Welcome to part two of our deep dive into trailers, teasers, and ads IGN staff deemed the best game trailers of all time in 2019.
Some are sneak peeks into anticipated games, some are intended to tell us that that game is finally out, and some are even ads meant to nudge us into making a purchase.
All are among the most memorable videos ever made for games. You can go to part 1 of this article series, outsource your trailer production to us, or continue reading!
We’ll be covering three trailers for Halo 3, Metal Gear Solid 5, and Dead Space, as well as two ads for Kingdom Hearts and Paper Mario.
Let’s head in!
Halo 3: Halo Believe Trailer, 2007
As we mentioned in Part 1, three of the eighteen titles we’re discussing are from the Halo series. These trailers have definitely earned their place, each for a distinctive reason.
Watch one of the videos from the Believe campaign for Halo 3, and let’s see why this one stands out:
Extraordinary Effort
Yes, it’s a physical 40-by-20-foot diorama! That fact alone gives you some perspective on how different this one minute is compared to the rest. Here are some more facts according to an article entirely about the undertaking and several interviews:
- The diorama’s final size (40 by 20 feet) was much bigger than initially intended.
- Even given its out-of-bounds size, building the diorama took a commendable four weeks.
- The hero characters were made from scratch, and their faces reflect human actors’ expressions.
- The Covenant figurines are also original productions.
- Nearly 1000 remaining characters are made from McFarlane toys.
- The team used various creative methods to add texture to the buildings, from soldering irons to cauliflower!
- They built most of it by hand in an effort to make it even more human, as we’ll talk about in the next section.
Psychological Curation
“Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed, — knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags.”
From “The Next War” by Wilfred Owen
These lines appear before every video about the Believe campaign. Let’s take a step back to see the depth of what’s at stake.
The diorama depicts an old battle between humans and aliens, between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant. At the slow unfolding of details, you see more clearly that humans were “outnumbered, outgunned, outmatched,” as put in a behind-the-scenes video.
And as you’re sitting, as frozen as the battlefield, just as humanity is about to crumble before your eyes, you see Master Chief look up. You believe again.
Metal Gear Solid 5: GDC Trailer, 2013
This is not the first Metal Gear title in this series! We’ve already talked about MGS2’s reveal trailer. This one features superior graphics, in-game cinematics, and non-epic music. It’s also shorter but still curiously long. Watch it below, and we’ll discuss how the song and the length work:
Curious Choice of Music
“Not Your Kind of People” by Garbage is the trailer’s theme song. Weird, but effective! Why? Let’s find out.
The song, released in 2012, is a defiant anthem of self-identity and belonging. The lyrics express the feeling of being an outsider, a misfit, or a rebel. Take a look at the chorus:
“We are not your kind of people
You seem kind of phony
Everything’s a lie
We are not your kind of people
Something in your makeup
Don’t see eye to eye”
You might think the lyrics foreshadow the game a little, but we believe that what makes it work is the sheer contrast it creates with the visuals. The trailer features an extremely serious story with scenes that have you sitting up in pain. The song, however, is upbeat and catchy, with a pop-rock style and a female voice. The two together add a layer of irony and complexity to the trailer. (As if we weren’t confused enough!)
The second reason the song works is that it’s unique in its own way; it makes the trailer stand out from many other trailers that use dramatic, epic music.
There’s a third reason, too! The song also reflects the game’s target audience, who are likely to be young, rebellious, and adventurous. It appeals to their sense of identity and invites them to join the characters, who are also “not your kind of people.”
The uncanny pieces of music didn’t end in 2013 either. Death Stranding (2019) closes with a piece of the same name by the alternative band CHVRCHES, which works hauntingly. “Lauren worked on the theme lyrically, I think expertly, because it stands alone as a CHVRCHES record – but it is also deeply connected to the game,” says band member Martin Doherty.
Still Not Too Long
The trailer runs for 5 minutes, which is well above the standard recommendation we give game studios. Still, it managed to keep us immersed. This is thanks to a combination of factors, including the sound effects, the wisely chosen dialogues, and the sparse narrative.
The trailer uses sound effects to create a sense of immersion and tension. The song we covered above doesn’t begin until you’re already alert with the ER room dialogue and the beeping. Then the song hits, which probably doesn’t really capture your attention until you’re sure you haven’t just witnessed a death. Then comes the song, the epic visuals, and gameplay footage instead of cinematics. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself scrambling to put together a narrative out of everything you just saw!
As a result, the trailer is ultimately engaging and has replay value.
Dead Space: Launch Trailer, 2009
Here’s another trailer with an unconventional choice of music but a more straightforward narrative approach! Dead Space is a sci-fi horror game that puts the player in the role of Isaac Clarke, an engineer who must survive a nightmarish outbreak on a derelict spaceship.
