One week till new episodes begin!
Added 2024-02-26 22:36:15 +0000 UTCOh hey, Besties Buddies!
Just a programming note that the regular schedule begins next Tuesday (March 5) with a brand new episode of Besties Brackets. We'll be chatting about the best first levels in video games. Have some favorites? We'd love to hear about them in the comments!
Resties will return the following Tuesday, March 12! Thank you all for joining us on this ride!
Comments
This is so amazeballs
Ian Hickey
2024-03-11 04:01:16 +0000 UTCHey Gang. Any way to bundle the free eps on this feed? It would be nice to only have one rss link for all besties content.
Derek
2024-03-05 15:31:29 +0000 UTCActually when you were Sora you could also skateboard in just about every world! I think you had to have beaten the world first, and I'm not sure if this was something they added in Final Mix but I definitely remember using a skateboard as Sora when I was grinding out for Ultima Weapon!
Luke
2024-03-05 06:45:00 +0000 UTCSo lame that you only got to skateboard with Roxas. Best mode of transport by far.
Casey Shinn
2024-03-05 00:40:39 +0000 UTCForever sealed into my brain since age 10.
Morgan Suhm
2024-03-04 22:00:57 +0000 UTCMega Man X's first level does such a great job teaching you about the mechanics of the game while establishing the themes of growing stronger. Also, that intro stage music is rad.
Morgan Suhm
2024-03-04 22:00:08 +0000 UTCPS1. Tony Hawks Pro Skater on a Pizza Hut demo disc. Warehouse. That level (and subsequently Superman by Goldfinger) are ingrained in my memory forever.
Will Gainsborough
2024-03-03 16:24:30 +0000 UTCPlaying the first level from Tetris Effect: Connected, “THE DEEP”, for the first time is one of my all time favorite video game experiences. I still don’t understand how it manages to evoke such strong emotions in me, but dang it, nearly every time this 30-year old man goes back and plays it I just wanna cry
My Name is Zeke
2024-03-03 04:55:02 +0000 UTCHere's my thing: other than SMB/DH, my first game was Mega Man 3. I always did Snake Man first.
Matthew Vinkler
2024-03-01 19:38:36 +0000 UTCMy man Plante!! I just started watching Frieren last week; GREAT timing!! It’s so good that I immediately picked up all the manga 😅
Thomas Barker
2024-03-01 19:08:10 +0000 UTCUndead Asylum from Dark Souls takes the cake for me. A tutorial boss that absolutely wipes the floor with you, only for you to trudge your way up to the top (learning the basics along the way) and perform your first plunging attack to exact your sweet revenge. Then a big bird takes you to the central hub. Beautiful.
Ty Martin Fritz
2024-03-01 18:33:55 +0000 UTCHell yeah! Loved the first batch and I'm excited for more
IHaveARussFrushtickBodyPillow
2024-02-29 20:51:02 +0000 UTC🙌👾🎮
Evan
2024-02-29 20:46:29 +0000 UTCI did in one of my reply comments, but not in my initial answer lol.
Brad MacDonald
2024-02-29 19:01:23 +0000 UTCThat was my comment too lol
Brad MacDonald
2024-02-29 19:00:11 +0000 UTCJust heard Plante on Make Me Smart pod talking anime economics. Delighted for that little surprise
clairebear
2024-02-29 15:18:36 +0000 UTCGotta shout out City Escape in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle again. Being chased by the GUN truck whilst the soundtrack blares is pretty much seared into my mind forever
Tay Sparks
2024-02-29 06:57:44 +0000 UTCMailbag: What happened to edutainment games? As a 90s kid, I played so much Carmen Sandiego, ClueFinders, Zoombinis… What happened to those kinds of games? I want to chase a criminal through history and solve math problems to beat the bad guy. Or, at least I want kids today to do that! I’m a teacher now but in school I loved computer lab day when we got to play something from Broaderbund.
