Starting a game off right with the first level

[Extra-Ordinary]

God of War did a pretty good job of it as well, so much so that it got mentioned in an Extra Credits video about good tutorials. What better way to start you off than by having you impale a hydra on a ship's mast?

Also sailing on God of War, God of War III gets my vote.
That intro is incredible.
Here's the pitch: You're climbing Mount Olympus with a small army of Titans to wage a great battle against the Greek Pantheon climaxing with a duel to the death with Poseidon, God of the sea.
And God of War III nails exactly how epic that's supposed to be.
And then it's almost all downhill after that. The game's got some good set-pieces and the boss fights are still cool but everything slows down after you fall to Hades, again.
Still though, doesn't make that intro any less cool.

 

[1981]

I no longer have any patience for shooters and RPG's that expect me to keep backing to the menu to check simple things like key bindings, especially if they don't follow any conventions. The biggest challenge should be playing the game, not learning the basics.

I'm pretty sure there are some quirky puzzle games and adventure games that fit the criteria, but I can't recall any. Don't Starve relies heavily on online guides.

Spoiler: The tutorial for Spacechem was pretty much...

 

[ecoho]

DArigins was pretty much the blueprint on how to do a first "level" I mean if you wernt carful you could seriously fuck up.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I liked the intro to Dark Souls with that heavy metal as fuck cutscene with gods fighting dragons with Gwyn throwing lightning spears so large that even the most dedicated Sunbro would feel inadequate in comparison.

The first area gives you a feel for the game well enough too, giving you basically all of the possible mechanics you can use even giving you a free hit on the tutorial boss with the plunging attack, which was discovered to be a popular way to cheese the Taurus Demon a few hours later.


Also MGS Rising has you fighting a Metal Gear RAY with nothing but a sword within the first five minutes. It's such a good example of a game slapping all of its cards onto the table so you know exactly what the game is going to be like, (aside from Hulk Hogan going into crazy right-wing politics and bodyslamming all who disagree with him as a final boss anyway cuz fucked if anyone predicted that shit.) Cheesy but awesome J-rock during every boss fight, fighting giant robots with a sword and an almost good rivalry between Raiden and Sam. There just needed to be a couple more missions involving those two and it would have been much more impactful when you finally beat him.

 

[Lufia Erim]

Lufia. Let's start at the end. You go through the end game dungeon, fight the end boss, and win. Which starts the whole chain of events.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Morrowind. It thrusts you into this foreign land with little hand holding and some vague references, then you are free to do what you want. All the while keeping the entire character generation entirely in-character by having you fill out census forms and answering questions.

Mass Effect also has this effect one. The intro is so damn awesome that I am always willing to overlook the intrusive tutorial and even though Eden Prime is a slog it really manages to kickstart the story.

 

[Glongpre]

Ninja Gaiden Black (because I love to bring it up as much as I can). You jump off a waterfall and slice a ninja in half, then you start the level, with minimal tutorial. Also, has a hard as balls boss fight for someone who has just started, but it lets you know what the games all about. It also happens to be one of the easier boss fights once you know how to play. Good design there.

Street fighter 2. Doesn't really have levels per se, but going through arcade mode, you typically fight Cammy, Zangief, or Guile first (Cammy seems the most common for me). You are treated to amazing themes, and can probably win by mashing, as long as it is not the arcade version ai, because they cheat.

Final Fantasy 7. Bombing run. Theme is dope. Outlines much of what the conflict will be (for the early going at least).
Final Fantasy 10. Sin attacks dream Zanarkand. It is pretty intense, gives you the main villain right away. Typical FF music goodness.

Final Fantasy 1. Garland has kidnapped the princess, rescue her! You do, and you kick Garlands ass. They build the bridge, and you are treated to one of the best FF themes.

