Is story telling important in games?

I personally feel that the story of the game is what makes me want to keep playing and without a good story you end up relying on game-play but even then you feel disconnected from the game. I have three different games in mind which are very different from each other and all uses story telling in their own unique way those games are Final Fantasy 13, Skyrim and Monster Hunter.

Final Fantasy XIII

This game is very linear and your basically following a story-line and the game-play is very limited and basic. The games main focus point is the story and his is clearly shown wants you start the game. The game itself uses traditional story telling for an example you play as the protagonist who are trying remove a curse before they are frozen into crystal, however there are antagonist trying to stop you. The game is very coherent and this is due to all the little things that make this game coherent for an example the game world, characters, story, music and back history all merge well together and in turn it create a good coherent game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim


The Elder Scrolls series are well known for their massive coherent world and history. All the games are connected and linked with each other through story, history and game world! I personally feel that The Elder Scrolls are successful due to their constant goal to make the player become the character not just the controller. This is done by creating a world which entwines with all The Elder Scrolls games for an example Morrowind refers to oblivion, Skyrim, Daggerfall and ect. Also the game is well known for its choices in game however you have to ultimately follow a storyline but you can choose how you want the game to end (good, bad and neutral). Its good to not have to many choices in a game as it can water down the storyline.

Monster Hunter


Monster hunter uses very little story telling however they draw the player in by creating a well designed and coherent game. When you play Monster Hunter you create the character who you want to be and then you enter this massive world where the history, characters, game-play and the visual style manages to create this believable and coherent world. This proves that a linear storyline is not needed to create a good coherent world!