Emily Lewis
2024-02-29 01:05:15 +0000 UTCTomb Raider (2013) has always stuck with me, something about the suspense and eeriness of that first level just really gets me!
Brody
2024-02-28 19:06:14 +0000 UTCFrom my daughter Lucy (12): the first level of Undertale. Has lots of story, not just tutorial. Introduces multiple characters like Flowey and Toriel and heaps of side characters, as well as the awesome combat system. And the music!
Nick Fielding
2024-02-28 11:33:28 +0000 UTCJumping onto the pile! A few options that all weigh about the same to me: - I second the MegaMan X opening level suggestion. Game design mastery, memorable, bodacious in its look and soundtrack (for the time), etc. - The opening/first level of Super Mario 64 stands out to me. Probably some nostalgia there, but I still hear the music and remember that feeling of “Whoa!” In a slightly different vein, being a huge, long time MMORPG player, the Dwarf and Ork starter zones — and especially their shared PVP contested zone — in Warhammer Online are to date the best starter leveling experience in an MMORPG. 🤗
joshwithouthats
2024-02-27 20:13:48 +0000 UTCAlways had a sweet spot for the opening of the original BioShock (and to a slightly lesser extent, BioShock Infinite). Might not fit the format but another one that comes to mind is Stanley Parable, which has a super interesting structure that fans out in some really cool ways all starting from that initial "Stanley went through the door on the left" hallway at the start of the game, and slowly building on it for subsequent playthroughs.
Ben C
2024-02-27 20:00:56 +0000 UTCOne of the most iconic for me is the first level of God of War 2, Fighting the animated statue and then Zeus sending you to Hades
Dan Brown
2024-02-27 19:09:39 +0000 UTCDoes the Great Plateau from Breath of the Wild count? It’s a huge open world tutorial level within a massive open world, and it feels like a perfect sampling of the game as a whole.
ThanaThots
2024-02-27 17:55:14 +0000 UTCYea! Lemons! Literally a whole dissertation on what makes the first Megaman X level so good.
ThanaThots
2024-02-27 17:48:35 +0000 UTCGOT PLACES TO GO GOTTA FOLLOW MY RAINBOW
PaxSnax
2024-02-27 16:55:36 +0000 UTCIs Limgrave a level? How about Stormveil Castle as the first legacy dungeon?
Anthony Basilio
2024-02-27 16:02:46 +0000 UTCDoes the intro to the last of us count? I was so immediately hooked into Joel's experience of the beginning of the end of the world.
billfromamerica
2024-02-27 15:51:31 +0000 UTCBLOODBORNE!
Lucas Shears
2024-02-27 15:23:52 +0000 UTCThis is insane. Why hasn't anyone said green hill zone?? If sonic does anything right it's the first level.
Alexander Moralez
2024-02-27 14:43:44 +0000 UTCAw yeah. Gotta love Paradise Killer. And that leap when you leave your exile is so good.
Brock Wager
2024-02-27 13:55:18 +0000 UTCLord Bafford’s Manor in Thief 1.
Brock Wager
2024-02-27 13:54:09 +0000 UTCI’d go with Cuphead’s Botanic Panic for the music alone
witchcatcher
2024-02-27 10:59:27 +0000 UTCJungle Hijinx from Donkey Kong Country. Visually stunning, sets up everything that's great about the game, includes plenty of secret... still fun to replay when you come back dozens of times to farm lives 😀
Nick Fielding
2024-02-27 10:18:30 +0000 UTCLevel 1 from DOOM (1993). Replayed a few years ago on Switch, still hold up really well!
Nick Fielding
2024-02-27 10:16:40 +0000 UTCHow about Stormveil Castle as the 'first level'?
Nick Fielding
2024-02-27 10:15:25 +0000 UTCThough the gameplay of the first portal 2 level is fairly mechanically simple, the opening sequence with the walls of the room falling apart to reveal the mechanical guts of the facility and the visual differences from portal 1 really drive home the sense that this game is going to be bigger, more complex, and more narratively and visually interesting when compared to portal 1. Probably not as impactful without prior knowledge of portal 1 though...
