Storytelling Train Wrecks

[Meg]

Ok so what are some stories be it in a movie, book, show, game, greeting card that made you want to claw your eyes out?

Mine:

Final F*cking Fantasy XIII

That was the biggest train wreck of a story I have ever seen. If you are one of the few people that could understand what was happening as you were playing the game; congratulations you work for Square Enix. I mean really, Fal'cie, l'cie. What. The. Hell. Just call them demi-gods and slaves or something. PLEASE! I find it amazing that made up words that meant nothing to me were able to mean even less by the time the game was over just because they were said like every other word. And this was no short game either. No we're talking 50-60 hours of "PULSE L'CIE! COCOON FAL'CIE! PULSE FAL'CIE! COCOON L'CIE!" Shut up!

Which brings us to the next and more serious issue. Please note that I am saying this as an unbiased writer analyzing a piece of sh*t. Not as a fangirl.

You don't switch protagonists 2/3 of the way through. If you are going to introduce a new character that late, then fine. So long as it isn't the freaking protagonist! While playing the game we were led to believe that Lightning was the main character and hero of the story. Then all of a sudden Fang shows up and its all about her and she saves the world. Never mind the fact she had no real character development, or any real character to begin with. Even worse is that the game kept trying to act like Lightning was still the lead even though it was clear she wasn't. Hell, they practically shoved it down our throats at times. But wait! It was really all about Fang. No. Just no. That is terrible story telling.

The thing that pains me the most is how easy it would have been to fix it. Either have the focus be on Fang right from the start, and just have Lightning as another supporting character like Hope and Sazh, or have Lightning be the main character. That's all they had to do. Pathetic.

-Rant over-

So what are yours? XD

 

[aka958]

Ok so what are some stories be it in a movie, book, show, game, greeting card that made you want to claw your eyes out?

Mine:

Final F*cking Fantasy XIII

That was the biggest train wreck of a story I have ever seen. If you are one of the few people that could understand what was happening as you were playing the game; congratulations you work for Square Enix. I mean really, Fal'cie, l'cie. What. The. Hell. Just call them demi-gods and slaves or something. PLEASE! I find it amazing that made up words that meant nothing to me were able to mean even less by the time the game was over just because they were said like every other word. And this was no short game either. No we're talking 50-60 hours of "PULSE L'CIE! COCOON FAL'CIE! PULSE FAL'CIE! COCOON L'CIE!" Shut up!

Which brings us to the next and more serious issue. Please note that I am saying this as an unbiased writer analyzing a piece of sh*t. Not as a fangirl.

You don't switch protagonists 2/3 of the way through. If you are going to introduce a new character that late, then fine. So long as it isn't the freaking protagonist! While playing the game we were led to believe that Lightning was the main character and hero of the story. Then all of a sudden Fang shows up and its all about her and she saves the world. Never mind the fact she had no real character development, or any real character to begin with. Even worse is that the game kept trying to act like Lightning was still the lead even though it was clear she wasn't. Hell, they practically shoved it down our throats at times. But wait! It was really all about Fang. No. Just no. That is terrible story telling.

The thing that pains me the most is how easy it would have been to fix it. Either have the focus be on Fang right from the start, and just have Lightning as another supporting character like Hope and Sazh, or have Lightning be the main character. That's all they had to do. Pathetic.

-Rant over-

So what are yours? XD

I disagree with most of your statements.

Storytelling train wrecks? Twilight? :huh:

 

[Meg]

I disagree with most of your statements.

Storytelling train wrecks? Twilight? :huh:

You don't know good storytelling.

Except your Twilight comment. :lol:

 

[aka958]

You don't know good storytelling.

Except your Twilight comment. :lol:

Surely that is a strong accusation. Your words are nothing but opinion though so...

 

[Meg]

Surely that is a strong accusation. Your words are nothing but opinion though so...

What I said about FFXIII is all true. Haven't you read How to Tell a Good Story by Fredrick Doodad? It explains it all in there.

 

[Angelo Credo]

I disagree with most of your statements.

Gonna back that up with reasoning or just gonna leave it like that?

---

Fang irritated the ever loving hell out of me, especially considering how she was introduced as the focal point of the story so late on, I swear, in recent years Squeenix have really lost their touch with storytelling and character design.
There's a damn good reason I view FFXIII as the worst Final Fantasy to date, the absolutely **** poor, haphazard storyline and character development being the biggest reasons.

I'd almost equate the chaos of that game's story to a child, alone in a white room with a white bed, white sheets, white curtains and several opened tins of every primary coloured paint at the child's disposal.
It was a mess, it was everywhere, it was like they weren't even trying to craft a story even half way to functional.

*Hops off soapbox*

Anyway, storytelling train wrecks...Gonna have to go with the X series of games, it basically boils down to "Here are some aliens who kill people, kick their collective, hive mind asses." And it even gets THAT wrong!

It doesn't help that they probably paid £10 for computer simulated voice software to fill in the roll of voice actors, and the missions, dear god, they're filled with more bugs than a cheap hooker.
It's all so flow breaking that you can never really get absorbed into the main story of the game, it literally is a train wreck, but hey, to its credit, you're perfectly able to buy a fleet of ships, build an empire and make your own story to make up for it.

---

EDIT:

Surely that is a strong accusation. Your words are nothing but opinion though so...

Every review is subjective personal opinion, that doesn't mean that any individual's view on anything is worthless just because you dismiss it as "simple opinion", and considering such a massive percentage of the old school Final Fantasy fans believe the same thing, I'd say that Meg's synopsis is pretty much on the money.

 

[Meg]

^ The sad part being I didn't say everything I could of about the story/characters.

 

[aka958]

What I said about FFXIII is all true. Haven't you read How to Tell a Good Story by Fredrick Doodad? It explains it all in there.

