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Only the Best Intros
- Thread starter Issun
- Start date
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
There's a reason Smash Bros. Ultimate intro also worked as a knock your socks off trailer.
Pajaro Pete
(He/Himbo)
Wild Arms 2 Disc 2 is a lesson in "actually doing really nice backgrounds and shading goes A Long way" that unfortunately the rest of the franchise chose to ignore
Lufia 1's intro tells the story of terrifying, godlike being descending from on high, and the struggle against them, then when you start the game plops you down into humanity's climatic last, desperate bid to stop them. This is really cool and pretty unusual for JRPGS to drop you directly into the game's backstory! Lufia 3 also had an extremely good intro, given the limitations of the Game Boy Color.
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This is distinct and complementary to the title screen thread, yeah? I can work with that.
- Tekken 2 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (both arcade and console)
- Vandal Hearts (Saturn)
- the 2000s style of Falcom game opening--sweeping cinematography of concept art and environmental 3D modeling, with admirable choreography in the fusion. Probably best seen in any Ys or Trails opening that applies.
- Evolving animated openings. To my knowledge only two games have done this: Sakura Taisen 3 (in parts one, two, three) and Wild Arms 3 (in parts one, two, three, four and five). Stellar work elevated by the ludicrous attention and expense demonstrated in the presentation.
- Namco × Capcom. I believe the animation here was handled by then-Gainax, now-Trigger folks. Sure looks like Hiroyuki Imaishi's handiwork, with all the positive and negative qualities therein. I mark out for Kagekiyo and other Namco figures in it, every time.
- SaGa: Scarlet Grace. The most myth-minded series in games creates yet another cosmology and deific tapestry in a few minutes, bookended by sparse and evocative narration.
- Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Gothic-romantic epic. It is an opening of such stature that it threatens to overshadow and swallow its own game, its own series. The accompanying track Ozar Midrashim was adapted from Information Society's 1997 album--the band's lead singer and songwriter Kurt Harland composed the game's music, and that track became a leitmotif for the rest of the series.
- Devil May Cry. Bug-demon does kata in hell. The phrase "woke up to justice" is mesmerizing in its simplicity for a character's narrative importance.
I'm pretty sure I said this in a similar thread already, but in decades of gaming, River City Girls is the only game where I sat and watched the intro every time I started it up.
If I had more patience as a kid, I probably would have said the same thing about Mega Man 2.
I distinctly remember the Dangonronpa intro getting me hyped to play the games, and I can't help but give them a watch again when I stumble across them for one reason or another.
The intro cut scene isn't anything special, but the title screen that follows in Parappa the Rapper is just a small joy every time.
If I had more patience as a kid, I probably would have said the same thing about Mega Man 2.
I distinctly remember the Dangonronpa intro getting me hyped to play the games, and I can't help but give them a watch again when I stumble across them for one reason or another.
The intro cut scene isn't anything special, but the title screen that follows in Parappa the Rapper is just a small joy every time.
Sonic the Hedgehog CD: This and the ending are major feats from a golden age of talented animators working at the height of their abilities. This OP has already been linked, but this is the best quality available and uses the Japanese version song, "Sonic - You Can Do Anything."
Resident Evil Outbreak: As this game takes place during the viral outbreak in Raccoon City, the opening revisits the single event that incited the disaster, originally seen in Resident Evil 2. The Umbrella Corporation sends armed servants to confiscate an experimental virus from its head researcher, who had been planning to take the fruits of his labor elsewhere. During the confrontation in his underground laboratory, a startled soldier guns him down, and he desperately injects himself with the virus. What follows is what you see in the OP. Tonally, Resident Evil tends to vacillate between horror and excitement, but the sweet strains of the orchestra here lend the events a sense of tragedy and emotion uncommon to the series. It underlines that we are recalling something that never should have happened, and the final shot pulling out from the storm drain to the streets overhead remind us of the hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting people about to fall victim to it.
Resident Evil Outbreak: As this game takes place during the viral outbreak in Raccoon City, the opening revisits the single event that incited the disaster, originally seen in Resident Evil 2. The Umbrella Corporation sends armed servants to confiscate an experimental virus from its head researcher, who had been planning to take the fruits of his labor elsewhere. During the confrontation in his underground laboratory, a startled soldier guns him down, and he desperately injects himself with the virus. What follows is what you see in the OP. Tonally, Resident Evil tends to vacillate between horror and excitement, but the sweet strains of the orchestra here lend the events a sense of tragedy and emotion uncommon to the series. It underlines that we are recalling something that never should have happened, and the final shot pulling out from the storm drain to the streets overhead remind us of the hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting people about to fall victim to it.