Sunny Liu
2024-02-27 09:26:24 +0000 UTCDifficult to define it as a "level", but the opening sequence of the first Bioshock game is absolutely iconic for me
Rob Williams
2024-02-27 09:23:02 +0000 UTCFF7 (and FF7 Remake) have an explosive high octane opening mission that is hard to beat, but GOW Ragnarok is not far off imo
Allan Thomaz Stiubiener
2024-02-27 07:59:26 +0000 UTCThe opening bombing mission from FF7 blew me away at the time
Rich S
2024-02-27 05:57:12 +0000 UTCI played the first level of Half Life 2 more times than I can count. It was the first game that opened my eyes to the storytelling that games could offer. A close second, for similar reasons, would be Uncharted 2. While it wasn’t the first game to enrapture me with storytelling, it was such a leap forward for me that it’s always my first go to game recommendation for new people looking for story driven games.
HurricaneDanger
2024-02-27 04:05:41 +0000 UTCI know it's not quite a "level" per se, but the Great Plateau in Breath of the Wild is a masterwork of tutorial design, especially for a game with systems as deep as it had. The immense sense of awe with the abundance of choice, but yet it gracefully guides the player to a very curated beginning path with subtle game mechanic explanations all along it. Plus it just gets out of your way on repeated playthroughs with increased skill.
Caleb Spronk
2024-02-27 03:07:54 +0000 UTCLooking forward to the show's return! I couldn't go without Resties, that's why I joined Patreon, so I'm looking forward to the next episode :)
Chrysanthemum
2024-02-27 02:16:57 +0000 UTCI think Bob-omb Battlefield in Mario 64 and the Dam level in Goldeneye both served as eye-opening moments for players encountering 3D gameplay for the first time. The levels also served as effective introductions into this new gameplay.
Christopher Hoffman
2024-02-27 01:41:10 +0000 UTCHalf Life 2 was pretty amazing to me at the age when I played it. It smoothly moved you through the world, to the rooftops and down to the sewers. Man, I missed those rooftops.
Graham Rowat
2024-02-27 01:27:59 +0000 UTCAn outside the box pick, but something like Stanley Parable has a good 'first level' ... either in retrospect after you've tried something else on a subsequent time through the office, or defying the narrators script from the get go.
Bret Scofield
2024-02-27 01:14:53 +0000 UTCTitanic Plains in Risk of Rain 2. The wide open space with the partially buried megastructures jutting out of the landscape give such a cool atmosphere
Patrick
2024-02-27 00:47:09 +0000 UTCI think it counts! I was going to bring it up too. It's an interesting setting with a spooky atmosphere. Right away you get to explore a space that's so different than just another temple made of blocks. I think it does a great job of easing the player into the experience of playing through a dungeon in 3D, while also setting up moments where they'll have to think creatively in order to proceed (i.e. interacting with the webs covering the holes in the floor).
Drew
2024-02-27 00:45:26 +0000 UTCI don’t even know how many times I’ve played the opening level of DOOM 2016. From that first demon punch, to getting the shotgun, to the first time you hear that distorted chainsaw coming in from the Mick Gordon score over the logo splashscreen. It’s not only badass in every aspect but teaches you the fundamentals perfectly.
Stephen Taubner
2024-02-27 00:38:41 +0000 UTCI think that all of the Sony Spiderman games have great first levels, but Spiderman 2’s stands out for being beautifully cinematic, while clearly showing that the game has two leads. For personal nostalgia, I’d say Mega Man X. Mega Man games start the same way: pick a boss and start. Mega Man X changed that dynamic and suggested that the scope had changed. Add in both Zero and Vile as some of the coolest sprites this side of Boba Fett, and it’s a classic.
