Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: NWR_insanolord on August 16, 2013, 08:21:52 AM
Title: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 16, 2013, 08:21:52 AM
Nintendo as a company has not really ever been known for storytelling. Quite the opposite, as we've heard tales of Miyamoto taking active steps to prevent story from being introduced to games. But still, Nintendo has produced a few real gems over the years.
What do you think is the best story in a Nintendo-made game, and what stood out about it to you?
I personally would go with Super Metroid. It doesn't include much in the way of overt storytelling, but I don't think I've ever seen a game do so much with so little. The arc of the baby Metroid tells a subtle but powerful tale that makes a great game even better.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Adrock on August 16, 2013, 08:27:47 AM
Super Metroid is a good choice. I'd have to give it to Link's Awakening. It was just so offbeat and bizarre; it really fit into the whole dreamworld motif. Ballad of the Wind Fish is also one of the best music pieces in the series.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: EasyCure on August 16, 2013, 11:12:38 AM
I misread the thread title and thought this would be about our best personal stories involving Nintendo in some way. With that said, I would of mentioned how I recently scared my 27 year old cousin to death with the Majoras Mask BEN DROWNED creepy pasta. I had only heard about it recently but I told my cousin a few nights ago when he was high on expletive. He asked to sleep over that night. I told him the couch would be fine but he insisted my bedroom floor would be safer. If I wasn't so tired I would of fucked with hood head more lol..
But back on topic.. Good question when you consider they try the most minimum story telling. If I had to go with best overall story I'd go with Earthbound but I feel like that's not really a Nintendo game.. It's just earthbound.
What I like most about Nintendo's games is that they can add really small touches to a story that have great impact. At the start of the wind waker you learn about the great flood and you can imagine your own story behind it since they don't go into great detail. It ads so much to the legend of the Zelda series. Then there was that one part of Mario RPG, when you come across Luigi's star wish. Touching to this day. I think it's those small story bits that make a lasting impression and elevate the game story telling.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Ceric on August 16, 2013, 11:24:27 AM
Twilight Princess up to Baddy was Castle trapped and not bugging anyone.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: toddra on August 16, 2013, 12:20:03 PM
I personally always loved the Zelda II story, for some reason that one stands out plus the original Super Mario Bros. it read more like a fantasy than it's current form.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Ian Sane on August 16, 2013, 01:26:49 PM
I'll agree with Super Metroid. It tells it's story very much as the player plays. It's not all full of cutscenes and breaks in the action. It has a cinematic at the beginning and occasionally removes the players' control to do some stuff on screen. Other than that, you live it. Of course if you took it's narrative and put it in a book it wouldn't have much to it.
In the 16 bit era Super Metroid would have stood out as having a good story for a videogame. It was during the N64 years that the rest of the industry moved forward while Nintendo stood put. Nintendo's minimalist approach to videogames didn't seem out of place or archaic in the 2D era because there wasn't much you could do.
I find that Nintendo seems to find their comfort zone and doesn't budge even if everyone else goes beyond it. So they come across as very cutting edge until they hit that comfort zone. They were perfectly competent storytellers until the 32/64 bit era but that was the furthest they wanted to go so they haven't gone beyond it since. Other M actually is a rare example that seems more modern. Though it's like PS1 storytelling two generations late. It was like Nintendo was trying to modernize their storytelling but couldn't just jump to where we are now.
I don't like games that spend too much time popping out of the game to make you watch a little movie. In theory I would like Nintendo's story approach but they keep the stupid cutscenes and interruptions and fill it with their minimal stories. We get the worst of both worlds as Nintendo games are as shitty at getting to the damn point as any other modern game. Look at how long it takes every Zelda game to get going as proof of this.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: toddra on August 16, 2013, 01:30:07 PM
but I also agree Super Metroid is up there but I did actually read the instruction books and novels based on these games back in the day and those two I mentioned above really had great novelizations. Their cartoons sucked though.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: azeke on August 16, 2013, 01:35:16 PM
Kid Icarus: Uprising not a deep story, but definitely a fun ride Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door also had a great story from what i can tell from watching Let's Play for an hour or so... Majora's Mask had great character mini stories in those quests That storybook thingy from Super Mario Galaxy
But in general, stories in videogames are pure ****.
