Oldest video game with a great story..

[dirtyoldman]

So lots video games these days have really epic and interesting story lines such as Metal Gear Solid, the resident evil games etc. But when did storytelling really kick off in games?

I know FF4 for the super Nintendo was a really big step up in the series and there of course is the sleeper classic Shadowrun for the snes, but can we go further back?
I'd say metal gear for the NES, had a great story throughout. Never played the msx2 original version but I hear it was even better story wise.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Depends on your definition of great story. Lots of NES had really solid story outlines and your imagination got to fill in blanks as you played. Dragon Warrior is the most basic of plots, but I get invested in it. Legend if Zelda is another one like that

[Tenshigure]

The 80s honestly had quite a ton of great point-and-click adventure games that each had good stories. King's Quest, the Ultima series, The Bard's Tale, The Hobbit, the list goes on and on. My personal favorite of these early 80s stories is King's Quest 2 (though Monkey Island is the undisputed champ IMHO).

[Natural Born Farmer]

Ninja Gaiden had a surprising amount of quality storytelling for an 8 bit side scroller.

[The Spelunker!]

Dec 3, 2021 9:27:23 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Depends on your definition of great story. Lots of NES had really solid story outlines and your imagination got to fill in blanks as you played. Dragon Warrior is the most basic of plots, but I get invested in it. Legend if Zelda is another one like that

Dragon Warrior 4 for the NES was mind blowing to me. Playing through the small stories of 4 little rpgs, only to then have to unite all the people you played as previously to save the world?

[Mike Strike]

Dec 3, 2021 12:50:50 GMT -5 The Spelunker! said:

Dec 3, 2021 9:27:23 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Depends on your definition of great story. Lots of NES had really solid story outlines and your imagination got to fill in blanks as you played. Dragon Warrior is the most basic of plots, but I get invested in it. Legend if Zelda is another one like that

Dragon Warrior 4 for the NES was mind blowing to me. Playing through the small stories of 4 little rpgs, only to then have to unite all the people you played as previously to save the world?

DQ3 had it's own twist with the reveal that it was actually a prequel.

[Bo Rida]

I'd say Links Awakening in '93.
Maybe It came from the desert in '89, if you count bmovies as great stories.

[The Ichi]

Pac-Man still remains the best analogy for drug addiction ever told.

[Deleted]

Super Mario Brothers

[Hurbster]

Twin Kingdom Valley, Heroes of Karn for the C64. Any of the Level 9 text-based adventures as well. Zork series, Scott Adams adventures on the Atari.

[dirtyoldman]

Dec 3, 2021 17:27:09 GMT -5 Hurbster said:

Twin Kingdom Valley, Heroes of Karn for the C64. Any of the Level 9 text-based adventures as well. Zork series, Scott Adams adventures on the Atari.

Big points to you sir for mentioning Twin Kingdom Valley. I loved that game as a kid on the BBC micro. Absoulte clever stuff, like in the cabin at the start the picture on the wall showed Watermeet with the crystal bridge, letting you know where to wave the rod to make it appear...

[Hurbster]

Yes, I had the C64 version. I really remember the thing taking 20 minutes to load from tape. Which is about how long Heroes of Karn seemed to load up some pictures in.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

There are shitloads of text-based games going back to the early days that are only story and nothing else, surely

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

Dec 3, 2021 16:00:56 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

Pac-Man still remains the best analogy for drug addiction ever told.

The Sequels kept getting sadder and sadder too!

First he marries a lady who also has substance abuse issues and then they go and have a Son who's also addicted to them dots

It's a sad tale of generational trauma really when you think about it

[BorneAgain]

Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis came out in 1992 (talkie version a year later) and in hindsight had a better story than two of the live action movies did.

[Cyno]

As far as console games go, Final Fantasy II for the Famicom had a pretty complex story for a game of its age and served as a model for a lot of the later games in the series. The game itself was ambitious as all hell from a gameplay perspective, too, though the execution didn't work out at all.

PC games were it was at in terms of storytelling at the time. From text adventures and point-and-click adventures to early RPG's like Wizardry and Ultima.

[Hit Girl]

Altered Beast

[Z-A Sandbaggin' Son of a b!%@h]

Dec 3, 2021 15:45:53 GMT -5 Mike Strike said:

Dec 3, 2021 12:50:50 GMT -5 The Spelunker! said:

Dragon Warrior 4 for the NES was mind blowing to me. Playing through the small stories of 4 little rpgs, only to then have to unite all the people you played as previously to save the world?

DQ3 had it's own twist with the reveal that it was actually a prequel.

This. I played dragon warrior three when I was like 12 or 13. And had played 1 and 2. The twist at the end of the game blew my damn mind. And made me go back and play the first two again. Such fantastic shit

[hassanchop]

Double Dragon 2 for NES and PC Engine mainly because of the new ending you get for playing supreme mode:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

[Flo360]

Missile Command.