An intricately written narrative packed with interesting revelations, betrayals, and satisfying arcs is nice but hardly necessary for a game to be brilliant. 99% of Super Mario titles boil down to a plumber saving a princess from a giant fire breathing turtle, and they happen to be among the greatest titles of all time. The Legend of Zelda's Link is an unforgettable icon of the industry and the hero never even utters a single word. The s🔜tory is not important⛎, permitting the game presents it as such.
That being said, we do not appreciate our time being wasted! If cutscenes happen every other ten minutes, then the story and characters better amount to more than a plumber jumping on a turtle's head to rescue the token damsel in distress. Gameplay is always king, but a great story can raise a so-so title out of mediocrity. If a title plays well, a weak plot is not going to reduce its value. Since PlatinumGames crafted near flawless combat systems, nobody cares Bayonetta and Vanquish's narratives border on the nonsensical.
Generally, the highest-regarded projects ensure their separate ingredients work in synergy together. In a vacuum, The Last of Us' gameplay is stiff and limiting⭕; however, the co𝐆mbat's intensity compliments the post-apocalyptic setting while also highlighting Joel's limitations as a hero.
Rare as it may be, a particularly awful story can h𓄧inder a perfectly fine game. Here ꦑare 15 storylines that hurt classic games (and 10 that saved them)!
25 𝕴 Hurt: Kingdom Heartౠs II
Kingdom Hearts has a simple premise. Sora teams up with Donald and Goofy to free Disney worlds 𝓰from an all-consuming evil. Although there is some talk about a corrupt organization pulling the st♐rings, the original game primarily focuses on the banter between the main three.
Permitting Chains of Memories is not skipped, Kingdom Hearts II should make sense; however, the story is still a mess. Kingdom Hearts attempts to blend Final Fantasy's sprawling and unusual narratives with Disney's easily digestible themes. The end result is a superficial tale that confuses depth with convolution. While the story is not the worst, so much of Kingdom Hearts feels like pointless noise. The cꦉutscenes also refuse to get to the point.
24 ꦦ Saved: Dea🍃dly Premonition
An open-world horror survival game reminiscent of Twin Peaks, Deadly Premonition was named as the "" entry in the genre by Guinness World Records. Apparently, such a thing exists! Occupied by quirky characters, strange humor, and a ludicrous albeit entertaining plot; Deadly Premonition is the very definition of a cult classic. Does a 2010 release count as a classic? Maybe, maybe not. It should be noted, Access Games' title will🔯🌳 soon celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
At best, the gameplay is serviceable; at worst, Deadly Premonition is a borderline unplayable hodgepodge of half-baked ideas 💃and p💝oorly executed mechanics. Yet, we still kind of enjoy it.
23 Hurt: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patr🐼iots
Metal Gear Solid's plot is purposefully cheesy, over-the-top, and convoluted. Playing all of the games could still lead to a lot of confusion. That being said, the franchise embraces the absurdity so completely and wholeheartedly, the madness transcends logic to become endearing. So, Metal Gear Solid's story is simultaneously bad and brilliant.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots struggles to walk thi🐎s line. In terms of gameplay, 2008's sequel elevated the series to a whole new level. Unfortunately, Hideo Kojima drops cutscene after cutscene after cutscene. Lasting seemingly forever, these clips overstay their welcome quickly. The story drags out old faces in an attempt to provide a conclusive finale, but characters act oddly just for the sake of weirdness. The third act is particularly stupid.
22 Hurt:⛦ Resident Evil
Every once in a while, we all appreciate a bit of cheese. Resident Evil's voice acting is the stuff of legend. Due to the plot taking place in NA, Capcom opted to only include English audio regardless ♒of the localization. Interes♔ting idea, but the developer probably should have hired some experienced performers.
It takes more than interesting story beats to tell a satisfying narrative. The delivery is just as important. Resident Evil is intended to be an intense survival horror game and the performances take away from this goal. The plot itself is rather forgettable, so maybe the awful voice acting helped make Resident Evil memorable.
