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[Scoops]

*Disclaimer: when I say story-driven I'm not necessarily talking story driven in the Telltale/Waking Dead sense but I'm also not talking Mario has to save Peach again either.

When it comes to gaming, I have traditionally been a PC/Nintendo Console gamer. Well my PC is now outdated and being a grad student not only do I not have the money to upgrade it I also don't have the play time to justify upgrading it either. This means I have leaned much more heavily on my WiiU then I have on past Nintendo platforms. This has been fine, as Nintendo's first party output has been phenomenal and the decent number of multiplats from Ubisoft and WB replaced my PC AAA fix in the WiiU's first year. However, no more AAA multiplats are coming to WiiU, meaning for the next few years I'll likely be playing mostly Nintendo games (oh no, how will I ever survive).

Due to my setup, I would get my gameplay (Smash, Mario, Kart) and local multiplayer oriented games on console and my more story driven and online multiplayer games on PC. With my PC no longer being able to play modern games, I'm now dependent on Nintendo for story driven games. Traditionally on console, this basically means Zelda and Metroid which each would get 1-2 iterations per generation. However, looking at Nintendo the past 3-4 years and looking at their 2015 lineup they seem to be getting a lot more story driven.

The first half of the Wii era Nintendo was riding the casual wave and their lineup was virtually void of story games outside of TP and MP3. However, even in this era there were two signs Nintendo was introducing story driven modes into their games: the Subspace Emissary Mode in Brawl and the storybook in SMG. I actually really liked the Subspace mode (more so then the more traditional "classic" mode in smash games) but alas it was removed for Smash WiiU. Nonetheless it was an early example of Nintendo trying to create a high budget, story driven experience.

Since 2010, however the tides have shifted towards story driven games. Metroid Other M was an early failure, taking a already story driven franchise and adding too much story but the production values followed in the vain of Brawl's Subspace mode, which was a different direction for Nintendo. The Operation Rainfall trinity were all story driven games. Though it took work to get them localized once they were they were successful. Xenoblade is highly acclaimed and is getting a big budget AAA squeal next year and The Last Story is Xseed's highest selling game. All three of the OP Rainfall games were launched while the Wii was dying.

Now with the WiiU we've seen an increase of collaboration between Nintendo and third party developers, and they've been creating mostly story driven content. Think Lego City (TT games), The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2 (Platinum) and Hyrule Warriors (omega force, Team Ninja). Looking at 2015, we see a wide ranch of story driven content for WiiU. Sure we'll have Yarn Yoshi, Clay Kirby and Mario Party 10. However we're also getting that big Xenoblade sequel, Splatoon has a single player story mode, we're getting another third party developer collaboration with a story mode in Devil's Third and of course new Star Fox and Zelda titles. SMT/Fe remains alive as well for beyond 2015.

So, do you think Nintendo is moving more towards story-driven games, and if so is it because they're trying to fill a gap in their lineup that third parties no longer fill? Do you think Nintendo should move towards more story driven games in general? What story-driven genres would you like to see Nintendo get involved in? Do you think Nintendo could pull off a game where writing takes the spotlight like say in Bioshock or The Last of Us?

 

[TheMoon]

I don't think there has been any particular change. You might just perceive it differently because of their recent partnerships. They have always had a good blend of story-heavy games and their pure gameplay affairs.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

Super Paper Mario had a major story emphasis, didn't it?

I know that Kid Icarus: Uprising emphasized its plot and writing a lot, too.

I wouldn't say that they're moving that much towards story-driven games, though.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

 

[TheMoon]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

I'm sorry, I think you just accidentally called Majora's Mask's story simple.

 

[thomasmahler]

Miyamoto don't care.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Nintendo is a big company with a lot of employees and publishing contracts.

EAD does not do a lot of story-driven games, but Nintendo will often outsource things or do things like, say, acquire Monolithsoft to make JRPGs as an internal developer.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

It seems to me that you are not familiar with the deepest lore

 

[Codeblue]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

I don't feel like either of those games come close to the quality of writing and story telling on display in Mother 3. You should give it a chance.

 

[Kouriozan]

I don't feel like either of those games come close to the quality of writing and story telling on display in Mother 3. You should give it a chance.

Itoi is just that good.

 

[Scoops]

I don't feel like either of those games come close to the quality of writing and story telling on display in Mother 3. You should give it a chance.

Yeah, this is kind of what I mean. Nintendo didn't really have a story as ambitious as Earthbound on console until Other M/Xenobalde.

