Masahiro Sakurai (SSB creator) criticizes some "irking" game stories.

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nintendoboy16

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#1 nintendoboy16
Member since 2007 • 41527 Posts

Source: Gamespot

"As a player, as someone who's been playing games for a long time, the stories that get told in video games are honestly irksome to me pretty often. For example, games that take forever to get through the intro and won't let you start playing, or games that go through the trouble of being fully voiced and wind up having their tempo all messed up as a result.

I just want to enjoy the game and I think I'm just intolerant of aspects that block that enjoyment. I can enjoy a story in any other form of media; I just want the game to let me play it already.

Let's talk about how, in RPGs and things, a character that you spent the game raising dies or leaves your party for the sake of the story. From a gamer standpoint, that's dreadful; it's totally unreasonable. In games where you're fighting against enemies, you're playing from the perspective of the hero, and you're being asked to basically win every time. If players wind up in a predicament because of what the story calls for, that's like penalizing them even though they made no mistake. As gameplay, it's lacking."

About his involvement in the story of Kid Icarus: Uprising:

"I did it so I could write a story that jibed with the game, one that took advantage of the game's advantages. Every character, including the bosses, had their personalities shaped by their roles in the game, or the structure of the game itself. That let me develop the dialogue to firmly match the developments you encounter in the game. If I had had someone else write the story, I'd either have to keep explaining things to the writer whenever anything changed in-game, or I'd have to partition it away from the game and lose on that consistency."


Well, uh... thoughts on this? I've heard Uprising's story was complete garbage, so maybe he shouldn't talk?

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lx_theo

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#2 lx_theo
Member since 2010 • 6211 Posts

Killing off party members is what he's attacking? Sorry, I'll just go kill off this guy I don't know yet and I'll feel SO attached, then. lol

 

Sorry, why are people from Nintendo commenting on STORY quality XD

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Heil68

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#3 Heil68
Member since 2004 • 60705 Posts
Stories in video games will never be as good as book and movies. They can try and some succeede, but most are just filler to get from one level/scene to another.
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kidcool189

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#4 kidcool189
Member since 2008 • 4307 Posts

Seems to me he is referring to story presentation/implementation , rather than story quality, and how it often can disrupt the flow of gameplay. I agree with him for the most part.

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Shinobishyguy

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#6 Shinobishyguy
Member since 2006 • 22928 Posts
He has a point. Especially in games like Skyward Sword and Assassin's Creed III where it takes for-frickin-ever to get the ball rolling
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BrunoBRS

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#8 BrunoBRS
Member since 2005 • 74156 Posts
i see his point (oh you spent how long playing with aerith? i'm sorry, we'll kill her in a cutscene, it's beyond your power, and your resurrection items won't work), but then again it's a matter of focus. some games want to focus on one aspect, some games want to focus on another, and some games try to strike a balance.
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BrunoBRS

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#9 BrunoBRS
Member since 2005 • 74156 Posts
[QUOTE="Desmonic"][QUOTE="Shinobishyguy"]He has a point. Especially in games like Skyward Sword and Assassin's Creed III where it takes for-frickin-ever to get the ball rolling

That's his only point. And in AC3's case it's not even that much of a point, without that intro the story and the game itself would feel a lot more broken. And it's not like it's a bare bones tutorial until you are finished. As soon as you get out of the boat you can explore and cause havoc in between missions. Can't speak for Skyward Sword, which I have not played.

skyward sword has a pretty damn long intro, but i found it enjoyable in its own way (at least the first time around).
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Meinhard1

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#10 Meinhard1
Member since 2010 • 6790 Posts

Seems to me he is referring to story presentation/implementation , rather than story quality, and how it often can disrupt the flow of gameplay. I agree with him for the most part.

kidcool189

Agreed. And while Uprising's story wasn't very memorable in itself, it did blend well with the gameplay and really added to the immersion.

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AznbkdX

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#11 AznbkdX
Member since 2012 • 4284 Posts

I was expecting someone to pull up a strawman argument for this.

Not bad. Nothing too major so far. Des and Heil got close but not enough. ;)

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Cherokee_Jack

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#12 Cherokee_Jack
Member since 2008 • 32198 Posts
Kind of sounds like he's complaining about PS1 games.
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GD1551

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#13 GD1551
Member since 2011 • 9645 Posts

Source: Gamespot

or games that go through the trouble of being fully voiced and wind up having their tempo all messed up as a result.

nintendoboy16

Damage control for nintendo's lack of VA after 20 + years.

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Maroxad

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#14 Maroxad
Member since 2007 • 23895 Posts

Stories in video games are for most of the part crap. Honestly I dont mind as long as they dont negatively impact the gameplay or they are offensively bad. He did the right thing giving KI:U a minimalistic story focusing purely on dialogue and humor.

Killing off party members is what he's attacking? Sorry, I'll just go kill off this guy I don't know yet and I'll feel SO attached, then. lol

 

Sorry, why are people from Nintendo commenting on STORY quality XD

lx_theo

Nintendo's "best" stories>>>BieberWare's drivel.

Nintendo can write decent stories... when they actually try.

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Nintendo_Ownes7

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#15 Nintendo_Ownes7
Member since 2005 • 30973 Posts

Killing off party members is what he's attacking? Sorry, I'll just go kill off this guy I don't know yet and I'll feel SO attached, then. lol

 

Sorry, why are people from Nintendo commenting on STORY quality XD

lx_theo

Masahiro Sakurai isn't from Nintendo he was at HAL Laboratory but he quit HAL Labs in 2003 then moved to Q Entertainment; In 2005 he started his own company Sora Ltd.

