recently became a PSP owner; just the other day, in fact. I had been holding off for so long in picking one of the portables up for a few reasons. The price, the lacking library of games (as I see it), and my own concerns about Sony's hardware quality over the past few years had made the DS the only handheld device in my world. But then it happened. The one game that could end my embargo on the PSP came out. That game was Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. The game is, for me at least, immediately addictive. This in part thanks to the history with which it finds itself sharing, and also due to what it's doing right that so few RPGs over the past few years have been: imparting a dynamic story.
The game sparked this train of thought that has been turning over in my mind for the past couple of days now. Those thoughts have culminated into this question. Whatever happened to RPGs? And to be more precise, why do they struggle in telling the stories that they used to? I look at RPGs like I look at books. If a book can't grab my attention and hold it within the first chapter, I stop reading it. Similarly, if an RPG can't grab and hold my attention in the first hour, I stop playing it. This system has only been in place over the past few years since the advent of things like particle effects, 3D normal mapping, etc. You know, the things that developers now use in lieu of writing a decent story. With each passing year, the stories told in RPGs are becoming either needlessly wordy, which kills any kind of pacing; or increasingly recycled to the point where you know where the story is going before it even gets there.
You can cite examples like Lost Odyssey with its mind-numbingly long and boring intro and storyline that just drags on and on, or Blue Dragon that drops names along with pretty visuals to distract from a game that gives you very little character development until the game is almost over. Or you can look towards Eternal Sonata, a game I reviewed, that in retrospect had a great idea that was poorly executed, mainly in disjointed pacing — introducing a new character every twenty minutes without really expounding upon them. The simple fact is that RPG developers are relying more on the wrapping paper instead of the present these days. If you are an RPG fan, then you know what I'm talking about. In my eyes, it's a sad state of affairs for those who love RPGs when a game like God of War (which is a great game), has a more interesting main character, setting, and story than most RPGs release around its time.
Looks good?
There's a story behind it.Whatever happened to games like the Lunar series, the Final Fantasy series (excluding 8 which is total teen soap opera), the Knights of the Old Republic series, and the most recent Mass Effect. These are games where the story and the world in which it unfolded took precedence before all other considerations, and it showed. Isn't that the point? Sadly, RPGs too closely resemble Hollywood as of late, a lot of polish with very little depth. I know it's clichéd, but I can't help in going back to Final Fantasy 7 as the bar to which RPGs should strive to reach. It has some of the best characters ever presented in a RPG that created in players a deep emotional connection, and who still resonate with gamers today. It had a wealth of content that kept it fresh, and made it a great value. It had a rich and deep storyline that, much like its characters, evoked real emotion in the player. There is a reason why it has aged so well. I guess I just can't help but feel that the budget for most RPGs in this generation is not going towards writers.
For me, it had recently gotten to the point that I just didn't want to play RPGs anymore because the time required to complete rarely equaled the payout. However, I must say that of what I've played of CC:FFVII thus far, it has a very strong story. The game takes place about seven years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII, so you know that's going to hook a lot of people. It has a lot to live up to. I hope my rekindling love of RPGs is not spoiled by it, for I have high hopes. Time will tell I suppose.
In the end, if any developers happen to be reading this, I implore you to really take the time to write engaging stories for us gamers. Nothing beats a great story when it can transport you out of your nine-to-five for a couple of hours into a world so much unlike our own. It is my hope that the majority of gamers who see the story as the most important part of a game, will not be blindsided by pretty spells and lengthy animations. The story is what matters, and it is what will sustain a game long after it has been released, and forgotten by so many in place of another FPS title or the current year's Madden. Some day we will hit the ceiling on what we can produce from a graphical standpoint. When that day comes, I hope the writing for and the worlds in which these games take place are up to snuff. Otherwise we may come to see no difference between what we see in a game and what see at the office. And that would be sad.
