Intros are something that is apparent in many things. Be it shows, movies, and of course, video games. Though they may seem not as important, these can easily turn someone away or leave a pretty dull experience if done poorly. Some games have pretty bland intros, while some don't have any at all. Just a few company logos and then the game starts. But then there are the games that do take you to the intros that stick with you for a long time and just make you want to come back to them, view them every time you turn the game back on. And it's those intros that I want to talk about today. The ones that stand out to me and make me excited for the game ahead and make me want to rewatch them each time I turn the console on. And of course, we always have to talk about the rules. Only one game per franchise and only from games that I have played, so, as much as it pains me to do this, I cannot put any of the openings from the Tales series on here. No Zestiria, Vesperia, Symphonia, any of that. And I will be looking into these intros deeply for symbolism and meaning. Or if they're just cool. With that out of the way, let us start the list
~#10~
It's that time again, everyone. Normally, when I bring up Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I always side track immediately to Majora's Mask. But today... will be no exception.
#10: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Now don't get me wrong, Ocarina of Time is a great game and the intro, I can see, is really beautiful, but I had to go with Majora's Mask for it's setting. I'm a sucker for the disturbing and madami serious tone of Majora's Mask, and I just pag-ibig that so much about it. The intro starts out with the Happy Mask Salesman laughing to himself as he holds the mask. After that, we get a nice few shots of Link sitting around Clock Town as the music plays joyfully. From sitting in the town square to sitting inside the Stock Pot Inn to sitting on a roof in the middle of the night. The music just calmly plays as Link sits there, before we reach the end, and the music changes into a madami ominous tone. We then see Skull Kid, wearing the mask, as he sits on tuktok of the Clock Tower, staring at the giant Moon as the music reaches a dramatic closing, and then we are introduced to the title. This part at the end alone is what made me pag-ibig this intro. The beginning with the Happy Mask Salesman was very mysterious and made me think, "Who is this? What is he holding? Why is this so creepy for a Zelda game?". Then the calm setting of Clock Town that is then spoiled sa pamamagitan ng the appearance of the Skull Kid and the moon just add to the disturbing nature of this game. And I played the original N64 version. The one that didn't make Majora look like a bug eyed freak and didn't make the moon look..... Ill. Some times, better graphics hurt a game. So yeah, the intro's good.
~#9~
Remember the days when Tim Schaffer could do no wrong? And then he had a terrible medyas puppet on stage. But, we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about one of his games, a classic of mine and my two brothers: Brutal Legend.
#9: Brutal Legend
I'm not talking about the live action intro with Jack Black, as great as that is on it's own. I'm talking about the intro passed the start screen. The game opens with a konsiyerto for a fictional heavy metal band, Cabbage Boy. We see Eddie Riggs, the protagonist of this story, tuning a guitar, as he is getting the konsiyerto ready for the band, a band that is... pretty terrible, actually. Just your typical nu-metal Limp Bizkit backwards-cap too-cool-for-school tween-demographic band that can't sing worth shit yet is loved sa pamamagitan ng edgelords and ironic Reddit users... You know, those bands. As one is about to have a fatal accident, Eddie rushes on stage, and narrates about the job of a roadie: To allow others to look good while staying out of the spotlight and only appearing to fix a problem, and then disappearing soon after. That is a message that is stated throughout the entire game, and in the ending, as Eddie isn't praised for his actions, but instead, his comrades. And he is pretty content with that. He's a roadie, after all. His job is to let others take the glory and get the praise. He's fine with hanging back and letting others take all the credit. And after Eddie gets his job done, he is killed from a stage hazard, but is revived thanks to his blood being used on the Metal Beast, a name I can't spell for shit, and taken to the world of Metal. A pretty good intro for a game nobody bought. Also, being able to censor the blood and swearing in this game adds to the hilarious nature.
~#8~
As of the time of this article, I still have yet to play Left 4 Dead 2, a game that I have heard is real good with it's gameplay and has a pretty good intro. But, as I said, I have not played. What I have played, however, is the first Left 4 Dead, and it's intro is just as good.
