If we're limiting this to Playstation games (and I'll exclude PC ports while I'm at it), anyone who rates either FF7 or MGS4's storyline above a game such as SotC keeps a kick in the teeth and then they need to read a few books to get a grasp on what good storytelling involves.
Less is more. Kojima will never understand that when it comes to writing. The man has some great ideas (some lousy ones, too) and some of his scenes are breathtaking but he manages to bog everything down with repetitive dialogue, overly complex narrative, and downright cheesy moments.
FF7 just sucked, period. At one point, I just kept battling the weapons to watch my annoying characters die over and over again. The best part was that by doing this, I was spared the agony of listening/watching any of them mope around and cry over whatever manufactured problem they were suffering through at the time.
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