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Nintendo_Ownes7

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#16 Nintendo_Ownes7
Member since 2005 • 30973 Posts

[QUOTE="lx_theo"]

Killing off party members is what he's attacking? Sorry, I'll just go kill off this guy I don't know yet and I'll feel SO attached, then. lol

 

Sorry, why are people from Nintendo commenting on STORY quality XD

Maroxad

Nintendo's "best" stories>>>BieberWare's drivel.

Nintendo can write decent stories... when they actually try.

The stories of all of Nintendo's RPGs are great.

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Maroxad

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#17 Maroxad
Member since 2007 • 23895 Posts

[QUOTE="Maroxad"]

[QUOTE="lx_theo"]

Killing off party members is what he's attacking? Sorry, I'll just go kill off this guy I don't know yet and I'll feel SO attached, then. lol

 

Sorry, why are people from Nintendo commenting on STORY quality XD

Nintendo_Ownes7

Nintendo's "best" stories>>>BieberWare's drivel.

Nintendo can write decent stories... when they actually try.

The stories of all of Nintendo's RPGs are great.

I would say that only a few of their RPG stories are good. But when they are good then they are really good for (non-adventure) computer game standards.

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HalcyonScarlet

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#18 HalcyonScarlet
Member since 2011 • 13660 Posts

"For example, games that take forever to get through the intro and won't let you start playing, or games that go through the trouble of being fully voiced and wind up having their tempo all messed up as a result."

nintendoboy16

That's how I felt about the Metal Gear Rising demo. I just wanted to play the f**king thing. I don't get on with these Metal Gear games. I started playing Twin Snakes and remember getting pissed off with the radio chatter I had to sit through. I just find it indulgent of the developer.

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HalcyonScarlet

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#19 HalcyonScarlet
Member since 2011 • 13660 Posts

[QUOTE="nintendoboy16"]

Source: Gamespot

or games that go through the trouble of being fully voiced and wind up having their tempo all messed up as a result.

GD1551

Damage control for nintendo's lack of VA after 20 + years.

I was playing Zelda TP the other day and thought voice acting would ruin it. Giving Link a voice feels as bad as if DC revealed the identity of the Joker.

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DJ-Lafleur

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#20 DJ-Lafleur
Member since 2007 • 35604 Posts

I don't really mind characters you play as dying in video games. The only time it would be a slight problem is if you are unable to get any equipment back from them they had equipped when they die *couggh* Aeris *cough*. If you've been building up your other characters than it shouldn't be an issue to lose on for story reasons. 

I can agree with his stance on long intros though.

And I've heard more good about KI: Uprisings story than bad, and I myself enjoyed it. It was funny, the characters were endearing, and the voice-acting and writing were fine. I thought it was overall pretty good.

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FireEmblem_Man

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#21 FireEmblem_Man
Member since 2004 • 20248 Posts

Seems to me that he's making fun of Aonuma with Zelda:SS and Sakamoto's abomination Metroid game. They try to focus more on story than the game itself and both have failed

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topgunmv

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#22 topgunmv
Member since 2003 • 10880 Posts

It sounds like he was playing max payne 3.

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BrunoBRS

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#23 BrunoBRS
Member since 2005 • 74156 Posts

[QUOTE="nintendoboy16"]

Source: Gamespot

or games that go through the trouble of being fully voiced and wind up having their tempo all messed up as a result.

GD1551

Damage control for nintendo's lack of VA after 20 + years.

sakurai's latest game is fully voice acted :|
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GD1551

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#24 GD1551
Member since 2011 • 9645 Posts

[QUOTE="GD1551"]

[QUOTE="nintendoboy16"]

Source: Gamespot

or games that go through the trouble of being fully voiced and wind up having their tempo all messed up as a result.

BrunoBRS

Damage control for nintendo's lack of VA after 20 + years.

sakurai's latest game is fully voice acted :|

I haven't played it, but that's nice, they finally took one step into the PS1 era.

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Nintendo_Ownes7

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#25 Nintendo_Ownes7
Member since 2005 • 30973 Posts

[QUOTE="BrunoBRS"][QUOTE="GD1551"]

Damage control for nintendo's lack of VA after 20 + years.

GD1551

sakurai's latest game is fully voice acted :|

I haven't played it, but that's nice, they finally took one step into the PS1 era.

Star Fox 64 had full voice acting and that was 1997.

 

Most of Nintendo's games have voice acting, it just isn't full voice work.

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bobcheeseball

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#26 bobcheeseball
Member since 2007 • 9316 Posts
Yeah, Subspace Emissary's plot was clearly the pinnacle of great storytelling
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campzor

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#27 campzor
Member since 2004 • 34932 Posts
its all a matter of opinion. I think the story is the gow series is AMAZING, even in geow...yet im sure most of you wouldnt think that.
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nintendoboy16

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#28 nintendoboy16
Member since 2007 • 41527 Posts

Seems to me that he's making fun of Aonuma with Zelda:SS and Sakamoto's abomination Metroid game. They try to focus more on story than the game itself and both have failed

FireEmblem_Man

Aonuma didn't even direct SS. He only produced (something I believe Miyamoto did with past Zelda games if I recall). Hidemaro Fujibayashi was the one who directed it.

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SuperFlakeman

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#29 SuperFlakeman
Member since 2011 • 7411 Posts

Uprising has very little "story", but the dialogue is sharp and non intrusive.

It's like in Portal. They talk while you play. What's the story in portal? Exactly. Still entertaining dialogue (monologue)