#8: Left 4 Dead
From the start of the game, you are introduced to the four characters. Bill, Francis, Zoe, and Bill as they try to find safety in the city infested with the undead. As little symbolism and deeper meaning there is in this intro, I think it still has a great effect for the player. You are introduced to each of the four characters, and all of their character traits just from the start, with Bill being rather clumsy, Bill being madami aware and careful, et cetera. And not just the four characters, but also the enemies. Turning off the lights when running into a Witch, having to help a downed member when a Hunter is attacking them, and even when a car alarm goes off with the Infected rushing at them. The game could have easily told you all this stuff through constant cutscenes or tutorials, but instead, it shows you all of these minor details in the cutscene. You know what to do in this, as well as some gameplay. And that just makes this a lot madami unique. Also, the intro ending on tuktok of a roof, the exact same roof where one of the missions begins, just shows the effectiveness of this intro when it was simply just a few moments nakaraan in the game. I don't know how Left 4 Dead 2's intro is connected to it's gameplay, but if it's anything like the first games, than I think it may be just as good.
~#7~
Rhythm games, you'd think, do not need to have a serious meaning to it. They just need gameplay, and a listahan of popular songs that everyone likes, maybe a few obscure ones for the hipsters, and it sells itself. So naturally, Rock Band went the extra mile to create a really good intro.
#7: Rock Band
Being shown to you through a very impressive CGI cutscene, it may just appear as a pretty cool intro with a small band playing Deep Purple's Highway bituin down the road of a beat up car, but there is actually some symbolism in this, if you can believe that. The band is always moving from a rusted car to a large truck to a tour bus with the Rock Band logo on it. This shows the band moving up in the world, from being a small time group of nobodies to rock and roll fame. Of course, they are jumping form one to the other in rather dangerous fashion, being launched into the air after every bump, even flying off of a cliff and the music stopping for a brief moment before landing on their new tour bus and reaching the crescendo of their song. This, also symbolic, as the road to stardom, it ain't easy. Hell, it's even dangerous. But when you make it, goddamn do you make it. And that's what this intro is proving to me. Or maybe I'm looking to much into a rhythm game. If that's the case, than the intro is just real cool and nothing else to it.
~#6~
You know, I think we've reached a point in our world where those who actually do keep talking about Half-Life 3 are just doing it as a joke. I think even the fans just gave up on Half-Life 3 ever existing. But at least we'll always have Half-Life 2 and it's mind blowing intro.
#6: Half-Life 2
The intro for Half-Life 2 is a short one. It's probably the shortest one on this list. All you witness is Freeman slowly awakening to find the G-Man, speaking to Freeman about how it is his time once again to do what he does best, and that is survive and make a point for the people. And that he is, as he stated, "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world". That is a quote that I think can easily stick with a person. Freeman is the right man and has definitely been in the wrong place multiple times. And he is awakening just to find himself in the wrong place yet again, as he becomes a part of a revolution against the controlling government of the world after the Seven oras War. And with that, G-Man disappears slowly as Freeman finds himself waking up in a train, just like in the first game. While not in the presence of G-Man in the first game, Freeman was in a train in the first game, and here he is, once again, finding himself inside of yet another train, ready to throw himself head first into another world of violence and chaos because he is told to sa pamamagitan ng others. Because he is asked to sa pamamagitan ng the G-Man. It feels like Freeman is doing everything again like at Black Mesa. And that is why I think that this intro sticks out. Though, I may be thinking too deeply into this for all I know.
~#5~
While I could have put the intro to Dark Souls in here, I think that, as cool as it is, it just doesn't strike me as a dying world. It strikes me as a pantasiya world, sure, and the settings and characters in the game ipakita the fate of the world, but as to ipakita me the dangers that lie ahead, I think that it was done right in the first game. The first game before Dark Souls.
#5: Demon's Souls
The moment you start Demon's Souls, you are already ibingiay the feeling that you are entering a world that you are not welcome in. The game starts off with mga panipi about how, on the first day, man was ibingiay a soul, and on the segundo day, they were faced with a demon that devours souls. And throughout it, a bleak orchestra, with drums and a single voice singing, before breaking into a choir and loud, haunting orchestral music. You are shown corpses, a bleak and depressing world, and a the massive shadow of a creature that covers the entire land with this shadow. The intro then shows you a single knight and a few friendly phantoms fighting off rotted enemies and a giant skeleton, but not easily like a medieval badass, but madami tiring and exhausted, being knocked around. You can feel the weight of this knight's sword and armor and can feel him being knocked down. And just when things couldn't look madami dire, you are greeted to the sight of a terrifying dragon, with two rows of teeth, roaring at the screen, and then, the pamagat screen. Well, if that isn't a lovely welcoming, I don't know what is. Just this intro alone tells you of the challenges you will face and lets you know that death is imminent and can happen at any moment, and you will just have to accept this. Yeah, Demon's Souls is a rather soul crushing game, I can tell you for sure.