Spoiler: Spirit of Final Fantasy

Not to mention this beauty of a theme

Spoiler: Chaos Shrine

 

[stormtrooper9091]

Yeah, Earthworm Jim is a nail on. It took me AGES to beat the midboss, I thought bullets don't even damage him because he was armored so I whipped lol

 

[Muspelheim]

I've always rather liked the opening of ArmA 2's campaign.

You're a Chernarussian conscript filling his pants in a ruined church. The enemies are overruning your position. Your CO gets clipped in front of your eyes. Snapping a few shots off at the enemy or taking cover is up to you. Suddenly, you are blinded, your ears are ringing and before you know it, you're dead.

If you were lucky, you might have heard the howl of the approaching aeroplane. Maybe even glimpsed it.

It sets the scene pretty well. It's like the ArmA/Operation Flashpoint spirit condensed into a three minutes supposed-to-lose fight.

 

[Silvanus]

While RE:4 is far from my favourite in the franchise, the opening sections in the town are fantastic. The earlier in that game, the better it is, I felt.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Final Fantasy 1. Garland has kidnapped the princess, rescue her! You do, and you kick Garlands ass. They build the bridge, and you are treated to one of the best FF themes.

One of the best things about this opening is that Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) is essentially that only spread out over the course of...however many hours it takes you to grind up to be able to do it. I remember when I played Dragon Quest 1 for the first time and being kinda shocked by how short it was: Grind, go-to-place, kill boss, save Princess. Grind, go-to-place, kill Dragon King, end of game. Final Fantasy one condensed that into about an hour, if that (depending on if you chose to grind)

---

I really enjoyed the first level of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. No, not the pre-aug prologue in the beginning but that first rescue mission. it wasn't Liberty Island but I still like how you're shown the different means by which you can take on the level. I like how, at that level, you really can make a meaningful choice about how to proceed. I also love how if you screw around too much it changes the outcome of the level in a pretty dramatic way.

Aside from that the only thing not too much else comes to mind. Super Mario Bros. 1-1 is a really great tutorial level I suppose...It's definitely iconic.

 

[votemarvel]

Nier had an awesome opening level. A cold hard wasteland, where you have to fight for your very survival with a selection of awesome abilities.

Then you get dumped into a world where you have the most basic of abilities and have to go through hour upon mind numbing hour to get back to even half of where you started out.

 

[The Madman]

Lord Baffords Manor from Thief: The Dark Project was such a good level and introduction to the game that it still holds a special little place in my memory.

 

[blue heartless]

The first Sly Cooper has a great first level, introducing basic game play mechanics (by nearly breaking the fourth wall, no less) while simultaneously introducing our protagonists and their plight.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Super Metroid, Oblivion, some Final Fantasies, Megan Man X and God of War have already been mentioned, so I'll try to stay away from talking more games in those franchises.

But, I gotta say Metroid Prime has a good introductory level. Set on a Space Pirate research ship mere hours after something went wrong, the area has loads of information for the scan visor (many of which tell the player what has happened on that ship and how some pirates were killed or injured), creepy little critters scurrying about, weaker enemies to get used to the first person controls, and unsettling music playing the whole time. There's also a simple boss that requires some strategy to defeat and the Metroid staple of an escape sequence. It does a great job at introducing the player to the controls, the scan concept, and the moody atmosphere much of the game will have.

Okami also has an amazing first impression when the player takes control of Ammaterasu, despite the opening cut scene taking forever. Ammy and Issun find themselves in what appears to be the heavens and must learn some techniques that will help cure the beginning villages curse. The area is gorgeous (much like the rest of the game). The music is the most relaxing piece I've ever heard in a game. One step in expelling the curse shows how great the art design is in this game and establishes the main them of restoring nature and harmony.

 

[Xeros]

Syphon Filter's Georgia Street. All the controls are laid out in a swift, optional, 1-minute video on the main menu, and they drop you right into the firefight. It does an excellent job of easing you into things and showing you what to expect as things ramp up, all while keeping the tension high. Not to mention, that game is a downright blast.