The trailer debuted a month before release, told us exactly what the story is about, captured the game’s essence, and quickly went viral. Watch it now:
Cohesive Narrative
Unlike the Halo and Metal Gear trailers we’ve discussed, this one aims to give us a story instead of having us scramble to find one. Dead-on dialogues, expressive title cards, and chronological narration essentially give you the game’s plot. Still, you’re left yearning for more. You know something horrible happened on USG Ishimura, but how? What happened to her?
Wise choice! This is not an MGS or Halo game, and it doesn’t have any fan base like Mass Effect. It’s new. The creators are just establishing a foothold in the market. They’re hoping to engage you by giving you a compelling start to a narrative and a taste of gameplay.
The trailer was a huge success, creating a lot of buzz and anticipation. The game didn’t fail to deliver, and Dead Space became an iconic franchise!
Mysterious Song
We discussed how MGS5’s use of “Not Your Kind of People” created a contrast with the visuals while appealing to the target audience. Four years before that happened, EA Redwood Shores (later renamed Visceral Games) also figured they could shake things up. They did it differently, though!
The concept is the same: don’t use typical music. (In this case, that would be ominous strings and loud jump scares.) The trailer used the song “Untitled #7 (Dauðalagið)” by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. The band’s usual style was ethereal, ambient, and melancholic music up to that point. The song, however, was more aggressive and distorted, with heavy drums, electric guitars, and vocals that occasionally sounded like screams.
You guessed it! The song’s tempo and intensity match that of the game. The despairing tone and lyrics also go hand-in-hand with the game’s theme. One could even argue that the foreign pronunciation of English words in the lyrics adds to the mystery and alienness of the game’s world.
Kingdom Hearts: North American Commercial, 2002
This one isn’t technically a trailer but a well-loved teaser. We could use something lighter after all the aliens and conspiracies and massacres!
It’s important to know that at the time of this TV commercial, we already know that the game was an enormous collaboration between Square Enix and Disney, made for the sensational PlayStation 2. So, what were we supposed to expect? The answer was “everything and everyone”! See for yourself:
The commercial has several versions, including one with a sped-up song and one with a different instrumental piece. Here’s why they work:
- They’re extremely short (as ads should be) but jam-packed. No matter which version you caught, you’d see Disney characters from Goofy to Jack Skellington, Tinker Bell to Simba, and Jafar to Ursula.
- They weren’t all Disney, of course. You also saw Sora, Maleficent, a dark giant, and other new characters that added to the intrigue.
- They all feature title cards (with or without voiceover) that claim the game to be about “a journey where you never know who you’ll run into next” and deliver on the claim right there in the ad. You essentially have no reason to think the game will disappoint you!
- They all do an excellent job of capturing the essence of Kingdom Hearts, which is a blend of nostalgia, adventure, and emotion to this day.
- The song truly is an earworm, as IGN has also pointed out! Watch it several times if you haven’t seen it. You’ll know what we mean!
Long story short, the commercial was an outstanding success. The game also received critical acclaim, sold over 6 million copies worldwide, and gave birth to a multimedia franchise that includes sequels, spin-offs, novels, manga, and merchandise. Kingdom Hearts is widely regarded as one of the most influential games of its generation and also marks a milestone in the history of entertainment and video game collaborations.
Paper Mario: North American Commercial, 2000
Kingdom Hearts was new when the previous commercial aired. It would probably be easier to market. But what do you do if you’re already established, like Super Mario? Maybe you’ll try a new angle. Maybe that angle would be absurd and funny!
By the time of this teaser, Super Mario games had already turned 3D. Paper Mario was a return to the good old 2D, which was nostalgic but still needed a little push. The teaser works for the reasons below:
- It reiterates the basic Super Mario story, reminding the audience of all the good times.
- It’s a brilliant showcase saying that although the game is 2D, it’s not a step backward. “Sure, there isn’t a brand-new story there, but you’ll love the gameplay!”
- It’s just hilarious! From taking the “paper” a little too literally in live-action to the unsynchronized voiceover to the paper shredder and the sheep that wants to play the game, everything comes together to make it fun. You, in turn, end up thinking that the game should be fun, too!
The commercial is popular to this day and attracted much attention back in 2000. The game itself received rave reviews and high praise, selling over 1.3 million copies worldwide and becoming a bestseller for Nintendo 64. It was so loved that it also launched a series that includes four sequels, each with its own distinct style and mechanics: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Super Paper Mario, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Paper Mario: The Origami King.
Conclusion
That’s all for the second article. Reach out if you’d like us to help you with a game trailer, and tune in to the blog for more posts from Picotion!
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