 

[Scoops]

I don't think there has been any particular change. You might just perceive it differently because of their recent partnerships. They have always had a good blend of story-heavy games and their pure gameplay affairs.

Well I mean, the partnerships are conscious decisions. I'm thinking part of it is "we're not very good at making story games, but we need more so lets get other developers to do it."

Think Other M. Nintendo knew that game was pretty much a disaster to the point where it was obtainable for like $5-$10 new. Nintendo never lets their games depreciate in value like that unless there's something wrong with them.

 

[eXistor]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

I like the way the Last of Us tells its story, but come on: art? It's Hollywood-style entertainment, nothing more.

Anyway, I hope Nintendo never pursues story-driven games for any of their flagship titles. Nintendo is one of the few major companies that seems to understand the strengths of the medium (and that telling is story is not one of them).

 

[Bomber Bob]

Mario has a pretty deep lore

 

[Empty]

Iwata: So [modern games] are backed by this huge amount of effort and technology, but it feels like very few people remember them [story moments] or players skip over things within the game.

Kawakami: It certainly feels like there's too many cut-scenes these days.

Iwata: Of course, you can use them effectively; I'm not trying to dismiss them completely, but I can't help but wonder what could have been instead done with the energy [time, money, resources] that went into them. Miyamoto has never used many cut-scenes, in his games, but recently I think he has begun to think the same way, too.

from the recent iwata interview thread

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=959746&page=2

 

[hatchx]

Mario has a pretty deep lore

Birdo alone has a deep and controversial lore.


OP, I don't know if there's been any real significant changes to their approach to story-driven games. I think Nintendo values themselves as game-makers first, so I doubt they'll ever make a game like Telltale's or even include cutscenes like The Last of Us/Uncharted, but they include a story where they see fit.

I'd love a story-mode or return to mission mode in a Mario Kart though. That was just boss.

 

[abstract alien]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

Majora has one of the best ones I've ever played, I believe. Not cutscene driven, but there is so much there. Similar to why I like dark souls' story as well. Neither are very upfront though.

 

[Small Mailman]

Mother 3's story is better than any game in recent memory for me

 

[Dr. Buni]

Nintendo does have its fair share of story driven games and the ones I have played are all great.

Examples: Mother 2 (Earthbound), Mother 3, Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, both Baten Kaitos, Xenoblade, the Mario & Luigi games, etc.

I'd like they to make even more story driven games or at least games with a good story in the background, because I have a hard time playing games (multi player ones aside) without story nowadays. Of course, they should always focus on gameplay (and good music ) first.

 

[abstract alien]

I like the way the Last of Us tells its story, but come on: art? It's Hollywood-style entertainment, nothing more.

Anyway, I hope Nintendo never pursues story-driven games for any of their flagship titles. Nintendo is one of the few major companies that seems to understand the strengths of the medium (and that telling is story is not one of them).

I wouldn't say that. The medium can tell unique stories that aren't possible in others. It's the reliance on cutscenes that's the problem for me. Even kojima, with all of his cutscene usage, still gets that there are aspects of game related story telling that aren't really possible in a cutscene and focuses on that part as well.

 

[Shamrock7r]

Mother2/Earthbound, to me, is probably the best representation in all of video games of an organic, experience and theme driven story that can only be done in video games, and also be considered high art, so there's that.

 

[Scoops]

from the recent iwata interview thread

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=959746&page=2

Interesting, but I'm not sure games need cutscenes to be story driven. Cutscenes are obviously pretty big resource hogs for developers, so implementing Metroid Prime style story telling could work too. I do think from those comments, it does seem like Nintendo under appreciates a good story especially using internal studios. A lot of players skip them, but they can also be huge selling points such as in TLOU, Mass Effect or Bioshock.

 

[Timeaisis]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

Last of Us is one my favorite games, but Mother 2 is much more "art" than it will ever be and it was released in freaking 1994.

 

[Lunar15]

I feel like the entire industry, at least non-indies, is pretty lean on story-driven games since the start of this current gen, including Wii U.

I honestly believe a lot of it is due to a time/tech situation. They're spending a lot of time getting used to the new tech, and sure-fire hits like Mario Kart or Smash are better to get out there first. A lot of the best story based games come out later in a console's lifespan, at least in my experience.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

Is this sarcasm? Majora's Mask is simple??? Not to mention Nintendo has ALWAYS had their share of story driven games. Metroid, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Mother, Star Fox...

 

[Blackquill]

And that's great, one of the biggest flaw of AAA games is the excessif amount of cutscenes, scripted gameplay or anything that exists only for the plot. And it's usually a bad plot. Even great AAA like The Last of Us is still a lot far from the best movies plot.

