Games that Weave NG+ into their narrative
- Thread starter Akiba756
- Start date
I was thinking about this but I never finished the second quest. I thought it was cool at the time.
Hell yeah. Recently finished my NG++ run of AC6 and loved how totally different it was, especially in the last chapter! I'd love if From did this with more of their games, but I guess it's owed to the more simplistic mission structure of AC, where they can reuse a lot of stuff and have some room left over for "extra" story developments like this.
The Souls trilogy is literally about repeating unending cycles unless you pick a single specific ending in each game. They absolutely count.
Once you beat an ending in a souls game and enter NG+, the world and story is reset to as if it's your first run through it. None of the games contextualize NG+ into the story or world.
Yes if you choose to link the fire in DS1 and jump into DS3, you're going into the next "cycle" but that's not NG+
Into The Breach.
The storyline, and indeed an integral gameplay mechanic, spins the perfect narrative reason for a new game as you venture into a new timeline to protect them from the same fate.
The storyline, and indeed an integral gameplay mechanic, spins the perfect narrative reason for a new game as you venture into a new timeline to protect them from the same fate.
I wouldn't count it personally, but Bravely Second, for sure.
New Game+ is literally a requirement for beating the game. At a some point in the story, you'll reach an end state, the titular End Layer, where you are unable to progress the story any further, but you'll also unlock New Game +. There's a certain action you're supposed to take in the beginning of NG+ that makes the game deviate from the regular story path, but narratively the normal loop happens hundreds or thousands of times before the player's action makes the characters remember what happened last time and makes the story deviate. If the player fails to do the thing they're supposed to, you're stuck on the normal story path doing a regular New Game+.
Halfway through the game you defeat the big bad, after he has destroyed the world and killed off one of your party members.
Main character goes back in time to the end of Act 1 with all their stats to stop the world-ending incident and reform their party.
This also splits the timeline leading to Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest III
Starfield got a lot wrong in execution, but I would say it take the top spot for +NG as a narrative. Its literally essential to the plot.
No, because the true ending in DD2 is about breaking the cycle. In DD1
you find out Arisen who defeat the dragon face the Seneschal (a sort of god-like being), and if they lose to them they become the next dragon, and if they defeat them they take their place. If you play a NG+ (offline) and get to the Seneschal again, the final boss will be your character from the previous playthrough.
Damn, oh well. I'll see once I finish it up, I know one difference in ng and that seemed so damn cool. Thanks though!
And the first time you beat the game, the Seneschal is the Arisen you play as in the intro sequence, iirc.
Dark souls 2 has changes in Ng plus. Scholar attacks and the spider boss does a thing earlier at least
I have a weird one, which is a recent fan remake of Zelda 2 by Hoverbat. (There was a thread about it earlier in the year.). It has a bunch of great QoL improvements that really elevate the original game, but I really like what it does with the traditional second quest.
Putting it in spoiler tags because I personally think it's one of the coolest things about this remake.
Putting it in spoiler tags because I personally think it's one of the coolest things about this remake.
The plot of the original Zelda 2 says that if Ganon's forces manage to kill Link and mix his blood with Ganon's ashes, Ganon will be resurrected. (This is why the game over screen says "RETURN OF GANON.")
The second quest of this remake starts with the awakened Zelda giving Link an empty bottle. You fight your way back to the Great Palace and once again fight Shadow Link, and when he is defeated you get a cutscene of Link collecting Shadow Link's blood into the bottle. You then take that to a new area called Dragmire that was created for the remake, where you do the ritual to resurrect Ganon using Shadow Link's blood in order to kill him once and for all.
I just think it's a really neat way to work in the original story and the second quest.
The second quest of this remake starts with the awakened Zelda giving Link an empty bottle. You fight your way back to the Great Palace and once again fight Shadow Link, and when he is defeated you get a cutscene of Link collecting Shadow Link's blood into the bottle. You then take that to a new area called Dragmire that was created for the remake, where you do the ritual to resurrect Ganon using Shadow Link's blood in order to kill him once and for all.
I just think it's a really neat way to work in the original story and the second quest.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor is by far one of the best examples of this. After beating the game for the 1st time you immediately start a new game with all of the abilities you earned while still being able to upgrade him and there's a lot of new story elements, altered sections and cutscenes in stages that is a different experience compared to what you did earlier and additional new stages and bosses to go with it later in the game that you didn't have on the 1st playthrough.
Like beating the game once just isn't enough for it as you are literally missing out on a ton of this game if you don't do new game plus as it's integrated into the story and adds a lot more to the story as well. Most new game pluses in games are optional and aren't required along with not having new story elements, bosses and such but for Astro Boy Omega Factor new game plus is 100% required to actually beat the game in full and to see everything in it. Also, this game is fantastic and one of the best games on GBA so I recommend playing it regardless.