How important is a game's story to you?

[ilikeRamen]

Do you think the story of a game important to you or you couldn't (error fixed courteously by Ace ) care less about it? How does DOA 5 compete in terms of story?

 

[R4712-VR88]

Having a story doesn't hurt, except that I honestly don't know why Virtua Fighter even has one since it's never used or talked about in the actual game. While there is character backgrounds in the manual and an anime adaptation, there's zero story involved in the game. It's stupid. DOA's story is alright but better now than how they used to vaguely tell it. Both Tekken and Mortal Kombat have good stories, least in the first half of thier series. But when it comes to presenting and telling the story in the game Mortal Kombat easily takes the cake, especially in the latest game.

 

[Ace Flibble]

It's "couldn't care less". If someone "could" care less, that means they do care.

Anyhoo, it really depends on the game for me and sometimes it even varies by character/chapter/mode/whatever. For example, I love DOA's story as far as the 'normal' characters go (e.g. Tina, Bayman, Helena, Leifang, etc) but I have absolutely no tolerance for what I call 'ninja bollocks' (i.e. anything Ryu, Hayate, Kasumi and Ayane do). It's for this very reason that I never touch the Ninja Gaiden games. Conversely in Tekken I love the main story with the Mishmas and related characters but couldn't give a damn about 'normal' people like Lili and King who aren't ancillary to the main plot. Then there's things like Street Fighter where I could not give the slightest hoot about whatever the hell Ryu and Bison are up to, but I do wish they would go back to the story of Kairi, D.Dark and Blair.

Another good example are the Final Fantasy games. I love the stories of 8, 9 and 10/10-2 but if it was left just to the gameplay then I probably wouldn't enjoy them at all. On the other hand I equally love FF3 (actual 3, not 6-that-was-released-as-3 in America) despite it having no story at all, because the gameplay is so good. I also really love the character of Fang in 13 despite the plot of 13 otherwise sucking and I loved the plot of 13-2 even though nearly every character in it is terrible.

So it's really got to be a case-by-case thing for me. Some games rely on their stories and are otherwise worthless. For others the gameplay is so good it doesn't matter if the plot is junk (Resident Evil is a prime example of this, at least up until Code:Veronica). When it comes to some types of game, like fighting games, it becomes a character-by-character thing.

 

[Awesmic]

If it has fanfiction potential or has a certain aspect that can be made into a parody, I'm personally gonna love it.

But honestly, games like Virtua Fighter can benefit greatly from a well-done story mode integrated in game for the casual market. Maybe - just maybe - if AM2 and Team Ninja ever get down to a DOA/VF crossover...

 

[NightAntilli]

I love stories, which is why I love games like Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, Deus Ex.. In case of DOA however (or any fighting game to date), I couldn't care less about the story. They're not really stories, but random stuff made up to give an excuse for fighting. For me to care, it needs to be good. There isn't any fighting game in which the game itself has something that could be considered important lore. When Pokemon Black/White beats fighting games regarding story, you get how bad they actually are in that genre, and that includes DOA.

 

[Chaos]

If its a action/adventure & open world/shooting game then yes, a excellent story is very important but when it comes to fighting games, it really doesn't matter. BTW DOA & Tekken stories are awesome, weird, funny, retarded & sometimes EPIC.

 

[VirtuaKazama]

If it has fanfiction potential or has a certain aspect that can be made into a parody, I'm personally gonna love it.

But honestly, games like Virtua Fighter can benefit greatly from a well-done story mode integrated in game for the casual market. Maybe - just maybe - if AM2 and Team Ninja ever get down to a DOA/VF crossover...

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this.

 

[Forlorn Penguin]

The story is one of the most important things when it comes to singleplayer games. I love the games that BioWare made before 2010. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age: Origins were all great. BioWare is trash now, unfortunately. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind also had a great story. The same cannot be said for other Elder Scrolls game though. I hear that The Witcher games also have great stories, but I've yet to play them.

Story really doesn't matter at all in a fighting game though. It'd be nice to have a great story, but it's not necessary. DOA5's story was certainly leagues better than the stories of previous DOA titles since it actually had one, rather than it just being an arcade ladder with an irrelevant CG ending. It was still very weak though, as expected since it's a fighting game.

 

[d3v]

Story? What's that?