In his opinion.

Seriously, I like the story. Thus all your opinions on the story as facts is invalid. If it was a fact all would agree on it then it is a fact but this is a matter of opinion and not facts.

Gonna back that up with reasoning or just gonna leave it like that?

Well... No I won't go further. I just say I'm disagreeing. I'm not trying to convince people otherwise, I'm just saying that I like it. I need no defense for saying that, or do I?

Every review is subjective personal opinion, that doesn't mean that any individual's view on anything is worthless just because you dismiss it as "simple opinion", and considering such a massive percentage of the old school Final Fantasy fans believe the same thing, I'd say that Meg's synopsis is pretty much on the money.

Whethever or not other people didn't like it I don't care. Old school Final Fantasy has just has their opinion as well. I dismiss it as just a small opinion because that is what it is to me.

Seriously, all I said was that I disagreed and that I think I like it. Her synopsis might be right on the money for many but not to me. Now why do you two think I'm starting to look for trouble?

 

[Angelo Credo]

Well... No I won't go further. I just say I'm disagreeing. I'm not trying to convince people otherwise, I'm just saying that I like it. I need no defense for saying that, or do I?

It would be nice to give reasoning before discrediting someone's entire post in a rather blanketed way, y'know, that's how discussion works and everything.

 

[aka958]

It would be nice to give reasoning before discrediting someone's entire post in a rather blanketed way, y'know, that's how discussion works and everything.

...

I liked the story. Discussing about it just feels not important. That is why I said "I disagree" to begin with. Should I've just said "Well I like the story" instead?

 

[Meg]

...

I liked the story. Discussing about it just feels not important. That is why I said "I disagree" to begin with. Should I've just said "Well I like the story" instead?

Well since this is a forum and discussions are the point, its good to say why you feel a certain way. :3

 

[aka958]

Well since this is a forum and discussions are the point, its good to say why you feel a certain way. :3

...
The times I've done that I've always somehow offended someone and gosh it ends up with me getting warned. That's why I just said this and BAM! I ****ing offended someone!

Gee... completely ignoring is the only alternative after all. Stating my opinion on the subject is wrong since I'll just p*ss people off when I just said I liked it. <.<

 

[Richtofen]

@Meg-I tried playing FFXIII but it didn't really have that "oomph" there for me in the story, as you have been so kind to explain. It was all over the place. ._. I know this sounds biased but ever since I played FFVII (since it was the first FF game I've ever played) I've been a sucker for great storylines since. When a game doesn't have a fetching storyline, I usually stop playing it as a whole and forget about. XD

 

[moseslmpg]

Bayonetta. They really should have just left the story out of that train wreck. I constantly basically shouted at the screen, asking why it didn't make sense.

AKA: Don't take the position of martyr, please. It is so unflattering. Just because you life the story doesn't mean it is good in terms of composition. Some people like Bayonetta (the character), or FF (the series), etc. There's no accounting for taste.

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

Bayonetta is one of those games that makes fun of itself, so I don't think it's story is very important. And it makes sense if you think about it.

 

[The crazy demon]

Lost.

Nuff said

 

[aka958]

Bayonetta. They really should have just left the story out of that train wreck. I constantly basically shouted at the screen, asking why it didn't make sense.

AKA: Don't take the position of martyr, please. It is so unflattering. Just because you life the story doesn't mean it is good in terms of composition. Some people like Bayonetta (the character), or FF (the series), etc. There's no accounting for taste.

Don't take the position of assaulting. It's pretty sick. I'm not trying to do something fancy here, I have not said it's good in composition or something like that. Dude, I haven't been offensive towards others opinion as well, all I've been is defensive.

Read my posts again, since you didn't really get my point through. Or did you skip through it all?

 

[SpawnShooter]

I know lots of people enjoyed ff12, but i just didn't enjoy the story, personally i found it a bit all over the place it would constantly switch main characters as the story progressed(similar to what Meg was saying in 13)but because of this i never realy got a solid clear cut perspective of the events that were occurring throughout and for the characters that had been developing i often never even saw there opinion on the current event as they were enthusiasing on a new characters development too much and constantly kept pushing the characters they had focused on back so they could introduce someone new, i know im prob looking at it a bit too harshly but i was burned BAD by 10-2 and 11! so expected too much from it im boring and need a stereotypical clear cut hero )

oh and changing characters reminds me of another series *cough* cell saga onwards *cough* and if thats not enough proof look at GT :/what happened to Tien,Yamacha and the rest? they replaced them with saiyans! and we originally only had one! then by the end of Z we technically had 6(granted they were half or quarter) they even got rid of Piccolo!

 

[aka958]

I know lots of people enjoyed ff12, but i just didn't enjoy the story, personally i found it a bit all over the place it would constantly switch main characters as the story progressed(similar to what Meg was saying in 13)but because of this i never realy got a solid clear cut perspective of the events that were occurring throughout and for the characters that had been developing i often never even saw there opinion on the current event as they were enthusiasing on a new characters development too much and constantly kept pushing the characters they had focused on back so they could introduce someone new, i know im prob looking at it a bit too harshly but i was burned BAD by 10-2 and 11! so expected too much from it im boring and need a stereotypical clear cut hero )

oh and changing characters reminds me of another series *cough* cell saga onwards *cough* and if thats not enough proof look at GT :/what happened to Tien,Yamacha and the rest? they replaced them with saiyans! and we originally only had one! then by the end of Z we technically had 6(granted they were half or quarter) they even got rid of Piccolo!

I know alot of Final Fantasy XII. I can help you make things clearer. :3

 

[Chaos Raiden]

Hmm, so far, I would say games and movies that have storyline wrecks would be:

Games

Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Final Fantasy XII
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Devil May Cry 4

Movies

Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolution
Twilight
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince