[Spring-Loaded]

This doesn't really fit with the topic perfectly, but it's what made me think of this:

I was thinking about Resident Evil 4 the Batman: Arkham Asylum/City (mainly City) games and how their main stories are disjointed, or anti-climactic. However, the interview tapes, Arkham Chronicles, Arkham City Stories and the side missions themselves all weave a better overall tale than some of the main plot lines. The background information gotten from these side stories/missions fill in blanks from the main stories and the ending to the Arkham Chronicles optional collect-a-thon in AA where the warden of Arkham is revealed to be insane would have been a much, much better ending than the actual one.

In the Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku series, some of the intricate and multifaceted side-missions could count too.

What are some other instances of side-missions/side-quests being better than the main ones? This can be due to better story, gameplay, Etc.

[Zabuza]

Skyrim has a bunch of these. Most guild questlines are miles better than the main story.

[aett]

Final Fantasy Tactics A2. There are tons of sidequests and pretty much all of them are much, much better than the barebones "let's adventure!" plot.

[Deified Data]

Thread was made for The Elder Scrolls, notably The Dark Brotherhood quests.

[D3RANG3D]

Bethesda games are guilty of this.

[The M.O.B]

Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim.

..........

The writers are WAY more creative with side quests due to not being tied down by the stupid lore as much.

[CeePhour]

Oblivion.

Some of those random quests I that stumbled upon were fantastic. More 'well thought out' than some whole games.

[Toki767]

Dark Brotherhood and Thieves guild stories in Skyrim were great. Much better than the main story.

[Syril]

After the first half of Final Fantasy IX, I had more fun playing Chocobo Hot & Cold and treasure hunting all over the world than continuing the story.

[Seda]

All of the story with the Crimson Spheres/Paine stuff in FFX-2

well, I guess it's not completely a side plot, but it fleshes out both the main plot and fills in the background of the new characters of the game and a lot of it is skippable.

[t26]

Tales of Legendia Character Quest

[Seven Force]

The Laguna stuff in FFVIII was way more enjoyable than everything going on in the main plot of the game.

The Riddler stuff in Arkham Asylum was pretty awesome, too. Really showed off a lot of the attention to detail put in the game.

[Meccanical]

After the first half of Final Fantasy IX, I had more fun playing Chocobo Hot & Cold and treasure hunting all over the world than continuing the story.

Yeah. Chocobo Hot and Cold MADE FF9.

[somuchwater]

I've forgotten what they're called exactly, but the parts in AC2 and AC:B where you had to climb and climb to retrieve an artifact were great. A couple of them forced you to think about your path, and the music and atmosphere were possibly better than the main quests.

[Zabuza]

I've forgotten what they're called exactly, but the parts in AC2 and AC:B where you had to climb and climb to retrieve an artifact were great. A couple of them forced you to think about your path, and the music and atmosphere were possibly better than the main quests.

Yeah the Catacomb style missions were great and probably the highlights of the game.

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Mandatory Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion mention.

[Fredrik]

Guild quests in both Oblivion and Skyrim are awesome, especially thief guild

[Tribes of Trusty]

I've forgotten what they're called exactly, but the parts in AC2 and AC:B where you had to climb and climb to retrieve an artifact were great. A couple of them forced you to think about your path, and the music and atmosphere were possibly better than the main quests.

Yes, they were awesome. Sort of callback to Prince of Persia too.


I also enjoyed the optional quests in The Last Story. The Haunted Mansion one is particularly memorable.

[GrumpyAlien]

I found the 1000 years of dreams stories in Lost Odyssey to be much more interesting than the main storyline if that counts.

[Alex]

This is often the case in anything. Short stories and vignettes are almost always superior to the norm in this medium. They don't overstay their welcome, they often do what a game can actually do fairly well in the face of still having to be a game (characterization) and they usually tie in much more intimately with world building and lore than your standard globe-trotting, save the world nonsense.

[Kurita]

Final Fantasy Tactics A2. There are tons of sidequests and pretty much all of them are much, much better than the barebones "let's adventure!" plot.

This guy is right.

[LuniRPG]

Already beaten, but all of the short stories "A Thousand Years of Dreams" are so good, that it is a shame that they weren't what the game was based around. Lost Odyssey was good, but these stories are great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHM2JUhIwAg

[hydragonwarrior]

After the first half of Final Fantasy IX, I had more fun playing Chocobo Hot & Cold and treasure hunting all over the world than continuing the story.

Triple Triad - space station is about to explode? Eh fuck that, let's play a card game bitch!

