall Favorite: Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask. The first game that ever gripped me for the story and as I got older, it only got better.

    Best Surprises: BioShock. This game has such a good story, it honestly is the reason I played it back in the day despite it scaring me.

    Honorable Mentions: Ico. One of my other favorites. I love the environment and the lore so much (ties into Shadow of the Colossus!)

    Mass Effect Trilogy. Another great story, even if the end doesn’t pay off quite right. I cried a lot playing the third game!

    Current Favorite: BALDUR’S GATE 3. This game has quickly risen to be possibly my favorite game of all time. I’m currently on my first real “solo” file after nearly beating it with my partner, and playing it again I have learned so much new lore. The world building, the companions are immaculate. I have laughed, I have cried, I have felt genuine love for fictional characters.

  19. Prince of Persia 2008. A little ham fisted at times perhaps, but >!I just love the way that the prince’s story echos that of the ~antagonist who set the whole catastrophe in motion. The tale of people who would let the world burn to save the person / few people they love has stuck with me in a way that few other video game stories have. Especially because in most cases where the heroes do that they win anyway or it’s framed as good and right. Not so here.!<

  20. **Ace Combat 5**: Story about finding a collective desire for peace through war. The cast is hilariously campy but are so lovable because of it.

    **Shadowbringers** (FFXIV): For a game that’s generally had fairly in my opinion serviceable if not decidedly mid story writing with moments of greatness (3.3), Shadowbringers humanized the villains and contextualized the struggles of the protagonist in a masterful way. You can add the Elpis section of Endwalker to this where conversations with a certain white haired lady perfectly captured everyone’s 10 year relationship with the game world and story, the rest of Endwalker is average at best.

    **Final Fantasy X**: This is one of the best game stories about two people falling in love I’ve personally ever played. I once told someone who I was on a date with, who thought the laughing scene was bad voice acting, that he needs to grow up and get a sense of humour.

    **Genshin Impact**: This games makes me cry like no other game can because it writes stories from the heart that very frequently touch the heart. Very few overtly sad things happen, but I’m completely moved from happy things happening or seeing something so insanely beautiful I can’t help but be brought to tears. Sometimes bittersweet and always personal are words I’d use to describe the story in this game. I was literally weeping from a Mario Galaxy esque cutscene because of what it took to see it. Not to even mentioning Furina whom I think is just the best female character I’ve seen in any media I’ve personally consumed.

    Recently there was a short quest about a toy soldier from an imaginary world that was terrified of venturing beyond his little world since everyone that did come back changed from their experiences. His best friend comes back from one such journey and with your help you convince him that while stepping into the unknown can be scary and he might change, but there is much wonder to be found out there too and that’s what living is all about. Eventually he did set up into the great beyond with his friend on their paper origami boat.

    Then the next time you come back to the swing they were sitting on, you find this letter:

    “This letter is for my neighbors, my friends, the lighthouse, and the little flower.”
    “I’m about to go out a-venturing with Rozel. Please feel free to use my swing, table, and stool.”
    “I wish you all the best.”
    “Your neighbor, Esnoir.”

    With those five sentences it completely re-contextualized the quest and what his fears actually were. If you know Mr. Rogers you’ll know why I was inconsolable for the next like 30 minutes.

    **Honourable mentions** include: **Final Fantasy VI**, iconic and epic story with a huge relatable cast. **Metal Gear Solid 2** which literally predicted everything happening today, back in 2001. **The Last of Us I**, a standard generic zombie story executed so well through its characters that it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. **Journey**, a story told entirely via body language that moved me more than most games… and a bunch of others that I’m forgetting at the moment.

  23. I have so many in my list that I just adore.

    Growing up I loved Chrono Cross, (the sequel to trigger) it’s a love story with tragedy and heartbreak sprinkled in an artistic painting like world that just eases me and breaks my heart in one fell swoop.

    FFix was formative for me, and I loved the depth they gave all the characters. Vivi’s story is life, Vivi’s story is love.

    It’s been said here, but FFxiv: Shadowbringers has one of the best stories of all time. It’s incredible and even the lead up to it is good. It’s long, but it’s amazingly good.

    And last, Cyberpunk 2077. V’s story is a gut punch and a clear statement and everything about it, from the world building, to the several endings had me in awe from the moment I picked it up. It was the first game in a long, LONG, time that made me absolutely sob at the ending. And I often replay it just to chill in V’s shoes so I don’t have to say goodbye.

  24. Shadowheart, Baldur’s Gate.
    I lost my Dad about a year before the game came out and playing through her story was extremely cathartic. The moment when in shadowfell when Nightsong plays and the metaphor for breaking free from the darkness has me sobbing man 😭

  26. Xenoblade 1 or maybe Xenogears. I love how grandiose and occasionally dark the games are and how they throw in so many twists and turns along the way. The world building is so well done too.

    Final Fantasy VI is pretty up there as well. Quite the ride.

  31. Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite story too! It’s really stuck with me through the years. It’s amazing what they were able to convey with very little dialogue, simple facial animations, music, and environmental storytelling. Have you ever read the old sotc theory/analysis [guide](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/924364-shadow-of-the-colossus/faqs/41817) on gamefaqs? I think it’s a big part of why the game has stuck with me

  33. It’s hard to pick just one but I really liked Odin Sphere. It’s basically a dark fairy tale story. I also really adored Gwendolyn and Oswald. It’s just a gorgeous game in general. I like how all the stories and characters end up connecting.

  34. Ace Attorney, if I had to pick just one of the games then the third one, Trials and Tribulations. I also love Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. The ending was a bit weird (I blame the PL side of it for that lmao) but the game as a whole is so good.

    Assassin’s Creed II is another of my favourites. Spans a lot of years in game but I love it.

  35. I haven’t played that one but that artwork makes me want to. It’s going on my list. 

    Storywise, the Life is Strange series is cool because it’s heavy on the story.
    I also like FF9 and Stray. In the horror world, I quite enjoy the Fatal Frame series. 

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