So please, garbage tier hollywood writer, stay away from my videogames.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Also OP, I wouldn't really call Metroid "story driven"...

And that's great, one of the biggest flaw of AAA games is the excessif amount of cutscenes, scripted gameplay or anything that exists only for the plot. And it's usually a bad plot. Even great AAA like The Last of Us is still a lot far from the best movies plot.

So please, garbage tier hollywood writer, stay away from my videogames.

A gaming having a story doesn't equal a game having scripted gameplay and cutscenes.

 

[watershed]

It really depends on what IP we're talking about. Just this gen Kid Icarus and Fire Emblem are two story heavy games developed and heavily promoted by Nintendo.

 

[Codeblue]

Yeah, this is kind of what I mean. Nintendo didn't really have a story as ambitious as Earthbound on console until Other M/Xenobalde.

There hasn't been a single video game made that has a story as ambitious as Earthbound that Itoi didn't work on. There's a difference between telling a story (Other M) and telling a story with game mechanics (Earthbound). Itoi uses the medium to his advantage and doesn't ignore the strengths it can offer in telling a story. Do I want Nintendo to have some story focused games in the future? Yes, but I want them to aspire to Mother and not TLoU.

 

[Crayolan]

I don't think you know what story-driven means. None of the games you mention in the OP are story-driven except for the Operation Rainfall trio. A game being story-driven isn't the same as a game just having a story.

 

[TheMoon]

Well I mean, the partnerships are conscious decisions. I'm thinking part of it is "we're not very good at making story games, but we need more so lets get other developers to do it."

Think Other M. Nintendo knew that game was pretty much a disaster to the point where it was obtainable for like $5-$10 new. Nintendo never lets their games depreciate in value like that unless there's something wrong with them.

They're not going for story games, they're going for other genres. The story stuff is more of a side-effect. They don't make RPGs, spectacle brawlers, shooters, horror games, what have you internally. Going to outside partners for those is the goal. The games having a bigger investment in the story department is coincidental.

Think Other M. Nintendo knew that game was pretty much a disaster to the point where it was obtainable for like $5-$10 new. Nintendo never lets their games depreciate in value like that unless there's something wrong with them.

They don't have a say what price the retailers dump their stock for. Unless you want to make the same case for Prime 3 which can also be had for a penny.

 

[KarmaCow]

Is this sarcasm? Majora's Mask is simple??? Not to mention Nintendo has ALWAYS had their share of story driven games. Metroid, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Mother, Star Fox...

Except for Mother, none of those are really narrative driven in the same way as Bioshock or The Last of Us.

I don't even understand Metroid unless you're using Other M for the entire series. Metroid as a whole is known for lacking a narrative pushing the player forward.

Which is a good thing.

 

[eXistor]

I wouldn't say that. The medium can tell unique stories that aren't possible in others. It's the reliance on cutscenes that's the problem for me. Even kojima, with all of his cutscene usage, still gets that there are aspects of game related story telling that aren't really possible in a cutscene and focuses on that part as well.

I agree with that, but for me it's when story takes precedence over gameplay where I have a problem. MGS is a decent example of how to do it well (MGS4 notwithstanding, that game was a failure). It has loads of story and cutscenes, but the game would absolutely not work if the gameplay part wasn't so well thought out. For me story in MGS is just a nice little bonus, but it's the last thing I pay attention to, it's just a nice reward for playing the game up until certain points.

 

[Neff]

Twilight Princess, Other M and Skyward Sword show a very cinematic Nintendo courting big production values. I don't see that changing, particularly in an industry which values story so highly these days.

I wouldn't ever call any Nintendo game story-driven, though.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Except for Mother, none of those are really narrative driven in the same way as Bioshock or The Last of Us.

Fire Emblem is definitely story driven. Plus, Nintendo also has the Baten Kaitos games, Xenoblade, Kid Icarus Uprising...

Twilight Princess, Other M and Skyward Sword show a very cinematic Nintendo courting big production values. I don't see that changing, particularly in an industry which values story so highly these days.

I wouldn't ever call any Nintendo game story-driven, though.

I think Zelda U will likely be the same way, which is nice.

 

[Blackquill]

Also OP, I wouldn't really call Metroid "story driven"...

A gaming having a story doesn't equal a game having scripted gameplay and cutscenes.

Yep but I talk specifically about story driven games, where story has a more important place than everything else.

 

[Blackquill]

Fire Emblem is definitely story driven. Plus, Nintendo also has the Baten Kaitos games, Xenoblade, Kid Icarus Uprising...

