Best/Worst Beginnings

[Halicia]

Yeah, so the endings thread got me thinking.... I haven't even *seen* the ends to countless games I've played... but I've seen (more or less) every beginning to every game I've played... so here's my personal best & worst from recent games.

Best: Mass Effect 2 - I jumped into the demo not knowing what to expect and immediately ran and purchased ME1 after being blown away. (both figuratively and literally). It didn't hurt that it was a great game altogether, but the opening scene was like playing a AAA scifi movie tailored to your personal choices. (I GREATLY appreciated the little changes after continuing from ME1)

Worst: Fallout: New Vegas - I love the game, really I do, but it took way too long before I reached the titular 'New Vegas' and really started getting drawn into the game.

[Adam Jensen]

ME2. Holy hell, the hero of the game gets KILLED right off the bat? That got me hooked.

And ironically, ME3. Fuckin A, watching that Reaper nuke that little kid, while Shepard watches in horror, with the music in the background . . . gets me every time. First time I played the game, I literally shouted NO! at my computer when his shuttle exploded.

Worst? Oblivion. You're stuck in a prison, either following some old emperor or being attacked by rats before you finally get the hell out and get to start actually playing the game. Skyrim has the same style beginning, when you escape Helgen, but its much more fast paced.

[Caiada]

Agreed on New Vegas, but I think one game in particular had a worse one compared to the rest of the game:

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Several hours of tedium before you get to any of the cool stuff. Once the awe of the fantastic music, setting and writing wear off, you've got literally no redeeming gameplay until you get to the surface. Argh. All the 40-50 hours after that are amazing, so it's sad the beginning is so... meh.

Best: Either FF7 or Arkham City. Arkham City for atmosphere and immediately letting you become the Batman while setting the story up perfectly, FF7 for throwing out all the 'slow beginning RPG' tropes and putting you right into the action immediately. Kickass FMVs were just a bonus.

[Xeones]

As far as beginnings go I'll just go on the record and say I can't recall anything quite as bad ass as the opening cinimatic for FFVIII. The lengthy text that followed? Not so much.

Witcher 2 you get laid and basically single handedly win a seige? You know you're a bad ass when you do that in the first 10 minutes.

FFX was pretty awesome too the whole cinematic was a new experience, completely ground breaking graphics with a bad ass metal track? Hells yea.


As for one I didn't like I thought really hard to remember one but I think I'm going to go with Jade Cocoon if I remember right it's got over 30 minutes of text before you can start playing.

[Taliesyn]

Yeah, ME2 had a good opening, but my vote goes to Dragon Age: Origins. Some of the origins are just mind-blowing, especially the City Elf (as a female) and the Human Noble. I teared up during the latter, and was ECSTATIC when I got to butcher Vaughan in the former.

Edit: My personal worst was UO. I got pickpocketed for everything I had within 60 seconds of first logging in. I didn't mind Oblivion/Skyrim, simply because every Elder Scroll game has started with your character being a prisoner. By this point, that's just what they do.

[Duruka]

I'm gonna go with Skyward Sword and all the Pokemon games as worst. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if I could just skip the tutorials after my first time through.
Skyward Sword's is just boring overall, besides a few cool scenes, but the tutorials make it even worse.

If we're counting cinematics as beginnings, then I'd have to say Wrath of the Lich King has the best. The DK starting area and stepping out into Northrend were cool too, but nothing beats the cinematic.

[Dannoson]

Best: I'd have to agree with ME3. The music in that game is the best out of the series, I think. FF X is also very nice. Loved the music for opening, and Auron in general is a badass.

Worst: I hate games that show you things you can't do in game, such as biotics floating themselves around (curse you, Samara), or starting as a badass, taking several guys out at once, then losing that awesomeness and going back to a regular weakling. Obviously, a good story would temper that bad beginning though. Lost Odyssey is an example of the latter. It also is slow paced, making it even more annoying. However, it is a classic style RPG at it's core, so some of these things can be expected.

