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What RPG has the best opening act?
- Thread starter ScOULaris
- Start date
Fimbulvetr
Member
Aeana said:
Yeah, that particular scene was supposed to be bad.
Unfortunately the same can't be said of the other scenes.
SciencePilot
Member
Yeaaah. Midgar was the only part of FFVII I liked. But I really liked it a lot. They totally should have made the whole game within Midgar and just have had you explore a big city rather than a world.Yoshichan said:Without a single doubt:
Can't agree with FF IX. Too slow. Too much exposition, story stuff and mini game distractions up front. The game doesn't really start until you reach the forest, and even that last for only an ~hour or so, until you're back to ultra-slowness in Dahli. Actually, all the in-town parts are too low intensity for my liking.
FF VII OTOH thrusts you into battles and getting shit done right after the intro video. Even the stuff between combat zones feels intense, because even though you can avoid fights, you're still being chased. It only slows down later, when it's already established itself.
I'm not as convinced about Midgar as a whole, but the entire sequence from the start of the game to blowing up the reactor definitely has a place in this thread.
FF VII OTOH thrusts you into battles and getting shit done right after the intro video. Even the stuff between combat zones feels intense, because even though you can avoid fights, you're still being chased. It only slows down later, when it's already established itself.
I'm not as convinced about Midgar as a whole, but the entire sequence from the start of the game to blowing up the reactor definitely has a place in this thread.
I love VII's intro but that's the safe, obvious choice.
So I'll cast my vote for FFVIII. The intro is awesome, and, at the time, showcased an epic jump of prerendered CG video quality. Still entertaining to this day. Fithos Lusec Wicos Vinosec is an amazing piece of music.
So I'll cast my vote for FFVIII. The intro is awesome, and, at the time, showcased an epic jump of prerendered CG video quality. Still entertaining to this day. Fithos Lusec Wicos Vinosec is an amazing piece of music.
PuppetYuber
Banned
Eternal Sonata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si6ZPxdmZDc
Fond of the voice act / graphic, and it is a great lead way into the actual game itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si6ZPxdmZDc
Fond of the voice act / graphic, and it is a great lead way into the actual game itself.
Noisepurge
Member
Deus Ex.
it even has replay value and can be tackled in a few different ways!
Spirit of Jazz
Banned
I think the tech in FFVII and to a slightly lesser extent LO amazed me at the time. However the opening to FFIX is timeless to me in it's presentation and charm, likewise Deus Ex's will always be remembered just as fondly for offering a sense of freedom that I'd never felt in a game before.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Sansana said:
We have our four answers here, folks.
P4 is odd, as in any lesser team would shank the openning into the rough with BS, tropes, bad pacing, etc, but Team Persona made it work. The entire game works off of this high-wire brain surgery and I love it.
Yoshichan said:Without a single doubt:
Mr_Moogle said:
Fuu said:
DMeisterJ said:
Acquiescence said:
chaosblade said:
crowphoenix said:
Gromph said:
PooBone said:
MetatronM said:
Magicpaint said:
M_Night said:
TheExodu5 said:
decoyplatypus said:
flintstryker said:
Zomba13 said:
Rad- said:
H_Prestige said:
BlazingDarkness said:
SneakyStephan said:
Keikoku said:
thefro said:
A Huge Battleship said:
Ferrio said:
MikeE21286 said:
rataven said:
davepoobond said:
I agree with these people.Zeal said:
timetokill
Banned
Mother 3 has by far the most emotional opening of any JRPG I have played.
I tried to think of a western rpg because I enjoy those the most but nothing sticks out as best ever.
Arcanum of Steamworks and Magic is good with a fighting opening and offering a metric fuckton of customization or decision in the very start.
The Witcher 2 seems very strong by starting the game with an advanced character and having morality decisions but once I saw that it worked I went back to finishing the first game.
Alpha Protocol is good but the start is just a training exercise and Saudi Arabia is about a quarter of the game so it can't be called an opening.
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII starts in the midst of quick paced action. As the huge industrial city is introduced the video is cutting to screeching train tires and music is getting faster. The player character is introduced by doing a flip off a train and getting into a battle within seconds of player control. There is some type of operation going on giving a sense of urgency. There is a boss battle, complete with gimmick!(tail up counter attacks), a timed escape sequence, huge explosions, and the foreshadowing of the mental issues.