Mike Kenney
2024-02-27 00:20:17 +0000 UTCI'm gonna go out on a limb and say 1-1 in the game Super Mario Bros.
ben petersen
2024-02-27 00:15:49 +0000 UTCNot important to the bracket but does the Barenaked Ladies guy kinda look like Travis?
Nick Feely
2024-02-27 00:12:25 +0000 UTCSuper Mario 3D World! I was hooked so fast.
Patrick Gautraud
2024-02-26 23:55:22 +0000 UTCThe old medal of honor D-Day levels and the RE4 village are some of my favorites.
Erik W
2024-02-26 23:53:38 +0000 UTCI’d like to nominate Paradise Killer. Its opener establishes that you’ve been exiled with naught but one book for thousands of years, the cultish god-kings that exiled you have been brutally murdered and only an investigation freak like yourself can solve the case. Just a fantastic bit of narrative and environmental storytelling. And the key change in the music after you solve the first puzzle and leap off the edge with the island below you is incredible. Welcome to Island Sequence 24 baby!
Thomas Walsh
2024-02-26 23:50:54 +0000 UTCGotta recommend the opening level of Scorn for this one
iwillalwaysrecommendscorn
2024-02-26 23:42:41 +0000 UTCThe first level of Shovel Knight! I have always admired the way The Plains of Passage wordlessly teaches the player everything they need to know in a way that is legitimately fun. Shovel Knight was the one of the first games to made me think about how it was made, and this level was a huge part of that.
Gus Thomas
2024-02-26 23:39:15 +0000 UTCROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND!
Joe Yancey
2024-02-26 23:25:36 +0000 UTCUncharted 2 is pretty much unmatched in this for me in terms of establishing the tone of a game. My Dad hadn't played a video game since Crash Bandicoot and he had been making jokes about collecting wumpa fruits and the sequence was so good be forgot to be derisive for a whole half hour, which is no small feat!
Luke
2024-02-26 23:18:04 +0000 UTCAnother mention for Super Mario Bros 1-1!
J. Brian
2024-02-26 23:17:23 +0000 UTCI would make an argument for 2009’s Demon’s Souls. I think you could make the case for either the ‘tutorial’ level ending with the thorough whooping from The Vanguard into the “wait what” of seeing the nexus for the first time OR 1-1 in its scale for the time was mind blowing to me.
Dylan Street
2024-02-26 23:14:22 +0000 UTCThis immediately made me think of this Mega Man video: https://youtu.be/8FpigqfcvlM?si=um8PXs9eZD2rv0KQ
Mr. Pulley
2024-02-26 23:11:36 +0000 UTCThe first sequence in Deathloop is excellent
Daniel Lunsford
2024-02-26 23:11:23 +0000 UTCI guess this is as good a hill as any on which to die on: I liked the Roxas section of Kingdom Hearts 2. Twilight Town makes me feel so nostalgic for those last few weeks of summer as a teenager. Realising you wanted your entire Summer and trying to cram some memories in with your friends was very relatable to me.
Luke
2024-02-26 23:09:21 +0000 UTCYeah this one is great, the feel of not knowing anything and just being dropped in this creepy ass Victorian town is just a great setup
Brad MacDonald
2024-02-26 23:09:12 +0000 UTCIn Rise of the Tomb Raider, you start off in Syria and it's so beautiful and cinematic. I have a weird dislike for snow/wintery levels and so the rest of the game was slightly downhill from there for me, but that opening level sticks in my mind so much.
Tom Smith
2024-02-26 23:04:27 +0000 UTCCeleste was the first to come to mind for me. SMB 1-1 of course. Super Metroid was genre-defining. Sonic Green Hill Zone is probably worth a mention as well. I think Super Mario Odyssey definitely has the best 3D Mario first level.
Johnny Van Cura
2024-02-26 22:55:27 +0000 UTCGod of War 3 opening level, climbing up Mt Olympus to take on Zeus. It was one of the few game openings that felt satisfying after the previous entry's cliffhanger ending. Also, is that Alyssa Milano in the One Week video?
