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24Sep 12

Why Japanese developers do story telling and use emotion the best.

People say gameplay is the most important thing when we play a game,but a great story,especially an emotional one can make a game with not so good gameplay a memorable experience.I've been addicted to numerous Japanese games because I loved their stories so much it was hard for me to stop playing those games because I kept wanted to see what would happen next in the story.

Final Fantasy X

My favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy X.Not for it's gameplay but because of it's story and the way it's presented with stunning CGI's and heartfelt music.I actually cried a few times when I played Final Fantasy X because it's love story was heartbreaking at times.I could actually feel the love Tidus and Yuna had for eachother because it showed them having conversations and getting to know eachother and showed how Tidus could make Yuna laugh even though they lived in a world full of despair.

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The Metal Gear Solid series

The Metal Gear Solid series is as famous for it's story as well as it's gameplay.In the first Metal Gear Solid game,you're trying to stop terrorists but the story was very deep and complex with some very emotional side stories for the characters.In Metal Gear Solid 2,once again you're trying to stop terrorists but the backstories of the characters are moving and the story makes you think about the world in a philosphical way and there was a moment between Raiden and Rose that was very emotional to the extent my jaw dropped.Metal Gear Solid 3 asks some very philosophical and heart breaking hypothetical questions such as would you sacrifise the woman you love to save the world? Metal Gear Solid 4 is almost like a movie with very long cutscenes(including a 90 minute one)to explain it's deep story and in Metal Gear Solid 4 you were fighting against companies who use armies to fight for control of the world and Snake has a disease that makes him age very fast and you see him as an old man and it's quite emotional to experience.I like how Japanese developers can make a story evolve in very creative ways.

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Final Fantasy VII

In Final Fantasy VII,for the first few hours the story builds you up to thinking Cloud and a group of rebels are trying to stop Shinra who is a company that's polluting the world and draining it of it's life energy until Sephiroth comes into the story and then you're trying to stop another bigger threat to the world and Sephiroth is one of the most chilling villains I've ever experienced in a video game.I still remember seeing the mutilated body remains of the Shinra company and the blood trails and it was a good way of using psychological fear in the story.Also,the story found a way to use aliens and ancient races in a creative way as well as a love triangle.

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Final Fantasy VIII

Part of why Final Fantasy VIII is one of my favorite games of all time(as well as other people's)is because of it's love story.An anti social guy meets a beautiful woman with an extraverted personality and she takes a liking to him.I guess it's the equivalent of the shy,geeky guy at school getting a girlfriend who's a beautiful and popular girl.The scene when Squall and Rinoa and dancing and Squall keeps tripping is very funny and I like how Riona giggles when she sees Squall tripping but she still likes him after that.

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Nier

NieR's gameplay and some of it's visuals are not that great but what makes it one of my favorite games of all time and a cult classic is it's emotional story.Starting after the year 2040(or something like that)after a virus has wiped out much of the world's population,a father is trying to protect his daughter from horrible creatures.The story takes you 1000 years into the future and the father and his daughter are still alive(it's explained how later)and his daughter is sick from the virus and he's trying to find a cure to the virus and I remember when his daughter says something similar to ''daddy,please don't hate me because I'm sick'' and it made me cry because even though his daughter is dying she feels bad for the fact her father has to go on dangerous journeys in a world filled with dangerous creatures in order to find a cure to his daugher's illness.A scene during a marriage ceremony and the way it makes you empathize with the king is a moment in gaming I'll never forget.There's another child who will also become a party member but he's a freak and he has to deal with looking that way and you'll see a scene where a child will sacrifise himself to save other people.The music for the emotional scenes is incredible and heartfelt too.

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Lost Odyssey

In Lost Oddssey's story,some characters are immortal and you'll see how they'll see their own children become old while they'll still stay young and some of the immortals have lost their memories and will discover things about their lives when it's nearly too late(such as discovering you have a sick and dying daughter).In Lost Odyssey,the main character named Kaim will rediscover many of his lost memories,and some of them are extremely painful and they'll catch you off guard but it makes him feel like he's a real person who has painful memories just like all of us and we'll experience these memories too.

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Star Ocean Till the End of Time

SPOILERS FOR STAR OCEAN TILL THE END OF TIME BELOW

Imagine finding out you're not real but part of a computer generated reality

END OF STAR OCEAN TILL THE END OF TIME SPOILERS

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Final Fantasy X-2

In Final Fantasy X-2,I was moved by the way Yuna was searching for a way to find Tidus(the girl searching for a way to rescue the man she loves)and the different endings can make you feel happy and joyous or a lot of heartbreak and pain.

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Final Fantasy IX

Has 2 charming love stories and charming little girl crushes that made me smile.I actually felt Zidane's pain in the love story.Zidane is a likable character because he's kind and likes to help people(unlike many tough guy characters in many other games)but when he is needed to be strong,he became a very powerful warrior.

