History Main / KudzuPlot

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', the [[CreatorDrivenSuccessor predeccessor]] to ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', is tied up in several ongoing plot strands at once with multiple factions and backstories that need to be understood in order to keep straight the current conflicts. Part of this complication is due to the fact there is a large importance on certain [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] (particularly "That Man", one of the individuals responsible for the creation of the living weapons known as "Gears"), which can be hard to track in a fighting game where the focus would normally be placed on key playable characters each with their own agendas and goals. The main plot is arguably simple enough (mankind created Gears as the next step in human evolution > the Gears TurnedAgainstTheirMasters and began [[GreatOffscreenWar the nearly century-long Crusades]] > humanity tries to recover as the protagonist attempts to track down That Man while dealing with both a post-war GovernmentConspiracy and his own dark past as [[spoiler:another contributor to the Gear Project]]), though even that can get bogged down as each new game [[{{Revision}} adds more details and context to the overarching story]]. ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear2Overture'' is infamous for a MagiBabble-heavy narrative that seems to be only tangentially related to what's shown in ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearTheMissingLink GG1]]'', ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearX X]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXX XX]]''[[labelnote:*]]which can be boiled down to "[[NotJustATournament a plot]] to [[SealedEvilInACan unseal]] the leader of the Gears", "the daughter of the Gear leader is discovered, inciting an international incident", and "That Man's [[TheDragon Dragon]] tries to hijack the GovernmentConspiracy to eliminate perceived threats to her master", respectively[[/labelnote]], whereas ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXrd Xrd]]'' took these same elements and [[ArcWelding welded them together with the events of the previous games]] while adding even more revelations to the pile (several of which [[SeriesContinuityError contradicted]], [[BroadStrokes skimmed over]], or [[CanonDiscontinuity outright ignored]] previously established plot points, mainly those from ''XX'' and ''Accent Core Plus'' but some {{retcons}} even going as far back as the ''[=GG1=]'' and ''GGX'' era). This put anyone who was introduced to the series [[NewbieBoom via]] ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive -STRIVE-]]'' in [[ContinuityLockout a bit of a predicament]], as that game assumes you're generally up to speed with what happened in the ''Xrd'' saga[[labelnote:*]]''-SIGN-'', ''-REVELATOR-'', and ''REV 2''[[/labelnote]], which in turn had its fair share of [[LateArrivalSpoiler Late-Arrival Spoilers]] (including those for an interquel pachinko title[[labelnote:*]]''Vastedge XT''[[/labelnote]] many players were not aware of). Much like ''[=BlazBlue=]'', ''Xrd'' and ''-STRIVE-'' do at least feature rather comprehensive glossary entries on pretty much every notable character and concept within the setting.

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', the [[CreatorDrivenSuccessor predeccessor]] to ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', is tied up in several ongoing plot strands at once with multiple factions and backstories that need to be understood in order to keep straight the current conflicts. Part of this complication is due to the fact there is a large importance on certain [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] (particularly "That Man", one of the individuals responsible for the creation of the living weapons known as "Gears"), which can be hard to track in a fighting game where the focus would normally be placed on key playable characters each with their own agendas and goals. The main plot is arguably simple enough (mankind created Gears as the next step in human evolution > the Gears TurnedAgainstTheirMasters and began [[GreatOffscreenWar the nearly century-long Crusades]] > humanity tries to recover as the protagonist attempts to track down That Man while dealing with both a post-war GovernmentConspiracy and his own dark past as [[spoiler:another contributor to the Gear Project]]), though even that can get bogged down as each new game [[{{Revision}} adds more details and context to the overarching story]]. ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear2Overture'' is infamous for a MagiBabble-heavy narrative that seems to be only tangentially related to what's shown in ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearTheMissingLink GG1]]'', ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearX X]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXX XX]]''[[labelnote:*]]which can be boiled down to "[[NotJustATournament a plot]] to [[SealedEvilInACan unseal]] the leader of the Gears", "the daughter of the Gear leader is discovered, inciting an international incident", and "That Man's [[TheDragon Dragon]] tries to hijack the GovernmentConspiracy to eliminate perceived threats to her master", respectively[[/labelnote]], whereas ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXrd Xrd]]'' took these same elements and [[ArcWelding welded them together with the events of the previous games]] while adding even more revelations to the pile (some of which outright [[SeriesContinuityError contradicted]]/[[CanonDiscontinuity ignored]] previously established plot points, mainly those from ''XX'' and ''Accent Core Plus'' but some {{retcons}} even going as far back as the ''[=GG1=]'' and ''GGX'' era). This put anyone who was introduced to the series [[NewbieBoom via]] ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive -STRIVE-]]'' in [[ContinuityLockout a bit of a predicament]], as that game assumes you're generally up to speed with what happened in the ''Xrd'' saga[[labelnote:*]]''-SIGN-'', ''-REVELATOR-'', and ''REV 2''[[/labelnote]], which in turn had its fair share of [[LateArrivalSpoiler Late-Arrival Spoilers]] (including those for an interquel pachinko title[[labelnote:*]]''Vastedge XT''[[/labelnote]] many players were not aware of). Much like ''[=BlazBlue=]'', ''Xrd'' and ''-STRIVE-'' do at least feature rather comprehensive glossary entries on pretty much every notable character and concept within the setting.

