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[SinDelta]

For me -

1. Chrono Trigger - Perfection.
2. 13 Sentinels - Possibly unmatched. Play it.
3. KOTOR - Better then the Star Wars sequels, the prequels...
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   on par with the original trilogy at least. Fallen Order had some amazing parts but it never let you choose to save the galaxy...or burn it.
4. Odin Sphere - A grand saga of war adventure, love
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   apocalyptic world consuming death and rebirth almost on par with End of Evangelion.
5. Age of Mythology - You have a quest that starts with heading into the Trojan War
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   which eventually entangles the Egyptian and Norse pantheons before it culminates with the fall of Atlantis, the release of Chronos and the ascension of a new God.
6. Mass Effect 1/2 - Amazing even with cracks beginning to show with 2's filler main story. The sidequests though, the suicide mission, the hunt for the Shadow Broker were insane.
7. Dragon Age Origins - Flawed with its pacing (fade, deep roads), but everything is top notch. Characters are great, world building is great, music and atmosphere are great.
8. Okami - Best Wolf goes on quest to save existence. Only the half hour opening intro sucks, the rest is on par with the best Zelda games.
9. Ace Combat 7 - Skies Unknown - When Magic Spear 1 kicks in, seeing the war play out
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   taking down the arsonal birds, that moment Daredevil kick in.
10. Bioshock 2 -
    Spoiler: Spoilers

    I think the story is better than 1, and it has the best take your daughter to work day in the history of fiction.

Honorable Mentions - Honestly these rotate into my top 10 by whim.

Spoiler: Spoilers

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - I thought it would be a Link to the Past repaste with modern cartoon graphics. I was wrong.

Spoiler: Spoilers

The ending makes this the best story in the entire Legend of Zelda series with you helping stop a Princess from a path that would turn her into a monstrosity on par with Ganon in her attempts to save her kingdom which long ago forsook the relic of the gods holding their universe together.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: A kid goes on the hero's journey. Stuff happens.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Vast in scope, and tones of lore to go with. The drawback is most of the main story takes place in flashbacks, but the world itself offers a vast narrative if you talk to the NPCs and know where to look.

Spoiler: Spoilers

Take Akkala Citadel, where Hyrules remaining army made a desperate last stand.

Jade Empire - Game was cut short. Fascinating setting. I still remember

Spoiler: Spoilers

when the reason for what looks to be a extremely hard to notice opening in your martial arts style is revealed.

Bastion - World building and lore.

Spoiler: Spoilers

There is a decision you must make, two actually and both are holy shit kind of moments.

Dragon's Crown - Tons of lore and world building, but the characters get little screen time so to speak.
Assassins Creed 2 - Ezio's journey across renaissance Italy was something to behold.
The World Ends with You - Amazing.
Ghost Trick - Also amazing.
Ace Attorney Trilogy - Never knew court cases could be so nuts.

 

[MeteorVII]

10. Kingdom Hearts - Narrative doesn’t just mean ‘characters’ and ‘plot’, which KH has always been terrible with (although the first game is actually pretty decent at those too), but the world-building, atmosphere, details and motifs as well, which the Kingdom Hearts series has always excelled at.

9. Grim Fandango - The most witty and charming game ever made.

8. L.A. Noire - Criminally underrated. Fantastic protagonist, mature and clever writing/dialogue, great mystery storytelling and some of the best character interactions in all of gaming.

7. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - The best Studio Ghibli film ever made. And you get to actually play it.

6. Final Fantasy VII - Iconic settings. Unforgettable characters. Journey of a lifetime.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask - The darkest, most mature and sophisticated Nintendo game ever made. Characters have actual depth and the story has pathos that is almost unmatched in any story from any medium.

4. The Last of Us / The Last of Us Part 2 - Couldn’t choose between the two. Both are bold and thought-provoking stories that (with the exception of my number 1 choice on this list...) are the most expert examples of ludonarrative cohesion in gaming. The premises of both games are ingeniously simple, yet both tap into something much deeper and more complex through various, interlocking gameplay mechanics which feed into the relationships you have with its characters and the way you perceive certain events.

3. Red Dead Redemption 2 - Simply a masterpiece. A deeply moving, resonating and epic tale of the dying Wild West with expertly written, nuanced characters and unparalleled depth in thematic/historical exploration.

