You might wonder where the boundary of definition between game premise and actual Story lies. What's the difference between, say, Pacman and Resident Evil? Pacman has a premise: you're a hungry yellow circle trying to avoid being eaten by multicolored ghosts. Resident Evil has a story: you must investigate a sudden outbreak of zombies and determine how to take care of the problem. A premise merely sets up the parameters of the game's action and environment; the rest of the heavy lifting is done by you as you play the game. A story gives information that supplements the action, and builds toward a conclusion; you take an equal part in moving the plot forward, but you don't do all the work yourself.

It does seem that putting Story in games provides the player with more content. At the very least, it provides a context for multiple set pieces and allows for the change of a character's motivations, which in turn paves the way for introducing new gameplay. Consider, if you will, what Final Fantasy VII would be like without a story to guide it. It would be a superficial series of increasingly drawn-out battles with nothing to connect them. There would be no reason to keep going aside from the love of the combat mechanic itself.

With the overarching story, however, the epic nature of the quest for identity is maintained by the party's slow growth from innocence to maturity, from ignorance to wisdom, from weakness to strength. The storyline helps anchor the action and give each battle, no matter how easy, quick, or trite, a purpose. It makes the climactic battle feel worth the journey traveled. Part of what makes this possible is the judicious use of the Cutscene.

The Cutscene, of course, is that element of gameplay where the direct control of the character's actions is taken out of the player's hands, and given over to the Art Director. The player is shown a moment where something important is happening in the storyline, prior to control being relinquished to the player again. Square-Enix has made the Cutscene into something resembling art. They seem to know for the most part which aspects of a story are better played, and which are better shown. However, at times it feels that, while their cutscenes have grown ever more sophisticated and elaborate, developing alongside the technical leaps that the underlying hardware has made possible, the interstitial breaks for story progression have begun to feel a bit de rigeur. It's almost as though the games have become vehicles for the cutscenes, rather than having the cutscenes be the impetus for the next bout of action.