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/vr/ - Retro Games

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2747323 No.2747323 [Reply] [Original]

Was Final Fantasy IV the big starter for character driven narratives in video games? Honest question, I'm trying to look into history.

>> No.2747513

Nah. Dragon Warrior 4 did a good job with its chapter system and cast of named characters, at least as far as (J)RPGs, go.

I'm sure there was a lot of text-driven adventure stuff on the PC prior.

>> No.2747529

Point-and-click games did it first.

>> No.2747534

>>2747323

Phantasy Star came out in 1987.

>> No.2747535

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text-based_game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Western_role-playing_video_games

>> No.2747538

FF4 is not even the first in the series to have this kind of stuff.

You can say FF2 is flawed, but the drama is there and the story is there. Also its not like FF4 is not really flawed as well (and its my favorite game ever anyway, but whatever)

>> No.2747545
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2747545

FFIV invented every JRPG cliche.

>> No.2747551

>>2747545
Popularized, perhaps, but you can't say that it invented anything.

>> No.2747553
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2747553

FFII did character driven stories in FF first, as another anon pointed out.

>> No.2747565

>>2747323
Not really, but "character driven narrative" is kind of a vague category. You could say Ninja Gaiden had a character driven narrative given the number of cutscenes with accompanying text. It was happening quite a bit in the 3rd generation as games started incorporating aspects of cinema in to their presentation instead of relying on manual blurbs for exposition.

As far as RPG's with loads of dramatic story telling expressed through text, that stuff could be argued to have gotten more of a start on the Sega Master System/Mark III with games likes Phantasy Star, but basically has it's roots in early text based games.

That's not to say FFIV wasn't a huge milestone as far as the Super NES was concerned, because it was the first one on the console and helped open the flood gates for all the JRPGs we ended up seeing on it, but it was more of an important step in the evolution of dramatic presentation in video games as opposed to a big starter of anything.

>> No.2747568

no

>> No.2747590

>>2747551
Well yeah, "there's nothing new under the sun" and all that

It was the first time most American consolefags had ever been exposed to a cohesive, semi-complex narrative. Fun and interesting characters, too.

The story's not much by today's standards, but it was Shakespearean back in 1991.

>> No.2747612

>>2747590

Metal Gear 2 came out a year earlier and similarly featured a level of plot unseen in console gaming. I only specify console because I'm sure there was some obscure pc shit with heavily detailed manual backstories or whatever.

>> No.2747614

>>2747568
Amazing insight mouthbreather

>> No.2747640

"Character driven" apparently implies that the conflict exists within dynamic characters that change over time rather than characters responding to an external conflict. That fits the bill for FFIV but would eliminate a lot of if not all 8-bit RPGs, even the ones with distinct characters, even the ones where individual characters have their own motives.

>> No.2747656

>>2747640
You're going to have to explain that one a little better, contrasting with examples that explain why FF2, DW4, and Phantasy Star are not character driven but FF4 is.

>> No.2747675
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2747675

>>2747614
My answer was correct. Nice bait. I'm still not going to explain myself to the retarded. Get back to me when you can count to potato.

>> No.2747945

>>2747534
Yeah, PS did it to some extent and would likely be the first RPG to have such characters but they don't really drive the story consistantly. The first game I can think of that is truly driven by heavy character dialogue is Metal Gear 2. (20/07/90), Predating FF4 by a year (19/07/91)

>> No.2748372

>>2747323
But what about Ultima series... <_<

Lord British not a character...

>> No.2748379

>>2748372
No one cares about Ultima.

>> No.2749020

>>2747656
If we're using this >>2747640 definition of "character driven" - he means that the story is as much about the characters as people as what the characters do during the story. If the only characterization that the characters ever get is in the character's introduction, then it doesn't really count - they have to react/change over the course of the story, not just have a motive to fight the bad guy and some dialogue.

For example, Phantasy Star wouldn't count, because all of the characters are static. They've got a goal from the very start (kill Lassic), and they help people along the way so they can do that.

Phantasy Star 2 would probably just barely fit under "dynamic characterization" for Rolf (he does manage to change a little bit over the course of the story), but it's so light on dialogue that I probably wouldn't count it either - not to mention that none of the other characters really matter at all, story-wise, after their introduction.

>> No.2749123

>>2747590
We already had Dragon Warrior 3 and 4 do all that, and I'm sure "consolefags" had access to various Ultima ports.

I love FF4, don't get me wrong, but it's neither the first nor the best at anything.

>> No.2749125

>>2747945
What about all those text adventure games from the 80s? Hell, there were probably some from the 70s that had character driven narratives.

>> No.2749128

>>2747323
What about the countless text adventure games and such beforehand?

>> No.2749138

>>2747590
>It was the first time most American consolefags
>American
FF!V wasn't even released in the US until the playstation version you dunce.

>> No.2749151

>>2747612
>I only specify console because I'm sure there was some obscure pc shit with heavily detailed manual backstories or whatever.
people that are this ignorant about PC games and still think all retro PC games are "shit" still exist?

>> No.2749159

no

>> No.2749189

Nah

>> No.2749193
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2749193

>>2749138

>> No.2749230

>>2749138
nigga what?

>> No.2749239

Are you stupid, OP? Do you think video games began with the SNES?

>> No.2749281

>>2749138
You're the real dunce here, idiot. FFIV was released as FFII in the US on the SNES. Do some research before trying to call out other people on shit.

>> No.2749351

>>2749138
should've continued the quote until "semi-complex narrative" to really hammer home the insult on ff4, but the substitution was effective and the results speak for themselves.

solid bait, 8/10.

>> No.2749551

>>2747323
This seems like a troll by /vr/ standards, but I've had conversations with people who have made the same claim with FFVII. And that FFI was the first RPG ever made.