G-police on the PSone. I remember being blown away by it at the time.

LOL, the only version I could find in youtube is in French.

Good thread - and tough call.

I like non-cinematic starts (although I do love most of the cinematics) mentioned here.

So for me it would be Half Life 2 and Portal - minimal information, immersive environments and just trying to suck up every little detail to get a grip on the world you're in and what you should be doing.

I also love the start of Grim Fandango - love that game to death (he he).

parasite eve

Silent Hil 2, I agree above with parasite eve, Final Fantasy 7, Heck I even liked Onimusha 3 (hope I spelled it right), Castlevania SOTN I know it is not a cut scene, but I thought it was cool how you begin the game as Richter fighting Dracula in the final battle of Castlevania Bloodlines.

xenogears

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vraFZ9rc7xA&feature=related

Resident Evil 3 , God of War 2 , Tekken 3/5 ... and thats all I can think of :)

My Wii can't process the first page of this thread, so these games may have been mentiond:

Final Fantasy 8 gave me a chill in my spine equal to a 15 year old being touched by a hot girl.

Twilight Princess gave an impressive look at things to come. If I weren't going to buy that game, the attract screens would've sold me!

While I'm usually loathe to list a newer game in these type of comparisons, I was absolutely awe-struck by the first five minutes of BioShock.

Wow, I must say I'm surprised a few of you mentioned Lufia. Lufia doesn't get the respect it deserves. I love the whole game, and the beginning is just so great. It's a great way to throw you into it.

Oh, I'd like to add that the opening for the original MGS was pretty freakin' awesome, too.