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Fighting Game Stories: Which One Does It Better?
Which Fighting Game Tells Its Story Better?
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Firstly: Fighting games have confusing plots. They just do. Whether you chalk it up to either a massive cast, a very long running time with several arcs, or to the maelstrom of different wacked out ideas thrown in with each new installment you have to admit that there'll always be at least a bit of confusion no matter what.
However, some fighting games take their plots and characters more seriously than others, and there's a few of those that really put a lot of work into how their stories are conveyed. For that reason I've come up with the list of fighting game franchises that have recent installments that all have plot as their main focus.
Now, this is not a matter of comparing which story is better, which is something that's quite a bit more difficult to figure out from an objective point of view. No, we're talking about how the story is done.
So, the question is: Which of these fighting games do you think tells their story better, and why?
Remember that there are key factors to take into account, such as:
1. How the characters are written (i.e. character development/interaction, etc.)?
2. The flow of the story? Is it too confusing, barely confusing?
3. Just how many of the characters have anything to do with the story (a good example being that at least the majority of the cast is involved)?
4. How is the story told in gameplay (i.e. Soul Calibur has specific rival lines when they fight, Blaz Blue has specific rival animations, etc.)?
5. How does each installment end (a good example being with as much resolution and clarity as possible, since a certain amount of sequel baiting is inevitable)?
Don't go bickering! We're video gaming FAKKUZAS, not eleven year olds with teething fevers! Let's have an in depth discussion, ay?
However, some fighting games take their plots and characters more seriously than others, and there's a few of those that really put a lot of work into how their stories are conveyed. For that reason I've come up with the list of fighting game franchises that have recent installments that all have plot as their main focus.
Now, this is not a matter of comparing which story is better, which is something that's quite a bit more difficult to figure out from an objective point of view. No, we're talking about how the story is done.
So, the question is: Which of these fighting games do you think tells their story better, and why?
Remember that there are key factors to take into account, such as:
1. How the characters are written (i.e. character development/interaction, etc.)?
2. The flow of the story? Is it too confusing, barely confusing?
3. Just how many of the characters have anything to do with the story (a good example being that at least the majority of the cast is involved)?
4. How is the story told in gameplay (i.e. Soul Calibur has specific rival lines when they fight, Blaz Blue has specific rival animations, etc.)?
5. How does each installment end (a good example being with as much resolution and clarity as possible, since a certain amount of sequel baiting is inevitable)?
Don't go bickering! We're video gaming FAKKUZAS, not eleven year olds with teething fevers! Let's have an in depth discussion, ay?
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I'll go first. Personally I think, as much as I really dig Soul Calibur and Tekken, that BlazBlue tells its story better.
All of the characters are involved, each one going through either an arc or at least contributing to the story in more than just a cameo.
The story has brief explanations from certain characters as to what is being referenced as the plot goes on which doesn't break the narrative flow and feels genuine.
The game, despite working from a "multiple world"/"infinite loop" perspective manages to keep coherent due to there being a specified "True End" which has thus far acted as the ultimate climax for the games.
Revelations at to the characters and their motives become increasingly surprising and dramatic as the story goes on.
Finally, the characters are all unique and range from comical to villains you love to hate (Hazama's personally my next favorite villain under Bruce Tim's Joker).
However, I can see why some might disagree since the entire story is mainly told through cut-ins with just (very good) voice acting. They did add animation this time around, but it's mostly just in a few choice scenes and the quality of the art ranges from passable to WHAT IS WRONG WITH HAZAMA'S MOUTH?!!
Still, I think that since each game has an intricate (if at times batshit) plot that does involve the entire cast and has a resolution to some degree without being total sequel bait Halo 2 style, it's the best told story of recent fighting games.
All of the characters are involved, each one going through either an arc or at least contributing to the story in more than just a cameo.
The story has brief explanations from certain characters as to what is being referenced as the plot goes on which doesn't break the narrative flow and feels genuine.
The game, despite working from a "multiple world"/"infinite loop" perspective manages to keep coherent due to there being a specified "True End" which has thus far acted as the ultimate climax for the games.
Revelations at to the characters and their motives become increasingly surprising and dramatic as the story goes on.
Finally, the characters are all unique and range from comical to villains you love to hate (Hazama's personally my next favorite villain under Bruce Tim's Joker).
However, I can see why some might disagree since the entire story is mainly told through cut-ins with just (very good) voice acting. They did add animation this time around, but it's mostly just in a few choice scenes and the quality of the art ranges from passable to WHAT IS WRONG WITH HAZAMA'S MOUTH?!!
Still, I think that since each game has an intricate (if at times batshit) plot that does involve the entire cast and has a resolution to some degree without being total sequel bait Halo 2 style, it's the best told story of recent fighting games.
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Battle Fantasia has amazing story presentation.
And Face is the greatest fighting game character of all time.
And Face is the greatest fighting game character of all time.
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BlazBlue is the only one that really tells a story. Others only make attempts to do so, which doesn't work that well. KOF did this apparently rather well back in it's day, though.
Problem is that the genre isn't really suited for story-telling. You can't do that during the actual gameplay, maybe show character relationships with special pre- or after-battle lines, but that's it pretty much. BlazBlue had to use a nearly completely different medium to make it possible. Short cutscenes are nearly the only way to do it, which is not really enough. If these scenes were longer and more often and better used, then it could actually be possible to really tell a story in a fighting game. I think the Campaign Mode of Tekken 6 had a quite a wasted potential (not only weren't there many cutscenes, they apparently didn't really want to do a story, at least they weren't taking it seriously).
Problem is that the genre isn't really suited for story-telling. You can't do that during the actual gameplay, maybe show character relationships with special pre- or after-battle lines, but that's it pretty much. BlazBlue had to use a nearly completely different medium to make it possible. Short cutscenes are nearly the only way to do it, which is not really enough. If these scenes were longer and more often and better used, then it could actually be possible to really tell a story in a fighting game. I think the Campaign Mode of Tekken 6 had a quite a wasted potential (not only weren't there many cutscenes, they apparently didn't really want to do a story, at least they weren't taking it seriously).
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I think Kof series has one of the best story except for that horrendous KoF12. True all their series, every char/ team has their own ending and they also had opening interaction between each character that shows their relation.
So Kof FTW.
So Kof FTW.
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As much as I loved the Soul series, I'm going with BlazBlue for this. Given how crappy the single player was for both SC 4 and 5, SC had style being a really good weapon based fighting game. BlazBlue however, as already said by TC, really involves everyone in the cast in the story.