It's just so much more easier for everyone really, when a game just stops pretending to be anything but a videogame.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: toddra on August 16, 2013, 01:39:06 PM
I didn't see the in general part so oops.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 16, 2013, 01:41:33 PM
A game can not stay alive on story alone. in 10 years or more, a game that has only good story but mediocre gameplay will be looked back on with negative reviews and age terribly.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: toddra on August 16, 2013, 01:46:30 PM
For most games yes but there are exceptions. I guess I come from a time when you had to read the manuals to get the story and even simple games like Centipede still had characters in them with a story. But it is different lately were it becomes so important in some games that the gameplay can get lost.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: broodwars on August 16, 2013, 01:53:04 PM
Well, for me it comes down to two Monolithsoft games: Baten Kaitos Origins and Xenoblade. The former tells a fairly small (but emotional) story focused on a handful of characters; and the latter is a huge, sprawling Epic with tons of characters and some really well-storyboarded story sequences. If I had to pick between the two (mind you, I haven't finished Xenoblade), I think I'd go with Baten Kaitos Origins.
On the subject of huge, sprawling Epics, Ogre Battle 64's story is pretty damn good, too, but it's not quite up there with the other two.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Adrock on August 16, 2013, 02:10:58 PM
****, I forgot about Earthbound. There are no words to describe this shame.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: toddra on August 16, 2013, 02:13:39 PM
I never played Earthbound, is it really good or just good because of nostalgia? If I played it now having never played it before will it still be good?
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Adrock on August 16, 2013, 02:27:03 PM
I don't know if you'll like it because I'm not you. I liked it and it wasn't quite the cult darling when I played it. I saw an ad in an old EGM I had and decided to look for it. I wasn't too far removed from its original release when I first played it so it may have been easier to appreciate. Some games age poorly though I think Earthbound still holds up today. I'll have to plug in the old SNES and play it again.
Additionally, I think what sets it apart is how it didn't really follow RPG tropes of the day. That helped it stand out and is probably what makes it so revered even in 2013. I remember it for its charm and humor.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Stogi on August 16, 2013, 03:46:34 PM
Eternal Darkeness hands down.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on August 16, 2013, 03:48:36 PM
Metroid: Other M.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: lolmonade on August 16, 2013, 04:05:37 PM
I have to say, I actually really enjoyed the Skyward Sword story. Especially the first 1/3 of the game when you're actively in pursuit to rescue zelda.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 16, 2013, 04:10:36 PM
Galaxy's picture book has already been mentioned so let's see...
If we count second parties, I would say Hotel Dusk for the DS.
Also, Wind Waker, Skyward Sword have great elements.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: ShyGuy on August 16, 2013, 04:11:06 PM
I have to say, I actually really enjoyed the Skyward Sword story. Especially the first 1/3 of the game when you're actively in pursuit to rescue zelda.
Groose is the best!
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Ian Sane on August 16, 2013, 04:53:03 PM
I have to say, I actually really enjoyed the Skyward Sword story. Especially the first 1/3 of the game when you're actively in pursuit to rescue zelda.
Yeah I liked the first 1/3 a lot but after that it became like most Nintendo stories where some flimsy excuse is created to go to the different levels. Before that, though, I got a Playstation vibe off the story. Like it felt like the sort of storyline elements that impressed us all in PS1 games. It was like a Square-patented teenage love story circa 1998.
Games that really focus on story end up feeling like interactive movies (and often if the game director was a good movie director he would be working in Hollywood instead of making videogames). I don't think story is that important for games but rather setting. We don't want all games to be like Pong or Tetris. If story truly didn't matter at all, why have Mario? Why not just have stickman jumping on different coloured shapes? You want places to see, characters to meet, enemies to fight. Great games have exciting worlds to explore and experience. Games are more exciting when you put in a setting that the player can discover and develop some emotional connection with. The emotional connection is something devs strive for but too often they fall into the trap of taking the player's hand through a lousy movie. Create the world, create the backstory for it, and throw the player in and everyone will take something different away from it.
