Poll: Best Elder Scrolls opening sequence

[DoPo]

I'm going with first impressions here, and Skyrim was (In my opinion) a nice way to slide into the universe and the setting, much better than Morrowinds "Get the hell off my boat"

Hmm, now I realise I actually find Morrowind's style actually more immersive. I didn't care I was just thrust into a new universe and people started talking to me about "Dunmer", "Khajiit", etc. It always felt more attention grabbing to me the fact that there apparently is this big world out there and you're not treated like something exceedingly special. Other games (including TES ones) would immediately try to make it as if the random schmuck you just made is immediately important...while you're still a random schmuck trying to scrounge the money to buy a pair of boots with actual defence value. It always feels out of place. Also, double goes for exposition dumps and weird, uncanny explanations ("Hey, don't forget we use coins for currency", "If you hit an enemy with a pointy stick, it would hurt them" - whoever ever says that in reality is a fucking moron. Or stoned, I guess. Don't know if there is a difference, but at any rate, it's not something I like hearing from NPCs). Being put into a world where people don't try to explain to you stuff children should logically know is way better, IMO.

 

[piinyouri]

The one were you start in chains/prison/bondage.

Seriously though, probably Morrowind for the afore mentioned reason that it's short and sweet.

 

[jollybarracuda]

Morrowind's intro is leaps and bounds my favorite intro for a TES game. It's pretty much just waking up on a boat, creating your character, and then jumping right into the game. No story sequences or dungeon to get through. It does suffer from not making the main quest feel very immediate, but that also helps it down the line, as the main quest starts out with just a few delivery missions before really getting anywhere interesting.

So yah, Morrowind. (Please let the Skywind project be available to us soon!)

 

[likalaruku]

Morrowind, because during Skyrim & Oblivion's opening sequences, I'm too busy being thinking about how much better the Morrowind version of the theme song was.

 

[00slash00]

all the elder scrolls intros kinda suck. morrowind, as people have said, is good only because it was so short it was barely there. i liked oblivions intro the best, but it may not hold up as well today. i could tell skyrims intro was supposed to be epic, but it just dragged. just getting to the town felt like it took forever. mostly just gave me time to appreciate how crappy the textures looked

 

[joshuaayt]

Morrowind, by several miles. "A'ight, here you are, on an island. Go to Balmora eventually. Know where that is? Fuck you, figure it out yourself."

All three of the games listed let you get lost, but in Morrowind you were lost by default- The world felt at its strangest, and most mysterious, when you didn't have an obvious task thrust upon you by the fates, because you didn't have that reason to forge ahead.

I wasn't too fond of Oblivion's intro, because it was a frustratingly long cavewalk and the story really wasn't that interesting, but leaving that cave and seeing the gorgeous, vibrant outside world for the first time was admittedly all the sweeter for your captivity in darkland.
Plus you could make a save right before leaving the cave, and remake your character there, so you only really had to see it once.

Skyrim didn't have that sudden contrast with the pretty colors, because you started outside, and you couldn't skip the intro with clever saving, so...
Fuck Skyrim's intro.

 

[BreakfastMan]

"Wake up. Stand up. There you go. You were dreaming. What's your name?"

Those words, and Azura's speech from intro vid, still haunt me to this day. They set the scene better in 5 minutes than Skyrim's did in 30.

Oh, god yes. I got chills just reading that sentence again and remembering that film (good chills, mind you). No other game in the series will ever be able to touch the level of emotion Morrowind's opening instills in me. I mean yeah, Skyrim's was very well executed and exciting, but it will never really compare to Morrowind's to me.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Depends. First play-through -Skyrim because it is actually really awesome.

Every other play-through -Morrowind because it is short.

Of course, there are mods to make you opening way different in all of the games if you choose to.

 

[Reaper195]

The one where you start off as a prisoner.

I've never played Morrowind before, and I played Oblivion a couple of times many, many years ago. Skyrim is the most I've played of an Elder Scrolls game, and was the game that really introduced me into medieval fantasy (The first being Game of Thrones, but that featured much less fantasy than Skyrim). So I can really only say Skyrim, since I've never seen Morrowind's, and Oblivion was too far long ago to really remember.

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

Skyrim, though it's being reconsidered because I find a very annoying glitch happening everytime I attempt a new game, I get stuck at the chopping block because glitched alduin just flies around aimlessly for hours

 

[Lygus]

Morrowind. Simply because it requires player's imagination, gets you thinking what's happening around here and motivates to ask questions and find out everything on your own. THAT is what I call an adventure.

