List Party! Ten Favorite Game Introduction Sequences

I haven’t done a list in awhile, and this is one I’ve been meaning to do for some time.

There are loads of games that have great intro sequences. Sometimes it’s because of the music, other times it’s because of the crazy visuals, and still other times it’s because of how well it sets the mood for the coming game. It’s all about that first impression, right?

It was the CD-based 32-bit era that really forced this whole concept in gaming to explode. Anime and CG-based FMVs (Full Motion Video) changed everything. “Eye candy” was synonymous with “good FMVs” for about 8 years, since … let’s face it … in-game graphics from the PS1 days were a total fail.

But not everything on this top 10 list is from the PlayStation 1&2 era. Just… most of it. Sorry in advance for the Square bias, and more broadly, for the Japan bias.

Before we get started, a final note: this list is loosely ranked. That is to say, while I probably couldn’t say for certain whether or not #1 is better than #4, I can say with some certainty that #1 is better than #10.

10. SECRET OF MANA (SNES)

This makes the list for two reasons: the amazing music (from Hiroki Kikuta) and that awesome image of the trees and the pink birds flying by. Very few SNES titles left a lasting impression on me based on their openings, but this is one of them.

9. YS II CHRONICLES (PSP)

The above video has a story all its own to it. The video was actually uploaded by Tom Lipschultz (known around the ‘net as “Wyrdwad”), the localization specialist who got his job at XSEED because he is the ultimate Falcom fan. Seriously.

Anyway, the visuals you get here have been used for the last ten years of Ys I & II remakes as the Ys II intro. It was on Eternal, Complete, and now Chronicles for PSP (which just came out in America this last week). The difference is in the music. The Eternal/Complete music is a little too artificial for my tastes. The Chronicles version is great, but my absolute favorite version of this song (“To Make The End Of Battle”) was used in a trailer for Ys II Eternal. That trailer spliced the FMV stuff (which is gorgeous) with gameplay, and that gameplay footage came with LOUD sound effects. The sound effect-free version of the song only exists on a now-rare soundtrack called “Unpublished Music: Ys Eternal + The Legend of Heroes IV.” Which I used to own. Just for the trailer music.

Long story short, the song rules, and the video rules. IMO, Falcom hasn’t had the strongest opening vids for many of their games, but Ys II Complete/Eternal/Chronicles makes up for it.

8. AR TONELICO ~MELODY OF ELEMIA~ (PS2)

Visually, the opening is a standard anime opening; it could’ve worked just as well for a TV anime series. This one makes the list purely for the song, which is easily my favorite game vocal track of the last decade. It has a lasting quality to it, one that Haruka Shimotsuki, Akiko Shikata, and the other vocalists in this series just cannot seem to top with subsequent titles.

7. SUPER SMASH BROS MELEE (GC)

Incredible orchestral medley combined with some of the sharpest FMV we ever saw on the under-appreciated GameCube combines to make an absolutely wonderful opening. Whenever playing this game with friends, people always want to skip the intro and get right to playing, but I do my best to force people to watch it each time. This is a lovely piece of pop art and represents many of the things I love about Nintendo.

6. CHRONO CROSS (PS)

To date, it’s one of Yasunori Mitsuda’s best pieces of music. And visually, it’s some of the best CG out there. This game had its flaws; some people absolutely hate it, in fact. But this FMV gets me psyched to play the game all over again. What an absolutely fantastic introduction. Love it!

5. KINGDOM HEARTS (PS2)

There’s a lot to love, and a lot to hate, about this series. To me, though, this intro is all love. Though I prefer the Japanese song “Hikari” to the English “Simple and Clean” equivalent, either way it’s a catchy piece. What makes this intro so powerful is the scene where Kairi and Sora see … Sora?! … falling from the sky. The moment Sora sees himself falling, he *becomes* that falling self. This singular peak moment is, in my mind, the framework for that silly new title for the 3DS game: “Dream Drop Distance.” I really love this moment.

4. NINJA GAIDEN (NES)

Let’s face it: this game was *the game* to prove that gaming could be cinematic. Little-known fact: scenario writer to this series is Masato Kato, who would later work with Square on games like Xenogears and Chrono Cross. The story is good, yes, but it’s all about those ultra-wide character-panning scenes with the subtitles. This intro blew my mind when I was a kid, and I still love it. Absolutely classic.

3. ZONE OF THE ENDERS (PS2)

Like with Kingdom Hearts, I prefer the Japanese vocal version, but whatever. It’s all good. This is an amazing song to a game that is grossly under-rated, at least among my peers. Hideo Kojima, we want more ZOE! What I really like about this intro is how well it uses in-game graphics interspersed with “FMV” CG work. It’s pretty impressive, especially as a very early title in the PS2 library.

2. FINAL FANTASY VIII (PS)

Epic. Operatic. Genre-defining. These words may not describe FF8 as a whole, but they sure as heck describe its opening FMV. Gunblades and feathers forever. And for its time, it was easily the best CG-based animation out there. This was back when Square was really on top of the “production value” facet of game development. Each FF has a decent opening, but none will ever top the grandiosity of FF8.

1. WILD ARMS (PS)

As you were reading through this list, it must have become more and more apparent that this would be number one. I mean, it HAD to appear somewhere on this list, right? For me, this is the perfect introduction. You get character intros, but not in the cliché anime style you’re used to (see Ar Tonelico above). The song is crazy-catchy, and the “lighting” and style of the animation is simply outstanding. If this didn’t get you excited to play the game, then you shouldn’t be playing games.

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Now it’s your turn. Please use the comments section here to tell me how terribly biased I am towards RPGs (specifically JRPGs) and give us suggestions on what needs to go and what needs to be added.