video game challenge

VGC Day 16: Watching the Game

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Welcome back to our 30 day video game challenge! If you’d like to catch up with the other days, click here.

Most of the time, we play the games that we’ve tucked into our systems. But sometimes, we wind up watching those wonderfully cinematic cut-scenes that developers have nestled in between play sequences. So, today the challenge wants to know:

Day 16: What game has the best cut-scenes?

The game that immediately comes to mind is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, but then I remind myself that the question was about best cut-scenes, not absolute longest ever.

They were great, don’t get me wrong. I’m not sure there’s any other game that could force me to sit through a 45 minute cut-scene and still keep me entertained the entire time.

I think games like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus  have some fantastic cut-scenes, and are peppered throughout just enough without stepping on the toes of the gameplay. Plus, they pack some punch when you see the endings!

A few other cut-scenes that stand out to me are:

#1. The opening scene from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I just remember thinking how amazing it looked the first time I saw it.

Courtesy of AdamSpencer87

#2. This scene from The Last of Us. I’m not sure I need to even describe  it.

Courtesy of Fabio Sala

#3. And even I can apreciate the cinematic quality of the opening to Final Fantasy VII

Courtesy of FantasyAnime

What scenes did I miss? What game has the best cut-scenes? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~Athena

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19 comments

  1. I’d have to agree with number 3 in your list. At the time seeing the opening to FF7 for the first time made my jaw dropped. It was truly a new era for story telling in gaming

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    1. It definitely was! The scope of the opening sequence is amazing for its time, and I love the little details, like the click (and echo) of Aeris’s shoes. It’s always those little details that (for me) bring a world to life.

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      1. Yes everything sounded so crisp, you’re right her footsteps stood out for some reason. It’s just footsteps yet here we are going crazy over them

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  2. I’d say any of the PSX era Final Fantasy titles could fit there. At the time they were some of the most beautiful looking pieces of cinematic animation in games. I’d also probably rank any of Blizzard’s titles up there as well. They aren’t necessarily the best narrative titles but their cutscenes helped stage their worlds so well that they almost made up for the in-game lack of quality narrative.

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    1. Oh, definitely! There really are a lot of beautiful cutscenes out there. You’re right that good cutscenes don’t always mean great game narrative, which is a shame, but at least it’s something nice to look at!

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  3. Uh oh… Post-traumatic the Last of Us memories *sniffs*

    The cut scenes in my beloved FFXIII trilogy of games were all awesome. Especially the majority of them where Lightning is being a badass, haha. 🙂

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  4. The opening scene to FFVII always gives me a chill. I love the major/minor switching in that brief song (Aeris’s Theme does that, too!), and then afterwards it goes into the bombing mission/train scene, and THAT song is epic, as well. There’s another very famous FFVII scene at the end of the first disk, and the final scene of the game makes it a bookend (Aeris is the first and last person you see). I also love the opening to FFVIII and FFIX. Final Fantasy just has some great scenes.

    For non-FF, there are a bunch of scenes in ME2 that I kept coming back to due to the voice acting, too. There was one in Shepherd’s bedroom with Liara (not like that!) with this one atmospheric/ethereal song, and when Liara leaves Shepherd looks a bit forlorn and murmurs, “Come back soon.” Then there’s another scene with another asari. I forget her name but she’s green instead on blue, and has…feelings for Shepherd. It was just beautiful and touching.

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    1. Final Fantasy definitely has some wonderful cutscenes, from my limited knowledge. That’s really cool that they bookend VII with Aeris… Ugh now I have to go watch an entire let’s play of it because I want to know the context of the symbolism! haha

      And I know exactly the scenes that you’re talking about! They are both very poignant and touching scenes. I felt bad for Shiala (the green asari), because I wondered how much of it was attraction and how much was star-struck for the person who rescued her. And of course, Liara’s scenes are always poignant. I think she’s the only character that carries a torch for Shepard whether or not the commander pursues a relationship with her.

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      1. I think you’d wind up like me and have mountains and mountains of essays to write about FFVII from many different perspectives lol. It’s one of those games some people think is too clever/symbolic for it’s own good (which is why it often gets the unfair label of “overrated”), but I love it. BUT I also know that anything is a potential victim of “not living up to the hype,” because if you go into something with certain expectations, you might not get them met in the same way as the person leading you there. It’s the weirdest thing.

        I want to go back and watch them again. Everything was just perfect with those scenes, and I agree. It could’ve been celebrity worship, but just the way her face looked was indescribable for the emotion.

        I noticed that in the LP I’m watching. He romanced Garrus, but there is definitely something there with Liara. I think my favorite asari is the bartender with the krogan father. She’s someone I’d have a beer with, and I can’t stand beer!

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          1. Omg I forgot about that! I think the asari as a race are fascinating. If someone were, to say, write any kind of fanfiction about Mass Effect, I know another someone would certainly read it, but the second someone also knows the first someone has a thesis that’s taking over her life and that time is never on a writer’s side.

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            1. Well this hypothetical first someone may or may not have some hypothetical ideas about fanfictions in the Mass Effect universe, as well as some additional Dragon Age ones. So the second someone should never fear, because the first someone is certainly up for writing another tome! Although the first someone also appreciates that the second someone is so understanding of thesis times…

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              1. The second someone used to be an English grad student in the hopes of being an English Ph.D student long long ago and this particular someone was also working full time and trying to stave off the inevitable nervous breakdown. This individual knew something was going to give, and alas it had to be the English studies because life is harsh and cruel. This second someone wants that first someone who’d right a stellar ME fanfiction to NOT let that happen because her thesis is very important and needs to be seen by the world 🙂

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  5. Great choices! Final Fantasy games generally have awesome cutscenes, especially for the times they’re created, so I’ll have to go with pretty much every PS/PS2 era FF game for this question.

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