Game Openings You Really Liked

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Are there any game openings/introductions that really wowed you when you first played?

[Ayen]

I'll get the obvious out of the way: FFVII

Also, I won't lie, FFX-2 opening still wows me. Albeit for different reasons...

[Karifean]

Both Muv-Luv Alternative's Opening (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAXEMvIHtT0) and Ever17's Opening (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siOCjEydLUU) really stood out to me when I read them. I think I watched them every time I started up the games.

Honorable mention to Little Busters' Opening (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLDI9QuukGU), which didn't really wow me initially but grew on me gradually as I read through it, and now it's my overall favorite opening.

[Pete for President]

Vagrant Story has a fantastic mix of opening cinematic + opening tutorial combo that gets me super pumped to play it every time I boot a new game.

FFX because metal music and big monster destroys everything and Auron and epic.

At first I was really confused about Dark Souls' opening, but the fact that you meet every mythical figure presented in the opening CG as either NPC's or bosses made in mindblowing afterwards.

[Rez09]

Suikoden III's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8boxv7JMJdI) intro immediately comes to mind. I mean, I was already hyped beyond belief when I got the game, then that song ~~. It is still one of my favorite intros.

The openings for Chrono Cross (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=923fVDDwaHo) and Wild Arms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOFibwVMw0) also come to mind.

[Pheesh]

I don't know if I could say I 'loved" it because it was horribly traumatic but The Last of Us is probably the best opening to a videogame I can think of.

I also like the beginnings of both the Kingdom Hearts console games.

[Pumpkin]

Do we mean like opening before you start the game, or opening after you select New Game?

If the first, Suikoden for sure. And Dark Cloud 2. If the latter, I really like Final Fantasy VIII. Actually FFVIII for both!

I'm sure there's more, I'll have to think on it.

[Bubba]

My favourite opening to any game is Uncharted 2. Shall we give you a nice Nintendo-style hand-holding hour before something tricky happens? No. You start the game hanging off the back of a train car, which itself is hanging off the end of a cliff. On you go then!

After that then probably FFVIII for an amazing intro. The Last of Us was indeed heart-breaking and actually gets worse each time I play it. That's probably the most emotional intro to a game that I've played.

[Bolivar]

God of War III had probably the most insane opening of any game. You battle enemies on top of a Titan, as it climbs Mount Olympus to kill Zeus. You're swinging upside down and dodging these water horse spider tentacle things that just looks unbelievable.

FFVII has my favorite opening of any game but GoWIII was the most intense.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Do we mean like opening before you start the game, or opening after you select New Game?

If the first, Suikoden for sure. And Dark Cloud 2. If the latter, I really like Final Fantasy VIII. Actually FFVIII for both!

I'm sure there's more, I'll have to think on it.

I meant either really. I was more thinking once you've started up a new game, but there are some amazing openings you can see before ever starting up a game too.

[Freya]

Suikoden III's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8boxv7JMJdI) intro immediately comes to mind. I mean, I was already hyped beyond belief when I got the game, then that song ~~. It is still one of my favorite intros.

The openings for Chrono Cross (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=923fVDDwaHo) and Wild Arms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOFibwVMw0) also come to mind.
The chrono cross opening song totally sounds like the show Angel's opening theme. Or at least I think so. I may be crazy.

The X intro was pretty badass with its rockness.

[Vermachtnis]

Ys Origin, it was the first thing I saw of anything Ys related. And the music sucked me in right away.

The Hebijo side of Senran Kagura Burst does a good job of showing what this game is before the first mission. As soon as you start, you're thrust into a fight with Orochi. Which looks like that. And then after that fight you're treated to an animated opening of what you probably were expecting.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k273/AKA_Gluttony/Orochi_zpsn5rywpmo.jpg

[Madame Adequate]

Tutorial mission of MGR: Revengeance is fucking INSANE in the best ways possible.

[Psychotic]

Every Saints Row from 2 onwards.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Suikoden III's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8boxv7JMJdI) intro immediately comes to mind. I mean, I was already hyped beyond belief when I got the game, then that song ~~. It is still one of my favorite intros.

The openings for Chrono Cross (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=923fVDDwaHo) and Wild Arms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOFibwVMw0) also come to mind.

Came here to mention Suikoden 3 and Crono Cross.

I'll have to think about this some more.

[DMKA]

Final Fantasy VIII is still probably the best video game opening I've ever seen. I can't think of another one that had as much of a sheer wow factor combined with getting me absolutely hyped to play. This is all through the lens of playing it in 1999 mind you, but it holds up surprisingly well even today.

[Depression Moon]

Final Fantasy IX, VIII, VII, and Earthbound.

IX felt magical, VIII I can't quite describe, but it was different, VII for the action and the whole slum segment and Earthbound for the humor and weirdness.

[krissy]

half life 2

bioshock infinite

https://youtu.be/RmkSm1r-KWs?t=76

[Forsaken Lover]

Let me ask you one question....

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?

Serious answer
YulwXPicfPg

[Formalhaut]

The World Ends With You. It has a pretty good opening and a great opening music sequence that gives you just enough to not be completely confused, yet still leaving you with many unanswered questions. Then again, everything about that game for me is great, so.

[Forsaken Lover]

Okay I got another choice if we include "Opening" to also mean the opening part of the gameplay and stuff.

Heavy Rain
The bright, cheerful normalcy of Ethan Mars' life, followed by his son getting killed, and then flashing forward to the bleak, miserable wreck his life (and the world) has become, was fantastic storytelling.

[Formalhaut]

Okay I got another choice if we include "Opening" to also mean the opening part of the gameplay and stuff.

Heavy Rain
The bright, cheerful normalcy of Ethan Mars' life, followed by his son getting killed, and then flashing forward to the bleak, miserable wreck his life (and the world) has become, was fantastic storytelling.

Completely agree. Even though they only had three chapters to illustrate this, they did so perfectly. I really felt for him.

[Mr. Carnelian]

Here are some of my favourites, in no particular order.

Mass Effect 2.
Your ship blows up and you die. And that's only the beginning.

Bayonetta.
You're in a gravity-defying fight against angels on a giant clock face which is falling down an endless cliff. And things get even cooler from then on, believe it or not.

Half-Life 2.
You're thrown feet first into an immediately unsettling dystopian world by a mysterious figure with unknown power who is using you as a pawn for his own ends.

Halo 2.
You got a glimpse into the society of the Covenant: for the first time, they were more than just an ill-defined bunch of alien bad guys who spoke a language you couldn't understand. The contrast drawn between the treatment of the defeated Elite who would later become the Arbiter and the triumphant Master Chief was interesting too.

Tomb Raider: Underworld
An explosive opening which seems to end in tragedy. You then flashback to a couple of weeks earlier, knowing that what your doing now somehow leads up to one of your best friends shooting at you. Very foreboding.

[Electroshock Therapy]

Really, I think any FF game has a great opening. Even the PS1 remakes/re-releases of NES and SNES games have some really cool CG introduction scenes that get you all pumped up.

MegaMan Legends 2. The first game was quite cinematic for it's time (it came out before PS1 had analog control). The second game was a huge improvement with their cutscenes. And the 10 minute intro had just enough character development, plot foreshadowing, and a mysterious atmosphere that left me wanting more!... And then you reach the beautiful snowy town of Yosyonke City with dreamy music. I got this game for Christmas so the atmosphere during the game's opening parts was perfect for a first time playthrough!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. As much a I love this series, I admit the openings don't always leave a lasting impression. But this game gave us an intense backstory told by creepy cave drawings, and backing this up was a heart-stomping orchestrated score. Afterwards, you get a first glimpse of The Imprisoned before the player realized he actually looks quite silly.

[Pike]

I seem to recall that FFXII had a really good opening. One of the few things I liked about that game.

Also, FFX.

Final Fantasy is really good about this in general.

[Sephex]

Whenever I open a game by tearing the plastic wrap off and taking the store stickers off. ;)