~#4~
Okay, as a person who loves the world building in an intro, I should have probably put the original Fallout on this list. But then, the fanboy inside me reminded me of another game, one that I couldn't help but put the intro for into this list.
#4: Fallout: New Vegas
The intro starts out inside the Lucky 38, a place untouched sa pamamagitan ng the nuclear warfare of the games lore, yet barren and without a soul insight. Outside the Lucky 38, The Strip, is filled with New California Republic, or NCR, soldiers and civilians, and right outside the protected gates, Caesar's Legion keeps their eyes on the place as soldiers are moving around their little camp. And just a tuktok a small burol in Goodsprings Cemetery, sits Benny, the man who took the Courier's package he was delivering and has him ready to be placed into a grave before shooting him in the head. Already, from this alone, you are introduced the four major players of this little game, Mr. House in the Lucky 38, the NCR, the Legion, and Benny himself. All while Ron Perlman gives his usual speech in Fallout games about how war never changes and how the Mojave Wasteland is affected sa pamamagitan ng the warfare between the NCR and the Legion. Already, you can tell that, while some of these sides are madami morally right than another, you can tell that each of these four sides are not good people, but not completely malicious and evil. This all will come into play later on and how you will cause this change. And then, before Benny shoots the Courier, he gives his famous quote about how, as he states, "The game was rigged from the start". And from there, you are on your path towards Benny, for either revenge or for answers. Of course, this all depends on you.
~#3~
I was so close, and I mean so close, to putting Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty's intro on this list, but when we talk about Metal Gear Solid, you all know exactly which entry in the series I am going to go with, each and every time.
#3: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The intro starts off with news of historical events from the 1960s, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban misayl Crisis, the Vietnam War, the first man on the moon, and of course, the Cold War and Soviet Russia. As a huge history nerd, this really interests me. The intro than cuts to gameplay, which then cuts to the skeleton of a snake slithering across the screen, then back to gameplay, than green camouflage in the shape of fighter planes and the seven continents of the world. The game always cuts back to the gameplay, with the character, Naked Snake, moving across the jungle, fighting off Russian soldiers, and eating mga hayop in order to keep his hunger down. The game always keeps up the symbolic imagery of both stealth that the franchise is known for and mixes it with the 1960s warfare and technology that it is known for. The constant shifting of larawan such as camo turning into weapons or countries shows the politics and how close some countries were to war, at least, that's how I interpret it. And then there is the skeleton of a snake. In case it wasn't obvious, snakes are a big part of the series, and we have here a snake stripped down to nothing but it's bones, practically naked. A Naked Snake, if you will. And not to mention, that James Bond-esque music that you hear throughout the intro is just breathtaking.
~#2~
Oh, Persona. Why do you have to have so many good intros. I could have picked any, ANY, for this list. I could have picked the joyful intro of Persona 4, I could have picked the colorful and bouncy intro for the remake, Persona 4 Golden. I could have picked the stylish and jazzy tone of Persona 5. I could have even picked a spin-off game that even had good visuals, like Persona 4: Dancing All Night or Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax. But, regardless, I knew I had to go with Persona 3. But which one? Well, let's just say you can never truly beat the classics.
#2: Persona 3
I was torn, between the original intro to Persona 3 or the intro to Persona 3: Portable. But obviously, I went with the original one. Because it is just that good. The intro started with ipinapakita the white silhouettes of the characters from the game in front of a blue background while the intro theme plays. Now, each Persona game has a distinct color for it. Persona 4 has bright yellows, Persona 5 has hard crimson reds, and Persona 3 has light, almost depressing blues, and that is a theme that PErsona 3 explores. Sadness. This is a pretty depressing game that will eventually make you feel hopeless at points. And if that wasn't enough to make you feel hopeless, the intro immediately throws you Latin text, a phrase that the game is known for. The text, Memento Mori, translates to, "Remember that you are mortal. Remember that you will die." Heavy stuff, I know. Persona 3 carries a theme of accepting that, one day, you and everyone else, are mortal and will have to die one day. The way the characters in this game summon their Personas is through aiming a gun-like object at their heads and firing the trigger. Death is symbolised throughout this entire game, and in this intro, through the Latin text, the light blue colors, and the gun-like objects every character carries. This amount of symbolism is not new to Persona 3 and is still in every Persona game after it, but I feel, with how it is shown here in Persona 3, just makes me like it a little more.
