Old-school Video Games with Insane(ly Awesome) Backstories
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 8:19 am
Video game players today take for granted that you'll get all of the story within the game itself. Back in the 80s and early 90s, if the game had any story at all, you'd most likely have to get the backstory from the instruction booklets that came with each game. Again, back before you had a tutorial level designed to walk you through the gameplay.
As a result, many players just ignored any story and went right for the gameplay. But some of these stories were frickin awesome. And might have involved drugs of some kind.
Take the game Hagane, for instance. Hagane is a little known SNES side-scroller. In it, you have two rival Japanese clans that have survived to the modern day; one of ninja, the other of samurai. The samurai clan had somehow got their hands on the Holy Grail and protect it from those that would want to abuse its power. The ninja clan naturally wants to abuse its power, so they attack the samurai and steal the Grail. Using its power with both science and sorcery, the ninja clan create this army of high-tech robots and supernatural monsters, with the plans to launch the Grail into space on a missile to use it as part of a ritual that will allow them to take over the world.
You play as Hagane, the only surviving samurai who stayed alive solely through sheer willpower and determination, long enough for the weapon smiths and scientists of his clan to turn him into a cybernetic samurai so he can go destroy the other samurai clan, retrieve the grail, and save the world.
It's insane, amazing and something I totally plan to rip off at some point for a story idea. Any other video game plots you can thank of that were awesome and would make good RPG fodder?
As a result, many players just ignored any story and went right for the gameplay. But some of these stories were frickin awesome. And might have involved drugs of some kind.
Take the game Hagane, for instance. Hagane is a little known SNES side-scroller. In it, you have two rival Japanese clans that have survived to the modern day; one of ninja, the other of samurai. The samurai clan had somehow got their hands on the Holy Grail and protect it from those that would want to abuse its power. The ninja clan naturally wants to abuse its power, so they attack the samurai and steal the Grail. Using its power with both science and sorcery, the ninja clan create this army of high-tech robots and supernatural monsters, with the plans to launch the Grail into space on a missile to use it as part of a ritual that will allow them to take over the world.
You play as Hagane, the only surviving samurai who stayed alive solely through sheer willpower and determination, long enough for the weapon smiths and scientists of his clan to turn him into a cybernetic samurai so he can go destroy the other samurai clan, retrieve the grail, and save the world.
It's insane, amazing and something I totally plan to rip off at some point for a story idea. Any other video game plots you can thank of that were awesome and would make good RPG fodder?