The 50 Best Video Game Cut-Scenes

Image via Complex Original

Ico's opening is as much a mood-setter as it is expository. It starts off almost peacefully and serene and ends ominously in ways only captivity and solitude can evoke. Back when this game came out a decade ago, its visual design, particularly its naturalistic color palette stood out from the pack of PlayStation 2 games. Now it has influenced everyone from Hideo Kojima to thatgamecompany.

No such list would be complete without at least one entry from a Working Designs title, full motion or text. The Victor Ireland-fronted publisher is credited for bringing a number of niche titles on various platforms to the States as far back as 1989. The company was also known for taking creative liberties with certain aspects of their RPG scripts. Something from the Lunar series would have been the obvious inclusion and there are enough dramatic scenes in this list anyway. Instead we've chosen something much funnier and you'd be hard-pressed to find something that beats self-decapitation.

R4's slick design and arcade controls made for a welcome alternative to what Sony was about to unleash with the simulation-centric Gran Turismo. As recent as this summer's Ridge Racer 3D, Namco has continued to use digital racing girls, some modeled out of real models, some wholly original, though R4's Reiko Nagase remains a fan favorite.

There's something charming about how Diablo II starts off as a conversation, albeit an ominous one. It also really doesn't give a clear indication of what to expect with the gameplay, let alone the hundred of hours that each player was about to devote to this classic.

30+ hours of gameplay with Donald Duck and Goofy as wingmen built up to this moment with a dramatic scene centered around friendship and a promise. How it truly makes an impact is by reprising the melody of the game's main theme, now as a pop song. It makes for a fitting transition into the game's open-ended conclusion and its credits. In retrospect, it's a bittersweet moment when considering how the rest of the series has unfolded.

Why the hell would you NOT pay any heed to the ancient prophecies? Oh right, then there wouldn't be any game to play. This a reminder that there really aren't that many cutscenes that fully capture the chaos and mayhem of the best real-time strategy games, but it's doubtful many RTS gamers don't come to Warcraft for the cutscene, so this makes for a fine expository bonus.

Anyone who thought Hideo Kojima finally lost it when he came up with all those plot twists in Metal Gear Solid 4 never played Snatcher, for if you played his 1988 cyberpunk visual novel, you'd know that Kojima-san lost it a long time ago. Still, Snatcher is quite a ride, so much so that it's a shame we're spoiling a part of the ending for you. It's worth the investment as one of the few Sega CD games that deserves a full playthrough.

Several months before Final Fantasy VII showed non-JRPG gamers what they've been missing out on, Sony Computer Entertainment America released Wild Arms, a JRPG that doesn't stray too far from genre conventions. This clip also represents every JRPG anime montage opening that has come out since, all 23,629 of them. Yet this one is special for it shows the motivational power of...bubbles. (1:37)

Wipeout XL might have sold more PlayStations than Wipeout 3, but the follow-up had one of boldest visual redesigns of any sequel in gaming. A decade before Sony tapped Olly Moss to give Resistance 3 a Chip Kidd-like image treatment, Designers Republic took a chance on an unconventional look with Wipeout 3 with slick minimalism. This was best exemplified in its intro where the various racing team logos are presented which then transitions to one of the best videogame menus ever designed.

Most any Zelda console release since Ocarina of Time could have been solid candidates for this list, but we chose this one for highlighting not Link, but instead Midna, one of the more memorable characters of Twilight Princess.

According to former executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Bernie Stolar, Fox Hunt wasn't even supposed to have been published on the PlayStation console. It was actually approved for publishing due to a filing error by one of the administrative assistants. Well, we're grateful that this FMV game did get published beyond its initial PC version, introducing console gamers to what is technically a high point of full motion video gameplay, not to mention Oscar-caliber acting and action sequences that would make Michael Bay blush.

The obligatory love scene JRPG entry actually comes from an SRPG. This scene from Valkyria Chronicles is an example of an occasionally-used JRPG story device where the female protagonist is possessed and it's up to her love interest to snap her out of it.

In 2011, you'd think most everyone should know about Metroid's famous gender twist. We have had many female leads since then from Lara Croft to the Violette Summer but this is the one that started it all. It may not be as impactful to younger generations, but it is still worth a nod on our list.

The 1960's setting of MGS3 made James Bond an easy target for an homage, and realized once again with the assistance of Kyle Cooper, MGS2's opening credits designer. Props to composer Norihiko Hibino for having the balls to fit in the lyric “Someday, you'll feed on a tree frog...” and singer Cynthia Harrell for belting out the line.

If Bruce Springsteen was a Japanese singer belting out phonetic English power ballads about avenging the death of your new wife, it would sound a whole lotta like this. Road Avenger (originally Road Blaster in Japan) was part of a series of full motion video games that was Japan's anime answer to the myriad Western games that used live action footage. You can get an idea of Road Avenger's gameplay at the last third of the clip, where we're driving in the first person through our hero's eyes.

