Best Retro Game Intros

Doge

What are your favourite intros to retro games?
Here's 2 that instantly come to mind, the Last Ninja 3's cinematic intro really pushed the limits of the c64 at the time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IuZ8hVq_8Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlfrJDglTMQ

o1s1n

Duke Nukem: A Time to Kill.

Game was pretty mediocre but always liked the intro. Especially the track.

Haven't actually watched it in years so it may have aged terribly! NSFW for pixelated boobage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouIuBwGE8lM

Retr0gamer

Always thought the Vagrant Story intro was pure class. Really sets the tone of the game and the credits make it feel cinematic. It ends with a fight with wyvern that's been impaled with a load of arrows.

CiDeRmAn

The 3DO Road Rash intro is pure class.
The collected videos from the 3DO The Need for Speed are also great, much of which was left out of the PS and other ports of the game.

But this is probably my favourite of all time, at least in part because it gave my new, at the time, Dolby Prologic set-up a much-needed work out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pib9PM0pLeY

o1s1n

Anyone else kinda miss these CGI intros from the 32 bit era?

I remember buying a game and half the enjoyment about first firing it up was seeing how cool the intro was (and wondering how long it would take for games to start looking like this)

Amazing how rubbish it looks now, but the PS1 Tekken intro used to look great;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxVdUVgqO3A

Retr0gamer

Miss them as well. Namco and square were in an arms race against each other.

Jack burton

Still love the opening to final fantasy VIII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyBensMp_MA

Inviere

o1s1n wrote: »

Anyone else kinda miss these CGI intros from the 32 bit era?

I remember buying a game and half the enjoyment about first firing it up was seeing how cool the intro was (and wondering how long it would take for games to start looking like this)

Amazing how rubbish it looks now, but the PS1 Tekken intro used to look great;

I remember always thinking "those will be the in-game graphics on the next console after this one", when seeing those. If you imagine they're running on the console that came out after the 16bit era, you can get a sense of just how much wow factor the PS1 packed. It was jaw dropping.

ozozo

Not sure if it can be considered as retro but I always enjoyed Worms 2 intro video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkzFMfCamdU

Doge

o1s1n wrote: »

Anyone else kinda miss these CGI intros from the 32 bit era?

I remember buying a game and half the enjoyment about first firing it up was seeing how cool the intro was (and wondering how long it would take for games to start looking like this)

Amazing how rubbish it looks now, but the PS1 Tekken intro used to look great;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxVdUVgqO3A

I thought the Tekken 2 intro was much more epic personally.
I remember being amazed by it on a demo disc, at how great the CGI graphics looked, and how sexy the blonde looked in it haha!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVFnXKpiH5M

mrcheez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyMKWJ5e1kg

always sends a chill down my spine

Doge

Quake II had a fairly decent albeit basic intro also, with your entire platoon wiped out it was enough to get your blood pumping for revenge, and then the level opens with the track Descent into Cerberon plays giving the perfect atmosphere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miHAh2Q-U94

The intro story in the manual was very well written also, finishing with:

"You leap out the crushed pod door, alone, with blaster in hand, and tear off into the room with the bittersweet stench of vengeance coursing through your veins…"

Heres the full page:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=588947632

o1s1n

Inviere wrote: »

I remember always thinking "those will be the in-game graphics on the next console after this one", when seeing those. If you imagine they're running on the console that came out after the 16bit era, you can get a sense of just how much wow factor the PS1 packed. It was jaw dropping.

I know right? Jumping from 16 bit sprites to 32 bit CGI, it wasn't unreasonable to think that the next generation would look like the CGI intros. I really was expecting that with the PS2 release, especially with all the talk of the Emotion Engine etc - when I finally got one and saw how similar (relatively speaking) games were to PS1 games, it turned me off gaming for that whole generation.

Doge wrote: »

I thought the Tekken 2 intro was much more epic personally.
I remember being amazed by it on a demo disc, at how great the CGI graphics looked, and how sexy the blonde looked in it haha!