~#1~
Persona 3 was real close to taking the number one spot. It had everything I liked in an intro, from underlying themes to music to visuals. But, as I was working on this list, I remembered an intro to another game. Another game that was just as visually impressive, just as symbolic, and just as well crafted to make the player immediately invested in the game.
#1: Bioshock
Bioshock does not hesitate to ipakita you the world you are in store for. The game starts with the protagonist, Jack, on a plane, looking at a gift from his parents with the phrase, "Would You Kindly" written on it. Which, to avoid spoilers, is a meaningless phrase that you should completely forget anything about. Anyway, after that, the plane crashes and Jack, having survived the crash, takes refuge in a mysterious lighthouse in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which introduces him to a room with an elevator, and a massive statue, with the quote, "No gods or kings. Only man". As Jack follows an elevator that is playing Beyond the Sea on a violin, he enters it to hear of the creator of this place, Andrew Ryan, discussing his on philosophy on the world. About how some people claim their work is for the people or for the rich and powerful, when really, Ryan believes that something created sa pamamagitan ng one man belongs to that one man and that one man alone, and then, you are introduced to the city of Rapture, an underwater metropolis that houses the greatest minds of art and science in the world, where they can create their work, without fear of morality or criticism, and where them and them alone can keep the work to themselves. As amazing as this all seems, you can already feel that something isn't right from the start, as there is some massive creature in a single dome-like bridge, along with some conversations on the radio discussing about something called Splicers. What are Splicers? Don't worry, you'll find out in a few segundos when one of them kills a man and then tries to kill Jack. And from here, you are already on your way on a journey through Rapture. Dear god. Of all the intros that grabbed my attention, the intro to Bioshock had me completely enveloped. I didn't have anything to say. I was just in awe the first time I saw it. Everything about the intro was perfect. The music, the setting, the visuals, the themes that it portrayed of society at the time and Andrew Ryan's complete and utter horseshit hipocracey. And that atmosphere... I have no words to describe how perfect it was. It's just so good. Please, if you haven't played Bioshock, do not look at this intro. This is an intro you should experience on your own. It is perfect in every way.
~#10~
It's that time again, everyone. Normally, when I bring up Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I always side track immediately to Majora's Mask. But today... will be no exception.
#10: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Now don't get me wrong, Ocarina of Time is a great game and the intro, I can see, is really beautiful, but I had to go with Majora's Mask for it's setting. I'm a sucker for the disturbing and madami serious tone of Majora's Mask, and I just pag-ibig that so much about it. The intro starts out with the Happy Mask Salesman laughing to himself as he holds the mask. After that, we get a nice few shots of Link sitting around Clock Town as the music plays joyfully. From sitting in the town square to sitting inside the Stock Pot Inn to sitting on a roof in the middle of the night. The music just calmly plays as Link sits there, before we reach the end, and the music changes into a madami ominous tone. We then see Skull Kid, wearing the mask, as he sits on tuktok of the Clock Tower, staring at the giant Moon as the music reaches a dramatic closing, and then we are introduced to the title. This part at the end alone is what made me pag-ibig this intro. The beginning with the Happy Mask Salesman was very mysterious and made me think, "Who is this? What is he holding? Why is this so creepy for a Zelda game?". Then the calm setting of Clock Town that is then spoiled sa pamamagitan ng the appearance of the Skull Kid and the moon just add to the disturbing nature of this game. And I played the original N64 version. The one that didn't make Majora look like a bug eyed freak and didn't make the moon look..... Ill. Some times, better graphics hurt a game. So yeah, the intro's good.
~#9~
Remember the days when Tim Schaffer could do no wrong? And then he had a terrible medyas puppet on stage. But, we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about one of his games, a classic of mine and my two brothers: Brutal Legend.
