• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Best Intro of ALL TIME

Tritroid

Tritroid

Member
What is it for you guys? Which game has had the best and longest animation w/sound before you press the start button?

For me, it's definitely Tales of Symphonia. Awesome hand-drawn animation with a beautiful score.

intro-009.jpg

intro-008.jpg

intro-018.jpg


Runners up: Soul Calibur 2
Zelda: Majora's Mask

WinnArs:

MGS2: 16
MGS: TTS: 1
Tales of Symphonia: 2
Tekken 2: 1
Tekken 3: 1
Tekken 4: 1
Tekken 5: 2
Tekken Tag Tournament: 1
Shadow Hearts: 2
Ninja Gaiden (NES): 1
FF6: 2
FF8: 18
Mario Power Tennis: 3
Sonic Adventure: 4
Beyond Good & Evil: 1
Onimusha 3: 5
RE1: 1
RE4: 2
RE:Veronica: 2
RE: Outbreak: 1
Sonic CD: 1
Zelda: LA: 2
Zelda: MM: 1
Zelda: OOT: 5
Zelda: WW: 1
DMC3: 1
Diablo 2: 1
Soul Edge: 11
Soul Calibur: 4
Deus Ex: 4
Contra: Shattered Soldier: 1
Fallout: 3
Fallout 2: 1
Xenogears: 1
Katamari: 3
Ultima 8: Pagan: 1
Kingdom Hearts: 2
Chrono Cross: 3
Diablo 1: 1
Warcraft 3: 1
Namco X Capcom: 1
World of Warcraft: 4
Dawn of War: 1
Super Metroid: 2
Metroid Prime: 1
Half Life: 3
Final Fight: 1
Breath of Fire IV: 1
BoF: Dragon Quarter: 1
Mars Matrix: 1
Starfox (SNES): 1
Shenmue: 4
Shining Force III: 1
Madden 2000: 1
NiGHTS: 1
Ride Racer Type 4: 2
Super Smash Bros. (N64): 1
Super Smash Bros. Melee: 2
Megaman 2: 1
Megaman/Rockman 8: 1
Gungriffon: 1
Rocket Ranger: 1
Suikoden 3: 2
Ico: 2
Starcraft: 1
Full Throttle: 1
Vagrant Story: 1
Command and Conquer: Red Alert: 1
Wild Arms: 2
Grandia: 1
Super Street Fighter: 1
Red Dead Revolver: 1
Sam & Max: 1
Panzer Dragoon: 1
Gran Turismo: 1
Zone of the Enders 2: 1
Arcuss Odyssey: 1
 
MGS2: SOL - The whole tanker chapter.

Edit. Seriously: Gran Turismo series (with the original soundtrack). I cant play the game without watching it at least once evey time.
 
as much as I didn't like the game, FFVIII has the best intro bar none. Liberi Fatali, Seifer vs. Squall, I mean how fucking cool is that? I saw the intro and I was like wow if the game is like this intro well fuck me, too bad the intro was the only good part of the game:(
 
Are you guys serious...?

Sonic Adventure wins this hands down. That had to be one of the most jaw dropping intros I've ever seen in a game.
 
The intro for FF VIII is a masterpiece, finest intro ever!

Some other intros I really like are from Resident Evil 2, Xenogears, Wipeout series, Parasite Eve and Chrono Cross.
 
Metal Gear Solid 2 is likely my number one choice. I loved the entire game, of course, but that Tanker chapter was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Just incredible. I've probably seen that intro upwards of 40-50 times...and it is STILL exciting as hell.

Now, if we are talking about FMV intro movies (not actual game introduction, just the "insert disc" video)...

Katamari Damashii
Ridge Racer V (realtime)
Ridge Racers
Star Ocean III
Killzone
Sonic Adventure
Soul Calibur (realtime)
Soul Blade
ICO (realtime)
Onimiusha 1 and 3

...and perhaps a few more.
 