Ahhhh it was actually the Tekken 2 into I was thinking of afterall! Yeah must have watched it a million times on that demo that came with the console. They really packed a lot into that disc.

Retr0gamer

I found the jump from PS1 to PS2 pretty major. 3D games on PS1 and N64 felt like the engine was about to tear itself apart at any moment due to the texture warping, low framerates and other issues from that generation. The Dreamcast/PS2 was the first generation where the game engines felt stable without being held together by jank.

o1s1n

I can appreciate that looking back alright, but did you notice that at the time?

PS1 games looked amazing when they came out. I remember being absolutely blown away by the likes of Gran Turismo, MGS and Resident Evil. Can't say I would have been sitting there noticing flaws, sure my brain wouldn't have had the experience/knowledge to really understand what the flaws were (maybe a bit of clipping, that was about it)

Retr0gamer

Well PS1 and N64 games looked amazing at release but I was also familiar with PC games and by 1998 they were starting to look very shabby. Even in arcades you had naomi based games and stuff like Daytona. For instance I played Tomb Raider 2 on my PC with a first gen Power VR graphics card but played Tomb Raider 3 on the PS1 and the visual jank was very evident. Going from that generation to the Dreamcast was a massive leap in 3D visual fidelity, far great than any generation since.... and probably ever will be due to how visual advancements slowdown with each gen.

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

I know right? Jumping from 16 bit sprites to 32 bit CGI, it wasn't unreasonable to think that the next generation would look like the CGI intros. I really was expecting that with the PS2 release, especially with all the talk of the Emotion Engine etc - when I finally got one and saw how similar (relatively speaking) games were to PS1 games, it turned me off gaming for that whole generation.

I'm not sure how true it is but the CG intro for Metal Gear VR missions was apparently created using the engine they were creating for MGS2 on PS2. When you look back at it it's very possible it was. The FFVIII dance scene was also recreated on PS2 hardware as a tech demo.

CiDeRmAn

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LSTO7vpJg4

Doge

Totally forgot about this one!
Impressive for the Mega Drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzBc5a3frlY

Star Lord

Surprised this one hadn't gotten a mention either... blew my tiny mind back in the early 90s!

Another World:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1EGP2EyWe0

Inviere

Star Lord wrote: »

Surprised this one hadn't gotten a mention either... blew my tiny mind back in the early 90s!

Same! Incredible sense of atmosphere, and have that real "Amiga" feel to it that just wasn't properly available on consoles.

Chris_Heilong

This is the first time I thought a game intro actually looked good, Tekken had really stiff animation during its intros and N64 games themselves were blurry mess.

CosmicSmash

I always liked the Ridge Racer 4 intro, I thought it suited the game perfectly.

CiDeRmAn

CosmicSmash wrote: »

I always liked the Ridge Racer 4 intro, I thought it suited the game perfectly.

Best bit of the game!

mrcheez

pfft... best ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y82oCGk7Re4

"Gay bonaaaaa ret's go away"

o1s1n

Star Lord wrote: »

Surprised this one hadn't gotten a mention either... blew my tiny mind back in the early 90s!

Another World:

One of my favourite things about that intro is how seamlessly it melds into the first level.

To the point where I'm sure 100% of people who have played that game die the on their first attempt within seconds as they dont realise it's started

Shenmue II, designed for Sega Dreamcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsLUrsxWvxw

Jack burton

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

This is the first time I thought a game intro actually looked good, Tekken had really stiff animation during its intros and N64 games themselves were blurry mess.

That is definitely one of my favourites, Tekken 2 up there aswell.

A fantastic PS2 one is onimusha 3

Star Lord

o1s1n wrote: »

One of my favourite things about that intro is how seamlessly it melds into the first level.

To the point where I'm sure 100% of people who have played that game die the on their first attempt within seconds as they dont realise it's started

Yup... absolutely!!!

mrcheez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfK28O3mkhA

Voted #1 for "oh **** I have a broken cart... to welcome to one of the greatest gaming moments on the NES" in the span of 6 seconds

I swear my heart initially dropped when I got this for my 12th birthday and turned it on to think I had a broken copy in the first 3 seconds. I was on the verge of blowing into the cart when the Batman finally showed

peddlelies

This is prob my favourite.