#9: Brutal Legend
I'm not talking about the live action intro with Jack Black, as great as that is on it's own. I'm talking about the intro passed the start screen. The game opens with a konsiyerto for a fictional heavy metal band, Cabbage Boy. We see Eddie Riggs, the protagonist of this story, tuning a guitar, as he is getting the konsiyerto ready for the band, a band that is... pretty terrible, actually. Just your typical nu-metal Limp Bizkit backwards-cap too-cool-for-school tween-demographic band that can't sing worth shit yet is loved sa pamamagitan ng edgelords and ironic Reddit users... You know, those bands. As one is about to have a fatal accident, Eddie rushes on stage, and narrates about the job of a roadie: To allow others to look good while staying out of the spotlight and only appearing to fix a problem, and then disappearing soon after. That is a message that is stated throughout the entire game, and in the ending, as Eddie isn't praised for his actions, but instead, his comrades. And he is pretty content with that. He's a roadie, after all. His job is to let others take the glory and get the praise. He's fine with hanging back and letting others take all the credit. And after Eddie gets his job done, he is killed from a stage hazard, but is revived thanks to his blood being used on the Metal Beast, a name I can't spell for shit, and taken to the world of Metal. A pretty good intro for a game nobody bought. Also, being able to censor the blood and swearing in this game adds to the hilarious nature.
~#8~
As of the time of this article, I still have yet to play Left 4 Dead 2, a game that I have heard is real good with it's gameplay and has a pretty good intro. But, as I said, I have not played. What I have played, however, is the first Left 4 Dead, and it's intro is just as good.
#8: Left 4 Dead
From the start of the game, you are introduced to the four characters. Bill, Francis, Zoe, and Bill as they try to find safety in the city infested with the undead. As little symbolism and deeper meaning there is in this intro, I think it still has a great effect for the player. You are introduced to each of the four characters, and all of their character traits just from the start, with Bill being rather clumsy, Bill being madami aware and careful, et cetera. And not just the four characters, but also the enemies. Turning off the lights when running into a Witch, having to help a downed member when a Hunter is attacking them, and even when a car alarm goes off with the Infected rushing at them. The game could have easily told you all this stuff through constant cutscenes or tutorials, but instead, it shows you all of these minor details in the cutscene. You know what to do in this, as well as some gameplay. And that just makes this a lot madami unique. Also, the intro ending on tuktok of a roof, the exact same roof where one of the missions begins, just shows the effectiveness of this intro when it was simply just a few moments nakaraan in the game. I don't know how Left 4 Dead 2's intro is connected to it's gameplay, but if it's anything like the first games, than I think it may be just as good.
~#7~
Rhythm games, you'd think, do not need to have a serious meaning to it. They just need gameplay, and a listahan of popular songs that everyone likes, maybe a few obscure ones for the hipsters, and it sells itself. So naturally, Rock Band went the extra mile to create a really good intro.
#7: Rock Band
Being shown to you through a very impressive CGI cutscene, it may just appear as a pretty cool intro with a small band playing Deep Purple's Highway bituin down the road of a beat up car, but there is actually some symbolism in this, if you can believe that. The band is always moving from a rusted car to a large truck to a tour bus with the Rock Band logo on it. This shows the band moving up in the world, from being a small time group of nobodies to rock and roll fame. Of course, they are jumping form one to the other in rather dangerous fashion, being launched into the air after every bump, even flying off of a cliff and the music stopping for a brief moment before landing on their new tour bus and reaching the crescendo of their song. This, also symbolic, as the road to stardom, it ain't easy. Hell, it's even dangerous. But when you make it, goddamn do you make it. And that's what this intro is proving to me. Or maybe I'm looking to much into a rhythm game. If that's the case, than the intro is just real cool and nothing else to it.
~#6~
You know, I think we've reached a point in our world where those who actually do keep talking about Half-Life 3 are just doing it as a joke. I think even the fans just gave up on Half-Life 3 ever existing. But at least we'll always have Half-Life 2 and it's mind blowing intro.