Joe Moore
2024-02-26 22:55:03 +0000 UTCYeah sonic games have a lot of iconic opening levels, even non gamers know what green hill zone is! WoW was just one of the coolest feelings ever. Not so much nowadays 😭
Brad MacDonald
2024-02-26 22:50:45 +0000 UTCThe first level in Sonic Adventure 2 "City Escape" is one of the best opening moments in a video game for me. Fast paced, action packed, and sets the tone for the rest of the game. Plus the song is stupid good.
PaxSnax
2024-02-26 22:49:07 +0000 UTC100% on that Sonic level. What an epic way to start that game. Same feeling on that WoW intro. Felt like anything could happen.
Will Vebert
2024-02-26 22:48:48 +0000 UTCSonic Adventure 2 City Escape. I don't consider it a first level but when you open up world of Warcraft for the first time was mind blowing to me when I was a 13 year old kid. The opening sequence to BioShock is one of the best.(i know its not a level) Love your pod guys just found you this year, listening to the backlog while working 8 hour days!
Brad MacDonald
2024-02-26 22:47:37 +0000 UTCOne of my most formative gaming moments was the opening of Mass Effect 2. The first mission is a pretty standard trope, your spaceship gets ambushed and now it’s time for some thrilling heroics and an action packed cutscene to narrowly escape impossible odds. Except that doesn’t happen. The Normandy gets blown up, and the protagonist dies in the vacuum of space. I can’t remember many other gaming moments that left me as speechless as the opening of Mass Effect 2.
Joseph McDonald
2024-02-26 22:47:10 +0000 UTCI was wracking my brain to think of something in Eldin Ring because think it's the best game out there. I'm going to agree with you!
Ultimate Danny 5000
2024-02-26 22:46:20 +0000 UTCHellblade was pretty incredible. not sure how we define first level in RPG games but
Kel Bennett
2024-02-26 22:46:04 +0000 UTCCan't not mention the MegaMan X highway stage.
Jim Redding
2024-02-26 22:45:49 +0000 UTCCentral Yharnam is the best first level. You get killed by a wolf, fight some guys. Fight A LOT OF GUYS. Get beaten up by a giant and some crows that are just kinda layin’ around. Then you fight Cleric Beast.
Jester Rubella
2024-02-26 22:45:14 +0000 UTCLots of great candidates here but nothing like RE4's initial village challenge to get the blood pumping and really set the stage for a memorable game (holds up in the original and the remake).
Bonestorm1000
2024-02-26 22:44:39 +0000 UTCThe Impact Site from Pikmin is more a tutorial stage than a proper level, but I have a strong affection for it nonetheless. Just really chill vibes.
Thomas Dempsey
2024-02-26 22:44:08 +0000 UTCThe first town map in the original Tony Hawk's Underground is burned into my memory pretty good. Open-world skating was crazy.
Zach Davis
2024-02-26 22:43:16 +0000 UTCMass Effect 2 starting with a Total Party Kill ruined me for life. I loved it
Michael Cummings
2024-02-26 22:42:23 +0000 UTCIt's a game within itself. But since you can walk into Calied without tricks or glitches, kinda makes it too open world.
Fezsrcool
2024-02-26 22:41:46 +0000 UTCUnsure if it counts but Limgrave in Elden Ring is an amazing starting area
Sean Ward
2024-02-26 22:40:00 +0000 UTCDoes the Deku Tree dungeon in Ocarina of Time count? I have such a wonderful memory of being stuff on that for hours and a pal at CYO basketball practice telling me all the tips and tricks to get past it
Ultimate Danny 5000
2024-02-26 22:39:49 +0000 UTCHey, <3 u.
Casual Flying
2024-02-26 22:39:00 +0000 UTCNot sure if this counts, but the tutorial fight for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a fave
Jackie aka Jax
2024-02-26 22:38:43 +0000 UTC