Maybe there was a hint in the “Brothers to the End” slogan that implied that not every one would make it to the final chapter of the final act. It's the end of a character that's not all that surprising considering the game's theme of “coming home”. It also makes for a worthy opportunity to reprise the Mad World one last time.

Despite its shortcomings and divisive reception, no one can deny how gorgeous XIII's cutscenes are. Furthermore, no other Final Fantasy (and arguably no other JRPG) before it did such a superb job in closing the gap between the visual fidelity of pre-rendered cutscenes with the real-time ones. These are the kinds of scenes that make gamers consider revisiting XIII in order to cross it off their backlogs of shame.

The Contra series didn't exactly start out as an action-packed showcase of ridiculous bosses and over-the-top battle situations, but it appeared that the series was simply waiting for technology to catch up so Konami could start being creative with their shooter series. Neo Contra takes it up ten notches with a stage where you're running on rotor blades, bosses follow the Spice Girls naming convention (eg. Plant Contra, Pheromone Contra, etc), and one of those bosses is talking dog wearing a kaiser-style helmet.

Persona games have always had an anime component to them (and even a stand alone anime spin-off). This scene gives a darn good idea of what to expect from what many consider the best entry in the series. Yes, there's some gun-to-the-head action.

Years before Valve made vocal-driven, originally composed end credit songs ultra cool, Sega had this catchy ending theme that's a bit Burt Bacharach, a bit John Denver, and a bit Tom Jones. Actually, all of Space Channel 5: Part 2 is practically one long playable cutscene and groovy one at that. This clip doesn't exactly show off Ulala's best moves but at least she gets the cast line started.

As character introductions go, this is up there alongside most of Capcom's fighting game intros. It excels in its excess; an almost overwhelming cast with guest appearances and new characters to make players puzzle over who to play as first. It's also a pretty spectacular fighting game.

Between Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Deus Ex: Human Revolution there haven't been many recent games out there with memorable opening credits to complement most games' Hollywood blockbuster aspirations. Deus Ex's is one of the best yet, inspired by the opening credits of James Bond films (minus the excessive use of female silhouettes). Designed around Adam Jensen's augment-based recovery operation, the visual concept works off the tried and true “better-faster-stronger” Six Million Dollar man montage, similar to what Mass Effect 2 used a well.

It's trapdoor hijinx with a panda!

This opening scene might be starting to show its age, but it's worth remembering how this was the first post-PSOne Resident Evil game, which gave Capcom the opportunity for John Woo-inspired theatrics, even if it's silly to try and drop down faster than a gun.

With what Metal Gear Solid pioneered with video game cinematics, it's hard to focus on just a few highlights. There were the freakishly long boss speeches (both pre and post battle), the fact that these were all in real-time, and the game featured the kind of cinematic editing that we didn't even expect back in 1998. More than anything, Metal Gear Solid practically became the Liquid Snake/Cam Clarke Voiceover Showcase for anything that featured this main villain stole the show from Solid Snake.

Uncharted games make no bones about their summer blockbuster influence and aspirations, but they're certainly more than just playable popcorn fare. There's an effortless charm about the cutscenes in the Uncharted series. But these cutscene scripts are most likely the end result of numerous rewrites, fat-trimming, and polish, which are all worth it.

It's so pleasing that Square helped educate gamers that the Carmina Burana isn't the be all and end all of choral-driven symphonic pieces. If you played Final Fantasy VII and VIII back to back, you got to listen to one such composition during the boss fight against Sephiroth and start your VIII playthrough with this classic.

Silent Hill 2 is captivating enough to warrant multiple playthroughs, even without the incentive of multiple endings. For those who do beat the game more than once, there is the option to experience the true ending of this psychological horror and find out who is truly behind the curtain of Silent Hill. Or you can just watch this video and also bark along to the end credits.

When you have the guy from A Clockwork Orange, the dwarf from Lord of the Rings and Luke Skywalker, you wonder why a studio ever bothered to make that Wing Commander movie with Freddie Prinze Jr.. Wing Commander 4's cutscenes even have high enough production values to feature something that most FMV games lacked: Extras! Surely the original film reels can be restored and played on SyFy, no? Or has that already been done?

For all the sexiness and suggestiveness that saturate the cutscenes in this spiritual successor to Devil May Cry, you can't deny one thing: Bayonetta has a really bizarre skeletal frame. Oh, this is a video game you say, where we've made countless allowances for inhuman character proportions from 24-inch necks on space marines to gravity defying breasts on fighting girls. Well, carry on then; enjoy your crotch shots and glasses fetish.

This video set the standard for every college age girls' party in the past 25 years. The best part? It's one of those games where they say the game's name in the game! Try to pull that off Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Rogue Spear Mission Pack: Urban Operations!

The title that helped introduce gamers to the survival horror genre also had one heck of an unceremonious introduction. Maybe if the production crew didn't blow their budget on that departing helicopter shot (“No! Don't go!”), perhaps they could have upgraded to 'E'-list actors. Then again, we wouldn't have had the pleasure of marveling at that yellow plastic helmet that is supposed to be Wesker's hair.