The game starts with twenty minutes of GO GO GO, then starts cooling down with escaping the troops in town, and then finally starts doing the slower introduction stuff. So, in the first hour or so of the game it hooks the player with an action opening and then gets into background.
If looking at a bigger portion of the game the whole time before leaving Midgar is an awesome chapter 1. The game does not pick up like that again until much later at the Temple of the Ancients or Forgotten City. It helps that Midgar is a series of several events and quests the other towns in the game are usually one stop shops for flashbacks or development while Midgar seems to be a full story.
Dungeons and Dragons Online
Most MMOs start off with some bullshit racial town and rabbit killing. DDO's tutorial dungeon
-gives the player a decent weapon selection
-has party aspects (but npc party in this case)
-includes traps, spotting, and unlocking
-offers "special" loot
Then while still on NOOB ISLAND and probably at level 2 the game has an Epic Quest to stop a DRAGON. So in the first few hours of DDO a new or old player goes through several narrated dungeons, that actually use the full toolbox of development toys, to get to a gigantic dungeon and fight some evil.
Turbine is absolutely brilliant at MMO design and I look forward to whatever they do next. It is not likely that they will ever be the Genre King but they have proven themselves as a ruler of the niche.
So based on thoughts from this OP I like the games that open up with:
1) action
2) a lot of the games meat is available quickly
Arcanum of Steamworks and Magic is good with a fighting opening and offering a metric fuckton of customization or decision in the very start.
The Witcher 2 seems very strong by starting the game with an advanced character and having morality decisions but once I saw that it worked I went back to finishing the first game.
Alpha Protocol is good but the start is just a training exercise and Saudi Arabia is about a quarter of the game so it can't be called an opening.
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII starts in the midst of quick paced action. As the huge industrial city is introduced the video is cutting to screeching train tires and music is getting faster. The player character is introduced by doing a flip off a train and getting into a battle within seconds of player control. There is some type of operation going on giving a sense of urgency. There is a boss battle, complete with gimmick!(tail up counter attacks), a timed escape sequence, huge explosions, and the foreshadowing of the mental issues.
The game starts with twenty minutes of GO GO GO, then starts cooling down with escaping the troops in town, and then finally starts doing the slower introduction stuff. So, in the first hour or so of the game it hooks the player with an action opening and then gets into background.
If looking at a bigger portion of the game the whole time before leaving Midgar is an awesome chapter 1. The game does not pick up like that again until much later at the Temple of the Ancients or Forgotten City. It helps that Midgar is a series of several events and quests the other towns in the game are usually one stop shops for flashbacks or development while Midgar seems to be a full story.
Dungeons and Dragons Online
Most MMOs start off with some bullshit racial town and rabbit killing. DDO's tutorial dungeon
-gives the player a decent weapon selection
-has party aspects (but npc party in this case)
-includes traps, spotting, and unlocking
-offers "special" loot
Then while still on NOOB ISLAND and probably at level 2 the game has an Epic Quest to stop a DRAGON. So in the first few hours of DDO a new or old player goes through several narrated dungeons, that actually use the full toolbox of development toys, to get to a gigantic dungeon and fight some evil.
Turbine is absolutely brilliant at MMO design and I look forward to whatever they do next. It is not likely that they will ever be the Genre King but they have proven themselves as a ruler of the niche.
So based on thoughts from this OP I like the games that open up with:
1) action
2) a lot of the games meat is available quickly
jim-jam bongs
Member
Shit the prologue is better than most full games.Solo said:
Lufia.
You begin the game ultra-powerful, unknowingly visiting the game's final act in the first 5 minutes.
...And FF7 did have an awesome opening. I haven't played it since it came out, but man after thinking about how blown away I was as a kid playing through that I don't know if I want to risk ruining the memory.
You begin the game ultra-powerful, unknowingly visiting the game's final act in the first 5 minutes.
...And FF7 did have an awesome opening. I haven't played it since it came out, but man after thinking about how blown away I was as a kid playing through that I don't know if I want to risk ruining the memory.
Lionheart1827
Member
Sansana said:
Great post. This is definitely my favorite.
Next below is FFVIII with Liberi Fatali.
And then after that is Lost Odyssey.
Confidence Man said:
aaaahhh!!
also, my vote:
Ultima 6 had one of the best intros EVER. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiGiiL3BOwI
PetriP-TNT
Member
Yes, agreed. The intro is amazing and the whole Midgar section is fast paced and awesome.Yoshichan said:Without a single doubt:
jim-jam bongs
Member
This thread is a blunt reminder of how different my taste in games is to most of GAF.