Skyrim intro is perfectly suited for an action game, but for RPG... Fuck it.

 

[endtherapture]

Skyrim intro is perfectly suited for an action game, but for RPG... Fuck it.

Tons of RPGs have big opening sequences with loads of action and exposition - Baldur's Gate 2, Kingdoms of Amalur, Dragon Age, Torchlight 2, Dark Souls etc.

 

[Sandernista]

"Wake up. Stand up. There you go. You were dreaming. What's your name?"

Those words, and Azura's speech from intro vid, still haunt me to this day. They set the scene better in 5 minutes than Skyrim's did in 30.

Even last night's storm couldn't wake you.

I read in St. Jiuub's voice, and so did you.

OP: Morrowind has the best by far.

 

[excalipoor]

Of the three, I preferred Oblivion's, but only the first time around. Morrowind's is quick and neat, giving you the essentials and nothing else. The whole world feels open right from the start. It's great for people like myself who can't stick to a single character.

 

[DoPo]

Ok you're on a boat...no idea why.

You're being transported to Vvardenfell. It becomes quickly apparent. The emperor ordered your release and your relocation.

You're also a prisoner...you don't know why.

Neither do you in Oblivion. Also, why does it matter? In Skyrim you've been "caught trying to cross the border" - that doesn't really do it justice to me - ck did he stay afterwards. So he was trying to enter. Why? Why would a Khajiit be sneaking into Skyrim? Makes no sense. Or an Argonian. I can understand some others but, again, we lack motivation to properly justify it. I'd certainly file that under "don't know why you're a prisoner"

You go up and fill out your information about your class and everything else about yourself and then you leave without having a goddamn clue what to do and why you should care.

Erm, you're given a clue. You are to deliver a package to Caius Cosades in Balmora. After talking to people in town would you'll quickly find out that you can try either waling on foot and following the signs along the road or just taking a cab bug for a small fee. Once you meet Caius, you are given some money, a place to stay and he points you towards the guilds for basic quests and money income.

Or you can just bugger off, if you wish before or after Caius. Oblivion sort of doesn't work in that respect "Ugh, I'm the emperor and a scripted sequence just stabbed me to death - here is a trinket, you have to save the world with it" - you are supposed to care but I couldn't. If you do bugger off it just comes off as something douche-y.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

"Wake up, we're here. Why are you shaking? Are you OK? Wake up. Stand up...there you go. You were dreaming. What's your name? Well, not even last night's storm could wake you. I heard them say we've reached Morrowind. I'm sure they'll let us go."

It may be just nostalgia talking, but Morrowind's opening is unforgettable. Morrowind as a whole was quite revolutionary back in the day. Oblivion and Skyrim even though they are technically better games, did not have such a huge impact on gaming. They didn't have a huge impact on me either.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Skyrim, though it's being reconsidered because I find a very annoying glitch happening everytime I attempt a new game, I get stuck at the chopping block because glitched alduin just flies around aimlessly for hours

I had that after I installed the Dawnguard DLC. Are you by chance reloading the quicksave Skyrim makes just before you're asked for your name rather than watching the whole intro? That's what kept glitching me out - some kind of conflict between pre and post DLC autosaves. I deleted the autosave and went through the whole intro again and Alduin behaved as he was meant to.

OT - Of those three I prefer the Morrowind intro, although if I'm being honest I'd say the Daggerfall intro beats all three.

Spoiler: Unsure of sound quality due to posting at work

 

[Old Father Eternity]

The Daggerfall intro was pretty nice indeed.
However out of the three options present, I have to agree with the ones voting for Morrowind and with DoPo especially.
Also, Nerevar Rising is a very, very good song, fitting perfectly where it was.

 

[bug_of_war]

One gripe about the Skyrim intro is that they never tell you why you are on the execution cart.

To be fair, they never tell you why you're a prisoner in any of the games, except for Skyrim as mentioned w9496 where it's stated you were coming in from the border.

OT: I liked Oblivion's opening because of the Dunmer in the other cell. I love the shit he says and how it changes each time both on race and gender.

As for TES6 I really just would prefer jumping straight into the game. I want to create my character first, then play/look at the scenery and have dialogue directed at me, I just find that it makes me more invested in the story and helps me connect with my character (although I'm normally a Nord or a Bosmer so I should be use to it by now but still). As for where the next game is set...I honestly don't care, so long as I still get a game that I can sink hundreds of hours into I'm happy.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I don't really remember Morrowind's but the voice over by Patrick Stewart in Oblivion was awesome.