Best Opening Cinemas?

[A Sprite]

Can games play you before you play them?

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRvVYiLBFnQ

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxTQuD5gXoA

Edited July 27, 2007 by A Sprite

[2600Lives]

To me, the best opening cinema of all time is the original Metal Gear Solid. I still go through The Twin Snakes every few months just to relive the game. Other kick ass ones include...

 

Resident Evil RE-Make (GC)

Resident Evil 2 (GC)

WWF War Zone (PS) Still probably the best opening for a wrestling game.

Final Fantasy 7

[Bill Brasky]

To me the best opening cinema is whichever is the shortest and allows me to skip past it with a press of a any button.

[jboypacman]

There is only one that i really really liked and thats because it really rocks out and that would be........

 

SoulBlade for the PS1.I just remember watching and jamming out to the opening of that game over and over again.Good stuff with the visuals and music.

[Artlover]

To me the best opening cinema is whichever is the shortest and allows me to skip past it with a press of a any button.

[supercat]

To me the best opening cinema is whichever is the shortest and allows me to skip past it with a press of a any button.

 

I don't mind intros that can be skipped. Some of them I rather like. On the other hand, I hate games that force the user to wait while an intro (that's going to be skipped anyway) is loaded.

 

Perhaps the optimal approach would be to have two copies of the main game code stored on disk, one of which is interleaved with the intro video. If it would take five seconds to load the game data but nothing else, and a 30 second video requires 66% bandwidth, if the user aborts the video 6 seconds into it, that should take two seconds off the load time (during that six seconds the system should have been able to load 2 seconds' worth of game data).

 

Well maybe that's not quite optimal. Better still is to simply store the games on solid-state media. Given that flash is under $10/gig, I wonder what ROM prices are like?

[Artlover]

Perhaps the optimal approach would be to have two copies of the main game code stored on disk, one of which is interleaved with the intro video. If it would take five seconds to load the game data but nothing else, and a 30 second video requires 66% bandwidth, if the user aborts the video 6 seconds into it, that should take two seconds off the load time (during that six seconds the system should have been able to load 2 seconds' worth of game data).

But doesn't this only apply in situations where the intro is a function of displaying something while the game loads, which in many cases it not the case at all, but just there to be there. There is no excuse or justifications for intro's in that classification to be unabortable.

[SRGilbert]

The first really cinematic game intro that blew me away was Flashback for the Genesis.

[Flojomojo]

To me the best opening cinema is whichever is the shortest and allows me to skip past it with a press of a any button.

Seconded. Though Donkey Kong's little opening isn't too bad.

[2600Lives]

Am I the only one who actually likes cinemas? I feel that they are part of the gaming experience as a whole, especially with modern games. Hell, games and movies are becoming almost indistinguishable anymore. Yes, I do agree that you should be able to skip cinemas, though, especially if you're playing the game through a second time or retrying a particular level.

[+FujiSkunk]

My favorite intro has to be Sonic Adventure. A close runner-up is

.

 

I also have a sentimental attachment to the

opening movie. D2 was the first game I played that actually had cinematics (not counting slide shows or comic-book-like interludes). Edited July 28, 2007 by skunkworx

[autumn_drag0n]

Ninja Gaiden (NES). Best. Intro. Ever.

 

Most pointlessly violent - Double Dragon (Arcade). For shooting an unarmed woman in the abdomen.

 

autumn_drag0n

[zeropolis79]

Final Fantasy 8 without a doubt.. That and Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[kevincal]

Soul Calibur's intro on the DC kicks some serious ass...Gran Turismo 3 and 4's intro's are also insanely cool. Metal Gear Solid 2's is very nice. I've always like the Wipeout intro's. The Final Fantasy's of course.

[Gabriel]

All of the intros in the Soul Blade/Calibur series are captivating. The bit from SC3's with Mitsurugi and Setsuka comes across as lethally flirtatious rather than the genuine murderous intent stated in the background.

 

Silpheed's opening from the Sega CD is a long time personal favorite.

 

DOA2, 4, and the Volleyball games had pretty good opening music videos.

