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New games do not feature the storytelling prowess of good TV, films, or novels. Joker Send a noteboard - 28/09/2009 01:03:46 AM
It's not like it was as strong as The Wire, or War and Peace, or Pulp Fiction, or any other exemplary piece of storytelling in other mediums. It's like saying FF6 won the gold at the special olympics: an achievement, but only in the context of a medium that has special needs.

I'd add a "for the time" in there somewhere, personally. I think video games have come a long, long way since then, and the Special Olympics comment only really applies to older games. I look at Final Fantasy 6 the same way I look at, say, Thundercats. A lot of people remember it being awesome because at the time it was, and at the time they were kids. Imagination and childhood fleshed out a lot of non-existent details and made that six foot tall slide six stories tall.

When you go back and play it, however, it's evident that things aren't quite as you remember. Watching re-run of Thundercats was positively painful. As for FF6, I never played it back in the day, but tried to when they re-released it for the PS1 (?). I never got more than six hours in, so I can't give a full critique of the game or anything, but let me say, what I saw was almost fully in line with the Thundercats.


As I said, they're still winning the special olympics. The medium has potential, I'd say, but it's a far cry from featuring sophisticated storytelling like we are currently seeing in other mediums.
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So being a FF fan and never having played FF 12... - 24/09/2009 10:25:44 PM 1032 Views
The story in FF12 leaves much to be desired - 24/09/2009 10:41:28 PM 1006 Views
I love FF but I didn't even bother to finish 12 *NM* - 24/09/2009 10:45:55 PM 416 Views
Videogame stories suck the big one, with VERY few exceptions. - 25/09/2009 12:29:39 AM 894 Views
FF7?!?! You're a nutcase! - 25/09/2009 01:50:16 AM 827 Views
It was still good though - 26/09/2009 03:06:12 AM 706 Views
Fair enough. Maybe I'm proving my own point. - 26/09/2009 06:46:26 AM 880 Views
I will have to disagree with this... - 26/09/2009 08:20:46 AM 780 Views
Exactly. When I think story here, I think of the individual stories as well as the whole. - 26/09/2009 07:13:24 PM 901 Views
Still, it's good for a videogame story. - 26/09/2009 07:54:01 PM 824 Views
I agree, with caveat. - 26/09/2009 11:54:25 PM 920 Views
New games do not feature the storytelling prowess of good TV, films, or novels. - 28/09/2009 01:03:46 AM 844 Views
I disagree. Maybe you're playing the wrong games. *NM* - 28/09/2009 04:51:48 AM 405 Views
What is the videogame equivalent of The Godfather, The Wire, or Great Expectations? *NM* - 01/10/2009 03:31:37 AM 428 Views
Ah, I see. *NM* - 03/10/2009 08:02:28 PM 439 Views
Say what? - 04/10/2009 02:21:01 PM 774 Views
"Ah, I see" means "You haven't answered because there is no satisfactory answer." - 05/10/2009 07:06:03 AM 795 Views
So you expect me to reply within two days when it took you three? - 05/10/2009 10:29:27 PM 749 Views
I've used that escape from a debate I was losing, too. It's a good one - 06/10/2009 09:21:31 PM 845 Views
I... don't think you understand how this works. - 06/10/2009 11:41:12 PM 788 Views
Anything of worth? - 09/10/2009 03:24:42 AM 767 Views
Cymbaline is right. Some games have excellent stories. - 29/09/2009 10:44:16 AM 766 Views
And yet so many people claim to play them for their stories... - 25/09/2009 03:06:44 AM 880 Views
The extras lower peoples' standards, but I DO think it's still the story. - 25/09/2009 04:34:30 AM 790 Views
That's basically what I meant. - 25/09/2009 05:05:19 AM 755 Views
Yeah I understand. - 25/09/2009 05:18:34 AM 854 Views
You are correct. But it sounds like semantics to me, since in practice... - 25/09/2009 06:00:41 AM 798 Views
I suppose it is, at that. - 25/09/2009 01:58:25 PM 841 Views
Well said. - 26/09/2009 06:48:10 AM 787 Views
I enjoyed 12 more than most of those you mentioned... - 25/09/2009 12:55:56 AM 786 Views
I agree. *NM* - 25/09/2009 02:44:08 AM 512 Views
The grid was fine, but didn't scale well. - 25/09/2009 04:35:57 AM 773 Views
I'll agree with this point, but I also agree with most of the thoughts of the GP - 25/09/2009 05:26:18 PM 857 Views
I am glad that at least one person here is with me on this. - 26/09/2009 05:53:42 AM 799 Views
It's interesting.... - 26/09/2009 06:55:18 PM 836 Views
Plot doesn't kick in until later on, sadly - 26/09/2009 07:27:55 PM 790 Views
I partially agree with LoS, and I partially disagree with you. - 27/09/2009 12:07:07 AM 906 Views
Opinion mine: 12 was a great game, and a terrible Final Fantasy. - 25/09/2009 05:03:28 AM 861 Views
I didn't like it and didn't finish *NM* - 25/09/2009 05:34:42 AM 402 Views
i finished it recently and i found it allright - 25/09/2009 11:30:36 AM 1065 Views
Final Fantasy XII was the best written FF ever, by far. - 26/09/2009 05:47:27 AM 857 Views
I agree with this. - 26/09/2009 08:22:40 AM 842 Views
LOL... FFXII was the best FFXII ever? - 26/09/2009 03:43:11 PM 796 Views
That was juvenile, TMJ. Also, he said best written FF. *NM* - 26/09/2009 06:58:12 PM 440 Views
Yes, it was funny on a juvenile level. - 26/09/2009 07:11:12 PM 796 Views
Ah, I must have missed the typo. - 26/09/2009 08:32:51 PM 870 Views
So much confusion everywhere! - 26/09/2009 11:48:32 PM 868 Views
Some of us --I'd even say MOST of us-- like that, though. - 26/09/2009 07:20:55 PM 858 Views
Agreed, I want to get into a magical whale's belly and fly through the air ... - 28/09/2009 05:03:14 AM 1070 Views

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