Spiderweb The best beginning in an RPG

[felipepepe]

Dark Souls,
Might & Magic VII,
Arx Fatalis,
Morrowind,
Gothic 2,
Wizardry VII,
Wizardry 8,
Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar.

 

[Lilura]

Here are a few of my faves, Lhynn.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Realms of Arkania HD.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Any RPG that takes you through character creation and (if necessary) a brief tutorial, then spits you out into the game world/dungeon so that you're actually playing a game rather than watching/reading a narrative.

Daggerfall (which happens to the be the only Elder Scrolls game where you aren't a prisoner at start) does start you out in the Privateer's Hold dungeon before you can begin exploring the game world, but I'd probably include it in the above category since this dungeon is relatively small and serves as a tutorial.

 

[Nutria]

Fallout2's Temple of Trials is the best beginning.

If only it had Trask, the greatest character in RPG history...

But seriously, Betrayal at Krondor was pretty great. You're the hillbilly Luke Skywalker farmboy who just wants a good education and has greatness thrust upon him. Darklands was good in a half-assed way. "So... like... you guys who I met in a bar are Christian and so am I, so let's form a party, okay?" And PS:T starts out making you really want to know what the hell is going on.

 

[Geckabor]

Morrowind has one of the most memorable starts in a RPG in my opinion. Everyone who played the game knows about Fargoth and Jiub, even though you don't even interact that much with them. Finding the scrolls of Icarian Flight, the murdered tax collector quest and finding Caius Cosades are all fun moments and require exploration of the game world.

 

[Excidium II]

Gothic

 

[Hyperion]

Temple of Elemental Evil. Party creation (even if you could cheat for all 18's...), followed by a different scenario to give a concise, logical reason for going to Hommlet. Actually being in Hommlet is a different story altogether....

Lufia was already mentioned.

Summoner 2. You're on a ship headed home during a terrible storm, then boarded by Pirates. The island you land on has bunches of secrets, sidequests to be completed in the now that require some thought (and a little trial and error), tidbits of information for future sidequests, traps that can debilitate you, an introduction to Maia's summoning / shapeshifting abilities, 2 paths to the Pirate Hideout, hidden loot, and an optional stealth mechanic once inside the hideout itself.

Demon's Souls. Kill a few enemies. Get raped by a 10 ton sword. Or kill said enemy with 10 ton sword, feel like a badass and collect miniscule loot, take a few more steps then get punched in the face by a Dragon God and die anyway.

 

[laclongquan]

So you prefer eight hours of BG2's Irenicus Dungeon over 30 minutes of Temple of Trials...?

Wut? irenicus dungeon takes like 15 minutes, if that. temple of trials takes like 5 minutes, and probably less than that. The fuck are you smoking?

Aaaaah, one of those speedrunners~ you~

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Also Hammer and Sickle.

 

[KyivAfter12am]

Icewind Dale.

"Here within a dimly lit tavern, a group of travelers sit huddled around a table, swapping tales and making grand plans for the future, completely unaware of the part they are to play in the events that are about to unfold."

That intro music.

You just knew it was going to be an old school, cozy D&D adventure.

 

[KyivAfter12am]

Also, Morrowind. I think I still remember all the lines from the Census and Excise office by heart.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Dragon Age Origins and AoD for origins stories are good intros but Morrowind and Fallout New Vegas are the best. Both are quick, to the point and teach you all game mechanics... Largely optional too. All those games with introductionary dungeon on the other hand (Fallout2, Oblivious, FO3, BG2, Skyrim etc...) are cool first couple runs only... then you start to look for skip tutoria/Free startl mods.

 

[Valky]

New Sorp in MM6 was a great area to start and explore in a game.

dont remember the title, but it was bethesda game and you were under arrest

More like under a rest because bethesda's walking simulators bore the shit out of me.

 

[cvv]

Dark Souls 1, hands down. It's not even up for a debate, it's an objective fact and everyone knows it.

 

[Falksi]

Superb beginning, superb game, Shadow Hearts Covenant.....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94Pk88G-iD0

Would love to see this & Summoner 1 & 2 remastered for the PS4.

 

[Bonnie]

The graphics don't look particularly good, the music doesn't draw you in.

Sad you feel that way. I would have said Primordia has a great start - but that's not an RPG now is it?

 

[octavius]

Might & Magic VII,

Really? I could agree with VI, but VII?

 

[Mark Richard]

The peace of an idyllic town disturbed by violence and hints of the player character's mysterious heritage - In many ways the opening to Baldur's Gate 1 was typical RPG fantasy fare, however there was something about the furious exchange of magic during Gorion's last stand that made a huge impression on me. Maybe that's because the fight is performed in-engine and manages to look great without cutting to an over-the-top cinematic of Gorion performing a gratuitous cartwheel while flinging spells that aren't even in the game. Every spell cast is recogonizable, and the level of power on display is achievable. There's a real sense of 'One day... that'll be me. Only, without the horrible death.'

 

[laclongquan]

Also Hammer and Sickle.

Hammer & Sickle is pure trolling in the finest Russian tradition~ It's nice, mind you~ You get optional starting item (and some are unique) based on class and stat. But pure trolling~

Silent Storm's beginning missions, both Axis and Allied, are very nice~ Though the one thing that mar their perfection is that they can not test heavy machine gun users and sniper build for that beginning. Which is fair excuse, but still.

Silent Storm Sentinels is okay in the same vein, but more suitable for S2 veteran gamer than newbies. If you dont know how to storm up the staircase in a blitz attack, it would be annoying to wait for them to go down.

 

[mondblut]

Pools of Darkness (esp. after going through the entire series). You are back where it all began, recognized and lauded as heroes who fixed the thing - then everything goes completely fubar.

 

[MRY]

The graphics don't look particularly good, the music doesn't draw you in.

Sad you feel that way. I would have said Primordia has a great start - but that's not an RPG now is it?

Ha! I always felt we were trying to do too much in the beginning.

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

I forgot to add but King of Dragon Pass had a nice beginning too, going through myth and history of your people to define your build. Simple but effective.

 

[vonAchdorf]

I like the classic "group sits in a tavern" (Darklands, IWD) starts.