[Meccanical]

I found the 1000 years of dreams stories in Lost Odyssey to be much more interesting than the main storyline if that counts.

That's what happens when actual authors write the stories.

[Verelios]

I'm going to have to jump on a limb and say the Disgaea series does side stories right. Or at least, they're more entertaining than the main story line for me.

Except Disgaea 1, but then you can't compare that to the rest. Those games practically thrive on their end game, and a lot of the backstory, history and ensuing events are kept for later.

[tinders]

No Anju & Kafei from Majora's Mask yet?

[Seda]

No Anju & Kafei from Majora's Mask yet?

That's just one thing that makes Majora's Mask as a whole great.

[fredrancour]

No Anju & Kafei from Majora's Mask yet?

The thread is "side quests better than the main quest," Not "Name a random amazing side quest in an amazing game."

[H_Prestige]

Pretty much anything in FFXII. The actual story part was a snooze fest.

[HK-47]

The Sun social link in Persona 3.

[AkuMifune]

Minervas Den was better than all of Bioshock 2.

[Amory]

Dark Brotherhood and Thieves guild stories in Oblivion were great. Much better than the main story.

FTFY

Much better questlines in Oblivion than Skyrim, especially the Dark Brotherhood stuff

[antitrop]

Pretty much anything in FFXII. The actual story part was a snooze fest.

I beat the game without knowing the final boss's name until I fought him.

FFXII is the only RPG I can make that claim for.

[Alebrije]

Dark Brotherhod OBLIVION , SKYRIM.

Dark Souls have a great stage that could be called as sidequest.

[GoofsterStud]

This doesn't really fit with the topic perfectly, but it's what made me think of this: I was thinking about Resident Evil 4 the Batman: Arkham Asylum/City (mainly City) games and how their main stories are disjointed, or anti-climactic. However, the interview tapes, Arkham Chronicles, Arkham City Stories and the side missions themselves all weave a better overall tale than some of the main plot lines. The background information gotten from these side stories/missions fill in blanks from the main stories and the ending to the Arkham Chronicles optional collect-a-thon in AA where the warden of Arkham is revealed to be insane would have been a much, much better ending than the actual one. In the Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku series, some of the intricate and multifaceted side-missions could count too. What are some other instances of side-missions/side-quests being better than the main ones? This can be due to better story, gameplay, Etc.

Kingdom of Amalur Teeth of Naru. The story, design, and personality was a vast improvement. The main story pails in comparison.

[Glix]

Duck races, son.

[Berordn]

WoW's storytelling for the main conflict is flat-out bad these days, so the side stories usually end up being more entertaining and interesting. Assuming they don't get cut by poor development practices.

Majora's Mask was made for this thread too.

[Witchfinder General]

Vault 11.

[Meccanical]

I beat the game without knowing the final boss's name until I fought him. FFXII is the only RPG I can make that claim for.

FFXII plunges you into dungeons so much that you really forget that there's important stuff happening outside of them.

[Guevara]

Collecting Orbs, Crackdown.

That's the real challenge.

[EatChildren]

Most of the side quests in Vampire: Bloodlines, especially the ones that take place across multiple hubs and develop slowly alongside the main quest, starting as one mission and evolving into more.

[DAREALGUMMY]

Vault 11.

This.

I really liked anything involving Dunwich Building too.

[Riposte]

Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim. .......... The writers are WAY more creative with side quests due to not being tied down by the stupid lore as much.

New Vegas's main storyline was a complex series of branching quests which interacted with side quests frequently. It doesn't belong with the rest.

That's what happens when actual authors write the stories.

A writer writing a text dump and not a videogame's story.

[Ridesh]

Skyrim.

Daedric quests are ridiculously better than the main story.

[Fat Goron]

Fragile is a good example. The main story is a mess, but the minor characters' story arcs and the memories not only are much more interesting, but also fit better with the overall tone of the game.

[drspeedy]

does raising Chao count? Coz then ALL of Sonic Adventure 2 is redeemed...

And only then

[onlyindreams]

some of persona 3's s-links are amazing

[User33]

Most of the side quests in Vampire: Bloodlines, especially the ones that take place across multiple hubs and develop slowly alongside the main quest, starting as one mission and evolving into more.

This is a good choice.

Especially since the main quest included bullshit parts like the sewers.

[batbeg]

FFXIIs bestiary > FFXIIs story

[Solid warrior]

There are amazing Side missions available in Silent Hill downpour. It's so amazing that it makes you wonder what were the devs thinking when they were designing these? Why didn't they include it in the main storyline ?