#6: Half-Life 2
The intro for Half-Life 2 is a short one. It's probably the shortest one on this list. All you witness is Freeman slowly awakening to find the G-Man, speaking to Freeman about how it is his time once again to do what he does best, and that is survive and make a point for the people. And that he is, as he stated, "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world". That is a quote that I think can easily stick with a person. Freeman is the right man and has definitely been in the wrong place multiple times. And he is awakening just to find himself in the wrong place yet again, as he becomes a part of a revolution against the controlling government of the world after the Seven oras War. And with that, G-Man disappears slowly as Freeman finds himself waking up in a train, just like in the first game. While not in the presence of G-Man in the first game, Freeman was in a train in the first game, and here he is, once again, finding himself inside of yet another train, ready to throw himself head first into another world of violence and chaos because he is told to sa pamamagitan ng others. Because he is asked to sa pamamagitan ng the G-Man. It feels like Freeman is doing everything again like at Black Mesa. And that is why I think that this intro sticks out. Though, I may be thinking too deeply into this for all I know.
~#5~
While I could have put the intro to Dark Souls in here, I think that, as cool as it is, it just doesn't strike me as a dying world. It strikes me as a pantasiya world, sure, and the settings and characters in the game ipakita the fate of the world, but as to ipakita me the dangers that lie ahead, I think that it was done right in the first game. The first game before Dark Souls.
#5: Demon's Souls
The moment you start Demon's Souls, you are already ibingiay the feeling that you are entering a world that you are not welcome in. The game starts off with mga panipi about how, on the first day, man was ibingiay a soul, and on the segundo day, they were faced with a demon that devours souls. And throughout it, a bleak orchestra, with drums and a single voice singing, before breaking into a choir and loud, haunting orchestral music. You are shown corpses, a bleak and depressing world, and a the massive shadow of a creature that covers the entire land with this shadow. The intro then shows you a single knight and a few friendly phantoms fighting off rotted enemies and a giant skeleton, but not easily like a medieval badass, but madami tiring and exhausted, being knocked around. You can feel the weight of this knight's sword and armor and can feel him being knocked down. And just when things couldn't look madami dire, you are greeted to the sight of a terrifying dragon, with two rows of teeth, roaring at the screen, and then, the pamagat screen. Well, if that isn't a lovely welcoming, I don't know what is. Just this intro alone tells you of the challenges you will face and lets you know that death is imminent and can happen at any moment, and you will just have to accept this. Yeah, Demon's Souls is a rather soul crushing game, I can tell you for sure.
~#4~
Okay, as a person who loves the world building in an intro, I should have probably put the original Fallout on this list. But then, the fanboy inside me reminded me of another game, one that I couldn't help but put the intro for into this list.
#4: Fallout: New Vegas
The intro starts out inside the Lucky 38, a place untouched sa pamamagitan ng the nuclear warfare of the games lore, yet barren and without a soul insight. Outside the Lucky 38, The Strip, is filled with New California Republic, or NCR, soldiers and civilians, and right outside the protected gates, Caesar's Legion keeps their eyes on the place as soldiers are moving around their little camp. And just a tuktok a small burol in Goodsprings Cemetery, sits Benny, the man who took the Courier's package he was delivering and has him ready to be placed into a grave before shooting him in the head. Already, from this alone, you are introduced the four major players of this little game, Mr. House in the Lucky 38, the NCR, the Legion, and Benny himself. All while Ron Perlman gives his usual speech in Fallout games about how war never changes and how the Mojave Wasteland is affected sa pamamagitan ng the warfare between the NCR and the Legion. Already, you can tell that, while some of these sides are madami morally right than another, you can tell that each of these four sides are not good people, but not completely malicious and evil. This all will come into play later on and how you will cause this change. And then, before Benny shoots the Courier, he gives his famous quote about how, as he states, "The game was rigged from the start". And from there, you are on your path towards Benny, for either revenge or for answers. Of course, this all depends on you.
~#3~
I was so close, and I mean so close, to putting Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty's intro on this list, but when we talk about Metal Gear Solid, you all know exactly which entry in the series I am going to go with, each and every time.
#3: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The intro starts off with news of historical events from the 1960s, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban misayl Crisis, the Vietnam War, the first man on the moon, and of course, the Cold War and Soviet Russia. As a huge history nerd, this really interests me. The intro than cuts to gameplay, which then cuts to the skeleton of a snake slithering across the screen, then back to gameplay, than green camouflage in the shape of fighter planes and the seven continents of the world. The game always cuts back to the gameplay, with the character, Naked Snake, moving across the jungle, fighting off Russian soldiers, and eating mga hayop in order to keep his hunger down. The game always keeps up the symbolic imagery of both stealth that the franchise is known for and mixes it with the 1960s warfare and technology that it is known for. The constant shifting of larawan such as camo turning into weapons or countries shows the politics and how close some countries were to war, at least, that's how I interpret it. And then there is the skeleton of a snake. In case it wasn't obvious, snakes are a big part of the series, and we have here a snake stripped down to nothing but it's bones, practically naked. A Naked Snake, if you will. And not to mention, that James Bond-esque music that you hear throughout the intro is just breathtaking.
