We chat about videogames and videogame accessories.

8, which has a shit nonsense story, 11 which is an mmo

People should see for themselves. Personally, I would say that FFVIII is about as close to “Art” as the mainline series ever got (FFX is a close second), and that the story is remarkably good viewed from some angle other than “heroic adventure”. I grant that this is not a terribly popular opinion, but bleh bleh on popular opinions.

FFXI’s MMO-ness doesn’t really count against the story. It does mean you won’t see most of it unless you make the game a huge part of your life*. Or maybe a lot of it’s up on YouTube by now; I haven’t checked. Now, it’s a very grindy MMORPG that has largely failed to get out of its aging, often unfriendly design, but story-wise it’s more like the pacing is hurt (and all the bits of story you get from going around and pestering NPCs is rather like a single-player game).

* “Exploring Vana'diel is a thrilling experience. During your time here, you will be able to talk, join, and adventure with many other individuals in an experience that is unique to online games. That being said, we have no desire to see your real life suffer as a consequence. Don't forget your family, your friends, your school, or your work.”—one of the most ignored messages in gaming history

ALSO, now that I've had time to think I'm gonna go ahead and post my absurd crank theory about video game writing.

Certainly, games have less of what they call auteurism. But then they debate that that’s even a thing in film, so I’m sure it’s debatable in games, too. And with games there’s one big contributor to the story a designer has extremely limited control over: the player.