21 🌜 💝 Saved: Drakengard
Prior to NieR: Automata, Yoko Taro's games were known for mixing fascinating narratives with clunky gameplay and inconsistent framerates. No other release embodies this relationship quite like Drakengard, which is near awful in every department besides the story. Luckily, Drakengard's mature and challenging narrative is gripping enough to jusꦦtify recommending Taro's deeply flawed action RPG.
Taro's standard formula is to initially present a seemingly black and white conflict (as is often seen in many JRPGs) before subverting expectations by breakdown the characters, setting, and tropes. At times, Drakengard feels like a horror game masquerading as 🐲a hack and slash RPG. Play the first and third entries in the series.
20 Hurt: Borderlands 🐻
Borderlands barely contains much of a story. Vault hunters are hunting for a vault. That is basically the gist of it! A loot-based shooter hardly requires a complex narrative to jusꦕtify its existence. Provide a couple of interesting baddies and everything else should fall into place. As long as a certain degree of 𓂃urgency is reflected, a lack of depth is perfectly fine.
The problem is Borderlands drops p𝓡layers into an interesting landscape but supplies very little incentive to actually explore the wasteland. Certain areas are so devoid of personality or content, they almost came across as incomplete. The climax is notoriously underwhelming, especially if compared to the far superior sequel.
19 Hurt: Gears Of ๊War 2 ꦅ
Gears of War is endearingly simple. A massive horde of Locusts invad🌼es the Earth and its up to a group of muscular Delta Squad soldiers to save the day. Shoot ugly monsters in the face until humankind reigns supreme. Subtelty is not necessary or wanted.
Gears of War 2 attempts to explore the psyches behind the characters and villains. Although the sequel offers a deeper storyline, that has more to do with its predecessor's unabashed straightforwardness than anything presented in Gears of War 2. With the exception of a handful of Dom-related moments, Gears of War 2 large🐠ly falls flat as a character-driven action game. In fact, the "deeper" plot hurts the campaign's pacing.
18 🐽 Saved: Planescape: Torment 🦩
If there is one RPG praised for everything besides its gameplay, Planescape: Torment is that game. Published in 1999, Black Isle Studios created a fantastic adventure marred by clunky combat mechanics akin to Baldur's Gate. The occasional forgettable battle is one thing, but Planescape: Torment is very combat-heavy, especially durin𝓰g the final few hours.
Despite the bland gameplay, Planescape: Torment boasts one of gaming's best-realized worlds. Player choice actually holds weight, while the characters are flawed and realistic. Torment contin🎶ues to rank among the greatest RPGs of all time, even if actuall𓃲y playing the thing is a pain in the neck!
17 😼Hurt: 99% Of Fighting Games
Fighting games with decent stories are rarer than a Kid Icarus sequel. Injustice: Gods Among Us benefits from the public holding a preexisting familiarity with DC's colorful cast of heroes and villains. Following some rather awful entries, Mortal Kombat 9 turned things around with a fun and expansive campaign. Split into three arcs, Dragon Ball FighterZ's single-player mode boasts just enough memorable interactions to earn a passing grade. Arc System ♐Works generally produce exceptions to this rul🎐e.
Everything else sucks. Street Fighter V's insulting excuse for a story is arguably the worst, although Mortal Kombat 10 gives it a run for its 🗹money. Multiplayer is obviously the big moneymaker, but a lazy story is just a slap to the face.
16 🌟Saved: Rule Of Rose
Banned in the , Rule of Rose came and went without leaving much of an impact. A critical reception, combined with ludicrously expensive copies, caused this PlayStation 2 horror game to be forgotten with the times. Does Rule of Rose deserve a kinder fate?
Well, the story definitely does. Rule of Rose is an unsettling survival horror game centering around a cult run by spooky young girls. Primarily set in an airship carrying many demonic children, Rule of Rose produces some genuinely tense encounters, even if the combat leaves a lot to be desired. Thankfully, running away is a valid strategy, so you can focus mainly on the🍰 fascinating narrative!