 

[Keved]

It depends on the type of genre in my opinion. Fighting games for me don't need a storyline for them to be enjoyable to play but I always welcome & appreciate the effort put in to give each character a reason for wanting to kick each others heads in. I actually enjoyed Dead or Alive 5's storyline & was pleasantly surprised at how long it was (I took my sweet time), I also enjoyed sitting back & just watching the cutscenes. It provided a refreshing break from playing & losing online all the time too

When we're talking about stories in other genres such as survival horror or adventure/platforming then i reckon having a good story is essential. Silent Hill 2 is personally the greatest game I've ever played simply because of how powerful the narrative was. It took you on a journey with your average every-man that explored the darkest metaphors of love, loss, torment, temptation, atonement etc & had an atmosphere that almost makes you use your own imagination. The story alone for that game was, & still is, simply unforgettable IMO.

So in a nutshell, I do love a good story & it can personally make or break a game for me but in a genre such as fighting games, I'm fine if they don't focus too heavily on the plot, as fighting games for me are mainly about just having fun. Having said that however, I did thoroughly enjoy DoA5's chronicles mode & props to the developers for putting in the time & effort for doing so.

So yeah, that's what i think anyway

Okay, I'm done

 

[Batcommander]

I don't know, for fighting games, i personally don't give a damn about story mode, and would rather the devs focus their attention on other things, like costumes, stages, extra characters.

VF5FS has no story, yet it's one of the best fighting games i've ever played (and still do). I quit DOA5's story halfway after i unlocked Pai, it doesn't really interest me at all.

 

[DyByHands]

If its fun to play, I don't care about the story.

 

[Prince Adon]

I love stories in games. I wish more games had more good stories, but since it's a vg I don't knock it as long as the gameplay is good enough(especially a fighting game). I always felt DOA story had a lot of potiential, yet horribly calculated.

VF not having a story don't bother me at all. The game is a freakin' beautiful work of art and always will be.

 

[Gill Hustle]

In fighters a characters motivation, design, and playstyle have an effect on whether I choose to play them.

For example Leona in KOF13 is bottom tier and difficult to win with, but her Orochi storyline and revamped design are why I would use her on EVERY team combination.

 

[MasterHavik]

If there is effort, I would like it. i.e. MK and BB.

 

[DR2K]

If there is effort, I would like it. i.e. MK and BB.

I wouldn't call BB "effort" as much as it is a handful of character portraits that never shut the hell up.

I like how it's done in DOA and MK. Plot helps build characters, but aren't integral either. Story helped me find out tag throws though.

 

[MasterHavik]

I wouldn't call BB "effort" as much as it is a handful of character portraits that never shut the hell up.

I like how it's done in DOA and MK. Plot helps build characters, but aren't integral either. Story helped me find out tag throws though.

I really like how BB makes everyone important and they have some nice gag reels.

 

[Chaos]

I don't know, for fighting games, i personally don't give a damn about story mode, and would rather the devs focus their attention on other things, like costumes, stages, extra characters.

VF5FS has no story, yet it's one of the best fighting games i've ever played (and still do). I quit DOA5's story halfway after i unlocked Pai, it doesn't really interest me at all.

Funny story about that I did the same thing, XD I ending up quitting story mode just because Akira was finally unlocked. LOL

 

[Rikuto]

Story is completely irrelevant in a fighting game. I would even go so far as to say a "developed" story is completely detrimental. The less ambiguous your relationship is to a character, the harder it becomes to identify with them and want to play as them. You only need a "hint" of their personality to want to play them, and that's it.

Nobody, regardless of what they say, is going to identify with Kasumi. You are not a runaway ninja with loads of clones and siblings who keep trying to kill you.

 

[Ace Flibble]

The argument there is simply that Kasumi is a crap character from the ground up, it's not really an issue with story in general.

Though as it so happens, I do know a young lady who swears blind she sees herself in Kasumi (more her attitude, not so much the ninja clones thing) and I know someone else who relates (or at least says they do) to Tira in Soulcalibur. Personally, though I wouldn't say I ''indentify'' with any of them to any extent, I do appreciate the DOA characters' personalities and I do wish they would expand on some of them further. If anything the ones that are the least interesting are also the ones which have yet to be properly explained (they really do need to expand Leifang beyond "stalks Jann Lee").