** ''Revengeance'', by virtue of being greatly distanced from the Snake([[LegacyCharacter s]])-centric MythArc of its predecessors, arguably manages to sidestep this issue completely. There are {{Continuity Nod}}s to previous events, mentions of Raiden's backstory that play a role in his actions over the course of the game, and one character from previous titles (Sunny from ''[=MGS4=]'') who appears late in the story (and in turn provides some insight about the current status of another character, [[spoiler:her adoptive father]] Otacon), but these details are largely glossed over, often relegated to Codec calls, and can be mostly ignored without consequence. As such, it's very common for people who never played any of the other games to jump right into ''Revengeance'' with little issue. Had the original plan for the game, an interquel between ''[=MGS2=]'' and ''[=MGS4=]'' titled ''Metal Gear Solid: Rising'', not been scrapped due to development difficulties, however, this might have been a different story.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 its]] [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII sequels]] also suffer from this pretty badly. The narrative starts simple (a rebellion against an oppressive government), but quickly introduces a lot of story elements that have complicated names. These elements end up poorly explained, [[LostInMediasRes aren't always given in chronological order]], and come with a labyrinthine backstory that's not even explained ''in'' the story itself, but in text files many players may not have even bothered reading. The characters all have histories that they hide from other characters and the audience for much of the series, only for these backstories to verve into unnecessary twists. The characters also state they are going to do something... and often end up doing the opposite. For instance, [[spoiler:they resolve to save Orphan only to decide to kill him mid-battle at the end of ''XIII'']]. Then ''XIII-2'' adds in {{time skip}}s, TimeTravel, and time paradoxes, culminating in [[spoiler:a [[DiabolusExMachina last-minute]] TimeCrash that sets up ''Lightning Returns'' and the eponymous protagonist's quest to save what's left of humanity by this point]]. The overarching plot becomes difficult to follow unless you boil it down to its simplest element: the story of the ''XIII'' trilogy is about humanity's fight against their oppressors, including [[GodIsEvil the gods]][[labelnote:*]]save [[BigGood one]] ([[DarkIsNotEvil Etro, the Goddess of Death]]) -- and even [[GodIsInept she]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero makes a mess of things]] in her attempts to [[DivineAssistance help the heroes]] from beyond the mortal realm[[/labelnote]] and '''''[[ScrewDestiny fate itself]]''''', and ends with [[spoiler:mankind being reborn on a new world that lacks magic. [[EarthAllAlong A world that resembles the real world]]]]. This ultimate goal isn't made clear into the very last moments of the trilogy [[spoiler:where we see Lightning reborn in a humble countryside that looks like any mundane farmland out of our world]]. The amount of time it took to get to this end goal, along with how dense (and oftentimes contradictory) the lore is to many (first-time) players, factored into the "Lightning Saga" becoming one of the more {{contested|Sequel}} parts of the franchise.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 its]] [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII sequels]] also suffer from this pretty badly. The narrative starts simple (a rebellion against an oppressive government), but quickly introduces a lot of story elements that have complicated names. These elements end up poorly explained, [[LostInMediasRes aren't always given in chronological order]], and come with a labyrinthine backstory that's not even explained ''in'' the story itself, but in text files many players may not have even bothered reading. The characters all have histories that they hide from other characters and the audience for much of the series, only for these backstories to verve into unnecessary twists. The characters also state they are going to do something... and often end up doing the opposite. For instance, [[spoiler:they resolve to save Orphan only to decide to kill him mid-battle at the end of ''XIII'']]. Then ''XIII-2'' adds in {{time skip}}s, TimeTravel, and time paradoxes, culminating in [[spoiler:a [[DiabolusExMachina last-minute]] TimeCrash that sets up ''Lightning Returns'' and the eponymous protagonist's quest to save what's left of humanity by this point]]. The overarching plot becomes difficult to follow unless you boil it down to its simplest element: the story of the ''XIII'' trilogy is about humanity's fight against their oppressors, including [[GodIsEvil the gods]][[labelnote:*]]save [[BigGood one]] -- and even she [[NiceJobBreakingItHero makes a mess of things]] in her attempts to [[DivineAssistance help the heroes]] from beyond the mortal realm[[/labelnote]] and '''''[[ScrewDestiny fate itself]]''''', and ends with [[spoiler:mankind being reborn on a new world that lacks magic. [[EarthAllAlong A world that resembles the real world]]]]. This ultimate goal isn't made clear into the very last moments of the trilogy [[spoiler:where we see Lightning reborn in a humble countryside that looks like any mundane farmland out of our world]]. The amount of time it took to get to this end goal, along with how dense (and oftentimes contradictory) the lore is to many (first-time) players, factored into the "Lightning Saga" becoming one of the more {{contested|Sequel}} parts of the franchise.

** VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII and its sequels also suffers from this pretty badly. The series starts simple as a rebellion against an oppressive government, but it then introduces a lot of common story elements that have complicated names. These story elements end up poorly explained and come with mushroom trip of a backstory that's explained in boring text files. The characters all have histories that they hide from other characters and the audience for much of the series, only to resolve into unnecessary twists. The characters also state they are going to do something and end up doing the opposite. [[spoiler:For instance, they resolve to save Orphan only to decide to kill him mid battle at the end of the first game.]] Then the story adds in timeskips, time travel, and time paradoxes in the second game. It becomes difficult to follow unless you boil it down to its simplest element: [[spoiler:the story is about humanity's fight against their oppressors, including the gods and '''''fate itself,''''' and being reborn on a new world that lacks magic. A world that resembles our real world.]] This ultimate goal isn't made clear into the very last moments of the trilogy [[spoiler:where we see Lightning reborn in a humble countryside that looks like any mundane farmland out of our real world.]] Due to the amount of time it takes to get there, [=FF13=] and its sequels ended up poorly received due to people being completely unable to follow the plot.

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', the [[CreatorDrivenSuccessor predeccessor]] to ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', is tied up in several ongoing plot strands at once with multiple factions and backstories that need to be understood in order to keep straight the current conflicts. Part of this complication is due to the fact there is a large importance on certain [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] (particularly "That Man", one of the individuals responsible for the creation of the living weapons known as "Gears"), which can be hard to track in a fighting game where the focus would normally be placed on key playable characters each with their own agendas and goals. The main plot is arguably simple enough (mankind created Gears as the next step in human evolution > the Gears TurnedAgainstTheirMasters and began [[GreatOffscreenWar the nearly century-long Crusades]] > humanity tries to recover as the protagonist attempts to track down That Man while dealing with both a post-war GovernmentConspiracy and his own dark past as [[spoiler:another contributor to the Gear Project]]), though even that can get bogged down as each new game [[{{Revision}} adds more details and context to the overarching story]]. ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear2Overture'' is infamous for a MagiBabble-heavy narrative that seems to be only tangentially related to what's shown in ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearTheMissingLink GG1]]'', ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearX X]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXX XX]]''[[labelnote:*]]which can be boiled down to "[[NotJustATournament a plot]] to [[SealedEvilInACan unseal]] the leader of the Gears", "the daughter of the Gear leader is discovered, inciting an international incident", and "That Man's [[TheDragon Dragon]] tries to hijack the GovernmentConspiracy to eliminate perceived threats to her master", respectively[[/labelnote]], whereas ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXrd Xrd]]'' took these same elements and [[ArcWelding welded them together with the events of the previous games]] while adding even more revelations to the pile. This put anyone who was introduced to the series [[NewbieBoom via]] ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive -STRIVE-]]'' in [[ContinuityLockout a bit of a predicament]], as that game assumes you're generally up to speed with what happened in the ''Xrd'' saga[[labelnote:*]]''-SIGN-'', ''-REVELATOR-'', and ''REV 2''[[/labelnote]], which in turn had its fair share of [[LateArrivalSpoiler Late-Arrival Spoilers]] (including those for an interquel pachinko title[[labelnote:*]]''Vastedge XT''[[/labelnote]] many players were not aware of). Much like ''[=BlazBlue=]'', ''Xrd'' and ''-STRIVE-'' do at least feature rather comprehensive glossary entries on pretty much every notable character and concept within the setting.