2. Red Dead Redemption - The only edge this original masterpiece has over its sequel is one moment. One key moment of storytelling perfection in gaming.

Spoiler: Ending Spoilers

John Marston's death. I think Matt Margini said it best; “the way Dead Eye blankets the screen in orange and makes you scramble furiously to pop off headshots, only to watch him get pumped full of bullets. Both Red Dead's gaming genre (open-world action game) and its narrative genre (Western) let you indulge in a fantasy of lawless freedom, yet it ends with this death that clamps down so brutally on both the character and the player. Because Red Dead makes you feel so free, because it has GTA in its DNA, because it makes you inhabit a cinematic and literary genre that has meditated in so many ways on the promise and meaning of freedom, the moment lands in a way that feels authentically tragic.”

1. Silent Hill 2

 

[Danjin44]

1 - 13 Sentinels

2 - Nier Gestalt/Automata

3 - Odin Sphere

4 - Drakengard 1/3

5 - 999/Virtue's Last Reward

6 - ICO/Shadow of the Colossus/The Last Guardian

7 - Original Bioshock

8 - Xenoblade Chronicles 1/2

9 - First Ace Attorney Trilogy

10 - Catherine

 

[The Lunch Legend]

Virtue's Last Reward - I found it mind-blowing. It is 2/3 visual novel and 1/3 puzzle game. The story is basically Saw in space with parallel timelines and some very surreal plot twists.

Divinity: Original Sin, enhanced edition - You can even play with a friend. Takes close to 100 hours to play, absolutely fantastic story and an extremely rich game. Turn-based rpg with crafting and very unique battle system, basically DnD as a video game.

TO THE MOON - PLAY IT OR REGRET IT !

Bioshock - My favorite script ever, amazingly tied together.

Nier Automata - All games in the Nier series to be honest but unfortunately Nier Automata is the only one in the series that has a spectacular story AND excellent gameplay, the previous titles had excellent stories and music but the gameplay left a lot to be desired.

Grim Fandango - It's old now but there is a remastered version. One of the most unique settings and the best stories ever. Simply one of the greatest games ever made.

Final Fantasy 7 - Everyone has their favorite FF game. This is mine.

Mass Effect Trilogy -- Epic Sci-fi done right.

Tactics Ogre - The sad ending is mind blowing.

Xenogears - The Tom Brady of videogame narratives, otherwise known as the G.O.A.T.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Guess I really should play Okami.

 

[sublimit]

1)Shadow of the Colossus
2)Silent Hill 2
3)Ico
4)Final Fantasy X
5)Demon's Souls
6)Yakuza (main) series
7)Dark Souls 1
8)The Witcher 3
9)Final Fantasy VII (1997)
10)Journey

 

[kyliethicc]

1. Knack 2
2. Backyard Baseball
3. Pokemon Go
4. Fortnite
5. Knack
6. Wii Fit
7. Rocket League
8. Anthem
9. Super Mario Bros 2
10. FIFA 05

 

[N0S]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater
2. Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker
3. Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes
4. Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain
5. Metal Gear
6. Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake
7. Metal Gear Solid
8. Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty
9. Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriot
10. Super Metroid

 

[cormack12]

I think you know the game

 

[Ascend]

3. Pokemon Go

WTF?

In any case...;

1. Dragon Age: Origins - I cannot put into words how good this story and experience is. And the characters are top notch.
2. Mass Effect - Simply the best combination of plot, world building, and wonder. The most underrated of the trilogy.
3. Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 1 - If you didn't like this, you're not human.
4. Life Is Strange - Simply good.
5. Beyond Good & Evil - This game was way ahead of its time. Play it if you haven't.
6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - A very underrated one. It tackles real world issues in a cyberpunk way.
7. Lost Odyssey - Great characters, emotional and unpredictable.
8. Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy - I played it a long time ago, and I remember it being great. Couldn't tell you why though.
9. Jade Empire - Not quite up there as Dragon Age or Mass Effect, but very good in its own right.
10. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Simple concept but extremely powerful narrative-wise.

Honorable mentions
Pokemon Black/White, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Portal, Portal 2, Spec Ops The Line, and I'm probably forgetting a few.


This thread is good for expanding my horizons by the way. Many of the games mentioned here I have been interested in but never got around to playing them. And some of them, I never heard of. So thanks for the thread.

 

[SSfox]

-MGS
-FF7
-Chrono Trigger
-Tekken 2
-Resident Evil 2
-Dragon Quest 5
-Dragon Quest 8
-RDR
-GOW
-TLOU part 1

Honorable mention: Tekken 4, Phénix Wright, POP, AC1,2 and brotherhood , ICO, SOTC. Just To name those

 

[PooBone]

1. Silent Hill 2

 

[MeteorVII]

I didn’t even need to explain it lol.

There have been entire books and dissertations written about it by now.

 

[PooBone]

I didn’t even need to explain it lol.

There have been entire books and dissertations written about it by now.

It really is an amazing accomplishment. 20 years now and few games have even come close to the level of depth and maturity found in that gem.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

1.- Gravity rush 1 and 2
2.- Chrono Trigger
3.- The last of us
4.- Metal Gear solid 2 : Sons of liberty
5.- Odin Sphere
6.- NIER
7.-999
8.- Steins Gate
9.- The House in fata morgana
10. Spec Ops The line

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

This is kinda rando. A few of them are locks but I just thought of which game stories I really enjoyed, I might rotate different titles in if I did this again.

1. Planescape - what can change the nature of a man?
2. Deus Ex - All conspiracy theories are true, from the Illuminati to aliens, just like IRL
3. Sam n Max Hit the Road - a classic lucasarts adventure game where a dog and rabbit police partnership make being funny look easy as they track down a missing bigfoot and contend with an evil country music star villain
4. Gabriel Knight Sins of the Fathers - a more serious adventure game story than Sam n Max, although it certainly has its funny moments too. In a pre-katrina New Orleans, a horror writer is plagued by nightmares that inspire his work but also hint at his family history's connection to a secret local voodoo cult.
5. Xenoblade Chronicles - Man vs machine. Or maybe...you can become more.
6. Yakuza - all of them. Every Yakuza is an amazing story about heroism and holding onto what's important. Maybe they're all just one big story.
7. Witcher 3 - It's more the characters and their moments together that are compelling, not the icy wild hunt boss. Stuff like chatting during autopsies while hunting murderers or getting drunk with the other witchers before a big fight are the narrative moments that make this game special.
8. Mass Effect 2 - speaking of "who cares about the main story but these side stories are amazing" ME2 is like that as well. The save the galaxy stuff is pretty typical but the "getting the band back together" feeling of tracking down these amazing characters and getting involved in their personal storylines is just incredible.
9. Betrayal at Krondor - an OG VGA story masterpiece, the CD music was amazing as well... don't play it with midi music.
10. Persona 4 - Scrutiny reveals plot holes when this murder mystery is best enjoyed when you go "along for the ride" and have fun spending time with its amazing cast instead of sweating the details

 

[Sander Cohen]

Absolute undisputed all-time winner is Red Dead saga, some other mentions are:

Mass Effect saga, Nier Automata, Bioshock, Final Fantasy X, Witcher 3, Fallout 3 and NV, GTA SA, SOMA, DQ XI, I have to say MGS despite all the craziness and I really liked new GoW and Uncharted 4 endings.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Soma
The Walking Dead
The Last of Us
Bioshock Infinite
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Scratches
The Beginner’s Guide
Eternal Darkness
Final Fantasy VI
Alan Wake

Wish I could put some of the games that I suspect would qualify like Silent Hill 2, RDR2, Edith Finch, Disco Elysium, but alas, I haven’t played them yet.

 

[brian0057]

• Thief II: The Metal Age.
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
• System Shock 2.
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent.
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War.
• Bioshock.
• Telltale's The Walking Dead - Season One.
• Resident Evil (2002 Gamecube remake).
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005).
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

 

[STARSBarry]

WTF?

its a joke post, he's purposely putting games with terrible narratives and writing on or those without any, the big giveaway is TLoU2 being on the list.

 

[TheStam]

• The Witcher 3 - There just isn't anything that comes close to it for me. Especially the Hearts of Stone expansion blew my mind.
• Telltale's The Walking Dead
• Mass Effect 1
• Monkey Island 1 and 2 - Puzzles are a bit annoying these days, but coupled with the wonderful music and humor it's a great adventure
• Dragon Age Origins
• To The Moon - Simple execution but incredibly well written.
• Spec Ops The Line - Yes, it was clever with it's storytelling.

