Recommendations for games with superb writing

[Redwall]

Of the games you've played, which ones were very well-written? I currently own 999: Nine Persons, Nine Hours, Nine Doors; The Last of Us; and Xenogears. I am especially interested in suggestions for the DS and PS3 (since they're the only recent consoles I own), but feel free to suggest entries for other consoles.

[euklyd]

For DS?

TWEWY. Can't remember anything else off the top of my head. TWEWY is probably the best DS game I've played, though.

[Crimson Red]

I hear The Last of Us is good, hue. TWEWY's good (well, I think it's absolutely amazing but I'll hold back my gushing fanboying). Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Hey, you said good writing, not necessarily very deep or insightful or whatever. :P

Do they have to be in English? Cuz there's the Trails in the Sky trilogy remade in HD for PS3... *shot*

[Rehab]

Though you did already give examples, to be sure, it may be in your best interest to specify what you're looking for in the writing- every game I can think to recommend (and all the games you've mentioned, which I've either heard good things about mostly or enjoyed), I've also seen people absolutely rip into. (with varying degrees of tastefully understated nerdrage)

Infinite Space is a (fairly) writing-heavy game that I think offers a lot to like by the standards of most games- epic scale, something towards the better end of characterization depth and thematic complexity in (j)rpg's, colorful setting, most of the sweet spots I hope games like it hit for me.

In "ye olde fixer-upper" territory, I'd feel remiss not to mention Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines. I get the feeling that the dialogue writers, at the very least, must have been having an awesome time with this. It basically needs a (widely/freely available fan) patch to tie its shoes right, and it's, well, ten years old, but it's, uh. It's a treat. Doesn't talk down to the player much, or it didn't feel like it to me.

(Doesn't mean it couldn't be called a bit campy, but it is a refreshing flavor of camp far's I'm concerned)

(e: egh, on reflection "campy" isn't the word I'm looking for. it.. has an affect? it's very 90's, I want to say, you might say it has a touch of-

fuck it you like, you buy, is good)

Edited March 27, 2014 by Rehab

[Ike-Mike]

The entire Gradius series.

Any text in the games is short and snappy and explains everything you need to know, all the characters are well-defined, continuity is tight with a lot of care and attention put to it and mission control gives you short and understandable instructions that never overstay their welcome.

Each new game also sensibly raised the stakes without ever overdoing it.

I would also like to bring special attention to the MSX games as they feature an overarching plot that spans multiple generations of kings and coup d'etats. That plotline got intertwined later in Gradius V. Gradius Rebirth is also part of it.

In other words, no other game series does the shoot 'em up plot of "aliens and monsters are attacking this place and your spaceship is our last hope" quite as well as Gradius.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Ike-Mike

[Icon of Sin]

Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines for PC is pretty interesting. The Malkavian clan has its own set of responses due to being insane.

[Green Poet]

The story of the original Bioshock game is amazing, and it's thematically similar in some ways to TLoU, so it might be worth checking out. I think it's actually on sale on the PS store this week, too. I'd say Portal 2's also worth looking into, though its writing is more comedic than dramatic.

As for DS games. . . maybe Fire Emblem 11? I suppose you could consider the Ace Attorney and Professor Layton games to have notably good writing, though they're more like visual novels and play closer to 999 than something like TWEWY.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Green Poet

[Thor Odinson]

I'm very fond of Assassin's Creed as a series's writing. It's not perfect, but it's one of the games I really care about the story, especially the historical portion of it, IMO. Some people like the framing device and others don't, so that's up to you (I'm personally okay with it, but the whole "history is our playground" thing is my main attraction to AC). It's the only game series with skippable cutscenes that I don't skip the cutscenes for on subsequent playthroughs. I don't think there's an Assassin I dislike, either.

Ezio's games are my favourite, but the other ones are very good too. Pretty sure they're all on PS, though I play them on PC. They're also very pretty visually. The games, that is, but if you're into hot people, the Assassins are quite nice looking as well.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Thor Odinson

[Wizard]

As someone said a bit earlier, I'd recommend the Ace Attorney series, although the second game is a bit iffy- but it DOES have a rather unique and interesting final case, which I really like.

Devil Survivor has an interesting premise, but its characters are more believable than well-written.

Also, Virtue's Last Reward is good- at least I think so. It's a sort of sequel to 999, and includes several characters from it. It even shows the inside of the room where they find the 4 and 5 doors from 999 at one point.

It's for the PS Vita and the 3DS. I'd recommend it if you got a 3DS in the future.

[Excellen Browning]

Rondo of Swords. It's one of those very few games where the writing is done in such a way that, if you don't want to read into it deeply, what's there on the surface is good enough. If you do start digging into it though suddenly the original japanese title, Rondo of Deception, fits all that much more.

[TheUnderman14]

I would recommand Sands of Destruction for DS although the game is pretty easy, and by that i mean its easy to get really OP pretty fast, the story is really good with a really great cast of characters

[Roivann]

FTL: Faster Than Light has some pretty neat writing. Or Shadowrun Returns if you like that 90's grunge feel.

[Vennobennu]

OFF is a free game for PC; it's got a pretty surreal asthetic backed by an excellent soundtrack, messed up characters and a very unique sotryline. It's one of those games that's really carried by its story and atmosphere (just listen to these beats); the game was made with an outdated version of RPG Maker so the gameplay is very basic, but it's worth going through just to see what happens next.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Vennobennu

[Wen Yang]

Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate 1/2 for the PC comes to mind.

Consider trying Game/VN stuff like Eien no Aselia and Kamidori Alchemy Meister too.

I also have to second that suggestion for Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

[Knight]

In my opinion, some of the best written games are Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, especially the latter. The dialogue is delivered in such a way that it doesn't interrupt gameplay, which is a big plus, through intercoms or transmissions. The plot of the first game is a solid Batman vs. Joker routine with some of the other villains getting some small points, while the second is a villain extravaganza with lots of mystery, conflict, lore, interesting side-missions and an ending that is among the most epic in any game (disregard the prequel altogether). It's written by the guy who wrote the Batman Animated Series which was renowned for its clever writing. It also helps that the contrasting stealth/action gameplay is fun as hell.

Both Arkham games are on PS3

If superheroes aren't your thing, there is the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney franchise, the funniest, most colourful and comical video game series about cold-hard murder you'll find. You play the role as a defence attorney who must prove their client innocent against all odds. Each case you take introduces memorable characters, complex plots and puts you in a very tough situation that only your wits can solve. Each game also introduces new rival prosecutors to face, usually having some sort of dark backstory that is uncovered throughout the game. It's funny, witty, mysterious and occasionally rather dark, I recommend it.

The entire series is on the DS except the fifth, which is on 3DS, the first 3 alone are on the apple store as well.

On the flip side, the worst writing ever is available to you as Metroid: Other M.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Knight

[Rehab]

Recommending Ace Attorney slipped my mind because hearing that somebody is even aware of the existence of 999 makes me assume it's a series they'd have gotten into years ago

[Tamanoir]

Apparently, nobody listed Radiant Historia yet, so consider it done.

It's absolutely brillant, and probably one of the best use of time travel in a game, or even in art in general

[TheBattyOne]

The games I've played with great writing are Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors, the Ace Attorney series, Path of Radiance (*cough*), and... I'm sure I have more. I liked Persona 4 and the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers games, but I wouldn't call their writing spectacular. I've recently started playing Trauma Center: Under the Knife, and it looks promising so far.

999: Awesome suspense and tension. Good, heavy dramatic stuff goin' down.

Ace Attorney: The best cast of characters I've ever seen in a video game, lots of 'em and nearly every one memorable. Funny folks that can definitely pile on the drama whenever they have to. The mysteries are usually good, too.

Path of Radiance: Characters and story aside (both are fantastic), THIS is how you build a world with dialogue as your main tool.

Persona 4: Between the teenage "hilarious shenanigans" and the complete nonsense mystery, I was sure I would only like this game for the gameplay. But before I knew it, I cared about all of the player character's friends and family. This one got to me out of nowhere.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers: Predictable plot, predictable characters. Yet I've played it six times, though, and I cry every freaking time. No game, book, movie, or TV show has ever gotten that reaction out of me that many times. Not even close.

[Tamanoir]

And I forgot Tactics Ogre : Let Us Cling Together.

This game's story is just amazing. There are no good choices. You will have to makes sacrifices.
There may be some problem here and there (Vyce...), but it's still as exceptionnal now as it was back then.

[TheBattyOne]

Ooh, just remembered another!

The Walking Dead: Telltale Games. Wonderful story, love the choices (and how there's usually no one "right" decision). Pretty much no matter what you do, someone is going to hate you for it. And sometimes, you have to quickly choose to save one of two people, knowing the other will probably die... yeesh. I've gotta play that again sometime.

[eclipse]

I am going to be the gigantic outlier and say NieR. The voice acting goes wonky every now and then, though.