I think Zelda U will likely be the same way, which is nice.

Fire Emblem is more gameplay driven than story driven. Just look at the last entry, awakening where mariage and children were poorly introduced just for the gameplay.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Fire Emblem is more gameplay driven than story driven. Just look at the last entry, awakening where mariage and children were poorly introduced just for the gameplay.

It still has a huge focus on story though, specially compared to most other Nintendo franchises, but being a Nintendo franchise, of course the gameplay is the highlight of the game. Awakening's terrible story and character don't change that... Anyways, OP specifically said s/he wasn't talking about Telltale-kind of story games and s/he even mentioned Metroid and Zelda. So yes, I guess Fire Emblem does count as a story driven game in this content, as do Xenoblade, Baten Kaitos, Kid Icarus Uprising and some of the Zelda titles.

 

[Astral Dog]

No, all of the games you mentioned are still gameplay driven in a way,Even The Last Story and Xenoblade were changed to focus more on the gameplay, Nintendo does care about story sometimes, but its rarely the focus of their games.

They wont make a western style adventure game, for example.,(Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Last of US)

 

[Nightbird]

Nintendo can Focus on Story-driven Games, however they don't think it would be good to make more Story-driven than Gameplay-driven Games.

I agree to that. There are enough Story-driven Games out there, and it's not like Nintendo does none at all.

 

[wildfire]

I think some people need to clarify what they mean by story driven.

There isn't anything functionally different between Other M and Far Cry but some people will still say Other M isn't story driven.

Bizarre.

 

[woopWOOP]

Despite OP's disclaimer, I'm holding out for one of those Famicom Disk System adventure games to be remade and released internationally. One day, one day...

 

[Astral Dog]

I think some people need to clarify what they mean by story driven.

There isn't anything functionally different between Other M and Far Cry but some people will still say Other M isn't story driven.

Bizarre.

Metroid Other M is story driven, what it think is that doesnt mean Nintendo is changing focus, other Nintendo games rarely try to sell you the story like Other M.

Kid Icarus is another example of an story driven Nintendo game, were the characters are a big part of it.

Some people are saying Zelda is story driven, for example, im not sure, if that is story driven then most of Nintendo games are, but it depends on the person.

But i guess its more of partnerships and genres they are experimenting on, Nintendo does story sometimes, but its rarely the way they want to sell you games, over gameplay.

 

[Super Stardust]

What about fire emblem and xenoblade?

 

[Mory Dunz]

No, all of the games you mentioned are still gameplay driven in a way,Even The Last Story and Xenoblade were changed to focus more on the gameplay, Nintendo does care about story sometimes, but its rarely the focus of their games.

They wont make a western style adventure game, for example.,(Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Last of US)

??
Huh, that happened?

I really like Xenoblade but I'm kinda of waiting for it to end now ha. It's right at the correct limit for length/story of a game for me.

If Last Story and it are the result of story being "taken out", seems like it worked.

 

[Astral Dog]

??
Huh, that happened?

I really like Xenoblade but I'm kinda of waiting for it to end now ha. It's right at the correct limit for length/story of a game for me.

If Last Story and it are the result of story being "taken out", seems like it worked.

Well, it was on interviews, i think on Iwata Asks, Xenoblade story was simplified compared to the previous Xeno games because Iwata/Nintendo said to focus more on the game itself.

Last Story was changed to a more lighter tone, and they mentioned the gameplay and battle system was the main priority.

Both games still are RPGs but were changed so that the "game" part was more important., i think it was for the best too.

 

[Skelter]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

Ha. Bioshock and Last of Us is "art" new?

 

[JoJoSono]

It's honestly why I don't really gravitate to Nintendo games. I mean I bought a WiiU for Bayonetta because I like Japanese character action games, but I'm also a fan of jrpgs and story driven games. No, I'm not saying game stories or great or even trying to get into a gameplay over story debate. What I'm saying is I really enjoy a game when it creates a story, world, and characters that add to the gameplay. i find Nintendo is'nt interested in creating those kind of games and thier games just don't match my taste generally.

But if they want to fund projects and buy developers that do that like they have with Monolith, Bayonetta, Fatal Frame, and other things then thats fine. At least they are trying to diversify thier portfolio.

 

[StevieP]

Nintendo doesn't believe in narrative video games. They rarely dabble in it and usually fail. Even their best stories, like Thousand Year Door and Majora's Mask, are very simple. Very entertaining, but not art like BioShock Last of Us.

Lol. art