Best shmup intro?

[EinhanderZwei]

We all know that the introductory/attract videos are important to make the gamers actually pick up and play the game. But which attract sequence is the best ever? Here are my picks:

- Soldier Blade
- (duh) Thunder Force IV
- G Darius (made me wonder 'what the hell are the new lives which creation I'm gonna witness? And WHY I'm gonna witness it anyway??')
- Aleste 1 MSX
- Every goddamn Parodius game
- Philosoma
- Xexex
- Nexzr (it's like 'I'm gonna avenge the death of that chick... whoever the crap she is!')
- Pulstar & Blazing Star
- Final Mission
- Ai Cho Aniki (I believe that this sequence is the closest the devs has got to heterosexuality )

Honorable mention:

- R-Type Complete CD - so poor that it's good

[saucykobold]

Gradius II has a very classy intro.

- G Darius (made me wonder 'what the hell are the new lives which creation I'm gonna witness? And WHY I'm gonna witness it anyway??')

It's blithering nonsense
I think this refers to the Genesis ending. The pilots are wireframed by the Embryon, apparently resulting in the creation of a new planet on which life will evolve. The line might also refer to the ending in which Lutia crash lands on a barren planet. She's met by a native; shades of Adam and Eve, kinda sorta?

[BIL]

Battle Garegga. Feels like the start of something big, with the stormy industrial skyline, revving engines and hammering soundtrack, then *BRADADADADADA* done, in a hail of gunfire and shrapnel. "Coin" chime rings out and away we go. Grand yet concise.

Devil May Cry's intro has a similar effect. Just *BOOM* logo. In action games, where I'm in a "blow shit up" frame of mind, it's the kind of sequence I prefer.

[BulletMagnet]

I'll add Axelay to the mix. Kinda generic, but still effective.

[spineshark]

Battle Garegga. Feels like the start of something big, with the stormy industrial skyline, revving engines and hammering soundtrack, then *BRADADADADADA* done, in a hail of gunfire and shrapnel. "Coin" chime rings out and away we go. Grand yet concise.

Yes.

Also, Dimahoo's is awesome. Great battle is beginning!

[chempop]

Dimahoo is my favorite.

I also like Soukyugurentai, Strikers1945pt2 (sat), Mars Matrix, Trouble Shooter, Gunbird 2, MUSHA, TFIV.. could go on and on

I don't understand why Cave doesn't have intros, there is always extra character/concept art for them to whip up a little something.

[EinhanderZwei]

Oh yes, one more. Gate Of Thunder

[pixeljunkie]

Oh yes, one more. Gate Of Thunder

as well as Lords of Thunder!

Download 1 and 2 have epic intros

[Slump]

I'll add Axelay to the mix. Kinda generic, but still effective.

I concur. I'm surprised someone already mentioned it.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yukembo's opening intro to the MVS game of Blazing Star is a classic...first time I saw it, I didn't any money to try out and thus could only watch the jaw-dropping intro. This was back in February of 1998 when it first appeared in USA arcades.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[moozooh]

Sega Genesis port of Zero Wing has a nice intro.

[EinhanderZwei]

Sega Genesis port of Zero Wing has a nice intro.

Yeah, aside from AYBABTU it's actually pretty neat

Download 1 and 2 have epic intros

The former also has awesome game over screens

Yukembo's opening intro to the MVS game of Blazing Star is a classic...first time I saw it, I didn't any money to try out and thus could only watch the jaw-dropping intro.

I had exactly the same reaction for Crime Patrol intro! Except of...
- I was a child back then
- It was a home port
- It's actually not a shmup

[WarpZone]

I don't understand why Cave doesn't have intros, there is always extra character/concept art for them to whip up a little something.

Guwange.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Many shmups have quite memorable intros (Gynoug's sausage fest for example), but I've yet to encounter utterly cracking one. I mean, I could watch Ninja Master's intro over and over again. Why Guwange doesn't have an intro this potent?
Admittedly, Pulstar intro (and the "wake up" screen) came close. That of 1944: The Loop Master isn't too bad either.

[EinhanderZwei]

Admittedly, Pulstar intro (and the "wake up" screen) came close.

Oh yeah, hell that screen is fabulous

Gaiares intro is cool as well, though it works in a different way. Instead of showing the ship designs, firefights and SFX, it looks like slow-paced 1st episode of some 80s space-themed anime. 'If you destroy the aliens, the Earth will live, otherwise the Earth will be destroyed by US!' C'mon you xeno-bastards, I'm taking off...

[apple arcade]

trigger heart exelica's anime intro

[cj iwakura]

MUSHA (Aleste). No contest.

[mesh control]

[Dragoforce]

The intro to the SFC version of Area88 is pretty sweet.

[MathU]

Just TRY and read all that!

Gate of Thunder and Dimahoo are some of my favorites.
Metal Black's intro is pretty compelling too.

[emphatic]

I thought the demo-intro to Raiden Fighters 2 was really cool when I first got the PCB. Best intro ever though is a real tough cookie.

Another cool one is for Border Down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du-3VrcJZ6g

[Voxbox]

Not an intro sequence per se, but the first level of Progear sure kicks off in the most dashing fashion.

Oh, and I'm gonna mention Gaia Seed again. No idea what the intro's about, but you get really awful vibes (and even more so in the different endings). A big part of what I like about the game.

[The Coop]

Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn comes to mind, as does Salamander II. The opening for Thunder Force IV is short and sweet, and Thunder Force V: Perfect System's intro wasn't too shabby either. M.U.S.H.A.'s was pretty good, as was Blazing Star's and Soukyugurentai's. Zero Wing (PAL) gets a nod for its butchered Engrish alone, and I'll give props to Metal Black for having the longest fucking staircase this side of "Ghostbusters".

[Gespenst]

Aero Fighters 3, PSX's Sonic Wings Special, Einhander, Thunder Force V: Perfect System, Soukyu-gurentai Oubushutsugeki, Border Down, and the epic Giga Wing 2

[system11]

MUSHA (Aleste). No contest.

Agreed, I was going to post that myself unless someone else had.

[Taylor]

Does this include attract modes? Because YOU ARE GREAT.

[Shocky]

I'll go with these safe bets:

Zero Wing
Pulstar (the green haired chick!)
Thunderforce IV (the combination of the title appearing and the music!)

Many Amiga shmups had great intros:

Blood Money
X-Out
Venom Wing (the music especially)

And one borderliner for the hell of it: Novastorm. Cheap and cheesy Aliens-type space warfare, super-dry and mean sounding general briefing the mission.. and the transition to the actual game is a wow-moment because of the music and all.

[EinhanderZwei]

Speaking of Amiga, there's also a cool intro in Vektor Storm, mostly due to its awesome thrash metal music

[nZero]

I can't believe no one's mentioned the arcade version of Raiden II, with the ship doing a vertical takeoff out of a grove of cherry blossom trees. A shame nobody's managed to get the game going in MAME yet.

[LARGE KRO]

Blazing Star is stunning, when I first I saw I did not expect it was the game I saw screenshots of
in the previews section of my magazine. I was more thinking of a ps1/ps2 game.
Pulstar has also a beautiful intro wich such an epic theme.

Also really like AP Batrider, Soukyugurentai, gradius V and Border Down.