Seda said:
Eh you are not alone either. Only game I've stopped playing because of bad VA was Arc Rise Fantasia. (Sorry Ignition =D) The laugh scene in FF10 is terrible, but I also feel like it's forced fake laughter so it should be terrible. Regardless, it's the only part of that game that remotely bothered me.
I'm not trying to say FF10 should win any awards for it's VA, but it's also one of the first voiced games Square did, so I don't fault them for it at all.
Also FF7 pretty much does have the best opening to a game. Everything about it was 100% right. Got you right into the action.
Littlegator
Banned
Clydefrog said:
This is why I always keep it installed.
DarwinMayflower
Neo Member
Earthbound for sheer nuttiness.
I didn't know what the fuck I was going to play at the time, and this was from me already gone through the fantasy settings of FF4, FF6 and Chrono Trigger. All of a sudden I'm fighting rats, with an overpowered fly, on a LSD trip background with a useless fat kid. The best thing? It was funny. All the comedic timing that sort of falls flat on other RPGs to me, shone in this one. Not a beat was missed and having a present day setting made it more relatable and therefore not as odd looking compared to games set in the high fantasy.
I didn't know what the fuck I was going to play at the time, and this was from me already gone through the fantasy settings of FF4, FF6 and Chrono Trigger. All of a sudden I'm fighting rats, with an overpowered fly, on a LSD trip background with a useless fat kid. The best thing? It was funny. All the comedic timing that sort of falls flat on other RPGs to me, shone in this one. Not a beat was missed and having a present day setting made it more relatable and therefore not as odd looking compared to games set in the high fantasy.
DualShadow
Member
+1 for FF7
But I also enjoyed the Kingdom Hearts intro's to an extent.
Edit: More recently I enjoyed the Witcher 2 intro.
But I also enjoyed the Kingdom Hearts intro's to an extent.
Edit: More recently I enjoyed the Witcher 2 intro.
RustyNails
Member
There's really no other answer except FF VII. The opening simply destroyed our virginity.
In terms of introducing gameplay elements, characters and setting Vagrant story is unrivaled. The direction, played out on some of Hitoshi Sakimoto's best work, i'd say this is the definitve answer.
Please even if you don't agree, take a look for yourself and be amazed at what square was able to pull back in the day
HOWEVER....
There's only one rpg wich i couldn't even start playing without watching the intro 2-3 times in a row everytime ...*qeue's whistling*....
AAAAWWWW YEAAAAAAHH
Please even if you don't agree, take a look for yourself and be amazed at what square was able to pull back in the day
HOWEVER....
There's only one rpg wich i couldn't even start playing without watching the intro 2-3 times in a row everytime ...*qeue's whistling*....
AAAAWWWW YEAAAAAAHH
Intro to VS was awesome.. especially near the end of the opening when credits start getting mixed in -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbgzVSDWuII
uncledonnie
Banned
This. Such an awesome transition.GCX said:
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
i think the beginning is pretty mediocre (mephits and extremely weak duergar = boring). However, the 1370 DR Massacre of Waukeens Promenade that happens right after exiting is soooo good. <3 David WarnerBeeDog said:
Sansana said:
Came here to say, yes, this.
GhaleonQ
Member
HamPster PamPster said:
TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCE.
But, really, it's the VII one that I don't get. VIII's middle of the pack for me. VII is the cliche; IX is the same thing done with charm, originality, aesthetic perfection, attention to story (i.e., the tie to the ending), et cetera. VII is something everyone's seen before in other media, but with bad dialogue and art direction.
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
It really is FF7.
Much as I'd love to place more beloved FFs above it, he entire first Midgar section (or just the Mako raid if you're confining me to that) is such a wonderful, unequalled sequence.
IF FF8 had actually started at the Dollet attack like the demo did, it might have been a contender.
Much as I'd love to place more beloved FFs above it, he entire first Midgar section (or just the Mako raid if you're confining me to that) is such a wonderful, unequalled sequence.
IF FF8 had actually started at the Dollet attack like the demo did, it might have been a contender.
That's a tough question... Vagrant Story was one of the most recent games I played with a memorable intro. Amazing pacing and art direction, it really drew you in right away. Wild Arms 3 is another one I'm glad to have seen mentioned - it's really one of the more underrated RPGs in the PS2's library.