I suspect Disco Elysium will be up there once I finish it when the upgrade hits.

 

[Barry Burton]

• Deadly Premonition
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Killer7
• The Last of Us
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Portal 2
• Silent Hill 2
• SOMA
• Telltale's The Walking Dead
• Yakuza 0

 

[Sub_Level]

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Yep the one with the annoying girlfriend & the fat guy on rollerskates. It either clicks with you or it doesn't.
2. Metal Gear Solid came out months before Half-Life, which was also impressive at release (dat train ride). But MGS is the original grandaddy of modern cinematic videogame storytelling.
3. Silent Hill 2 is a story about guilt and acceptance. Symbolism is used effectively. I don't think the game itself is that great and in fact prefer the original, but its story will stick with you.
4. System Shock 2. In a hilarious premise, the antagonist of the first game must reluctantly help you defeat a new evil. The side characters, whose stories are delivered through audio logs, are equally as entertaining.
5. Mass Effect 1. Possibly the best realized universe created for a videogame. KOTOR, Witcher, VtmB, Cyberpunk; many celebrated videogame narratives already had prior works to rely on. Mass Effect 1's alien races, cultures, histories, & locales were created just specifically for a videogame and its still impressive today.
6. The Last of Us 1 doesn't do anything new or groundbreaking. It just does it very well.
7. Resident Evil VII. A zombified family of hicks chase a white collar intruder around their decrepit Louisiana ranch. Each of the family members have their own unforgettable quirks, making them as endearing as they are terrifying. Its just great fun.
8. Fallout: New Vegas. The quality of the writing sells this story, because the plot itself is goofy as shit. A random sidequest in this game has more memorable writing than many games' main stories.
9. Nier: Automata. I've seen this brushed off as "babby's first existentialism". Fact is a shallow story can still be effective, and Nier sticks the landing in just about every way.
10. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time has my favorite romance in a game, & a bittersweet one at that. The sequels kind of undermine this, but the original will always be effective.

 

[PooBone]

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Yep the one with the annoying girlfriend & the fat guy on rollerskates. It either clicks with you or it doesn't.

Best ending, best mindfuck, best instance of fortune telling the future through a long info dump? YES! That ending is still the most transcendent moment in gaming. I was late to the party and played through 1 2 and 3 just before 4 came out on PS3.

 

[Arachnid]

I feel like there's no point. My tops have all been stated multiple times lol. Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Deus Ex Human Revoltion are my top 3, and in that order.

 

[Perrott]

Without any order:

• Catherine
• Death Stranding
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Persona 5
• P.T.
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• The Last Guardian
• The Last Of Us: Part II

 

[Cyberpunkd]

1. Planescape - what can change the nature of a man?

The only true answer.The story of this game was mind blowing.

 

[Aion002]

1. Bloodborne (yep! I don't need exposition, if I care about the game I will connect the dots with every small thing available and after doing it, I just loved it)

2. Xenogears (I love it... So many memorable moments... The second disc was a pity since they had to rush it because they were behind the schedule, still it did not affect the narrative... It might have even made it better)

3. Chrono Cross (I love it too... Every character and every little thing are sooo interesting)

4. Suikoden V (it's simple, but soooo enjoyable)

5. God of War (2018) (First GoW that I enjoyed... And I still enjoy it sooo much, hyped for the sequel)

6. Persona 3 (It's like an amazing anime from the 90s)

7. MGS2 (mind-blowing)

8. The Witcher 3 (The books are better, but still... Awesome)

9. Death Stranding (so different, so interesting and creative)

10. Red Dead Redemption (I will always remember many moments of it)

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

This for me:

It was one of the biggest gaming surprises of my life. What a fucking masterpiece of a story!

 

[YukiOnna]

1. Persona 3
2. Xenoblade 2
3. Nier Automata
4. Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade)
5. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
6. Danganronpa 1
7. 999 (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors)
8. Tales of Vesperia
9. Yakuza 4
10. Bioshock Infinite

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Bloodborne!

Halfway through the game and i thought: "sure its nice."

Some beasts here a little bit of hunting there.

But then... plot twist!



I was granted eyes.

The whole lore still sends shivers down my spine.

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Grim Fandango - It's old now but there is a remastered version. One of the most unique settings and the best stories ever. Simply one of the greatest games ever made.

I love this one too!

So much charme and character. Highly recommended!

 

[cartman414]

For me -

1. Chrono Trigger - Perfection.
2. 13 Sentinels - Possibly unmatched. Play it.
3. KOTOR - Better then the Star Wars sequels, the prequels...
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   on par with the original trilogy at least. Fallen Order had some amazing parts but it never let you choose to save the galaxy...or burn it.
4. Odin Sphere - A grand saga of war adventure, love
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   apocalyptic world consuming death and rebirth almost on part with End of Evangelion.
5. Age of Mythology - You have a quest that starts with heading into the Trojan War
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   which eventually entangles the Egyptian and Norse pantheons before it culminates with the fall of Atlantis, the release of Chronos and the ascension of a new God.
6. Mass Effect 1/2 - Amazing even with cracks beginning to show with 2's filler main story. The sidequests though, the suicide mission, the hunt for the Shadow Broker were insane.
7. Dragon Age Origins - Flawed with its pacing (fade, deep roads), but everything is top notch. Characters are great, world building is great, music and atmosphere are great.
8. Okami - Best Wolf goes on quest to save existence. Only the half hour opening intro sucks, the rest is on par with the best Zelda games.
9. Ace Combat 7 - Skies Unknown - When Magic Spear 1 kicks in, seeing the war play out
   Spoiler: Spoilers

   , taking down the arsonal birds, that moment Daredevil kick in.
10. Bioshock 2 -
    Spoiler: Spoilers

    I think the story is better than 1, and it has the best take your daughter to work day in the history of fiction.

Honorable Mentions - Honestly these rotate into my top 10 by whim.

Spoiler: Spoilers

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - I thought it would be a Link to the Past repaste with modern cartoon graphics. I was wrong.

Spoiler: Spoilers

The ending makes this the best story in the entire Legend of Zelda series with you helping stop a Princess from a path that would turn her into a monstrosity on par with Ganon in her attempts to save her kingdom which long ago forsook the relic of the gods holding their universe together.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: A kid goes on the hero's journey. Stuff happens.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Vast in scope, and tones of lore to go with. The drawback is most of the main story takes place in flashbacks, but the world itself offers a vast narrative if you talk to the NPCs and know where to look.

Spoiler: Spoilers

Take Akkala Citadel, where Hyrules remaining army made a desperate last stand.

Jade Empire - Game was cut short. Fascinating setting. I still remember

Spoiler: Spoilers

when the reason for what looks to be a extremely hard to notice opening in your martial arts style is revealed.

Bastion - World building and lore.

Spoiler: Spoilers

There is a decision you must make, two actually and both are holy shit kind of moments.

Dragon's Crown - Tons of lore and world building, but the characters get little screen time so to speak.
Assassins Creed 2 - Ezio's journey across renaissance Italy was something to behold.
The World Ends with You - Amazing.
Ghost Trick - Also amazing.
Ace Attorney Trilogy - Never knew court cases could be so nuts.

No Baldur's Gate series or Planescape Torment?

 

[JimmyRustler]

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Yep the one with the annoying girlfriend & the fat guy on rollerskates. It either clicks with you or it doesn't.
2. Metal Gear Solid came out months before Half-Life, which was also impressive at release (dat train ride). But MGS is the original grandaddy of modern cinematic videogame storytelling.
3. Silent Hill 2 is a story about guilt and acceptance. Symbolism is used effectively. I don't think the game itself is that great and in fact prefer the original, but its story will stick with you.
4. System Shock 2. In a hilarious premise, the antagonist of the first game must reluctantly help you defeat a new evil. The side characters, whose stories are delivered through audio logs, are equally as entertaining.
5. Mass Effect 1. Possibly the best realized universe created for a videogame. KOTOR, Witcher, VtmB, Cyberpunk; many celebrated videogame narratives already had prior works to rely on. Mass Effect 1's alien races, cultures, histories, & locales were created just specifically for a videogame and its still impressive today.
6. The Last of Us 1 doesn't do anything new or groundbreaking. It just does it very well.
7. Resident Evil VII. A zombified family of hicks chase a white collar intruder around their decrepit Louisiana ranch. Each of the family members have their own unforgettable quirks, making them as endearing as they are terrifying. Its just great fun.
8. Fallout: New Vegas. The quality of the writing sells this story, because the plot itself is goofy as shit. A random sidequest in this game has more memorable writing than many games' main stories.
9. Nier: Automata. I've seen this brushed off as "babby's first existentialism". Fact is a shallow story can still be effective, and Nier sticks the landing in just about every way.
10. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time has my favorite romance in a game, & a bittersweet one at that. The sequels kind of undermine this, but the original will always be effective.