 

It isn't much, but I've always liked the opening of Starfleet Command for the PC. Somehow it just says "This is the Star Trek game you've always wanted" without being as grandiose as other game's opening movies.

 

Tekken 5's opening is another goodie. It seems to say "Sorry for that crappy 4th installment. Here, we really want to make up for it."

 

Sometimes I'll pop in Xenosaga 1 just to watch the opening bit with the credits.

Edited July 28, 2007 by Gabriel

[Artlover]

Am I the only one who actually likes cinemas? I feel that they are part of the gaming experience as a whole, especially with modern games. Hell, games and movies are becoming almost indistinguishable anymore. Yes, I do agree that you should be able to skip cinemas, though, especially if you're playing the game through a second time or retrying a particular level.

Well, none of us, at least I haven't, said we hate them. Just don't want them forced.

 

D2 on the dreamcast anyone. About 20 minutes of opening cinema just to start. Then you start playing. Make an accomplishment, put controller down for another 10 minutes. Take a bathroom break, make a snack, then go do something else while you subconsciencely wait for Kimberly to finally shut up.

[+kisrael]

Star Fox on the SNES.

And NES Bionic Commando... it framed the story perfectly, especially as the ending revealed it was Joe telling it...

Edited July 29, 2007 by kisrael

[figgler]

Am I the only one who actually likes cinemas? I feel that they are part of the gaming experience as a whole, especially with modern games. Hell, games and movies are becoming almost indistinguishable anymore. Yes, I do agree that you should be able to skip cinemas, though, especially if you're playing the game through a second time or retrying a particular level.

 

Cinemas being an "essential" part of the gaming experience is a major problem with modern gaming in my view. The fact that movies and games are almost indistinguishable is not a good thing. Back in the day when a cinema was quick, simple and effective was the peak for me. You know, Pac-Man meets Ms Pac-man and a heart ensues, or a few screens of text, then some animations, then a title screen. Those were the days.

I think once games moved to CD formats, people got really carried away and started investing far too much time and effort into super-elaborate CG movies, just because they could. Now kids don't know the difference and think cinemas make the game. It's a damn shame I say.

[figgler]

Am I the only one who actually likes cinemas? I feel that they are part of the gaming experience as a whole, especially with modern games. Hell, games and movies are becoming almost indistinguishable anymore. Yes, I do agree that you should be able to skip cinemas, though, especially if you're playing the game through a second time or retrying a particular level.

 

Cinemas being an "essential" part of the gaming experience is a major problem with modern gaming in my view. The fact that movies and games are almost indistinguishable is not a good thing. Back in the day when a cinema was quick, simple and effective was the peak for me. You know, Pac-Man meets Ms Pac-man and a heart ensues, or a few screens of text, then some animations, then a title screen. Those were the days.

I think once games moved to CD formats, people got really carried away and started investing far too much time and effort into super-elaborate CG movies, just because they could. Now kids don't know the difference and think cinemas make the game. It's a damn shame I say.

[Flojomojo]

It's a damn shame I say.

Metal

(talk talk talk talk talk)

Gear

(blah blah gas gas)

Solid

(yada yada yada)

 

comes to mind. This game is like a toothache to me.

[Classic Pac]

FF7 all the way

[PressureCooker2600]

Ninja Gaiden (NES). Best. Intro. Ever.

 

Hit the nail on the head with that one.

I second Ninja Gaiden. The music, the camera angles, the epicness.

 

One intro to this day that was fuckin' awesome and blew me away was the intro to Soul Reaver.

" I am Raziel.....first-borne of his lieutenents...I stood with Kain and my brethren at the dawn of the empire."

That is the coolest intro from beginning to end.

[jboypacman]

Sonic CD has a pretty good opening too.

[Shannon]

The opening scenes to Ultima III-V..

[Tempest]

Final Fantasy 8 without a doubt..

 

I'll second that. Although the actual story turned out to be only so-so, the opening was amazing!

 

 

The video doesn't do it justice. It looks absolutely amazing on a real PSX.

 

Tempest