Gameplay or Story?

[retrolinkx]

What do you feel is better to have in video games, great gameplay or great story telling?

For me, it depends on the genre. A Visual Novel should have a great story but a Beat em up should have great gameplay.

Incidentally, I think a genre that already has an established way to play should always be about the story unless you can mix up the gameplay a bit like Resonance of Fate tried to do.

That's just how I feel about it though.

[RepentantSky]

For me it's story. I can play through a game that has decent, or even bad gameplay if I'm invested enough in the characters. Gameplay is fun, but to me, it matter about as much as graphics, and I really don't care that much about visuals, even if nice graphics are fun to look at from time to time. Kind of a weird way to compare them I guess, but that's more or less how I feel I can best explain it.

[Psychospacecow]

I'll go with Retro on this. I don't care about story in smash bros. I do care about story in Final Fantasy.
I do care about gameplay in Smash Bros. I actually digress a bit because bad gameplay makes a bad game typically.

[Hexadecimal*]

Excluding fighting games, there absolutely has to be some story element to a game or I just don't care. It doesn't matter to me that Minecraft is all about your imagination and creativity; I need a story there as some incentive to play. Just exploring and building the coolest thing isn't enough.

Katamari Damacy is all about game play, which is super fun, but the fact that there's just that touch of story and having the King of all Cosmos blathering on and on made it even better.

Rule of Rose had one of the most broken combat systems I've ever seen, but the messed up "what the hell is happening" story compelled me to keep playing.

Then you have the awesome combo that is Catherine, which has a story that had me transfixed and a pretty darn fun puzzle. Despite the fact I got frustrated on the harder ones, it was dying to know what would happen next that made me unable to put down the game.

[CosmykTheDolfyn]

I don't mind story that much, just really solid gameplay. I'm not a big fan of really complex storylines. I mean, if I take a break from a game for two or three weeks and then come back to it, I don't wish to be completely lost. A simpler game is easier to get back to.
That being said, a good story definitely improve a game. That's part of the reason I loved Phantasy Star VI so much. It's story was engaging without being too convoluted, and the gameplay was still great.

[Psychospacecow]

A game series did the story terribly would be Kingdom Hearts. You need 5 different consoles just to scratch the surface of understanding that game.

[Zaliphone]

They both have their merits, and depending on the genre one can be more important than the other. Like what's already been said, a good visual novel would have a good story. On the other hand, I couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to story in a fighting game. I would almost always put gameplay above story.

Almost.

A game series did the story terribly would be Kingdom Hearts. You need 5 different consoles just to scratch the surface of understanding that game.

I completely disagree. Just because the games are across many platforms doesn't mean it's a poor story-teller. It does have a confusing story and despite my attempts to learn it, I really don't know much. I wouldn't say the story is bad, though, just the fact that I went out of my way, and sometimes still do, just to learn a bit more really shows how much the story sucked me in.

[GameWizard001]

They both have their merits, and depending on the genre one can be more important than the other. Like what's already been said, a good visual novel would have a good story. On the other hand, I couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to story in a fighting game. I would almost always put gameplay above story.

Almost.

A game series did the story terribly would be Kingdom Hearts. You need 5 different consoles just to scratch the surface of understanding that game.

I completely disagree. Just because the games are across many platforms doesn't mean it's a poor story-teller. It does have a confusing story and despite my attempts to learn it, I really don't know much. I wouldn't say the story is bad, though, just the fact that I went out of my way, and sometimes still do, just to learn a bit more really shows how much the story sucked me in.

Plus Square is rectifying that thought with the HD remixes that release not only the HD upgrade of the Final Mixes which were only in Japan, but they are releasing all the relevant KH games that were on other consoles. They did that before with the Chain of Memories port and now that is on the first HD Remix with Remix 2 on its way with KH III finally being worked on.

As to gameplay over story, I'm more of a story person. Hex mentioned Rule of Rose's broken combat system but fantastic story that kept you going despite that. Same thing with the first Resident Evil games (2 being my favorite). They had those clunky tank controls, poor aiming with weapons and running away was a mess. But wanting to know just what the fuck happened in the mansion or the town and how you plan to get out in one piece is what draws you in.

Same thing with FF or any RPG. I've played tons of turn-based RPGs which don't offer too much in the way of creative gameplay for the most part, but the story with them is what keeps me going.

Although I liked The Legend of the Dragoon's combat with attacks where you had to line up these squares just right to maximize your damage. Plus there was one boss fight that would counter your attacks if you failed to time it which made it that much more intense when I first played it.

So yeah, story for me but cool gameplay doesn't always hurt. Best example of both in my mind would be Okami. Great combat system and the Celestial Brush mechanics topped with a really awesome story made it a great game.

[G-Haven]

Game-play, easily.

I recently played and beat Deadly Premonition not long ago. Despite how fun/goofy the plot and characters could be, the actual "gameplay" sections were by far some of the worst I've had to go through and made me not want to just stop a few times because how bored I got during some of them.

[RepentantSky]

A game series did the story terribly would be Kingdom Hearts. You need 5 different consoles just to scratch the surface of understanding that game.

Youtube is a thing. You can spend 30 minutes just watching a video explaining them, or you can buy the HD remakes, because they'll give you anything and everything you need to know minus what's in Dream Drop Distance, but that be explained in a few simple sentences. 

[Psychospacecow]

I just think it wasn't handled well by Square Enix to the point that hd remakes were necessary. I know how the story goes but I shouldn't have to look it up after playing the games to understand it.

[RepentantSky]

You had to look it up after playing the games? How's that work? The story may be detailed, but it isn't hard to understand.

[TheTrueBoss997]

I look for a great story, without one it feels like I'm not living the game I'm just simply playing it. Games like Persona and Zero Escape acknowledge your character and with the decisions you make you start to take on another role. With great storytelling you become the main character instead of controlling the character. You become more invested in the game and you want to see it to the end. On rare occasions I'll play a game for it's gameplay rather than it's story.