Lord Byron's poems aren't videogames with a few words sprinkled here and there. They're poems, creations of word and sound and nothing else. Of course the writing is an important element in a poem -- it's all there is!
Is there prose, poetry, or dialog in a Mario game that would be worth looking at on its own merits? I always thought one of the main characteristics of the mario games was its focus on simple storytelling with often a total lack of writing. The metal gear solid games, from what I've heard, involve scripts comparable to a really long and wordy movie. And I'm pretty sure what people are doing in this thread is looking at the writing independent from the games, and judging it on its own merits.
Anyway, I'm sorry -- I had to speak up. That comparison seems a little ridiculous.
I can't join in the pile-on about the writing in Metal Gear Solid because I've basically never played a Metal Gear game. I'm glad the first one just showed up on PSN, though. Maybe I'll start from the beginning... wish me luck :)
