The Power of a Good Story
Hello Dear Readers!
A couple of weeks back I went on a desperate rampage to play Breath of Fire III. This is probably one of my favorite video games of all time… not because of its amazing graphics or cutting-edge technology. No. This was a game back in the days of Play Station. Like, PlayStation ONE. I love this game because of the storyline.
I find myself reminiscing more and more for my old PS One games. It kind of comes and goes in waves. Maybe it means I’m getting old??? I dunno. Anyway. I feel like a lot of the older games had to really rely very heavily on storyline because the graphics were of course terrible. You couldn’t just wow your audience into playing because the graphics and the cut scenes and the fight mechanics were just not awesome. I played a lot of RPGs and a lot of adventure block puzzle games. (Original Tomb Raider and Soul Reaver anyone?)
Anyway. I have my old PS2, which is supposed to be backwards compatible, I couldn’t get it play my PSOne games on the TV. I imported the Breath of Fire III for the PSP back when those were a thing, but I couldn’t find my charging cable and the battery had become all weird and puffy and distended. So I took to the internet and bought a refurbished PSOne and some new cables for my PSP as backup. I still haven’t been able to get it to play through the PSOne, but I suspect it’s because the graphics are SO bad that our T.V. can’t/won’t recognize them. Some Google sleuthing has potentially confirmed my suspicions, so I’m now waiting on an RCA -> HDMI converter.
“But Why?” you might ask, “Why go through all this trouble just to play some stupid old game from the 90s” Well, readers, I asked myself that same question. And it got me thinking. As I said a bit ago I really love the storyline from Breath of Fire III.
Stories can come in all different forms. They can be books, movies, T.V. shows, audio books, songs, theatre, and dare I say… video games? Stories can come in all shapes and sizes. They don’t have to be just a book or an audio book. There was some discussion back when the game Okami came out if video games could be considered artwork, and I would argue that yes, they can. I think this falls into that same sort of philosophical discussion thread to some degree.
The downside is that I can’t just pluck the book off my shelf and cozy up and read it. I do need a game console and a T.V. and all that to experience my favorite story. However, if you’ve played video games before, you know that experiencing a story through gaming can be a bit more of an immersive experience. I know the soundtrack by heart, I know the sound effects (Any legend of Zelda fans? If I say think about Link swinging his sword and going “Hyaa!” You’ll be able to hear in your head exactly what I’m talking about. And the exact “hyaa” will depend on which LOZ you spent the most time with.”) I know the stress of having to fight the bosses and hope I don’t die and have to go back to the last save point.
I love the BOF III story so much, I went to what some might consider extreme lengths to experience that story again. But that’s what good stories do… they move us, and we want to go back to them again and again. You can get something new out of a really good story every time you read it. I saw some clip on the internet somewhere that talked about re-reading books. One person was comparing it to having the same lasagna dinner all the time, but the other person made the counterargument that you’re different each time you go back to re-read the book. You’ve changed a little between readings, and so each time you maybe get something a bit different out of it, or you relate to a character you may never have related to before. Good stories move us. They make us feel. They help us escape reality. We get outside ourselves for a while.
For those that have never played it, the quick and dirty version is that once there were dragons (called the Brood), and their might was so great they shook the world. But then, fearing their might, god declared war on the dragons. There were powerful warriors called guardians who went out to fight the Brood. As the story goes on, we learn that the dragons refused to fight back because they did not want to destroy the world, and so they all died, slaughtered by the guardians. As the main character, you’re one of the very last Brood alive. You wake up as a tiny dragon, born in a mine from the concentrated energy of long dead dragons. You know nothing about yourself or the history of the dragons. As you travel the world, seeking to learn more about the now-extinct dragons, you encounter a guardian. He tells you the truth about the dragon war. He feels great remorse for killing all those dragons, none of whom fought back, and he asks that you help him cross the sea to go meet his god and ask why the Brood had to die.
This ticks so many of my favorite trope boxes, and dragons are probably one of my most favorite things ever when it comes to fantasy. Dragons, independent run-away princesses who befriend dragons, ancient gods, lost tech, epic adventure, and even a fishing mini-game, haha! The intro of the game shows two miners discussing the long-dead dragons as they prepare to kill the little baby dragon found in the mine. At the end of the intro, it says “This story is dedicated to the dragons.” Just, POW– gets me right in the feels every time.
Even though I’ve played this game through many times, the story is so sweet and so sad, and for whatever reason something in it plucks at my heartstrings in such a way that I feel the need to come back to it again and again. That is the power of a good story. They always draw us back again. They hang out in our brain. We think about them, we think about the characters and their journey and their trials and victories all along the way, the lessons they learn, the obstacles they overcome.
Anyway, that’s what’s been on my mind lately: all the different forms a story can take, and how the good ones always keep us coming back.
Till next time dear readers, don’t be afraid to go back and visit some of your old favorites. The stories might be a bit different than you remember. Or maybe you’re just reading with new perspectives and wiser eyes. Bye for now! <3 Tiff