Ocarina of Time. Beautiful music intro and you could see Link on his horse, riding through Hyrule field and checking out beautiful scenery.
 
Soul Edge and Final Fantasy 8 comes up trumps here.

The effect they had then was awesome. Really impressive... and can still hold up well through their composition, music and feel that they created.
 
Best. Intro. EVER:

[FADE IN
INT. VERSALIFE - NIGHT - CLOSE ON - EARTH
rotating beneath the sculpture of a giant, grasping hand. TILT DOWN to REVEAL BOB PAGE and WALTON SIMONS in quiet discussion, the globe and hand reflected in the marble at their feet. As they talk, MAGGIE CHOW walks past.]

PAGE:
- Your appointment to FEMA should be finalized within the week. I've already discussed the matter with the Senator.

SIMONS:
- I take it he was agreeable?

[TWO SHOT - PAGE AND SIMONS
The globe hangs overhead; their faces are shrouded in shadows.]

PAGE:
- He didn't really have a choice.

SIMONS:
- Has he been infected?

PAGE:
- Oh, yes, most certainly. When I mentioned that we could put him on the priority list for the Ambrosia vaccine, he was so willing it was almost pathetic.

SIMONS:
- This plague -- the rioting is intensifying to the point where we may not be able to contain it.

[As Page speaks, PUSH IN on his eye -- right up to the point before it CLIPS.]

PAGE:
- Why contain it? Let it spill over into the schools and churches, let the bodies pile up in the streets. In the end, they'll beg us to save them.

[CUT TO:
INT. FREE CLINIC - NIGHT
The camera TRAVELS low to the floor like an animal prowling along the dingy linoleum. It PUSHES through the door and along the overcrowded clinic hallways, filled with the listless walking corpses of those afflicted with the Gray Death. Here and there a doctor can be seen in avid conversation with one of the poor souls, but it's quite apparent that they're overwhelmed -- it's simply a matter of numbers.]

SIMONS:
- I've received reports of armed attacks on shipments. There's not enough vaccine to go around, and the underclasses are starting to get desperate.

PAGE:
- Of course they're desperate. They can smell their death, and the sound they'll make rattling their cage will serve as a warning to the rest.

[The camera circles the hallways of the clinic and PUSHES back through the door and CONTINUES straight through the wall and into a --
EXT. PARIS ALLEY - NIGHT
A motley group of resistance fighters is being methodically slaughtered by a squad of MJ12 troops and bots.]

SIMONS:
- Mmm. I hope you're not underestimating the problem. The others may not go as quietly as you think -- intelligence indicates they're behind the problems in Paris.

PAGE:
- A bunch of pretentious old men playing at running the world.

[TILT DOWN to the fallen bodies of the resistance fighters, then TILT UP to the moon hanging lonely in a cloudy sky.]

PAGE:
(continuing)
- But the world left them behind long ago. We are the future.

[MATCH CUT TO:
EXT. STATUE OF LIBERTY - NIGHT - ANGLE ON - MOON
If possible, match the position of the moon from the previous scene. CRANE DOWN to the broken husk of the Statue of Liberty and then PAN the crowd standing on the plaza below before coming to rest on Manderly as he paces back and forth in front of his podium.]

SIMONS:
- We have other problems.

PAGE:
- UNATCO?

[As Simons speaks, PUSH IN on Manderly.]

SIMONS:
- Formed by executive order after the terrorist strike on the Statue. I have someone in place, though. I'm more concerned about Savage -- he's relocated to Vandenberg.

[CUT TO:
INT. UNATCO MEDLAB - NIGHT - CLOSE ON - GREAZLE
pacing in its cage. PULL BACK to show a scientist nearby who paused to inspect the greazle and now continues on her patrol. Keep PULLING BACK to show the whole of the mysterious medlab.]

PAGE:
- Our biochem corpus is far in advance of theirs, as is our electronic sentience. And their...ethical inflexibility has allowed us to make progress in areas they refuse to consider.