A big part of Metroid is that you're thown into this hostile alien world and you're on your own to figure out it's secrets. That more than anything is what they fucked up with Other M. The series at its core is one of the best examples of a game that creates a setting and throws the player in and lets their own experience craft the bulk of the story. Other M is Sakamoto grabbing your hand and walking you through world he created. It's like if Walt Disney himself took you on a tour of Disneyland and only let you go on the rides he wanted you to go on when he wanted you to go on them.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: magicpixie on August 16, 2013, 05:41:06 PM
I'm having trouble articulating my thoughts, but my vote is with Wind Waker. Maybe not strictly as their best story, but for me, definitely Nintendo's best storytelling. Or something to that effect. And I think that's just as important.
When I first played the game, Nintendo managed to fill me with a sense of adventure and whimsy that I'd never before experienced. The game's component pieces all come together to really fill out the world they built. The characters were full of personality and charm. The dialog was excellent. The artstyle, while at the time was largely chided for being too childish, was spectacular. And I know Nintendo gets a lot of flak for not stepping into the voice acting age, but I really enjoy the personality miming adds to their characters. I think it's an approach that is very hard to change, since it affects the tone of the delivery so much. I think Square-Enix and the FF series are experiencing those growing pains, as I believe that a lot of what people hate so much about their games now, were prevalent in their earlier games. I think shifting to full voice acting requires a shift in how dialog is written and how characters are animated.
Anyway, that was a tangent. I really enjoyed how Nintendo humanized Ganondorf, even just a little bit. That ending sequence was so well done, as to be unforgettable for me.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: alegoicoe on August 16, 2013, 06:23:49 PM
I really like the story and concept behind Wind Waker, and the myth and mystery behind the Prime games.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: pokepal148 on August 16, 2013, 07:23:50 PM
Super Mario Bros. who can forget the tale of the mushroom kingdom. of the fair Princess trapped in King Koopas clutches, of her kingdom, lost and hopeless, of the one man who finally took a stand and said "enough" as he fought his way through entire armys to finally free the princess? his devotion to finish his task even in the hopeless depths of 2-2 but most of all, who can forget the frustration he felt when he heard the words
'Our Princess is in Another Castle'?
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 16, 2013, 07:58:04 PM
Or that Mario didn't care about murdering hundreds of citizens to rescue her (read the manual again, those "bricks" you destroy were citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom turned into bricks by Bowser).
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: UncleBob on August 16, 2013, 09:35:00 PM
I second Link's Awakening. :D
Wind Waker was pretty cool too.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: pokepal148 on August 17, 2013, 03:39:59 PM
pokemon mystery dungeon 2 has an amazing story going along with it. the story is probably one of the few things that makes the game tolerable. it also makes use of both screens on the DS to create a single image like this one
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: nickmitch on August 17, 2013, 07:22:03 PM
I think that's one of the most underrated things that the (3)DS does that no one ever talks about. Especially when the scene goes from one screen to being on both to give you a sense of scale. I love it when **** like that happens in a game.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: MagicCow64 on August 17, 2013, 08:16:32 PM
Best "story" moment in a Nintendo game I'd say is the ending of Wind Waker. Such a strange sad feeling.
Second best moment I'd peg as the skeleton soldier quest in Majora's Mask. Extremely touching while being fairly minimal. (I also still feel bad about fucking over that Goron by stealing his room in the inn.)
Best character: Rawk Hawk.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Chad Sexington on August 18, 2013, 07:57:52 AM
Best "story" moment in a Nintendo game I'd say is the ending of Wind Waker. Such a strange sad feeling.
Second best moment I'd peg as the skeleton soldier quest in Majora's Mask. Extremely touching while being fairly minimal. (I also still feel bad about fucking over that Goron by stealing his room in the inn.)
Best character: Rawk Hawk.
I wish the ending of Wind Waker was the half way point of the game.
Ended way too early for me.
I wanted to play around in that world much more. :(
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Evan_B on August 18, 2013, 02:17:45 PM
Best "story" moment in a Nintendo game I'd say is the ending of Wind Waker. Such a strange sad feeling.