Saw the thread title and immediately thought of Chrono Cross, so glad to see it in the OP.
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song
Guilty Gear XX
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
Viewtiful Joe
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song
Guilty Gear XX
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
Viewtiful Joe
Metal Black
I love the urgency and drama of John Ford's mad dash to his presumably stolen ship, interspersed with SF trappings - the technical mumbo-jumbo about Newalone and the excellent wireframe model of the Black Fly, etc. That the mission is (perhaps predictably) implied to be either futile or unreal only makes the intro more gripping, for me...
I love the urgency and drama of John Ford's mad dash to his presumably stolen ship, interspersed with SF trappings - the technical mumbo-jumbo about Newalone and the excellent wireframe model of the Black Fly, etc. That the mission is (perhaps predictably) implied to be either futile or unreal only makes the intro more gripping, for me...
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Don't judge, but Dissidia Final Fantasy's original intro cinematic always gets me hyped to fire it up and play it again. I particularly appreciate how, aside from WoL and Garland, everyone shuffles their respective antagonists and helps each other out, making it feel like a real pitched battle.
Laura Bailey sells us all on Nier within two seconds and three words of dialogue. It's amusing that this intro is chock-full of "spoilers" but only one of them is of any consequence. It's a very YT thing to do.
Imagine popping Shadow of the Colossus into your PS2 fifteen years ago, and getting greeted with this. (linking to the PS3 version since all it did was upscale the PS2 original, while the PS4 one, while breathtakingly gorgeous, completely remade it). The mystery of the Wanderer's journey, the relationship between him and his horse, and the mystical, almost spiritual atmosphere provided by the soundtrack, they all prime you for an unforgettable experience.
By the same token, imagine popping THIS into your PS2 a year earlier. Katamari Damacy may have the simplest intro out of the franchise, but it's the trailblazer and while the rest are really great, they're riffs on the same concept (much like the games themselves, heh.)
I will never, ever, forgive Squex for removing this intro from the Zodiac Versions of Final Fantasy XII. It's already a beautiful rendition of The Prelude leading into FFXII's unique boss theme, but the very first time The Prologue came on (as the hangar bay opens up and the Strahl lifts off) I felt goosebumps from head to toe. Then the crescendo punctuating the title screen? I was already pumping my fists into the air.
It's such a waste that a good number of PS4 titles have completely done away with intros and attracts. Even my current favorite Ghost of Tsushima, while having a literally epic intro-to-title sequence, requires you to play through 30-40 minutes of context to really get the full impact of it.
Laura Bailey sells us all on Nier within two seconds and three words of dialogue. It's amusing that this intro is chock-full of "spoilers" but only one of them is of any consequence. It's a very YT thing to do.
Imagine popping Shadow of the Colossus into your PS2 fifteen years ago, and getting greeted with this. (linking to the PS3 version since all it did was upscale the PS2 original, while the PS4 one, while breathtakingly gorgeous, completely remade it). The mystery of the Wanderer's journey, the relationship between him and his horse, and the mystical, almost spiritual atmosphere provided by the soundtrack, they all prime you for an unforgettable experience.
By the same token, imagine popping THIS into your PS2 a year earlier. Katamari Damacy may have the simplest intro out of the franchise, but it's the trailblazer and while the rest are really great, they're riffs on the same concept (much like the games themselves, heh.)
I will never, ever, forgive Squex for removing this intro from the Zodiac Versions of Final Fantasy XII. It's already a beautiful rendition of The Prelude leading into FFXII's unique boss theme, but the very first time The Prologue came on (as the hangar bay opens up and the Strahl lifts off) I felt goosebumps from head to toe. Then the crescendo punctuating the title screen? I was already pumping my fists into the air.
It's such a waste that a good number of PS4 titles have completely done away with intros and attracts. Even my current favorite Ghost of Tsushima, while having a literally epic intro-to-title sequence, requires you to play through 30-40 minutes of context to really get the full impact of it.
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Good call. I like every opening in the series but my favourite is probably NT, for being just as slick and fan-pleasing as the rest, and also for how it dangles the entire narrative culmination and emotional climax of the game in plain sight, to be recontextualized later. One of the best things the wider franchise has ever pulled off, for me.
Gradius Gaiden for the sheer triumphant "we're back!" joy of the thing.
Edit: I can't leave out the Gradius III & IV pack, which has two extremely underappreciated belters, or Gradius II (PCE), or the mighty Gradius V. Sorry.
Edit: I can't leave out the Gradius III & IV pack, which has two extremely underappreciated belters, or Gradius II (PCE), or the mighty Gradius V. Sorry.
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- the PS1 Ghost in the Shell is a unique cross-pollination in the franchise for being the adaptation that Masamune Shirow was most directly involved with out of all of them, combined with the efforts of Production I.G staff who'd previously worked on the movie. With that adaptation's director Mamoru Oshii being absent here, the predominant tonal voice defaults back to Shirow, in how the characters look and act and how they're presented (you will notice the ubiquitous leering sexualization regarding Kusanagi, for one). Also in contrast to the film, there's a high degree of traditional cel animation overlaid on top of 3D-rendered environments to create a more dynamic visual for the Fuchikoma to skitter through.
- here's some dilution in localization: Guardian's Crusade received a fairly forgettable heroic guitar ballad for its opening FMV, whereas the superlatively titled original release Knight & Baby presents the same imagery with a delightfully saccharine audio presentation.
- I will never love Fist of the North Star but the opening for the 2000 PS1 game Hokuto no Ken: Seikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu is a tremendous showcase for the system in its twilight, recreating an iconic anime opening with aplomb.
- on the subject of marking out to Namco stuff, the Namco Museum compilations were the future of the past, reserving the premium treatment for the material from their openings to their interfaces to the extraneous contextualizing apparel.
Regulus
Sir Knightbot
Ooh, speaking of localized intros... the difference in tone between the Working Designs and the original (w/ Hironobu Kageyama!) versions of Growlanser II's intro is pretty amusing.
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THE EARTH
WAS
REALLY
HOLLOW!
WAS
REALLY
HOLLOW!
It messes with me that the title change obscured the significance of the word "great" in the OP, and the localized title effectively replaces the English word "great" with the Japanese equivalent, but not even in a recognizable way... Many decisions were made.
Regulus
Sir Knightbot
Apparently I can only post in this topic after being reminded of things by others, lol.
Anyway, fans of Dimahoo's intro might also like ZeroRanger.
Anyway, fans of Dimahoo's intro might also like ZeroRanger.
You should all be ashamed that we got this far into the thread without Lunar SSSC or the OG
I'm including this. The intro is literally nothing, but it's one of my favorite "beginning of a JRPG songs" so it counts dammit
Suikoden III's intro is my favorite Suikoden intro, but IV and II are damn good too
The third chapter, so what's it gon' be?
The Third Strike y'all, it's Street Fighter III
As mentioned, Soul Edge is better, but Soul Calibur II's intro rules and I don't care who knows it.
Obviously
The way he says MORGAN KATARN still rules and is the best and I love it
I'm including this. The intro is literally nothing, but it's one of my favorite "beginning of a JRPG songs" so it counts dammit
Suikoden III's intro is my favorite Suikoden intro, but IV and II are damn good too
The third chapter, so what's it gon' be?
The Third Strike y'all, it's Street Fighter III
As mentioned, Soul Edge is better, but Soul Calibur II's intro rules and I don't care who knows it.
Obviously
The way he says MORGAN KATARN still rules and is the best and I love it
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Raizing were virtuosos of the attract-mode craft. When this stops making me want to drop everything and play, I'll be ready for my coffin.
A new favourite is Front Mission 2's, which flatly refuses to demean itself by selling the game's tactical mech-action to the viewer.
R.I.P., ALLEN.
An obvious one, but Castlevania IV's is as portentous, ominous and almost physically heavy now as it was when I was six. It still has the power to fully convince me that something terrible is happening.
A new favourite is Front Mission 2's, which flatly refuses to demean itself by selling the game's tactical mech-action to the viewer.
R.I.P., ALLEN.
An obvious one, but Castlevania IV's is as portentous, ominous and almost physically heavy now as it was when I was six. It still has the power to fully convince me that something terrible is happening.
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I had planned on linking Silver Star Story, but I was stumbling on trying to explain why it's so special to me. I suspect it might not look like anything too exceptional to a jaded eye, but if you can imagine you've never seen anything like it before, it really is magical. Romance, curiosity, an adventurous spirit—it brings all such hallmarks of innocence and youth rushing back to the front of one's mind.
You may enjoy this, then.
clarice
bebadosamba
Likewise, i can't help but be moved by Silver Star Story intro and sing along whenever i see the Silver Star intro.
In a somewhat similar vein (but in a post Evangelion world), the opening to Grandia is great, too.
I like the opening to Dragon Quarter a lot. It has a sad Ryu dragging a sword in the rain. I don't know, i just like it, but it might be because i have played Dragon Quarter a lot.
I also like the intro to Final Fantasy Tactics, but that's mostly because of the music - i love how its mood is all over the place.
The thing i really like about Chrono Cross's intro is the flipping pages and that silly text. That just breaks me whenever i play it. But don't tell anyone, please!
And yeah, that's what i can remember, i guess. Ah, i also like the intro to FF8, the credits and static images... The art is not even that good, but the music sells it to me.
Oh, and Yakuza Zero too.
In a somewhat similar vein (but in a post Evangelion world), the opening to Grandia is great, too.
I like the opening to Dragon Quarter a lot. It has a sad Ryu dragging a sword in the rain. I don't know, i just like it, but it might be because i have played Dragon Quarter a lot.
I also like the intro to Final Fantasy Tactics, but that's mostly because of the music - i love how its mood is all over the place.
The thing i really like about Chrono Cross's intro is the flipping pages and that silly text. That just breaks me whenever i play it. But don't tell anyone, please!
And yeah, that's what i can remember, i guess. Ah, i also like the intro to FF8, the credits and static images... The art is not even that good, but the music sells it to me.
Oh, and Yakuza Zero too.
+1 for SSSC. I can sing that entire intro from memory. It instantly transports me to a very specific time in my life, and it's very important to me.
For a much less personal one that just slaps, "Magic Son Goku..."
For a much less personal one that just slaps, "Magic Son Goku..."
This is a good one I might not have thought of. The music bears a sense of great importance, and the series of carefully framed still images draws me in more than the over-the-top FMV that plays when you actually begin the game. The fact that the characters take up the entire screen but have their faces obscured is especially intriguing. I feel this style was inherited by FFX-2 (of all things), although the mood there is quite different.
I forgot one of the most important intros of all time. This game rules. I think I speak for everyone when I say:
UNNNNNNNHHHH GITAROO MAN (Oooohhh yeahhhh)
I was actually surprised you hadn't posted it! I figured you must've forgotten but I was also like "this makes no sense how the hell could Kishi have forgotten that he likes Lunar" haha
I did! I follow him because of course. I've heard basically every version of the Sorcerian soundtrack that exists. I'm sure there's one weird variation I haven't heard of somewhere...but ya know, I listened to it a lot. I've barely even played the actual game! But the soundtrack was great background music for when I was studying. Good looking out though.
UNNNNNNNHHHH GITAROO MAN (Oooohhh yeahhhh)
I was actually surprised you hadn't posted it! I figured you must've forgotten but I was also like "this makes no sense how the hell could Kishi have forgotten that he likes Lunar" haha
I did! I follow him because of course. I've heard basically every version of the Sorcerian soundtrack that exists. I'm sure there's one weird variation I haven't heard of somewhere...but ya know, I listened to it a lot. I've barely even played the actual game! But the soundtrack was great background music for when I was studying. Good looking out though.
- the Turrican II: The Final Fight attract mode is both a showcase for Chris Hülsbeck's incredible score and the mountains of sci-fi anime and X-Men comics the developers surely devoured to feed their creativity.
- WCW/nWo Revenge provides a lavish treatment to the WCW scene of the time, mostly banking on the star power of the by-then long-running Sting and Hulk Hogan dichotomy and rivalry. This was my first contact with wrestling as a whole, and before I'd be retroactively let down by the mismanagement of talent in the real-life WCW, the wrestlers sure were enjoyable video game characters.
- as a PlayStation launch title, King's Field exemplifies an uncontained joy at the exploration of 3D spaces now being a possibility and a reality on consoles.
- Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, where every line of writing appearing on screen syncs up to the music, along with the title splash reveal and refrain accompanying the cast portraits before the second loop.