Best videogame intros.

[Soul]

Look at this one.
It's Mission Humanity (PC)

YouTube - Mission Humanity - New Human Campaign

[Palazzo]

A quick few here off the top of my head but I'm sure I'll remember a few more later:

Soul Blade (PS1) - Before I even had this game everybody who played it said that it was quite possibly the best intro to a game ever at that point. Twelve years later it still does the business, it introduces us to all the characters of the game, the settings and is backed up with an awesome piece of music. Brilliant intro, even better game.

Tekken 2 (PS1) - I mentioned in a previous post about how much of a Tekken fan I am but Tekken 2 is still my favourite of the series. For me Tekken 2 had the best set of characters, the best music and the best storyline at that point in the series. Before I had the game I played the demo over and over and over, obviously it was to play the game but partly it was to see the wonderful intro. The music used in the intro movie is called 'Black winter night sky', everytime I hear that piece it takes me back to 1997, playing Tekken 2 on a demo disc for my new brand new Playstation. Good times.

Final Fantasy VII (PS1) - Like thousands of other people this is still my favourite game of all time, I very much doubt I'll enjoy another game as much as Final Fantasy VII. The opening movie with Aeris walking through the slums as the camera pans right up to reveal the giant city of Midgar still sends shivers down my spine, a brilliantly memorable moment in gaming history. The musical score really adds to the whole thing, I recommend finding the orcestrated version on Youtube.

Time Crisis (PS1) - This is a personal favourite of mine, the lightgun shooter Time Crisis. The storyline was very cheesy with a president's daughter getting herself kidnapped and you as the hero having to save her. The opening movie plays out like some sort of action movie trailer, introducing the characters by name as the screen freezes and then unfreezes so that particular character can spurt out a catchphrase. The intro ends with the title coming into view, crosshairs appearing over it and the sound of a shot being fired off. The narrator then says "Time Crisis" in a very action-movie trailer voice. Very cheesy but I still loved it all them years ago and still love it today.

[Soul]

I took the liberty to fetch those videos for ya.


YouTube - Soul Blade Intro
YouTube - Tekken 2 Intro PSX
YouTube - Final Fantasy VII - Intro
YouTube - Time Crisis 1 Intro

[Palazzo]

Ah nice one mate, I have just watched all four of those again, really brings back memories. Watching that Time Crisis one again doesn't do the graphics any favours against some of today's games but I still think its great and can still stand up gameplay-wise. Here are a couple more that popped into my head earlier:

Silent Hill (PS1) - I still think this is the scariest game ever made and the first time I played it I couldn't believe how atmospheric it was. The very first time the main character steps foot into the 'evil' side of Silent Hill is unbelievably tense with its sharp camera movements, creative use of sound and puzzles. This has always been one of my favourite intros to a game because there is just something eerie about that opening movie, it almost compells us to play through the game and uncover the mysteries of Silent Hill.

Street Fighter 2 (SNES) - This isn't the most exciting intro to a game by any means but for pure nostalgia this brings it right back for me. I'll never forget going to my friend's house as a kid and playing this on his Super Nintendo for the first time. We must have spent hours playing Street Fighter 2 it was unbelievable, who didn't love this game?

Broken Sword: Shadow of The Templars (PC/PS1) - I didn't think point and click games were my thing but playing this back in 1997 changed all that. I loved the art style, characters and voice actors and most of all the scenery. The eerie clown from the opening movie always pops into my head when I think of opening movies. It's funny watching it again because the story sees the main character go from searching for a deadly clown to unravelling a much bigger, deadly plot. The third game in the Broken Sword series went 3D and revisited some of the locations from this first installment although I didn't think it had as much of the charm with the new graphics.

[Soul]

WOW. Yeah Silent Hill.
That is a great intro too.

[Soul]

Here:
YouTube - My Top 5 Videogame intros

[Palazzo]

Nice video there Soul, I had completely forgotten about Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, absolutely brilliant intro. I remember seeing screenshots of that King of Fighters intro in an old Computer and Video Games magazine, glad I finally got to watch the real thing there!

[Soul]

Thanks, Soul Reaver is one of my favourite games of all times.

[Secret lemonade drinker]

Darkseed (AMIGA): The digitised graphics blew me away back in 1993, and the macabre game with those bleak Giger graphics captivated me. It was a short intro of a man having an alien embryo implanted into his head, and it left me aghast when I first saw it...
LINK: YouTube - Darkseed Injection

Shadow of the Beast (AMIGA): I had a Spectrum at the time, and the thought that a computer could make music like this made me weep with desire for an A500.
LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qipWqOwkceg

Another World (AMIGA): Rotoscoping; still gets me today.
LINK: YouTube - Another World Hi-Res Intro

DEAD SPACE (PS3): Recently played this, and loved the sense of scale, especially when the ship drops from warp, and you have the whole vista of the planet before you.
LINK: YouTube - Dead Space Intro

CHO ANIKI (PS2): Seriously. WTF is this? What the hell is wrong with Japan?!
LINK: YouTube - Choaniki PS2 (jap)

[Derekflint]

One that isn't. Resident Evil on the Playstation - the Gamecube remake on the other hand was amazing.

Haven't played Silent Hill - found a new copy a couple years back that I really need to try.

Perfect Dark on the N64 was rather impressive - probably my first inkling that video games could take on movies.

Dare I offer a prediction? The upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum might just take the best ever intro title...