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Oh 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!

Files

Barenaked Ladies - One Week (Official Music Video)

One Week by Barenaked Ladies from the album Stun © 1998 🔔 Subscribe & Turn on notifications to stay updated with new uploads! Lyrics: It's been one week since you looked at me Cocked your head to the side and said I'm angry Five days since you laughed at me saying Get that together come back and see me Three days since the living room, I realized it's all my fault, but couldn't tell you Yesterday you'd forgiven me But it'll still be two days till I say I'm sorry Hold it now and watch the hoodwink As I make you stop, think You'll think you're looking at Aquaman I summon fish to the dish, Although I like the Chalet Swiss I like the sushi Cause it's never touched a frying pan Hot like wasabe when I bust rhymes Big like Leann Rimes Because I'm all about value Bert Kaempfert's got the mad hits You try to match wits You try to hold me but I bust through Gonna make a break and take a fake I'd like a stinkin, achin shake I like vanilla, It's the finest of the flavors Gotta see the show, Cause then you'll know The Vertigo is gonna grow Cause it's so dangerous, You'll have to sign a waiver How can I help it if I think you're funny when you're mad Trying hard not to smile though I feel bad I'm the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral Can't understand what I mean? Well, you soon will I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve I have a history of taking off my shirt It's been one week since you looked at me Threw your arms in the air and said you're crazy Five days since you tackled me I've still got the rug burns on both my knees It's been three days since the afternoon You realized it's not my fault not a moment too soon Yesterday you'd forgiven me And now I sit back and wait till you say you're sorry Chickity China the Chinese chicken You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin' Watchin X-Files with no lights on, We're dans la maison I hope the Smoking Man's in this one Like Harrison Ford I'm getting Frantic Like Sting I'm Tantric Like Snickers, guaranteed to satisfy Like Kurosawa I make mad films Okay I don't make films But if I did they'd have a samurai Gonna get a set of better clubs Gonna find the kind with tiny nubs Just so my irons aren't always flying off the back swing Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon Cause that cartoon has got the boom anime babes That make me think the wrong thing How can I help it if I think you're funny when you're mad Trying hard not to smile though I feel bad I'm the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral Can't understand what I mean? You soon will I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve I have a history of losing my shirt It's been one week since you looked at me Dropped your arms to your sides and said I'm sorry Five days since I laughed at you and said You just did just what I thought you were gonna do Three days since the living room We realized we're both to blame, but what could we do? Yesterday you just smiled at me Cause it'll still be two days till we say we're sorry It'll still be two days till we say we're sorry It'll still be two days till we say we're sorry Birchmount Stadium, home of the Robbie Follow Barenaked Ladies Website:https://www.barenakedladies.com/splash/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/barenakedladiesmusic/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/barenakedladies/ Twitter:https://twitter.com/barenakedladies Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dEvJpkqhrcn64d3oI8v79?autoplay=true&v=A Soundcloud:https://soundcloud.com/barenaked-ladies #BarenakedLadies #OneWeek #Vault

Comments

Dylan Street

I 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.

J. Brian

Another mention for Super Mario Bros 1-1!

Luke

Uncharted 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!

Gus Thomas

The 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.

Thomas Walsh

I’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!

Erik W

The old medal of honor D-Day levels and the RE4 village are some of my favorites.

Nick Feely

Not important to the bracket but does the Barenaked Ladies guy kinda look like Travis?

ben petersen

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 1-1 in the game Super Mario Bros.

Mike Kenney

I 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.

Stephen Taubner

I 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.

Patrick

Titanic 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

Bret Scofield

An 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.

Graham Rowat

Half 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.

Christopher Hoffman

I 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.

Chrysanthemum

Looking 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 :)

Caleb Spronk

I 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.

HurricaneDanger

I 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.

Rich S

The opening bombing mission from FF7 blew me away at the time

Allan Thomaz

FF7 (and FF7 Remake) have an explosive high octane opening mission that is hard to beat, but GOW Ragnarok is not far off imo

Rob Williams

Difficult to define it as a "level", but the opening sequence of the first Bioshock game is absolutely iconic for me

Sunny L

Though 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...

Nick Fielding

Level 1 from DOOM (1993). Replayed a few years ago on Switch, still hold up really well!

Nick Fielding

Jungle 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 😀

witchcatcher

I’d go with Cuphead’s Botanic Panic for the music alone

Brock Wager

Lord Bafford’s Manor in Thief 1.

Alexander Moralez

This is insane. Why hasn't anyone said green hill zone?? If sonic does anything right it's the first level.

billfromamerica

Does 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.

Anthony Basilio

Is Limgrave a level? How about Stormveil Castle as the first legacy dungeon?

ThanaThots

Does 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.

Dan Brown

One 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

Ben C

Always 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.

joshwithouthats

Jumping 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. 🤗

Nick Fielding

From 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!

Brody

Tomb Raider (2013) has always stuck with me, something about the suspense and eeriness of that first level just really gets me!

Emily Lewis

Mailbag: 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.

Tay Sparks

Gotta 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

clairebear

Just heard Plante on Make Me Smart pod talking anime economics. Delighted for that little surprise

Evan

🙌👾🎮

Ty Martin Fritz

Undead 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.

Thomas Barker

My man Plante!! I just started watching Frieren last week; GREAT timing!! It’s so good that I immediately picked up all the manga 😅

schmattywinkle

Here's my thing: other than SMB/DH, my first game was Mega Man 3. I always did Snake Man first.

My Name is Zeke

Playing 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

Willbo Go

PS1. Tony Hawks Pro Skater on a Pizza Hut demo disc. Warehouse. That level (and subsequently Superman by Goldfinger) are ingrained in my memory forever.

S'Morgan

Mega 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.

D

Hey 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.

Ian Hickey

This is so amazeballs