Most memorable opening line in a game

[Gibboniser]

"Humans are no strangers to war... after all we've been fighting for as long as we can remember, war, is all we know. In the past, we fought for immulsion, we fought for country, we fought for freedom, but all that changed after e day, for fifteen years we've been fighting for very survival, against inhuman genocidal monsters, but it is a fight we cannot continue, humanity faces extinction, unless we end this war now."

I always liked that speech. I imagine I'm not the first to post it however.

 

[dark-mortality]

"Rub some acid in his eyes!" Guess where that is from :3

 

[Carl The Manicorn]

"Conquest. Since time immortal, great leaders have risen from humble beginnings to... do shit."

My favorite line from Saints Row: The Third. That and the part where they talk about how Johnny Gat and Shaundi are pop culture icons. "And Pierce? Well, who gives a fuck about Pierce?"

 

[Doclector]

"I was born 87 years ago. For 65 years I've ruled as Tamriel's emperor, but for all these years, I've never been the ruler of my own dreams. I have seen the gates of Oblivion, beyond which no waking eye may see. Behold, in darkness, a doom sweeps the land. This is the 27th of Last Seed, the year of Akatosh, 433. These are the closing days of the third era, and the final hours of my life"

*cue epic oblivion theme*

 

[Black Rabt]

I'm still rather partial to "War, war never changes."

 

[bliebblob]

16th page... bah screw it!

'Listen to my story. This... may be our last chance.' *que amazing piano music and title screen* -final fantasy x

 

[Arnoxthe1]

"In 2291, in an attempt to control violence among deep space miners, the New Earth Government legalized no-holds-bared fighting. Liandri Mining Corporation, working with the NEG, established a series of leagues and bloody public exhibitions. The fight's popularity grew with their brutality. Soon, Liandri discovered that the public matches were their most profitable enterprise. The professional league was formed; a cabal of the most violent and skilled warriors in known space, selected to fight in a Grand Tournament. Now it is 2341. 50 years have passed since founding of DeathMatch. Profits from the Tournament number in the hundreds of billions. You have been selected to fight in the professional league by the Liandri Rules Board. Your strength and brutality are legendary. The time has come to prove you are the best. To crush your enemies; to win the Tournament. "
- Unreal Tournament Intro

 

[Icyheart]

The whole opening bit for Bioshock 1, "I'm gonna KILL Praxis!" in Jak II, and the first and last lines in the opening for Jak 3 ("By order of (blah blah blah), you are hereby banished to the Wasteland... for life" and "I smell a storm coming")

 

[Andrew_Waltfeld]

Dear Humanity,
We regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth. And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"
? Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson

 

[dmjewelle]

"Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements."

 

[Mike Fang]

Ron Pearlman's openings for Fallout games are always pretty cool.

Ditto to that!

 

[willis888]

War . . . war never changes.


It's dangerous to go alone, take this.

 

[CockroachTeaParty]

They were mentioned previously, but these some of my personal favorite heavy-hitters:

"At 0830 hours, alien forces boarded the Marathon. The current
situation is dire. All personnel are required to arm
themselves and fight for their lives." -Leela, Marathon ship A.I.

"Kain is deified. The clans tell tales of him. Few know the truth. He was mortal once, as were we all..."

(And from the same game, the line that 'sets if off' is pretty great: "Become my Soul Reaver... my Angel of Death." [RIP Tony Jay])

"This is Rupture Farms. They say it's the biggest meat packing plant on Oddworld. I used to work here. Well, I was really a slave, like all the others."

And I'm not sure if this one was mentioned yet:

"When I was very young, the Earth Empire controlled the skies. The Czar and his battle fleets saw everything, knew everything, punished everything."
~Colony Wars

Another good one:
"...Congratulations, Professor! With Hitler removed..."
"Time will tell. Sooner or later... time will tell."
~C&C: Red Alert

 

[pyramid head grape]

Rise and shine Mr. Freeman, rise and shine.

 

[lordlillen]

since everyone stole the fallout one im going for
MGS4 and snake trolling the fallout one.
''war... has changed''

 

[Auron225]

"Listen to my story. This may be our last chance." - Tidus, FFX

I don't know why - I just haven't forgotten it, and Ive forgotten most of the others.

 

[Karhukonna]

Didn't read all of the 17 pages of the thread, but I'll post this, just in case. They're not the opening lines, but that scene during the opening of Final Fantasy X, when Tidus is hanging off the edge of what appears to be a road, Auron looks up to Sin and says something along the lines of "You are sure?".

Sent chills down my spine. Wasn't the best, but the best have all been mentioned already so I just felt like sharing that one. The scene itself was pretty kickass too.

 

[Zorak the Mantis]

"Stand up, there you go. You where dreaming, not even last night's storm could wake you." -Jiub, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind