Best Game Intro Sections on the Original PlayStation

As the old saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. That's especially true in the world of video games, where a good introduction can do quite a bit in terms of selling itself to a player. Sometimes that comes through an expansive, intricately detailed CG cutscene, but more often than not, it's the entirety of the game's opening salvo that will do its best to hook a potential player.

Thanks to the improved hardware of the PlayStation, game developers were discovering just how much goodwill they could create after the disc started spinning. This console was revolutionary in many ways, but it's ability to create film-like introductions was unmatched at the time. The effects of this generation are still being felt to this day.

The system was capable of some incredible things, and developers at the time likely felt that in spite of the limitations, what they could accomplish was unlimited. These intros were captivating not just for their pace and direction, but for how they combined gameplay with the same cinematic joy that one could find in a movie theater.

10 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

A Miserable Pile of Secrets

A lot of Castlevania games will do their best to drop you into the conflict, then let you loose inside Dracula's castle. But with Symphony of the Night, the game comes out swinging and doesn't stop until you've pierced the heart of the Prince of Darkness.

From the opening flashback to the end of Rondo of Blood, then being tossed into the fire as Alucard makes his way into the fabled castle, it is high-energy from the word go. In addition to its hammy, yet ultimately iconic dialogue that includes such classic lines that dissect the nature of man as a miserable pile of secrets, the whole opening is just a blast of high-octane fun.

Symphony of the Night is one of the best games in the PS1 library, which says a lot considering how vast and diverse that list is. One of the key reasons for its status is the opening, and no 2D Castlevania game has quite reached the same heights as this one.

9 Dino Crisis

Welcome to Jurassic Park!

Dino Crisis follows the same pattern of a lot of PS1 survival horror games, in that it hits you with a cutting-edge CG cutscene and then drops you into this world of terror. It follows that up with some of the most tense, eerie opening minutes of any survival horror game that I've ever experienced.

Moments after the opening cutscene, Dino Crisis sets you on a path to your first dinosaur encounter that is just oozing with fear, paranoia, and tension. It does this with sound design, subtle ambiance, and framing that are all so unique to the era.

The use of 3D environments over 2D pre-rendered backgrounds is what really sells it, as the opening moments of the game are heavily reliant on cinematic angles to sell the fear. Some of the angles are more interesting and film-like than even modern games, and it's just one of the reasons that this game is in desperate need of a remake of some kind.

8 Syphon Filter

Don't Tase Me, Bro

Syphon Filter came out when developers were still trying to perfect the issue of 3D cameras in games, and in its quest to compete with other games on the market, had to create an introduction that took full advantage of that. Syphon Filter's opening did more than that, as it crafted one of the action-adventure genre's most thrilling introductory scenes of all time.

It starts with a bang, as a beautifully animated CG cutscene sets the stakes. Following that, you're thrown right into the mix in downtown Washington, DC on Georgia Street, where chaos is unfolding.

The entire city feels like it's on edge, as gunfire and explosions are happening all around you. I can't overstate how remarkable it is to have played Syphon Filter for the first time and realize you could use a taser on an enemy until they are lit on fire, and all of that happens within the first five minutes of the game.

7 The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Into the Abyss

The Legacy of Kain franchise has long had a knack for stellar introductions, but Soul Reaver on the PS1 took that to a whole new level. Starting with Raziel being cursed by franchise star Kain and sent hurtling into the abyss, Soul Reaver begins with a bang and the whole opening expertly shifts between betrayal, mystery, and adventure brilliantly.

Its huge, operatic nature is present right from the jump. Everything about the opening of Soul Reaver feels larger than life, as if we've stepped right into the middle of an ongoing, expansive mythological tale that still has so much to tell.

Watching Raziel fall to his doom, then enter a cosmic bargain with the entity known as The Elder God, is just layered with so much grandiose posturing. It felt elevated next to other games, like a playable Shakespearean tragedy mixed with horror and unbelievably gifted actors bringing it to life.

6 Silent Hill

I See That Town

The horror genre is perhaps more reliant on good introductions than any other, as its success rate can both expertly detail the tone and pace of the fear in the right hands. And in the case of Silent Hill, this timeless PS1 masterpiece does a lot with very little in the span of roughly fifteen minutes.

After being let loose in the Twin Peaks-inspired town of Silent Hill, Harry Mason's journey to follow his young daughter Cheryl into the sinister fog hits all the right notes perfectly. The surreal, uneasy feeling sticks with you while you enter the alley, then enter the depths of the town.

The use of unique camera angles in 3D space, something that no other game at the time was doing, is still simply breathtaking all these years later. Silent Hill's opening deftly blends horror, investigation, and in-game tension in a way that rivals some modern horror games.

5 Spider-Man

New York, New York

Growing up as a Spider-Man devotee in the 1990s, it's impossible to put into words how much the game based on the web-head from 2000 meant to me at the time. You can tell it was made by people who love Spider-Man, and that's evident from the word go in this comic book-inspired roller coaster.

After a CG cutscene shows Peter Parker witnessing the theft of a machine from the apparently reformed Doctor Octopus, New York is covered in fog that keeps Spidey confined to the rooftops and underground. And like any good comic book, pace and momentum are key, as you're then thrown into the middle of a bank heist by the Jade Syndicate.

It's one part outrageous comic book, one part video game. It really captures the spirit and breathless nature of the Spider-Man comics, and in a world where that is second nature today, it was rather unique for the time.

4 Parasite Eve

What's Opera, Aya?

To this day, there just isn't a game like Parasite Eve. There are plenty of survival horror games with RPG elements, but no game has captured the same combination of horror, surreal storytelling, and compelling combat the way this gem did.

One of the keys to Parasite Eve is its breakneck pace, and the opening is a prime example of that in action. Square's knack for high-quality CG cutscenes is on full display, as it presents a bleak, downtrodden view of New York in the middle of winter.

From there, the game showcases one of the most harrowing, fear-inducing scenes in a game that I've ever witnessed. The opera comes under fire, quite literally, from Mitochondria Eve. It is altogether frightening and compelling.

3 Resident Evil 2

There's a Gun Inside

No survival horror game throws you into the fire quite like Resident Evil 2. After the dazzling CG introduction, you are dropped into the literal burning streets of Raccoon City and surrounded by zombies.

Escaping means avoiding zombies, climbing over destroyed debris, and navigating the madness that has gripped the city. The danger feels immediate, and once you make your way into the seemingly safe halls of the Raccoon City Police Department, the game really begins.

Resident Evil 2 does exactly what most good sequels do. Everything is bigger, better, and more explosive. The opening thirty minutes of Resident Evil 2 are still incredible to witness, and it's one of the reasons this survival horror sequel is seen as the best the franchise has ever been.

2 Final Fantasy 7

The Next Evolution of JRPGs

There's perhaps no game more important to the evolution and overall trajectory of JRPGs than Final Fantasy 7. It revolutionized the genre in a lot of ways, but one of its most influential aspects has always been its spectacular, all-encompassing introduction.

From the swirling void of the lifestream, to hitting the packed streets of Midgar, then pulling all the way to the sky, and finally coming crashing back down to Gaia, there's something innately special about the opening of Final Fantasy 7. You can feel the passion, commitment, and talent just exploding off the screen.

It doesn't stop there, either, as the bombing mission just tosses you directly into the action with absolutely no context. It's the type of intro that elevates the game before it even begins, and the journey that follows would go on to influence an untold number of games in the future.

Kept You Waiting

If there's any game that more distinctly defines the unique charm and innovative design of PS1 games, it's hard to think of one more obvious than Metal Gear Solid. All that grungy, lo-fi bliss that has influenced the PS1 indie dev scene can be found in Metal Gear Solid, and that's especially true of the game's introduction.

It has such a raw, untamed, wild look to it. This is made even more surreal when you consider that the game has genuine opening credits rolling over in-game action, making the whole affair feel like an interactive spy movie that was never made.

The music, voice acting, pace, and flow are just stupendous to watch unfold. No game on the console feels like this, and its stirring introduction is a key reason for why that is.