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Final Fantasy IV

A knight named Cecil has to follow some horrible orders by his king to do bad things to innocent people.He questions his king,gets stripped of his rank and is tricked into doing something very horrible to a village and he decides to take care of a girl who's become an orphan because of his action and to fight against the king.The story starts off as a fantasy story but becomes much more than that later,when it brings quite a lot of Sci Fi into the story later.

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Final Fantasy XIII-2

Serah is trying to find her sister as well as the man she loves and she must time travel and fixed messed up timelines which means she'll need to remeet the man she loves when he doesn't remember meeting her.The fact that Noel is the only human alive in the future and you can see how it's caused him lots of pain and seeing Yuel die many times and deciding whether letting her keep dying or not is the right or wrong thing to do is quite an emotional experience.

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Yakuza 4

Set in a city where gangs are needed to protect people from other gangs and corrupt police.It's uses 4 seperate character stories(that are inspiring or emotionally driven and brings them together for the main story).It's a game that you will really care about the characters,such as how one of them lived on the streets but became rich after he found lots of money that fell from a building and used it widely to start businesses.One of the characters is a former gang member who's on deathrow who knows information about murders that the police don't or don't care to know.One of the NPC's is a woman who's story is quite inspiring and she'll need to work as a hostess to try to save her brother.

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Clannad

It's a visual novel about a troubled teenager who meets a girl who has an illness that makes her sick a lot.They meet friends and you can be with her and marry her and she may or may not die depending on decisions you make or you can end up being with another girl or nobody.The music is very beautiful and adds to the emotion.

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Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core

Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core is a prequel to Final Fantasy VII.It shows the story about Zack(Aerith's boyfriend before Cloud)and how Zack had to be away from her for years and

SPOILERS BELOW

before he died,his last thoughts were about being with Aerith again and he battled hard to fight off many soldiers who were shooting him only thinking about somehow managing to see Aerith again

END OF SPOILERS

The ending to Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core was heartbreaking to the extent I felt a pain in my chest.The love story with Zack and Aerith was beautifully done,especially when Aerith was trying to sell flowers and Zack tried to help her.

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10 comments
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bahamat0
bahamat0

Well, for me the difference between a game without a story and a game with a story is more like ordering a Mac Burger with just chicken and the other with Lettuce, Mayo and cheese, it adds more taste to it. Although there are some games which having a story is not important (Such as racing games) but action, adventure and RPG games I feel at most cases need a story in order to give you a reason why you should progress, not just to develop your character.

 

And I agree with you regarding the story, although while it's true that Western games have made some significant number of games with great stories, but it didn't touch the emotional feel that Japanese games are capable of doing. The games that you have mentioned above are great examples (Played half the ones mentioned) of how they have added emotional moments to their games.

 

I like games where there are lots of variety in them, such as some time for pure action (Core gameplay), some time to use your intellect (Puzzles), some time to listen (Story telling), and some touching moments, which I believe it's hard to find games which have all of the 4 components combined into one.

ZanarkandTidus
ZanarkandTidus

I agree with what you say about how a story gives us a reason to progress.Caring about a character or the story they're involved in gives me more reason to play the game.Most games have gameplay that feels repetitive to me after I play them for an hour or 2 but if the game has a great story or characters I care about,it makes me want to keep playing the game for longer to experience the story.

I've played a couple of French games with great stories(Assassin's Creed 2 and Heavy Rain)but I haven't played a North American game with a great story since Star Craft.I used to think the Mass Effect series had a great story but now when I think about it,I think it's story is so so but just very in-depth.Story telling is very important for most RPGs(although some RPGs such as Demon's Souls are an exception)but the story telling in WRPGs lacks the emotion and creativity of JRPGs.

Yakuza 4 is a game with great pure action at times,great and emotional story telling but it doesn't have puzzles :P

fantasyfighter
fantasyfighter

I love the story lines in the FF series. They're always so beautiful and complex. Lots of action, but lots of softer themes too. FFX is still my favorite, with FFXIII as a close second.

ZanarkandTidus
ZanarkandTidus

 @fantasyfighter  Yes,Final Fantasy games often have beautifully,heart felt stories.Sometimes I think Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X are  too beautiful and artistic to be just a game and to quote what my friend Matastig said,it's not just a game it's art.FF9 feels like I'm watching a very charming and heartwarming role-play on stage when I play it :)

matastig
matastig

I used to care more for Gameplay, but not anymore, all that changed after i played FF VII CC for the first time, i don't mind playing a game with awkward controls now as long as it has a well written story.

i think we share the same list of favorite games, but in different order XD?

ZanarkandTidus
ZanarkandTidus

Same here man.Final Fantasy X's gameplay and battle system are not that great compared to many other JRPGs but it's my favorite game because of it's story.Everytime I play it and I reexperience Spira and it's characters and story again I don't want to stop playing.I'll rather play a good visual novel than any FPS game because visual novels often have stories I care about even though they have little or no gameplay,where as many shooters have lots of gameplay but it gets boring and repetitive after a couple of hours.Yes,we have a very similar list of favorite games but in different order.

danwarecritic
danwarecritic

I gotta agree there. A great story is definitely a pretty major component for me, as well, and western developers just don't seem to use emotion on the same level as japanese developers do.

