What is your favorite intro/opening of an rpg? Why? Options

[vvalkingman]

So I am making a game and I'm trying to figure out what is the best way to catch someone's attention and keep it...instead of turning them off to the game. As we all know, there is about a 30 second - 2 minute window where we have to spark enough interest in the player so that they don't feel that they've wasted their time downloading your game and just uninstall it. With that in mind, a strong interesting intro/opening is almost as important as the rest of your game...in my opinion, anyway. The first one for me that comes to mind is Final Fantasy 7. You don't get a long winded introduction to the lore of the world, just a giant impressive pane of the city + epic music which leads into a mission where a group of people are trying to bomb a reactor. You actually have a battle within seconds of starting the game and before you know it you are hooked in.

What do you guys n gals think?

[The Welsh Paddy]

FFVII Bombing Mission for an RPG opening, definitely. I tend to find openings that explain the story to you a bit boring. I don't want to have to listen to or read a large narative explaining the history of the world, describing the characters, or what have you. That sort of thing can easilly be drawn out as the game progresses. I also hate games that force you through a tutorial at the start (Like FFXII). I get that it is supposed to make the player familiar with any new features and controls and all, but things like that should be kept as an optional feature. With a game, all I want to do is get in the action.

For games in general, I think one of my favourite openings is the opening for Batman Arkham Asylum. It was amazingly well-written, and I loved the tension it built up to the moment Joker breaks free. And when they introduced Killer Croc during that scene, I swear it made my hair stand on end.