SIMONS:
- The augmentation project?

[CUT TO:
INT. VERSALIFE - NIGHT - EXTREME CLOSEUP - PAGE'S EYE
PULL BACK from Page's eye until he and Simons appear in a TWO SHOT once again, a reverse of the earlier scene transition.]


PAGE:
- Among other things -- but I must admit that I've been somewhat disappointed in the performance of the primary unit.

SIMONS:
- The secondary unit should be online soon. It's currently undergoing preparation and will be operational within six months. My people will continue to report on its progress. If necessary, the primary will be terminated.

[CUT TO:
INT. AREA 51 LAB - NIGHT - GLASS TUBE
seen from behind. Inside can be glimpsed the dim outline of a naked human body, floating suspended and silent.]

PAGE:
- We've had to endure much, you and I, but soon there will be order again, a new age. Aquinas spoke of the mythical City on the Hill. Soon that city will be a reality, and we will be crowned its kings.

[SMASH CUT TO:
BLACKNESS]

PAGE:
(nearly whispering)
- Or better than kings. Gods.
Click to expand...

Others that are also good:

Ultima 8: Pagan - Guardian's HAND dumping Avatar into The Unknown? Bad-ass.

Final Fantasy VIII - so much energy, chorals, Squall vs Seifer... cool stuff I have it in MPG format on my disk :)

Kingdom Hearts - UTADA! I have it in MOV format on my disk.

Chrono Cross - I just love it. Music is awesome.

Diablo 1 - W-o-w. Amazing CG!

Warcraft 3 - W-o-w. Amazing CG!

World of Warcraft - see above! Blizzard > Square when it comes to CG.

Dawn of War - Lots of shit happening, rush, rush!
 
Best. Intro. EVER:
Click to expand...

Ha ha, that was a great intro...but it wasn't until years after I played the game that I was able to view it smoothly. On my old P2-450, the intro to DX ran like absolute shit (and was filled with HDD access).
 
This gen: Onimusha 3

Previous gen: maybe Panzer Dragon (the first one). I've seen that intro tons of times. And Soul Edge.
 
Shaheed79 said:
That sounds SO familiar. Dues-Ex? That game was fucking amazing and I want a TRUE sequel to it.
Click to expand...

You betcha it's Deus Ex.

Nothing comes close to its glory. That game is so memorable - the cast (Simons, Gunther ("I wanted orange, it gave me lemon-lime!"), Navarre, Paul and JC Dentons, Page, Tracer Tong etc.), the levels - MJ12 laboratories, VersaLife building, Hong-Kong !!!, Area 51, even UNATCO's HQ, the music (menu theme, Hong-Kong, MJ12 etc.), the plot, the story, the RPG elements...

...Deus Ex is just perfect.
 
i think we should just sticky this thread. i'm sick of it, it re-appears every month.

correct answer: IT'S STILL FALLOUT.
 
R4 or Soul Edge.

BTW, the director of the Soul Edge intro now works at Square and is the general director of Visual Works.
 
FortNinety said:
Katamari's opening will make anybody, game player or not, want to play the game just to see what the hell that was all about.
Click to expand...
actually, my friend, who is an avid game player, thought the exact opposite...

i said like "you gotta play katamari damacy"

so he popped it in and saw the intro

...

and then said "i'm not playing that"

:lol :lol :lol

then i said "just play it"

and he grudgingly pressed start...

yeah, he liked it, but the intro would have made him quit if i wasnt there!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Top 100 BEST Horror Games Of All Time!
44
615
RedC replied
  • Poll
Best Xbox console generation of all time?
2 3
129
1K
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt replied
  • Poll
The best handheld of all time?
2 3 4
186
4K
T-0800 replied
IGN: The 100 Best Nintendo Games of All Time
Opinion Trailer Game Dev 
1
186
Hawk The Slayer replied
Best stretch of games released of all time?
2 3
114
3K
Jinzo Prime replied
Top Bottom