~#2~
Oh, Persona. Why do you have to have so many good intros. I could have picked any, ANY, for this list. I could have picked the joyful intro of Persona 4, I could have picked the colorful and bouncy intro for the remake, Persona 4 Golden. I could have picked the stylish and jazzy tone of Persona 5. I could have even picked a spin-off game that even had good visuals, like Persona 4: Dancing All Night or Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax. But, regardless, I knew I had to go with Persona 3. But which one? Well, let's just say you can never truly beat the classics.
#2: Persona 3
I was torn, between the original intro to Persona 3 or the intro to Persona 3: Portable. But obviously, I went with the original one. Because it is just that good. The intro started with ipinapakita the white silhouettes of the characters from the game in front of a blue background while the intro theme plays. Now, each Persona game has a distinct color for it. Persona 4 has bright yellows, Persona 5 has hard crimson reds, and Persona 3 has light, almost depressing blues, and that is a theme that PErsona 3 explores. Sadness. This is a pretty depressing game that will eventually make you feel hopeless at points. And if that wasn't enough to make you feel hopeless, the intro immediately throws you Latin text, a phrase that the game is known for. The text, Memento Mori, translates to, "Remember that you are mortal. Remember that you will die." Heavy stuff, I know. Persona 3 carries a theme of accepting that, one day, you and everyone else, are mortal and will have to die one day. The way the characters in this game summon their Personas is through aiming a gun-like object at their heads and firing the trigger. Death is symbolised throughout this entire game, and in this intro, through the Latin text, the light blue colors, and the gun-like objects every character carries. This amount of symbolism is not new to Persona 3 and is still in every Persona game after it, but I feel, with how it is shown here in Persona 3, just makes me like it a little more.
~#1~
Persona 3 was real close to taking the number one spot. It had everything I liked in an intro, from underlying themes to music to visuals. But, as I was working on this list, I remembered an intro to another game. Another game that was just as visually impressive, just as symbolic, and just as well crafted to make the player immediately invested in the game.
#1: Bioshock
Bioshock does not hesitate to ipakita you the world you are in store for. The game starts with the protagonist, Jack, on a plane, looking at a gift from his parents with the phrase, "Would You Kindly" written on it. Which, to avoid spoilers, is a meaningless phrase that you should completely forget anything about. Anyway, after that, the plane crashes and Jack, having survived the crash, takes refuge in a mysterious lighthouse in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which introduces him to a room with an elevator, and a massive statue, with the quote, "No gods or kings. Only man". As Jack follows an elevator that is playing Beyond the Sea on a violin, he enters it to hear of the creator of this place, Andrew Ryan, discussing his on philosophy on the world. About how some people claim their work is for the people or for the rich and powerful, when really, Ryan believes that something created sa pamamagitan ng one man belongs to that one man and that one man alone, and then, you are introduced to the city of Rapture, an underwater metropolis that houses the greatest minds of art and science in the world, where they can create their work, without fear of morality or criticism, and where them and them alone can keep the work to themselves. As amazing as this all seems, you can already feel that something isn't right from the start, as there is some massive creature in a single dome-like bridge, along with some conversations on the radio discussing about something called Splicers. What are Splicers? Don't worry, you'll find out in a few segundos when one of them kills a man and then tries to kill Jack. And from here, you are already on your way on a journey through Rapture. Dear god. Of all the intros that grabbed my attention, the intro to Bioshock had me completely enveloped. I didn't have anything to say. I was just in awe the first time I saw it. Everything about the intro was perfect. The music, the setting, the visuals, the themes that it portrayed of society at the time and Andrew Ryan's complete and utter horseshit hipocracey. And that atmosphere... I have no words to describe how perfect it was. It's just so good. Please, if you haven't played Bioshock, do not look at this intro. This is an intro you should experience on your own. It is perfect in every way.