You have great taste my friend. Played most of those and like them all in terms of writing as well. Guess I have to finally play New Vegas and Nier Automata. These are the only ones from your list I didn't.

To add to the thead:

Soul Reaver 2: In terms of writing my favourite game ever. And there is also no real need to play Bo1 and SR1 before tackling it. Just reading the Dark Chronicles in the menu is enough to get you going. The dialog writing is just perfect in this game and I was a bit let down that Defiance wasn't able to proceed on this level.

Bloodborne: This is a difficult one because you need to take you time to get into the lore. Didn't really like it at first but after reading the Paleblood hunt the following rerun was something else. Added a whole new layer to the game.

Silent Hill Downpour: For me SH is probably the most consistent series when it comes to amazing writing and aside from 2 Downpour I found to be the best. Not just the main story but also (and especially) the side quests.

TES IV Oblivion: Main quest is pretty boring but the quilds and a huge amount of the side quests are extremely well written. Also the lore behind TES is amazing on it's own if you take the time to get into it.

Max Payne 1+2: Sam Lakes' gems. Simple stories on both but extremely well written, especially when it comes to dialog.

Syphon Filter 2: Engrossing sectrect agent story. Sadly the game is very hard to play these days due to the controls.

 

[KàIRóS]

1. Xenogears - Best story ever written for a videogame, if it's not in your top 10 It's because you haven't played it and you're missing out big time.
2. Lost Odyssey - IMO it has one of the best protagonists ever in gaming, this game will make you cry unless you have no emotions.
3. Radiant Historia - The best way for me to sell this game is by saying "basically, a better Chrono Trigger".
4. Final Fantasy Tactics - Best FF story period, great villains, great protagonist, lots of plot twists.
5. Planescape Torment - IMO the best plot in a WRPG, very immersive.
6. Dragon Quest XI - I still can't forget the plot twist at the end, you guys have no idea how much I would like to enjoy this game for the first time again just to experience that decision at the end again.
7. Tales of the Abyss - No other game has a protagonist that starts as the biggest douchebag ever and yet at the end becomes the best, most heroic character in the game.
8. Final Fantasy VI - Great cast of characters, so good, that it's kinda hard to tell who the real protagonist is and it also has one of the best villains in gaming.
9. Persona 3 - No other game makes you care so much about NPCs like Persona 3 IMO, there's so many incredibly well written characters in this game it's almost surreal.
10. The Witcher 3 - Well you've probably heard what's so incredible about this one, the way side quests are written is just impressive and the overall story is great too.

Honorable Mentions: the Trails/Kiseki series, the story is not finished and they could potentially fuck up the ending, but something tells me they wont, amazing world building, probably the best we'll ever see in gaming.

 

[tassletine]

RDR2
Hades
Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy
La Noire
LOU
Hitman (not the overall narrative but the development of minor characters within each location and the way the narrative is revealed -- Best NPC's in a game.
Project Firestart
Witcher 3
Last Guardian
Dark Souls

 

[Melubas]

I had a really hard time deciding between first and second place, but here goes:

1. Planescape Torment
2. Disco Elysium (currently playing, don't spoil it for me if you quote me please)

These two are the only two games with writing that I would call literary. The prose is amazing, painting a rich world and deep characters with essentially nothing but text. Seriously impressive and should be must plays for anyone interested in narrative. The advantage games have in this regard is that they leave it up to the player to decide how much exposition they want to take part in.

3. Red Dead Redemption 2
4. What Remains of Edith Finch
5. Bloodborne
6. Telltale's Walking Dead Season 1 and 4 (but if I have to decide: season 1)
7. The Witcher 3
8. Silent Hill 2
9. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
10. The Last of Us Part 2

 

[SinDelta]

No Baldur's Gate series or Planescape Torment?

Never played them though I've heard of their reputation.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I had a really hard time deciding between first and second place, but here goes:

1. Planescape Torment
2. Disco Elysium (currently playing, don't spoil it for me if you quote me please)

Don’t do this to me. Planescape is my favourite RPG of all time and I’m getting Disco Elysium on Switch.

