Support NeoGAF

[Tschumi]

The cinematic has been a key component of video game charm for decades.

Whether it be the raft of cinematics that brewed up so much fan activism in the buildup to the current generation of consoles; the live action cutscenes of games like Fleet Commander, Jedi Knight Dark Forces, Tiberian Sun and the like; or those in the style embraced and refined by Blizzard; or indeed in the inadvertent - the Killzone 2 teaser for PS3 which shaped the way the final game would look, say - cutscenes are part of our collective passion.

Let's recognize them. Let's point out the most influential of the bunch.

Influential? Which cinematics caught the imagination of the nascent game developers who are building our hobby today? Which cinematics caused boardrooms to say "dat one, please"? Which cinematics helped shape your taste in games, and expectations?

--------

It's up to you guys to populate this list, but for starters I'll just give mine - without a doubt for me it's Warcraft 3's teaser trailer/opening cinematic. It wasn't the first, but it was the first to be so damn good looking - to my eyes. It captured my imagination, and kept it locked for the three or four months it took me to figure out how cracks worked and run the .exe. The entire suite of cinematics in this game - Arthas killing his dad comes to mind - was mind-blowing and, I believe, hugely influential on later iterations by other developers.

 

[laynelane]

The opening cutscene for Final Fantasy VIII made quite an impression on me back in the day.




Of course, Square and other companies would go on to make much more grandiose cutscenes but I had never seen anything like it at the time.

 

[kyliethicc]

 

[The Cockatrice]

It's what probably started the serious zombie game craze at that time where we kept getting zombie games one after another.

 

[Soulja]

 

[GuinGuin]

Most influential? Ico has to be up there. Every would be indie auteur wanted to make their own version of Ico.

 

[martino]

The opening cutscene for Final Fantasy VIII made quite an impression on me back in the day.




Of course, Square and other companies would go on to make much more grandiose cutscenes but I had never seen anything like it at the time.

everything ff until pps3/360 gen did for me.

 

[Plantoid]

World of warcraft, YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!!!!!!

 

[laynelane]

everything ff until pps3/360 gen did for me.

Agreed. FF 7, 9, 10, and 12 were also standouts for me too.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[FromDuskTillGameOver]

 

[EverydayBeast]

Old republic trailer from BioWare 9 years ago… just awesome!

 

[Birdo]

Just for the memes.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

This made me want that game more than any review could. It‘s the only time a cinematic intro literally sold me on a game, ever. The game itself was superb, but that video was beyond imagination.

 

[T8SC]

 

[TheAssist]

 

[SpongebobSquaredance]

/thread

 

[Quezacolt]

/thread

This. This is the only right answer. Sure, the other cinematics are also fantastic, but this one is on another level.

 

[Fbh]

Lost Odyssey with that smooth as hell cinematic to gameplay transition

Old republic trailer from BioWare 9 years ago… just awesome!

These 4 minutes are more fun and exciting than the the 400+ minutes of runtime of the entire sequel trilogy

 

[kurisu_1974]

This is where it changed for me, on a PC with Soundblaster card.

 

[SpongebobSquaredance]

This. This is the only right answer. Sure, the other cinematics are also fantastic, but this one is on another level.

also one of the best games in terms of lore, plot, and dialogue. it was literally a game-changer.

 

[Yoboman]

Most influential? Ico has to be up there. Every would be indie auteur wanted to make their own version of Ico.

This is a great answer

It’s hard to express how unique ICO was at the time when a lot of games since have been inspired by it

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

 

[Bladed Thesis]

I remember when this game launched. This was pre-twitch but the demand and word of mouth surrounding this game made it sold out everywhere and those of us in the industry at the time just were stunned how a game like this came out of nowhere and the word of mouth spread like wildfire to create a buzz for it.

 

[elliot5]

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

E3 2005 trailers











"Is it real footage?" "Is this really possible on these systems?"

I'd say trailers like these inspired an entire generation very early on to showcase graphics as much as possible, even if those graphics weren't fully possible on those systems.

 

[Tschumi]

This is where it changed for me, on a PC with Soundblaster card.

i was hoping for some retro entries... this is great, love dune, even the movie which, the context of being a communication of the novel, made perfect sense to me



Wing commander 3. Mark Hamill tearing it up.

 

[mortal]

 

[Bo_Hazem]

The cinematic has been a key component of video game charm for decades.

Whether it be the raft of cinematics that brewed up so much fan activism in the buildup to the current generation of consoles; the live action cutscenes of games like Fleet Commander, Jedi Knight Dark Forces, Tiberian Sun and the like; or those in the style embraced and refined by Blizzard; or indeed in the inadvertent - the Killzone 2 teaser for PS3 which shaped the way the final game would look, say - cutscenes are part of our collective passion.

Let's recognize them. Let's point out the most influential of the bunch.

Influential? Which cinematics caught the imagination of the nascent game developers who are building our hobby today? Which cinematics caused boardrooms to say "dat one, please"? Which cinematics helped shape your taste in games, and expectations?

--------

It's up to you guys to populate this list, but for starters I'll just give mine - without a doubt for me it's Warcraft 3's teaser trailer/opening cinematic. It wasn't the first, but it was the first to be so damn good looking - to my eyes. It captured my imagination, and kept it locked for the three or four months it took me to figure out how cracks worked and run the .exe. The entire suite of cinematics in this game - Arthas killing his dad comes to mind - was mind-blowing and, I believe, hugely influential on later iterations by other developers.

 

[Sander Cohen]

Shame that musical theme was blatantly plagiarized from Russian composer Georgy Sviridov (“Snowstorm”). Biggest plagiarism scandal in the history of video games if you ask me.

 

[mortal]

 

[Fare thee well]

I can't remember one that is influential in a public game-chaning way sadly; I'm rarely one for mass appeal anyway (not wanting to sound contrarian).

*spoiler warning for witcher 3*
The last time I could think of a truly moving cutscene was Vesemir's death in Witcher 3. I felt invested in the game's story after that. Sure death is an easy mechanic to force empathy in a story, but it was done right and wasn't expected.

Honorary mention: a lot of the first 3D zelda moments captured my fascination as a kid and it seemed like we had to wait forever for them.

 

[Beelzebubs]

Not neccessarily the most influential but I truly believe Riot Games (League of Legends) have the best cinematics around. Yes they're not in game, but the consistent quality and variety of styles makes me absolutely love them. Hell, they've even created their own K Pop group who are actually pretty good.

 

[MvCSpiderman]

Outside of PC anyone else notice how horribly slow console cinematics were in the 90's? On original hardware not an emulator.

 

[nkarafo]

Title and OP says "influential".

Thread gets any random cut-scene from any random game.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

#FuckRaiden

 

[Tschumi]

*later this month*
Tschumi's girl: "What's with all these playstation store purchases?"

 

[OrionNebula]

Especially when you know how those cinematics came to life

 

[TheMay30thMan]

This trailer influenced the entire industry.

 

[pochepiller2]

 

[SirTerry-T]

 

[Ezquimacore]

The best cinematic for a fighting game ever made


EDIT: better version

 

[Ozzie666]

Not disappointed with this thread now. Because, this blew us all away back in the day. a bit ahead of it's time.

Also, would like to add, Garou Mark of the Wolves introduction.

 

[Tschumi]

Especially when you know how those cinematics came to life

Do tell, that was a hugely intriguing cinematic lol

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

 

[lachesis]

The one that impacted the most personally was Ys II for MSX2. Seeing this for the first time in 1988 & seeing Lilia turning around animation, I was actually stunned as I've never seen such thing done in a videogame.




PC Engine version of opening is still one of my favorite one too, and as per the opening song, I think of PC Engine CD Rom version as default.




The game has been remade so many times - the YSII - Eternal version was done by Makoto Shinkai of "Your Name" fame.
(I'm not really too fan of that effect heavy style - but you can definitely see his style of colors)

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The OP starts with Warcraft III and no one bothered with Diablo II?

 

[Traxtech]

Onimusha 3 intro, absolutely incredible.

 

[Lone Denjin]

People have already posted FF7, so i will post this. Still love the game and it really introduced me in to the JRPG/Jaction games.

 

[Shubh_C63]

I am so glad the first post is WarCraft. I was in mad love with all the blizzard warcraft cinematics.