Doge

Here's another decent c64 intro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9xJLf9ocdI

Retr0gamer

Kapustina wrote: »

Cash Bandicoot FOREVER

The music and character have annoyed me since release.

I just remember the original game as this mediocre platformer that was badly received yet gets recognition because it was the only popular platformer on PS1 so everyone played it. Klonoa and tomba were far better than crash bandicoot ever achieved.

CiDeRmAn

I have always loved the first Gran Turismo game's intro, as much for the excellent use of "Everything Must Go" by the Manics.
It took me a near decade to find that on CD!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncQ_2wMJ4I

Kidchameleon

Super Metroid

DaveyDave

I've always been fond of the Street Fighter Alpha 3 intro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtXRtHPf7uM

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I have always loved the first Gran Turismo game's intro, as much for the excellent use of "Everything Must Go" by the Manics.
It took me a near decade to find that on CD!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncQ_2wMJ4I

This is the strongest nostalgia I've had in a long time! Have a few songs from the game in my Spotify library

Stoner

Not so much an intro as it just played in the background, but I loved the sound on Galaxian, the intro showing the points for each shot down ship.


https://youtu.be/XhYVcwhSWjI

Thargor

o1s1n wrote: »

Duke Nukem: A Time to Kill.

Game was pretty mediocre but always liked the intro. Especially the track.

Haven't actually watched it in years so it may have aged terribly! NSFW for pixelated boobage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouIuBwGE8lM

That was embarrassing even back at the time.

o1s1n

Thargor wrote: »

That was embarrassing even back at the time.

Only embarrassing for those who take gaming far too seriously

CiDeRmAn

DaveyDave wrote: »

This is the strongest nostalgia I've had in a long time! Have a few songs from the game in my Spotify library

This is the actual full CD release, just over six minutes long!.
I went through a few bob trying to find this, but did in Chapters, back when it was on Abbey St and sold lots of CDs and Vinyl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-CTqviskQ

DaveyDave

Just thought of this! Loved the sound of overboost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAZV7X94UFA

DaveyDave

Just thought of this! Loved the sound of overboost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAZV7X94UFA

KeRbDoG

Two which I'm surprised didn't get mentioned

Syndicate (Amiga)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_NttOr3ZHM

Syndicate Wars (PS1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe2y5E2u8TM

The other is Gran Turismo on the PS1 with "Everything Must Go"

o1s1n

God, I loved Syndicate Wars! The little 2000AD animated ads blew my mind. Still remember paying full whack for that when it came out in Advanced Vision in Bray, 45 pounds. :eek:

KeRbDoG

o1s1n wrote: »

God, I loved Syndicate Wars! The little 2000AD animated ads blew my mind. Still remember paying full whack for that when it came out in Advanced Vision in Bray, 45 pounds. :eek:

Ah, the in game billboard ads! There was another for Ghost In The Shell too

CiDeRmAn

The best thing about Ridge Racer Type 4 was the opening movie, the game was very hard for me to love!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMZ872rsa90

circadian

Ridge Racer Type 4 is the best in the series for me. I poured hours into it and the soundtrack was excellent, that intro is definitely a stand out from that era too.

circadian

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I have always loved the first Gran Turismo game's intro, as much for the excellent use of "Everything Must Go" by the Manics.
It took me a near decade to find that on CD!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncQ_2wMJ4I

I remember hearing that track for the first time and spending weeks hunting through local record shops for it, one of them eventually found it and ordered it in for me. Still a cracking remix.

circadian

Great intro, great game.

mrcheez

25th Anniversary version released recently too and it's great

super_furry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-g-83_emKE

Immediately thought of Omega Boost when I say the thread title and went to watch the intro, which in my head was class.

It eh.....it's definitely of it's era let's say. Probably cost a mental amount of money too.