JRPGs With Fun Intros

So I've played a decent number of JRPGs and there is one almost universal similarity in all of them.

The first hour or so of the game is absolutely no fun to replay.

It's all tutorial bullcrap or world building and character establishment. All the actually interesting stuff, all the real character development, all the stuff you really love about the game is way off in the future. Odds are you are probably starting off in a boring little town or something too as the more awesome locations can only be available much later.

I love Xenosga, I love Final Fantasy X and XII, but Jesus Christ, I just skip everything and turn my brain off for a long, long time until the game "really starts."

But this is not an absolute. Final Fantasy VII starts off strong. So maybe there are others too.

So the topic. Which JRPGs that you love to replay aren't just tedious wastes of time at the beginning?

I love starting with nothing. It's one thing to "not be strong yet," like in most games. It's another thing entirely to be actively weak, and in danger at every moment, and to feel yourself on the razor's edge whenever you try to do anything.

Examples of such openings:
Dragon Quest 1
Gothic 1 (a WRPG, not a JRPG, but whatever)

Yeah for me FFX and FFXII starts off really boring, and it takes awhile until the game gets good. FFVII..wll, I'm the opposite of a lot of people because I think it starts off strong and gradually gets weaker as the game goes on. As for FF I've always liked the beginning of IV,VI,VII and IX though.

FFVII has one of the best intros. It has a beautiful opening cinematic and then throws you right into the action. I don't like when RPGs have a long introduction with a lot of story build-up and no actual gameplay. Having an elaborate story sequence at the start of the game is not necessary to have great storytelling.

The worst thing is when you are loaded into a big city-type zone where you can't "do" anything, but have to talk to a bunch of random bystander NPCs to progress things.

Breath of Fire 2 I feel is one of the strongest starts for a JRPG. The opening black and white scene is rather striking given it came out at a time when every game had been colored, and the sudden memory wipe of the town that basically forces you out on your own as a child.

It's a fantastic intro.

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

Breath of Fire 2 I feel is one of the strongest starts for a JRPG. The opening black and white scene is rather striking given it came out at a time when every game had been colored, and the sudden memory wipe of the town that basically forces you out on your own as a child.

It's a fantastic intro.

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I'm with you there! Great intro...better with the new translation, lol. Makes so much more sense.

FINAL FANTASY XIII!!!

After a very brief pair of intros, DQ5 puts you right back in the Dragon Quest groove of exploring an overworld with your party and fighting monsters, except you're a party member. The game is filled with surprises from start to finish.

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

FINAL FANTASY XIII!!!

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We're supposed to be listing games with fun intros.

For me, Chrono Trigger. It's not exactly exciting, but I think it has a near perfect balance of what the game is. You can go off and fight, or even fight in the fair (which is kind of like starting you in the Gold Saucer). There's ton to explore and see. There's tutorial in the mayor's house if you want it, but it's optional. And the story has fun and interesting characters right off the bat.

Vagrant Story! It does a good job in blending the opening cinematic with the essentials of the gameplay.

Shadow Hearts
Suikoden II
Tales of Destiny
Final Fantasy XII

Those are probably the best ones as far as action packed intros go.

I've always liked the intro to Persona 3. Probably one of the better ones out there actually. FFVII's was good too. And FFVI for that matter. Even just the mode 7 scrolling combined with whatever variant of Terra's theme was playing, I'm terrible with names.

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Originally Posted by Vivi22

I've always liked the intro to Persona 3. Probably one of the better ones out there actually. FFVII's was good too. And FFVI for that matter. Even just the mode 7 scrolling combined with whatever variant of Terra's theme was playing, I'm terrible with names.

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All good options.

Persona 3's opening is excellent. It doesn't throw you right into combat like FFVII's does, but it does throw you right into the heart of the game. Exploring town, exploring the strange phenomena plaguing it, and growing relationships with others. It gives you tons of reasons to want to keep playing, outside of the combat.

FFVI was just a masterpiece of atmosphere. That music, that cold setting, the credit scrolling... Everything just combined to set an absolutely gorgeous tone for the entire game. It may not have been an immediately engaging or action filled opening like FFVII, but it grabbed you where it mattered for the game, in the part of you that gets engaged by the atmosphere of the world.

Persona 3 really sets up a lot of mysteries right away that draw you in. And then of course caps a lot of it off with the first time your character summons his persona. That whole scene is one hell of a gut punch.

And FFVI's really does set the atmosphere for the opening so well. You really feel the slow march across Tundra and the sense of foreboding that comes with it. That combined with the back story set up right before if really drives home that something big is about to happen in that world.