Best Opening 5 Minutes

You pop the disc/cartridge in. You're psyched up. You hit "New Game". And it begins.

Which entry has the best/coolest/most engaging stuff happen right when you start?

Naturally, VII is awesome, as it spits you right from a cutscene into the fray of climactic action. Very immediate. But as far as opening cutscenes, VIII blows you away by putting the best song in the game (and one of the best in the series) right at the beginning, with "Liberi Fatali". And then there's the march to Narshe in MagiTek armor...man, there are so many good ones!

VII and VIII are the first ones to come to mind. I thought the cinematography in IX's opening was amazing.

Though it's not my favourite game in the series, I've definitely got to give this to VII. The opening sequence of that game was pretty much unprecedented in the series, and hasn't really been matched since. Honourable mentions to VI, VIII, IX, and X.

VII has like no competition here. It's not all just about the FMV - it's about the transitioning right into you storming the Reactor. Right from the onset things are intense.

And then there's the track, "Bombing Mission." It might not be Terra's Theme-level but a lot more is going on while it plays then Terra's Theme.

How could I make this thread without forgetting to mention the PHENOMENAL X-2?

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Originally Posted by metagloria

How could I make this thread without forgetting to mention the PHENOMENAL X-2?

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That was more in your face eye-candy, and then you find out the girl on stage isn't even the real Yuna.

I forgive them.

VI through X had fantastic openings.

I personally like VI, but I can see VII as the "best."

The only game that gives VII a run for its money IMO is X. When everything goes south and you're on the highway fighting Sin Spawn, it took me back to that same feeling of FFVII, like "here's a new generation of consoles, here's what it can do."

Of course VII takes the cake though from how innovative and ahead of its time it was. Crazy to think about all those cinematic action games last generation that basically start with a crazy cutscene and give you control in the middle of it, and how it all basically started with FFVII.

Also have to give a nod to the oft-forgotten FFIX, that opening FMV of Alexandria was so well done and detailed, it was beautiful to go back to a more whimsical kind of Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy VII, hands down.

IMO the openings are one of the strongest aspect of the FF series in general. Makes the hundred other RPGs where you start as an ordinary village kid seem like absolute garbage in comparison.

I'll go with the crowd here and say FF7, but just about every other game in the series gets an honorable mention.

I have a soft spot for narratives that throw you right into the thick of things, no matter the medium. I think it's a lot more gripping and compelling. It doesn't bother me at all that I have no idea what's going on and things will have to be explained way later. I love the intrigue. And FF7 just plain nailed this one. FFVI's opening was powerful, but it immediately got slow. And like said, every other JRPG starts just plain slow as well. It was a hugely welcome breath of fresh air. Granted, not everyone can pull off a "throw you in the thick of it" intro. But fortunately they did. I think this is probably hands-down FFVII's win. At least for my money

FFVII is the easy answer here. Hell, FFVII probably has the best opening hours of the game, which extends easily as far as Midgar (and arguably even beyond). Despite my very strong criticism of much of the rest of the game, I consider the first disc of FFVII overall to be one of the best gameplay experiences in the series (and of all JRPGs). Of course, the farther you get from Midgar, the worse it gets.

I'm just gonna go with ff7 as well. It was really well done.

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned XII yet. It is easily the best in this regard. War, tragedy, betrayal, a shocking death, sword fights etc. XII had it all, and I'm not even a big fan of XII...

I'll go with FFIX. The opening is magnificent and I couldn't wait to continue the game.

Honestly they were all so great. The prologue is my favorite part of any JRPG and also weirdly a thing a lot of people complain about.

7 is really good but my heart, and little kid me, will always feel the love for 6. It's not even that a lot really happens... it's just that I enjoy the mixture of the great title screen music, followed by the little bit of plot and then a few people rollin' up on an unsuspecting town wearing Magitek armor. I don't even know what it is about it, it just does it for me.

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Originally Posted by Bright Shield

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned XII yet. It is easily the best in this regard. War, tragedy, betrayal, a shocking death, sword fights etc. XII had it all, and I'm not even a big fan of XII...

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All of the above mentioned happened in FF12's opening sequence, which was considerably longer than 5 minutes.

Most openings for FF games are pretty awesome so it would be easier to mention which ones were rubbish. Though all this thread is reminding me of is Pitchfork's FF Retrospective where he mentioned Square's mastery of the Shock and Awe story tactic for most of its games.

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Originally Posted by VeloZer0

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Originally Posted by Bright Shield

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned XII yet. It is easily the best in this regard. War, tragedy, betrayal, a shocking death, sword fights etc. XII had it all, and I'm not even a big fan of XII...

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All of the above mentioned happened in FF12's opening sequence, which was considerably longer than 5 minutes.

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True, however even in the first 5 minutes you get the best choreographed fight scenes in FF. So I'm still surprised that XII didn't get a single mention.

As a full package I'm giving this to 7, hands down. 5 minutes in you've hijacked a train, killed some soldiers, and set a bomb to blow up a giant reactor. Then you fight a robot scorpion.

I'll give second place to X.
X because it lines out exactly where Tidus and the world stand in a few minutes. It shows off Tidus's skills and makes it very clear that he's a pro athlete, not just some random guy who is magically strong enough to fight monsters. It lays out how rich and prosperous Zanarkand is. And then it blows everything up with the introduction of the world manipulating, gigantic and destructive Sin.

Honorable mention goes to Crisis Core
Crisis Core for the sole reason that it shows off exactly what a Soldier 1st class is capable of in a way 7 couldn't because of the limited tech. Barret being impressed by Cloud is a lot more when you realize what kind of stuff SOLDIER is actually capable of.

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Originally Posted by Hypoallergenic Cactuar

As a full package I'm giving this to 7, hands down. 5 minutes in you've hijacked a train, killed some soldiers, and set a bomb to blow up a giant reactor. Then you fight a robot scorpion.

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I said 5 minutes, not 5 hours.




...what, you don't get to level 20 in the first reactor? :erm:

I really liked XIIs opening scene. Although yeah, it was 7 mins long.



It just feels like an epic grand adventure already. Look at all that politic fighting! LOOK AT IT.