Second best moment I'd peg as the skeleton soldier quest in Majora's Mask. Extremely touching while being fairly minimal. (I also still feel bad about fucking over that Goron by stealing his room in the inn.)
Best character: Rawk Hawk.
I wish the ending of Wind Waker was the half way point of the game.
Ended way too early for me.
I wanted to play around in that world much more. :(
It's okay, dude. You can play Phantom Hourglass and get an extra six hours.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: ClexYoshi on August 26, 2013, 04:33:19 AM
Mother 3.
Yeah. I think Earthbound is really overrated, but Mother 3 is kinda... woah. It's one of the most depressing and morose tales I've ever seen committed to any video game, let alone a game made by the big N. Fan translation probably helped maintain that feeling, but it really struck me deep that I was playing this game that was hiding such a depressing tale of how society robs us of the simple purity of our young life and we're maybe a little blinded to it by the goofy quirkiness of life here and there that we dwell on more than the real issues.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: EJtheK on August 29, 2013, 02:22:54 PM
I'd support those calling out Super Metroid and Wind Waker as near the top.
However, I'd also cast a vote for Super Mario RPG, which was briefly mentioned earlier in the thread with respect to Luigi's dream star. That world and cast of characters were a delight to follow. ;D
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: shingi_70 on August 29, 2013, 04:19:01 PM
Kid Icarus a fun self aware romp with the pacing of a Saturday morning cartoon.
OOT is probably one of the best coming of age titles in gaming.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Manthony Chopkins on August 30, 2013, 01:50:07 AM
I'll have to go with the Mario and Luigi RPG games. I'm currently playing through Dream Team, and much like its predecessors, it's a very entertaining story. The dialogue and cutscenes are funny and the game never takes itself to seriously. Very enjoyable game to play through right now.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: EJtheK on August 30, 2013, 10:10:35 AM
Kid Icarus a fun self aware romp with the pacing of a Saturday morning cartoon.
OOT is probably one of the best coming of age titles in gaming.
Those two statements are well said, my friend. Kid Icarus brought me back to younger years when a bowl of cereal and an 80s cartoon made for a killer Saturday morning. :) And, like you, I think it was quite self-aware. Sakurai is good at that...
Also, good point on OOT. Subtle story with much left to some degree of 'head-canon' but all in the right ways.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: Stogi on August 30, 2013, 03:15:23 PM
Seriously...no love for Eternal Darkness?
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: EJtheK on August 30, 2013, 05:44:37 PM
I was surprised not to see this as well. Unfortunately, I missed out on this one (embarrassing), so I can't comment on it. GameCube on Wii U Virtual Console someday? Please? ...sigh...
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: azeke on August 31, 2013, 03:19:14 AM
Kid Icarus a fun self aware romp with the pacing of a Saturday morning cartoon.
Those two statements are well said, my friend. Kid Icarus brought me back to younger years when a bowl of cereal and an 80s cartoon made for a killer Saturday morning. :) And, like you, I think it was quite self-aware. Sakurai is good at that...
Wonderful 101 feels exactly the same. Can't recommend the game enough. So good.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: BranDonk Kong on August 31, 2013, 09:15:50 AM
Eternal Darkness was made by Silicon Knights it doesn't belong on the list.
Title: Re: What would you call the best story Nintendo's ever told?
Post by: EJtheK on August 31, 2013, 04:16:41 PM
Kid Icarus a fun self aware romp with the pacing of a Saturday morning cartoon.
Those two statements are well said, my friend. Kid Icarus brought me back to younger years when a bowl of cereal and an 80s cartoon made for a killer Saturday morning. :) And, like you, I think it was quite self-aware. Sakurai is good at that...
Wonderful 101 feels exactly the same. Can't recommend the game enough. So good.
Thanks! I've been very curious about it. I downloaded the demo but haven't had a chance to try it yet. I've been playing Pikmin 3 with my Wii U time. When I finish that one up, I'm seriously considering Wonderful 101. Thanks for the recommendation. The comparison to the feel of Kid Icarus makes it appeal all the more to me!