[Adam Jensen]

Yeah, ME2 had a good opening, but my vote goes to Dragon Age: Origins. Some of the origins are just mind-blowing, especially the City Elf (as a female) and the Human Noble. I teared up during the latter, and was ECSTATIC when I got to butcher Vaughan in the former.

Edit: My personal worst was UO. I got pickpocketed for everything I had within 60 seconds of first logging in. I didn't mind Oblivion/Skyrim, simply because every Elder Scroll game has started with your character being a prisoner. By this point, that's just what they do.

I didn't mind so much being a prisoner, it was more spending 30 minutes killing random rats in a sewer to find my way out that irked me. As I said, Skyrim's beginning isn't so bad as it is more fast paced, once Alduin attacks.

Heh, reminds me of Dragon Age. If you play a Cousland and at the beginning, the Grey Warden (before he's a Grey Warden ofc) is tasked to clear out rats in a cellar. He comments that all the stories begin that way. Speaking of which, DA:O had a good beginning, I prefer the Cousland beginning. It's a fun start.

[Taliesyn]

Heh, reminds me of Dragon Age. If you play a Cousland and at the beginning, the Grey Warden (before he's a Grey Warden ofc) is tasked to clear out rats in a cellar. He comments that all the stories begin that way. Speaking of which, DA:O had a good beginning, I prefer the Cousland beginning. It's a fun start.

Heh. You refer to the Human Noble origin I mentioned in the post you quoted.

Interestingly, it appears DA:O made both my best beginning (Human Noble, Female City Elf) and best ending (Ultimate Sacrifice) lists. It was just an awesome game all-around.

[Digglett]

Beginnings don't really leave big impacts on me as in, nothing comes to mind.

[pickley]

I liked the start to ME3, with the inception BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGS as the Reapers landed. Was pretty dramatic.

Worst anything that forces you through a tutorial (Pokemon comes to mind)

[Skelington]

Skelington would have to agree on pokemon as worst beginning, since nothing else comes to mind. After the first time through, they are just annoying as hell.

[poser765]

I don't know about best, lol but if you are a serious gamer then one of the first things that comes to mind as being memorable is the first opening 15 seconds of Super Mario Brothers. we all know the first opening bars of the awesome midi soundtrack. we all know where that first poor baddie is who is about to get jumped on and we all know where the first mushroom is.

[Taliesyn]

I don't know about best, lol but if you are a serious gamer then one of the first things that comes to mind as being memorable is the first opening 15 seconds of Super Mario Brothers. we all know the first opening bars of the awesome midi soundtrack. we all know where that first poor baddie is who is about to get jumped on and we all know where the first mushroom is.

Not all of us....

[poser765]

Not all of us....

The old school gamers do. Should have said older vs serious.

[pickley]

The old school gamers do. Should have said older vs serious.

You cant seriously say the beginning of Super Mario Bros is the best beginning....
And its only memorable because you've played it like 50 million times.

[Larynx]

I don't know about best, lol but if you are a serious gamer then one of the first things that comes to mind as being memorable is the first opening 15 seconds of Super Mario Brothers. we all know the first opening bars of the awesome midi soundtrack. we all know where that first poor baddie is who is about to get jumped on and we all know where the first mushroom is.

No, we don't.

[Evilmaniac]

Well you asked now enjoy.

[obdigore]

FFIV.

Your nice and friendly king requests you go bring a present to your neighbors, and it turns out its a firebomb trap thats supposed to kill them and you?

VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE, BETRAYER!

[Taliesyn]

The old school gamers do. Should have said older vs serious.

My first game was something I coded up for a Vic-20. In third grade. In 1979-1980. From there it was arcades, Asteroids, Frogger, Pitfall, that ET Atari nightmare, Archon, Telengard, the original Bard's Tale, Ultima, etc. I think I most certainly count as old-school.

It just so happens that Super Mario Brothers never interested me.

Edit: Screenshot of the first non-console CRPG I ever played: