I was talking with my friend when we hit upon an uncannily accurate observation: most RPGs take a fair while to get going, and don't actually open with their best foot forward, compromising either on their gameplay or their narrative front in that regard. With that in mind, do you have any examples of RPGs that have good openings? Ideally those that manage to make both the gameplay and narrative appealing in their opening moments?
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RPGs with good openings?
- Thread starter Second Duke Revier
- Start date
Final Fantasies IV, VI, VII and IX all have great openings. Earthbound through Onette is great, then drags a little in Twoside until you get Paula.
FFVI has one of the best openings of any RPG, and XII isn't far behind. Chrono Trigger is really good, even though it's a little slow to get to action. Grounds you in the world you're going to need to care about. FFVII is great in both iterations.
Baldur's Gate 3 really hits the ground running.
The main thing with an RPG opening is that I want to play the game (battle system) right away, not wait an hour hearing my plucky protagonist talking with his friends first. If it helps set the mood and stakes, too, that's even better.
Baldur's Gate 3 really hits the ground running.
The main thing with an RPG opening is that I want to play the game (battle system) right away, not wait an hour hearing my plucky protagonist talking with his friends first. If it helps set the mood and stakes, too, that's even better.
FelixSH
(He/Him)
Yeah, FFs come to mind for this.
Isn't Earthbound pretty grindy at the start? Like, you have to grind with Ness, or you will just die in the first special place dungeons?
That said, I disagree that an rpg needs battles to have a strong opening. Dragon Quest VII has one of my favourites, specifically because you don't fight anything. But that's maybe just me.
Isn't Earthbound pretty grindy at the start? Like, you have to grind with Ness, or you will just die in the first special place dungeons?
That said, I disagree that an rpg needs battles to have a strong opening. Dragon Quest VII has one of my favourites, specifically because you don't fight anything. But that's maybe just me.
It's not needed, but it's what I generally want, and most of my favorite RPG openings get right to it even if they take a long break after.
In a game where the battle system is going to take up around half the playtime, I want to know quick if it seems interesting.
In a game where the battle system is going to take up around half the playtime, I want to know quick if it seems interesting.
Purple
(She/Her)
Really any 8 or 16 bit one that doesn't kinda mandate grinding for 5 minutes right off the bat. Past that in no particular order- Koudelka and its many sequels, Parasite Eve, Wild ARMs, I wanna say BoF Dragon Quarter, Skies of Arcadia, at least the first two Paper Mario games, the whole Etrian Odyssey series. Most Pokemon games. Oh and Jack Move!
Suikoden II is a textbook example of an excellent opening act. Suikoden III also has a really good opening act(s) but I think mostly because of how unconventional it is.
Parasite Eve's opening sequence is a tour de force. The opera house set piece immediately devolving into a fight for your life vs monsters is a great one.
Xenogears I still think has a really enticing and strong opening, though I'm sure that's ymmv. The entire rug-pull of a peaceful hometown upended is cliched, but I think works really well in this one.
Parasite Eve's opening sequence is a tour de force. The opera house set piece immediately devolving into a fight for your life vs monsters is a great one.
Xenogears I still think has a really enticing and strong opening, though I'm sure that's ymmv. The entire rug-pull of a peaceful hometown upended is cliched, but I think works really well in this one.
4-So
Spicy
Because I'm currently playing through it so it's fresh in my mind: Dragon Age: Veilguard was good about getting you right into a.) who your character is and b.) the central conflict. Well done, very little fat on the bone in the intro sequences.
FF6 is probably the best game to do a great opening in that series.
FF6 is probably the best game to do a great opening in that series.
It was mentioned in passing, but I really appreciate Final Fantasy IV for...