ZanarkandTidus
ZanarkandTidus

When I've seen western games trying to use emotion in stories it's like it's not done with as much thought,heart or spirituality as Japanese developers do.People have said some of the Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 and 3 have emotional stories but I find the ''emotional'' moments in those games to lack the same spiritual or emotional build up that stories in many Japanese games have,People say God of War 1 and 3 have emotional stories but I find they use the emotion of anger too much.Even though western RPGs allow more dialogue choices and try to use emotion I find the love stories in WRPGs to lack the spirituality and heart that JRPG love stories have,

Alchemist3001
Alchemist3001

Good storytelling is a key component that contributes to my enjoyment of the overall expierience. Unless the gameplay is exceptionally good, I'm probably going to grow bored of the game sooner than most people if the narrative is lacking. That's partly why I don't hold a great interest in multiplayer-based games - there's very little in the way of 'story' to be spoken of, it's just a bunch of characters going about with guns (or swords, or whatever) killing each other. Now I'm not neccessarily saying that can't be fun. Indeed, I used to enjoy competitive multiplayer quite a bit. But in the long-term, it really isn't for me. I'd like to know more about the character(s) I'm guiding, I'd like to know more about who I'm fighting against, and I'd like to know more about what motivates both parties to take the actions that they take. Yes, most multiplayer-focused games will have some kind of backdrop, but it's typically very bland and the plot rarely undergoes any major development. I want more than that. At present, Japanese games generally tend to be more single player-oriented and story-focused than their Western counterparts, which is most likely one reason why most of my favourite titles are from Japanese studios.

 

In some cases a strong narrative can easily save what would otherwise be a mediocre game in my eyes. Though in such a case I usually just forget about the game after I'm finished with the main story.

 

There have been a few games that have had me in tears, but most of them were games that I haven't heard of any anyone else crying about. There's also a good number of titles that seem to have elicited strong emotional responses from other people, which; interestingly; didn't get much of a reaction from me. For example I actually cried during a scene from FFXIII, yet I've never heard of anyone shedding tears over that game (unless of course you're talking about how it lived up to their expectations of a FF game... but that's another matter). I'd tell you the scene, but I'd don't know how to get the spoiler tags working on this new comment system, or whether that's even possible for that matter. The Lost Odyssey scene you referred to made me cry. *sob* The same goes for a certain Ace Combat 5 scene, and the ending of Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, which; interestingly; is the only Western title I can think of that was able to accomplish that. By comparison, MGS4's ending and Valkyria Chronicles ending (plus a few others that I can't think of right at this moment) didn't manage to make me cry.

 

I see that you marked this blog post as an 'Editorial'. If you're talking about why Japanese developers utilize the best storytelling, you could also consider including something to compare those games to. If we're looking at why they 'do them the best', it would help to illustrate your point by providing some examples from non-Japanese developers that weren't done quite so well, so as to offer the reader something to stack your current examples up against.

ZanarkandTidus
ZanarkandTidus

I appreciate your very thoughtful comment.Part of why I don't like games that rely heavily on multiplayer is I like to play the game for a reason and to experience a story.When I play online games,after I win or lose I feel emptyness that I would get if I was playing a game to experience a story.The reason I can't get into the Bethesda RPGs is even though they have huge worlds and lots to do,their quests become dull to me eventually because the main story for those games or side stories for those quests don't make me feel anything emotionally and everytime I complete a quest in a Bethesda RPG I feel like I'm just going through the motions.Even though WRPGs try to allow you to make more dialogue and story choices I find their love stories to be very simplistic and lack the build up compared to love stories in JRPGs.In WRPGs,if you select certain dialogue a character might tell you some story but they'll just stand there and act robotic where as in JRPGs,the characters move around and use proper facial expressions when they talk and will use more expression in their voice.Which is why I find the love stories in WRPGs to be dull and unbelievable,you just choose the right dialogue 10 times and the potential love interest will babble about themselves after you choose simplistic dialogue and then they'll have sex with you.Valkyria Chronicles is a game I should have added to this list but since I made this blog for a competition I guess it's too late.But I know what you mean about Valkyria Chronicles,especially about Isara and seeing the village people being shot dead in cold blood as they were trying to flee and the pregnant woman who if I remember correctly was going into labor right as the enemy army arrived.I guess Japanese games can make you empathize and care about characters as if they're real people.I also wanted to add Ever 17 to this list but I was in a hurry to finish the blog and I forgot to add Fragile Dreams.To the Moon is another game I've heard has a very emotional story,I'm not sure if it counts as a Japanese game though because I know Japanese people worked on it but I don't know if people from other nationalities were heavily involved in it's development too.

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