The dialogue options have always been a highlight of the Monkey Island series, but these moments in 2D animation are very memorable as well. At its best moments, the animation looks like something out of a Don Bluth movie or game. Here's a clip of antagonist Le Chuck in his usual irate self.

Greatest power ballad ever composed for a video game, with passion that is only enhanced by its well-executed build-up, the presense of a children's chorus, and the always poignant monologue break in the middle.

Bioshock was one of those games I was glad I didn't read or write about ahead of time. Firing it up for the first time and not knowing what to expect only accentuated the then-unorthodox art design, let alone its underwater setting. A fitting welcome indeed.

Playable character twists and Russian composition comparisons notwithstanding, you could not give MGS fans a better payoff to 3 years of waiting and anticipation than this intro by Hollywood opening credit veteran Kyle Cooper and his then-studio, Imaginary Forces. There's a bit of a you-had-to-be-there element in appreciating the full impact of this intro the week MGS2 came out. You'll just have to take our word for it that for some of us, no sequel intro since has generated bigger goosebumps.

These character introductions are not only entertaining, but also exquisitely highlight the neo-1950's inspired art style and comedic tone of Team Fortess 2.

We've come a long way from the generic single punch opening of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. There are about half a dozen Capcom fighter intros worthy of this list though they all convey the same message of showing of much of the game's cast and what they can do, overly enhanced by ridiculous camera angles and sweeps.

If you're going the toilet humor route with your game, you'd might as well go all the way with it. It was hard to decide on a single clip from this classic by Rare, so here's collection of them.

Betweeen this and Paradise Eve, it's a bit of a mystery why there aren't more opera scenes in gaming. Often cited as one of the many highpoints of FFVI, merely showing this scene doesn't do it justice as it's truly appreciated in the context of a full playthrough.

If there was any additional incentive to not become a low-income divorced dad, Heavy Rain hammers that point across quite nicely. Much of Heavy Rain's appeal is the beauty of mundane things in life, yet this dark and drab house captures another side of that coin almost too well.

With all the lightsabers and planetary travel, Phantasy Star series was in many ways the closest thing to a Star Wars JRPG. There's a hint of Planet of the Apes in this bold ending and how it leaves our heroes places them in a bittersweet, albeit valiant light.

It's always an obvious risk releasing prequel when you already know what's going to happen. At least Bungie left the Halo franchise on a high note,making the most of this great opportunity in circular storytelling, the kind that once you finish Reach, there's the impulse to dust off the original Halo. Unbelievably, that's not the best part. The following clip shows was happens after the end credits. It's one last hurrah for Noble Six followed by a fitting message of appreciation for your valiant efforts.

There's a twisted kind of audaciousness when thinking about MGS4's existence alone. The game main purpose was to tie up practically every loose end in the series-long can of worms that Hideo Kojima unleashed with each Metal Gear that came before it. We might never see this kind of game again, at least in this kind of grand scale. This final cinematic transition is especially poignant; by cutting to black--as opposed to dissolving to black--a series that wanted to be a Hollywood blockbuster ends like an indie film.

HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey was twisted enough as it was; now here's the video game torchbearer. Any ending song worthy of inclusion on the Rock Band playlist is worthy of attention.

The collective self-conscious nature of the industry today makes it hard to imagine we'd ever encounter this kind of memorable banter ever again. There are just too many skilled translators and editors working in the industry to allow this to happen in 2011, unless of course you came out with a game like Deadly Premonition.

The scenes from last year's Deadly Premonition could have taken up half of this Top 50 list but instead we'll award it the #2 spot, exemplified with this classic discussion over “the sinner's sandwich”. Has David Lynch seen this game? Because it's the closest thing we've ever had to a Twin Peaks game, in the most twisted way imaginable (that's the point, right?).

If a game's opening sequence's job is to set the tone, these last three games are the standard bearers. The introduction of the “flower girl”, the grand camera pull-back to reveal Midgar, title reveal, to the flying zoom down to the train stop made for one of the most well orchestrated cutscenes ever. It was punctuated by how it seamlessly jumped into the action without any pause.

As kids growing up in the mid-to-late 80's cinematic cutscenes weren't something we came to expect with our NES game. Then we witnessed this: the beat-driven anticipatory music, the dramatic backdrop, and an often-imitated sword clash where the victor was the only one able to stand. It only made the cutscene all the more poignant when the solemn music kicked in, setting up the stage for this revenge tale.

When younger generations ask us what it was like when Western console game development didn't dominate the market, simply point them to Vagrant Story. And any collaboration between Yasumi Matsuno, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Hiroshi Minagawa always ends up becoming a classic. Don't let the PSOne textures distract you from one of the most exquisitely storyboarded and well-edited opening sequences ever conceived for a videogame. They even featured something that was not present in the real-time cutscenes of Metal Gear Solid: eyeballs.