1. Starting en media res with the invasion of Mysidia (also: airships are cool)
2. Literally everything "you" do in Mysidia comes back to bite you later
3. Cecil's conflict is established immediately... but also involves fighting flying eyeballs
4. Then you get to hang out at Baron, which is one of the most visited locations in FF4 from beginning to (literal) end
5. You are introduced to Kain, Rosa, and Cid in quick vignettes that establish everybody's deal
6. And then you are given a clear quest (go over there or whatever) so you can hit the town and start adventuring around
7. You can even find a chocobo spot if you want to explore at this early point in the game. Yay!
8. And then I feel the intro "ends" with the Mist Dragon, which is a boss that showcases how the ATB system works with "waiting".
My only issue is that the whole setup does nothing to establish the bad guy (the king is clearly up to something, but his place in the narrative is eventually revealed to be... confusing. Even a hint of Golbez lurking around the periphery would improve things). Otherwise, Final Fantasy 4 is pretty great on the whole intro scene.
Also, since it is being mentioned in a different Final Fantasy thread, I really appreciate how Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth manages to pick up seven seconds after the last game, but still has a great excuse for starting with "just a reminder, Cloud, press the control stick to walk" type stuff. For both gameplay and narrative, I appreciate how FF7Rebirth gently slides you back into a world you may not have experienced for a couple of years.
1. Starting en media res with the invasion of Mysidia (also: airships are cool)
2. Literally everything "you" do in Mysidia comes back to bite you later
3. Cecil's conflict is established immediately... but also involves fighting flying eyeballs
4. Then you get to hang out at Baron, which is one of the most visited locations in FF4 from beginning to (literal) end
5. You are introduced to Kain, Rosa, and Cid in quick vignettes that establish everybody's deal
6. And then you are given a clear quest (go over there or whatever) so you can hit the town and start adventuring around
7. You can even find a chocobo spot if you want to explore at this early point in the game. Yay!
8. And then I feel the intro "ends" with the Mist Dragon, which is a boss that showcases how the ATB system works with "waiting".
My only issue is that the whole setup does nothing to establish the bad guy (the king is clearly up to something, but his place in the narrative is eventually revealed to be... confusing. Even a hint of Golbez lurking around the periphery would improve things). Otherwise, Final Fantasy 4 is pretty great on the whole intro scene.
Also, since it is being mentioned in a different Final Fantasy thread, I really appreciate how Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth manages to pick up seven seconds after the last game, but still has a great excuse for starting with "just a reminder, Cloud, press the control stick to walk" type stuff. For both gameplay and narrative, I appreciate how FF7Rebirth gently slides you back into a world you may not have experienced for a couple of years.
...One of these days I should really replay FF4. I've heard so many good things about it, but only remember bouncing off hard from it.
Also, where have you been? It's good to see you back!
Also, where have you been? It's good to see you back!
FelixSH
(He/Him)
While you should give it another try, FF IV isn't perfect, and not liking it is perfectly viable. I do like it, but it's on the lower and of FF for me (all FFs are my beloved children, I simply like some more than others).
Just saying, not getting warm with it is perfectly fine.
I came late to it, in 2001. Got into emulation, tried it, then tried VI and Chrono Trigger, and abandoned IV. I came around later.
Just saying, not getting warm with it is perfectly fine.
I came late to it, in 2001. Got into emulation, tried it, then tried VI and Chrono Trigger, and abandoned IV. I came around later.
I'm totally with gogglebob on FF4. Honestly, I think most Final Fantasys have solid openings but the ones that start more "in medias res" are definitely the strongest. I'm also with Purple on pretty much any Wild ARMS game--they almost all open with a set of character-specific flashback chapters that act both as tutorials and character introductions.
I'll also toss out Breath of Fire 3, as you get to start the game by frying a bunch of people as a dragon.
I'll also toss out Breath of Fire 3, as you get to start the game by frying a bunch of people as a dragon.
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom is a best-in-class showcase for establishing tone in a matter of minutes and seconds, in capturing a snapshot of a heroic epic and love story by way of borrowing heavily from Record of Lodoss War.
Terranigma's underground section manages to bedazzle with its dramatic presentation and by condensing and distilling the Quintet RPG ethos up to that point in the mini-arc that constitutes traversing and exploring the compact dungeons that litter the landscape.
Asellus's scenario in SaGa Frontier immediately whisks her away from any sense of normalcy she might have had in her previous life, leaving her and the player to come to grips with the labyrinthine Chateau Aiguille and its vampiric residents. You primarily do not fight during it, but spend time overcoming discombobulation impressed upon you by the location's layout and the specific oblique triggers that might progress events. Given that it's a scenario about entrapment and eventual escape, it works extraordinarily well in marrying play structure with narrative theming.
Vagrant Story's opening cinematics and seamless fusion of expertly framed cinematography, soundtrack integration and player-controlled actions are such a spectacle that I would wager that most players' affinity and appreciation for the game are primarily dedicated to these first ten minutes or so... given that the mechanically dense dungeon crawler that it actually is doesn't have the same kind of broad appeal.
It's a pretty long sequence, but Parasite Eve II's opening act in the Akropolis Tower, a Los Angeles shopping mall, is a great segue from the New York scenery of the first game to the second's small town Nevada desert outpost setting. And while I appreciate that and other aspects of the environment, truthfully it's really only about one specific thing: the completely ludicrous pre-rendered panning single shot that Aya's approach to the mall is framed through, all the while player-controlled. For all the love that I have for the pre-rendered background age of video game presentation, this is probably the most outlandish excess I've seen from the format.
I like that Final Fantasy II opens by kicking your face in, Final Fantasy III by dropping you down a hole, and Final Fantasy V by presenting a cinematic wherein the music is precisely synced up to the happenings on screen.
You can fall to your death within seconds of starting either King's Field II or King's Field IV, and that's fine by me.
Terranigma's underground section manages to bedazzle with its dramatic presentation and by condensing and distilling the Quintet RPG ethos up to that point in the mini-arc that constitutes traversing and exploring the compact dungeons that litter the landscape.
Asellus's scenario in SaGa Frontier immediately whisks her away from any sense of normalcy she might have had in her previous life, leaving her and the player to come to grips with the labyrinthine Chateau Aiguille and its vampiric residents. You primarily do not fight during it, but spend time overcoming discombobulation impressed upon you by the location's layout and the specific oblique triggers that might progress events. Given that it's a scenario about entrapment and eventual escape, it works extraordinarily well in marrying play structure with narrative theming.
Vagrant Story's opening cinematics and seamless fusion of expertly framed cinematography, soundtrack integration and player-controlled actions are such a spectacle that I would wager that most players' affinity and appreciation for the game are primarily dedicated to these first ten minutes or so... given that the mechanically dense dungeon crawler that it actually is doesn't have the same kind of broad appeal.
It's a pretty long sequence, but Parasite Eve II's opening act in the Akropolis Tower, a Los Angeles shopping mall, is a great segue from the New York scenery of the first game to the second's small town Nevada desert outpost setting. And while I appreciate that and other aspects of the environment, truthfully it's really only about one specific thing: the completely ludicrous pre-rendered panning single shot that Aya's approach to the mall is framed through, all the while player-controlled. For all the love that I have for the pre-rendered background age of video game presentation, this is probably the most outlandish excess I've seen from the format.
I like that Final Fantasy II opens by kicking your face in, Final Fantasy III by dropping you down a hole, and Final Fantasy V by presenting a cinematic wherein the music is precisely synced up to the happenings on screen.
You can fall to your death within seconds of starting either King's Field II or King's Field IV, and that's fine by me.
After playing the (very lengthy and slow) intros to Persona 3 and 4, I was pleasantly surprised by opening hours of Metaphor: ReFantazio. The game has a lot of systems to introduce, but it still manages to keep the pacing pretty tight throughout. The writing is solid, with dramatic reveals sprinkled in at key moments, and they let you dip your toes into the battle system a few times with increasing complexity as the mechanics are layered on. Things slow down for a bit around the time you tackle the starter dungeon (by which I mean the mine), but then pick up again with some truly bonkers story beats just before the game fully opens up. It's definitely the best intro that I've seen from this team, although I didn't play Persona 5, so I'm missing that point of comparison.
