The slowest game beginnings ever?

[Elfgore]

Have you ever had a game where all you want to shout in the few opening hours is...


After having a friend lend me his PS Vita and Persona 4 Golden, I felt this moment more strongly than ever. Two hours... two hours of story before I even got to even fight something. I've had full control of my character(able to travel wherever) once within the time. It's not a bad game at all, but damn is this beginning so slow!

So that's my experience with games that move at a snail's pace. What's yours?

 

[Barbas]

That's why if JRPGs were people, I'd probably beat most of them with sticks for having no respect for my time. The music is often angelic, though, so silver linings. I've never been unlucky enough to be stuck in a situation you describe there, but I think the closest I've gotten is the prologue section of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Good grief, I wish Desmond's story sections could be skipped entirely with a mod, like the Fade mission in Dragon Age: Origins could.

 

[Fijiman]

The beginning of most Bethesda games are pretty much like this. Oblivion and Skyrim in particular tend to take a good while before the game really picks up.

 

[Aerosteam]

I was just going to post about Persona 4! Been playing it on my PS2.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I don't think length has ever been an issue for me. If it's presented well, I'll probably enjoy it. If it's not presented well or feels like too much for the type of game, then any amount will feel like too long. Dark Souls may not have a long opening (maybe a couple minutes), but it felt like it dragged on for hours. Once the old lady started spouting out cryptic lore about a world I didn't know anything about had no investment in, I almost wanted to turn off the game and call it wasted money. Another example is Super Mario Sunshine. It probably only takes 10-15 minutes to finally enter the first area, and there's some gameplay in that 10-15 minutes, but that is still way too long for a Mario game.

On the flip side, it probably takes 30-45 minutes to reach the first fight in Tales of Vesperia (depending on how much time you spend talking to people), but I absolutely loved the opening.

 

[Fappy]

RPGs in general typically have slow openings, especially JRPGs. There are some standouts of course. FF7 has a really good opening that puts you right in the action and gives you just enough info to know sort of what's going on, but also makes you want to know more. Of course, the story kind of goes up and down after that point, but still a solid beginning.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Well obviously personal opinion but the slowest start to a game that I actually continued on through and completed was FFXII I actually looked at the in game clock when I thought finally its moving along and it was at 66 hours. The first 10 hours in particular were beyond excruciating if it wasnt FF I would not have pushed on. Finally beat Yiazamat and Omega Weapon (names may be slightly wrong its been a while) at 129 hours.

 

[Frezzato]

Blargh. Okami.

I finally got tired of the jibber jabber and started skipping the opening screens. It took me 17 minutes--of non-stop button mashing-- basically the same method I used to beat the boss in Heavenly Sword.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

I heard Final Fantasy 13 was supposed to get good around 20 hours in.

So no, I haven't gone and tried it out.

 

[Lufia Erim]

Xenosaga episode 1 says hai!

Couple the slow start with sci-fi mumbo jumbo and you have a great natural sleeping aid.

But i have to say the series is fantastic.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I heard Final Fantasy 13 was supposed to get good around 20 hours in.

So no, I haven't gone and tried it out.

FF13 Definitely tops that list, incidentally the first FF I played since FF1.

Yeah, I know.

Somehow I quite liked it, I'm not sure why but I actually finished it all the way through. But I'll never excuse the game, and the 'intro' is basically 50% of the game. Maybe trying to woo an otaku girl at the time had something to do with it...

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Dammit Kingdom hearts 2, I just wanna kick some Heartless Ass. I don't care about slapping up some posters and doing research on weird happenings in town and this kinda boring combat tournament with multicolor balls!

I want to do a Critical Mode run of KH2, but the thought of doing a 2 hour long intro before the game even really starts just irks me.

 

[totheendofsin]

I saw the thread title and immediately thought of Persona 4 Golden, fantastic game but my god that opening segment almost turned me off of it entirely, glad I trudged through it though

I think this is pretty much standard in modern jrpg's

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

KOTOR! The Endar Spire and fucking Taris! All just one huge tutorial and if you've beaten the game before, oh man...running around talking to Mission, finding the wookie fucker, getting the droid, not killing the clown, seducing the Sith officer, beating the StarGazer dude, playing blackjack, curing the dudes of the albino weresquid disease all in the service of finding Bastila only to have her tell you off for being slow and stupid...

AND THEN EVERYONE DIES ANYWAY!

Its an absolute chore and on additional playthroughs really makes you want to start slapping people.
In the gut. With the business end of a lightsaber.

 

[NPC009]

Dragon Quest VII is even slower than Persona 4 and didn't look half as appealing. IIRC it takes several hours to encounter your first enemy, and the introduction phase is 5+ hours by itself. Of course, this is a game that can easily take 80+ hours to beat (howlongtobeat.com has it sitting at 110 hours [http://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=2843] average for just the main storyline). Considering what you're getting into, the long introduction might not be too out of place. In fact, it's a rather solid warning.

 

[PunkRex]

I was just going to post about Persona 4! Been playing it on my PS2.

Thank you, I tried playing Persona 4 after being told about how amazing it was and looking into the story/aesthetics made me super hyped... then after about 3 hours I think I hit a dungeon.

Jeeeeeez, I've seen some slow burns before but fuck a duck, someone breath some life into this poxy cinder!

Dammit Kingdom hearts 2, I just wanna kick some Heartless Ass. I don't care about slapping up some posters and doing research on weird happenings in town and this kinda boring combat tournament with multicolor balls!

I want to do a Critical Mode run of KH2, but the thought of doing a 2 hour long intro before the game even really starts just irks me.

How the hell did I forget about that doldrums of an opening.

Also, Battlestations: Midway. Bloody hell, after an hour I was still had tutorial menus clogging up the screen.

 

[FPLOON]

Funny enough, Sonic 06... It really felt like things were moving at a walking pace...

Other than that, despite it's metaphorical significance, the DS version of 358/2 Days's opening really made me wish to replay Kingdom Hearts 2's Roxas opening on Critical Mode...

 

[Jandau]

I heard Final Fantasy 13 was supposed to get good around 20 hours in.

So no, I haven't gone and tried it out.

Oh god, FF13... That game actually has a kinda interesting combat system. The problem is that for the first SEVERAL hours you have access to maybe 10% of the features and mechanics. Up to 20 hours into the game the game is still introducing basic concepts. As in, tutorial-level stuff. It's frustrating to the extreme. There's a fun game hidden in there, but it's like Squeenix just doesn't want you to play it...

 

[Evonisia]

Blargh. Okami.

I finally got tired of the jibber jabber and started skipping the opening screens. It took me 17 minutes--of non-stop button mashing-- basically the same method I used to beat the boss in Heavenly Sword.

Came to say this. I actually got the same amount of time trying to skip past it. I got to the nearest save point, saved, and I haven't played it since. If I ever revisit it, at least I won't have that damn game-killing cutscene in it any more.

Somebody in this thread said it's about presentation, not pace, and "Okami" is the perfect example of how not to start a game.