 

[Melubas]

Don’t do this to me. Planescape is my favourite RPG of all time and I’m getting Disco Elysium on Switch.

Hehe, you're in for a treat my friend

 

[MeteorVII]

8. Final Fantasy VI - Great cast of characters, so good, that it's kinda hard to tell who the real protagonist is

It’s Terra.

Final Fantasy VI is one of the most overrated games of all time.

It’s a great game. However, it is not this “nuanced, seminal masterpiece” that all the people with nostalgia goggles over their first Final Fantasy experience claim it to be...

Every character was 2-dimensional at best, most of the towns were interchangeable and Kefka isn’t even really as much of a villain as the Magitek machine that made him go insane is.

Music, graphics and art / character designs were the only things worthy of that high-level praise.

 

[D.Final]

There're too much of them

 

[cartman414]

It’s Terra.

Final Fantasy VI is one of the most overrated games of all time.

It’s a great game. However, it is not this “nuanced, seminal masterpiece” that all the people with nostalgia goggles over their first Final Fantasy experience claim it to be...

Every character was 2-dimensional at best, most of the towns were interchangeable and Kefka isn’t even really as much of a villain as the Magitek machine that made him go insane is.

Music, graphics and art / character designs were the only things worthy of that high-level praise.

They had more depth than FF7's characters, and the themes of loss, hope vs. despair and nothingness were more effective (perhaps owing at least to better localization). And Kefka may have been a little underdeveloped in terms of backstory, but he really got the job done like no one else. He actually triggered the end of the world for pete's sake.

Never played them though I've heard of their reputation.

If you liked Bioware's subsequent output (though PS: T is more the IMO superior Black Isle/Obsidian), you have no excuse, except for time perhaps. Check out the enhanced editions (available for all platforms), or the BG trilogy mod of the former.

 

[Bkdk]

Stanley parable, narrative changes depends on your actions and not following a story, most important feature for a story for games.'
Fallout new vegas
Deux Ex
Witcher 3
If a game doesn't have an interactive story at least in some ways, I'd rather it has little to no story and just focus on the gameplay experience.

 

[KàIRóS]

It’s Terra.

Final Fantasy VI is one of the most overrated games of all time.

It’s a great game. However, it is not this “nuanced, seminal masterpiece” that all the people with nostalgia goggles over their first Final Fantasy experience claim it to be...

Every character was 2-dimensional at best, most of the towns were interchangeable and Kefka isn’t even really as much of a villain as the Magitek machine that made him go insane is.

Music, graphics and art / character designs were the only things worthy of that high-level praise.

Well that's your opinion, I strongly disagree with everything you said.

BTW It's funny that you say FFVI is one of the most overrated games of all time and yet you include FFVII in your top 10 which is way more overrated, let me remind you that FFVII is the biggest offender of the "amnesiac main character" trope in videogames.

 

[MeteorVII]

Well that's your opinion, I strongly disagree with everything you said.

BTW It's funny that you say FFVI is one of the most overrated games of all time and yet you include FFVII in your top 10 which is way more overrated,

No, it’s pretty appropriately rated, actually. Game was a masterpiece.

let me remind you that FFVII is the biggest offender of the "amnesiac main character" trope in videogames.

Since when did Cloud have amnesia?

Last time I checked, it was dissociative identity disorder?

They had more depth than FF7's characters,

No.

they certainly did not.

and the themes of loss, hope vs. despair and nothingness were more effective

Yeah, the game with over 12 protagonists where only one of them can optionally die in a superfluous way is definitely more effective than the game that actually killed off one of its main characters who served both a narrative and gameplay purpose...

Definitely...

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[The Lunch Legend]

There're too much of them

Give us ten of them.

 

[KàIRóS]

Since when did Cloud have amnesia?

Last time I checked, it was dissociative identity disorder?

Uhh yeah he doesn't remember who he is, so basically amnesia.

 

[IKSTUGA]

Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

- Persona 5 Royal
- Mass Effect 1+2
- Witcher 3
- NieR Automata
- Phoenix Wright (I've only played the first game)
- Catherine
- all the Yakuza games
- Metal Gear Solid
- The Last of Us
- Bioshock