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Spiderweb The best beginning in an RPG

Filthy Sauce

Arbiter
Joined
Jan 26, 2016
Messages
614
TOEE, on release day, blind, no patch, and on ironman mode.

You see, there was an ironman mode bug (I didn't realize it was a bug at the time) which makes your party start with zero money at the start of the game. So, you got no funds and everyone only has a staff and a blue robe.

The whole situation was intense. Those retarded fetch quests in town actually had a purpose. HELL YEAH!!!! I JUST DELIVERED FARMER JOE'S BITCHIN BAG OF COW CORN TO THE MARKET AND GOT 40 COPPERS!! I CAN NOW AFFORD A COUPLE OF ARROWS. IF I PRAY REALLY HARD TO JESUS MAYBE HE WILL DELIVER UNST TO ME A BOW.

Also shit trash loot was necessary for survival. Getting in a random with goblins was desirable. So was dumpster diving and flat out theft.

I had a lot of dead/replaced heroes and a few party wipes, but I slowly started to make my way in life. Unfortunately other more serious bugs came into play, so I patched the game. Not only did the patch kill my save, but ironman parties now started with money. Didn't touch the game for 5 years after that.
 

Serus

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
6,681
Location
Small but great planet of Potatohole
I don't understand - do we talk about intros or beginnings of the games (as in - where actual player imput starts) ? Not the same thing.

When it comes to intros FF6 is great - sadly the gameplay is shit beyond words as in most of the series with the only possible exception of part 5 (only tried parts 4 -8). Still the intro IS fantastic.

Actual beginnings - many good examples were mentioned. I'll give a honorable mention to Jagged Alliance 2. The first thing you need to do playing a game on a computer - is to do stuff on a computer in-game to start actual game... brilliant if you ask me.
 

pippin

Guest
TOEE, on release day, blind, no patch, and on ironman mode.

You see, there was an ironman mode bug (I didn't realize it was a bug at the time) which makes your party start with zero money at the start of the game. So, you got no funds and everyone only has a staff and a blue robe.

The whole situation was intense. Those retarded fetch quests in town actually had a purpose. HELL YEAH!!!! I JUST DELIVERED FARMER JOE'S BITCHIN BAG OF COW CORN TO THE MARKET AND GOT 40 COPPERS!! I CAN NOW AFFORD A COUPLE OF ARROWS. IF I PRAY REALLY HARD TO JESUS MAYBE HE WILL DELIVER UNST TO ME A BOW.

Also shit trash loot was necessary for survival. Getting in a random with goblins was desirable. So was dumpster diving and flat out theft.

I had a lot of dead/replaced heroes and a few party wipes, but I slowly started to make my way in life. Unfortunately other more serious bugs came into play, so I patched the game. Not only did the patch kill my save, but ironman parties now started with money. Didn't touch the game for 5 years after that.

The real Murderhobo experience. I love it.
 
Self-Ejected

IncendiaryDevice

Self-Ejected
Village Idiot
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
7,407
I don't understand - do we talk about intros or beginnings of the games (as in - where actual player imput starts) ? Not the same thing.

When it comes to intros FF6 is great - sadly the gameplay is shit beyond words as in most of the series with the only possible exception of part 5 (only tried parts 4 -8). Still the intro IS fantastic.

Actual beginnings - many good examples were mentioned. I'll give a honorable mention to Jagged Alliance 2. The first thing you need to do playing a game on a computer - is to do stuff on a computer in-game to start actual game... brilliant if you ask me.

I get the feeling a lot of people (about 60%) are just mentioning their favourite RPG regardless of reality. Reading through the thread just now I could make a wall of text from quotes where my response would just be "complete bollocks" and a brief description of why, but I really can't be arsed. What I'll do instead is mention a game I really couldn't stand, Ultima 7, and say the start of that game was freakin' awesome - "Hi new player, go look at that body that's been ritually murdered" and then bumming round the town discovering loads of cool shit (only to have it all ruined by the first combat encounter and two more overkill towns, but the start was good).
 

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,825
I don't understand - do we talk about intros or beginnings of the games (as in - where actual player imput starts) ? Not the same thing.
Intro plus first hour or so, anything that leaves a strong impression in that time frame is in. For some games it will be the first thing you see, or the first 5 minutes, for others itl be the first 60 minutes, or more. It really depends on how long the actual game is.

I get the feeling a lot of people (about 60%) are just mentioning their favourite RPG regardless of reality.
Noticed that as well, good games usually have good intros, but thats not always the case.
 

ProphetSword

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Jun 7, 2012
Messages
1,755
Location
Monkey Island
Pool of Radiance

The journal itself has a battered poster on the cover that entices you with a call to adventure. Phlan needs heroes!

Then, after you roll up your party of AD&D heroes, you step off a boat and are met by someone who gives you a tour of the town. He then cuts you loose and tells you that you're "on your own."

Sounds mundane by today's standards, but for 1988 it was epic.

hqdefault.jpg
 

wyes gull

Savant
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
424
Despite VtMB's being a great piece of world-building and doing a good job of setting the stakes (er...) I'd much rather be left to my own devices to figure things out than have to watch a damn cutscene. But I'll take the cutscene over a temple of trials and mandatory ants or mice fights. Going to go with Gothic here. Video notwithstanding:
"Hi, I'm Diego."
"I'm-"
"Don't care. Fuck off."
Alright then.

Silent Storm Sentinels is okay in the same vein, but more suitable for S2 veteran gamer than newbies.
That is true but I have to say I love how they left those grenades behind a locked door in the basement without even telling you you can destroy doors by punching them (if you have 3 minutes to spare).
 

NotAGolfer

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
2,527
Location
Land of Bier and Bratwurst
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Albion had a pretty great start.
Not to mention the intro movie, which was awesome with all the symbolism and the weird acid trip vibe. Felt like directly out of a Kubrick film.

:greatjob:
 
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cvv

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 30, 2013
Messages
18,075
Location
Kingdom of Bohemia
Codex+ Now Streaming!
Albion had a pretty great start.
Not to mention the intro movie, which was awesome with all the symbolism and the weird acid trip vibe. Felt like directly out of a Kubrick film.

BlueByte is basically one of the best studios ever. They're like the pope of niche, churning out a legend after a legend. I hope they'll get better recognition in the afterlife than they got in this one.
 

Matador

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jun 14, 2016
Messages
1,631
Codex+ Now Streaming!
Wizardry 8. Amazing party creation with lots of classes, races, stats, spells and skills, and sweet details like the different great voices you can use for your characters.

Then you start the game at the monastery, the best tutorial dungeon in any RPG. Great level design and adequate challenge to not make it boring. You are learning the game exploring a great dungeon, not too complicated, but with enough branching paths and secrets to make it interesting.

A shame they didn't replicate that dungeon crawling and tight level design in the rest of the game with its lazy open forest areas.
 

v1rus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
2,253
I gotta jump on Gothic hype train.

You are nobody, and you are thrown in an ultra strict hierarchy of nobodies, with a few somebodies thrown in, for good measure . Survive, bitch.
 
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
4,548
AD2edS8.jpg


Actually, no, not Skyrim. Arx Fatalis and Gothic did the prisoner intro better. I love the sense of starting a game from nothing and working your way out.

Also liked Geneforge's intro - text heavy, but really gave you a sense of being in a different world.

Beginning of Skyrim stunk, I liked Oblivion's better.
 

Lady_Error

█▓▒░ ░▒▓█
Patron
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
1,879,250
Then you start the game at the monastery, the best tutorial dungeon in any RPG.

It was bland, uninspired and disappointing - just like Wizardry 8 in general after the masterpiece that is Wizardry 7. Yes, the excellent character system and magic system are the same, but pretty much everything else was worse in 8 compared to 7.
 

deuxhero

Arcane
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
11,328
Location
Flowery Land
Final Fantasy 1. Zero exposition (unless you wait for the attract mode video), zero bullshit tutorials, just create your party and get dumped into the world. The plot comes when you go into town and get your first quest, and the main plot doesn't happen till that quest is completed.

Of course the fact that grinding is mandatory to not die horribly at the start (unless you already know the game in and out like a speedrunner) and even then the 9 enemy encounters are super bullshit till you get multi-target magic in the second town really kills this in practice.
 

D!!

Educated
Joined
May 24, 2016
Messages
80
Location
Belarus
No one even mention legendary Fallout 3 beginning? Okay, okay, on the serious note, my favourite is probably the Tyranny. Really liked that Conquest section.
 

Achiman

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
810
Location
Australia
Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech
It' won't be popular but the start of Mass Effect 2 was pretty epic. Felt just like an action movie.
Any game that let's you dive right in is memorable for me, nothing worse than having tutorial levels that are drawn out and unskippable.
 

Dyspaire

Cipher
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
280
Location
Relative
A good beginning should immerse your imagination and organically teach you the game a bit, while not holding your hand too much; all with the ultimate aim of pulling you in.

The big mistake made often is to make it constrained and unavoidable for too long. If I remember my first play-through of BG2 correctly, Irenicus' Dungeon was great fun and hit all the marks of a good crpg beginning.

Once.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
I could list several games, but the first one which comes to mind is Might and Magic 6. The moment I hear that music, the chirping of the birds and I walk into New Sorpigal, I'm totally in the mood for adventuring. And then entering the houses, admiring the beautiful artworks, all the nice sound effects. It is just fucking fantastic.
 
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Zarniwoop

TESTOSTERONIC As Fuck™
Patron
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Messages
18,651
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Fallout, when you step out of the cave. Not technically the beginning but there you have it.
 

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