Is there an underlying story / quest that your little guy progresses through as he gets stronger? I always thought that the story component is what helped make

Is there an underlying story / quest that your little guy progresses through as he gets stronger? I always thought that the story component is what helped make those old rpg's great. Obviously it would defeat the purpose if you spent too much time in the game vs. actually getting real life stuff done. But I think there can be a good balance where the "grinding" aspects of the rpg are replaced with productive life activities. I think I would rather fund that development activity than an android front end.