Ranking 20 years of WoW: the best & worst CGI cinematics

[Doffen]

BfA. It is so well done cinematically. Great iteration of the story characters, Sylvanas and Anduin looking great!

Shame the expansion didn't live up to it.

I recently watched Legion one. I for one really dig Varian speaking through the whole cinematic. For me, Varian and Anduin Wrynn are the best story related characters in World of Warcraft. Anduin is probably my favourite. So the Legion cinematic got so much depth to it imo, its really good.

Vanilla too of course. The music and introduction of races and classes is what makes it so good. Its a hook-trailer. And, its 20 years old. Just WoW.


My favourite Warcraft cinematic is Grom Hellscream and Thrall vs Mannoroth from Warcraft III. Now thats legendary.

(Best one of all from Blizzard, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, a masterpiece)

From best to worst:
BfA(Epic from start to finish)
Vanilla(Just WoW)
Legion(Father and son, relateable)
Shadowlands(admit it, tearing up the sky was epic)
MoP(Best music)
TWW(Manduin)
WotLK(Arthas was a big manbaby, RIP Terenas)
WoD(We are liberators?)
TBC(Best expansion, still not prepared)
Cataclysm(Meh)
Dragonflight(no)

[BarosanuNr1]

TBC didn't hype you up? You're crazy! When did you start playing WoW?

I tried to classify them retrospectively, not based on the initial hype that they generated for me. If I went by their initial hype, then the WotLK and the WoD cinematics would have won by a veeery large margin. At the end of the WotLK one I was standing and didn't remember getting up from my chair.

Why do I consider the TBC cinematic average (not great, not terrible)? I guess the fact that it was too similar to the Vanilla one (shots of each new race, followed by a mix of battle scenes) worked to its detriment. Because it invites an obvious comparison with the Vanilla cinematic and because the hype I had with the Vanilla cinematic when I first saw it was absolutely real ("Yes! Yes! I want this NOW!"). My initial reaction for the TBC one was more tame ("Oh, that's cool! Can't wait to play this.").
Also, I find Illidan's pose at the and a bit weird, I preferred him in the War3 cinematic.

[ChairmanKaga]

It's interesting how some of the best cinematics were for less well received expansions like Cataclysm, WoD, Shadowlands and BfA. Legion was a great expac but the cinematic was sort of tepid. Mists of Pandaria I'm partial to as an animator but it didn't have the gravitas. Dragonflight turned out to be a good expansion but the cinematic is pretty mild. I think Wrath stands out as a combination of a great expansion paired with a great cinematic.

[GabrielKnight]

I would give Battle for Azeroth the gold medal. I was rarely excited for a game at that moment, yet this intro blew my mind, and it delivered. This expansion became my all-time favorite, even to this day.

Second place would be Warlords of Draenor. I was extremely hooked by this intro, it's pure awesomeness and so it was the expansion, which is my second favorite. Also, it helped fuel my unconditional love for the Warcraft movie, which came out at the end of this expansion; I still remember the boner I had after watching it (it lasted for many days, it was quite painful), and how I rewatched WoD's cinematic to compare some faces.

I would give the bronze medal for the original intro, as it marks the beginning of a definitive change in gaming history and one of the greatest masterpieces the industry has ever seen. Special mention to Wrath of the Lich King, as it's filled with nostalgia and powerful moments.

Pandaland and Dragonfart don't even deserve to be on the same list as these others. The first one starts alright but as soon the bear shows up it's nothing but anime cringe; the latter doesn't even deserves discussion, it's a disaster. The War Within is lame muh feelings trash, but at least it has the decency of showing stuff related to the franchise and not some meme character or Pixar garbage.

[Amnaught]

Context definitely changes these, too.

Like Battle For Azeroth's cinematic was INCREDIBLE when it was put out as a promise that the two player factions would have equal representation, two major campaigns from two major perspectives. A rallying cry For The Horde and For The Alliance. I was extremely hyped.

Now, rewatching it, you know that the "For The Horde!" was actually shorted by a traitor. She was just trying to kill as many of us all as possible to fuel the soul machine of a reconned megavillain. "What makes us strong" is the name of the cinematic and an important line in the cinematic but it has literally no answer. She was bullshitting. The Alliance won both warfronts and defeated the Zandalari fleet, and the Horde got to fight their own leader a second time. Alliance raided Zandalar and killed their king, but Jaina got away and we end up on her side immediately after that for some reason? Even the biggest Horde victory in the expansion, Teldrassil, wasn't our victory, it was just Sylvanas being evil.

Depressing.

[Hylander]

1. Vanilla -- still the best presentation of the game and its atmosphere (TBC would've been as good if not for clashing inserts of Illidan)
2. WotLK, DF; TWW -- different types of narrative cinematics, all cool and enjoyable
3. MoP -- probably best sound design and choreo
4. Cata, BfA -- epic and cool
5. WoD -- almost as cool as Cata/BfA, but with weird pacing moments
6. Shadowlands -- saved from last place just by one cool visual
7. Legion -- dosen't have any cool visual, just terribly paced, bland and boring

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Is there a consensus that TWW will not get a proper cinematic?

DF had the "stoney boy climbs the tower" cinematic that everybody thought was going to be *the* expansion cinematic... but then Blizzard released the "Take to the Skies" cinematic which was closer to a proper expansion cinematic.

I would imagine that TWW will get another one as well... but I've been left with my dick hanging in the wind by Blizzard before.

[username993720]

I'm baffled by the large amount of people putting TWW so high.... it is not a proper cinematic, but a cutscene of sorts, like Anduin and Saurfang talking "cinematic".

Pandaland and Dragonfart don't even deserve to be on the same list as these others. The first one starts alright but as soon the bear shows up it's nothing but anime cringe

If anything, Legion gives off anime vibes.
This is how every FFXIV cinematic looks like: a hero getting ready to fight, joined by another one who helps him.

DF had the "stoney boy climbs the tower" cinematic that everybody thought was going to be *the* expansion cinematic... but then Blizzard released the "Take to the Skies" cinematic which was closer to a proper expansion cinematic.

What are you talking about? The stoney boy one was the cinematic. Take to the skies is akin to Beyond the Veil.

[rohansharma6014]

I really like the vanilla and TBC cinematics. I liked when they just did a showcase of various classes and races.

[DeltrusDisc]

I tried to classify them retrospectively, not based on the initial hype that they generated for me. If I went by their initial hype, then the WotLK and the WoD cinematics would have won by a veeery large margin. At the end of the WotLK one I was standing and didn't remember getting up from my chair.

Why do I consider the TBC cinematic average (not great, not terrible)? I guess the fact that it was too similar to the Vanilla one (shots of each new race, followed by a mix of battle scenes) worked to its detriment. Because it invites an obvious comparison with the Vanilla cinematic and because the hype I had with the Vanilla cinematic when I first saw it was absolutely real ("Yes! Yes! I want this NOW!"). My initial reaction for the TBC one was more tame ("Oh, that's cool! Can't wait to play this.").
Also, I find Illidan's pose at the and a bit weird, I preferred him in the War3 cinematic.

Hmm, fair enough. Honestly I found both Vanilla and TBC made me want the game and want to play it.

And lol I can feel ya on WotLK having you standing. That one is something truly special. <3

[tromage2]

Warlords of Draenor - Times Change

Easy pick for me, most important event Warcraft history that the Orcs took the demon blood or would have.
And Orcs and Demons is pretty mutch core warcraft for me with the Hellscreams nothing beats that.