In the 21st century, video games have developed from arcade entertainment to almost cinematic works of art. Due to technological improvements, developers can create cutscene sequences that give players the feeling that they're embodying characters in a movie.
Many players have different opinions about long cutscenes in their video games, especially when considering how many cutscenes are too many. These incredibly lengthy in-game sequences can either engage players or make them doze off.
Updated on November 30th, 2022 by Sage Ashford: This article has been updated to include more video games with impressively long cutscenes.
15 Freedom Planet Takes Only Four Hours To Complete
Freedom Planet is a lesser-known 2D platform game released in 2014. The game draws inspiration from the Sonic the Hedgehog games. The main story of Freedom Planet takes only around four hours to complete but is packed with cutscenes.
The longest cutscene occurs when the dragon protagonist, Lilac, meets the basset hound, Milla. It lasts around 13 minutes, but this portion of the game can be beaten in even less time. Freedom Planet also contains a lot of dialogue, which could bore some players.
14 Xenoblade Chronicles 1's Ending Lasts 20 Minutes
Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is one of the greatest RPGs of all time, and one of the best games available on the Nintendo Switch. Xenoblade's epic sci-fi story builds up to a fantastic ending where Shulk and the other protagonists literally fight the creator of their world. The group takes their battle off-world, fighting Zanza to the very end for the right to protect their planet.
The end cutscene takes 20 minutes, where the player gets to see how Shulk overcomes Zanza. More importantly, with the war between Bionis and Mechonis ended, the player also gets to see what happens with all their favorite characters going forward.
13 Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel III Has Twenty-Minute Cutscenes
As far as uninterrupted cutscenes go, Trails of Cold Steel III has around 20 minutes of cutscenes at a given time at once, explaining its incredible storyline. However, the very end of the game is a series of cutscenes split up by three different boss battles that take only minutes to defeat.
The rest of that time focuses on showing Class VII’s desperate attempt to stop the plans of Ouroboros and the Black Workshop. Each boss battle takes less and less time, while the cutscenes continue to get longer, resulting in an hour and 10 minute ending by the very end.
12 Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Has A 23-Minute Cutscene
Fans are getting ready to experience this expansion to the Final Fantasy VII universe all over again with the remake. The original PSP game actually wasn’t all that long, clocking in at around 20 hours for people who mainlined the story.
Focusing on the actual SOLDIER 1st Class fighter Zack Fair, Final Fantasy VII expands on the story for Sephiroth and Cloud and sets up more of the story of the original game. Within the game, there’s a 23-minute cutscene, but none of the fans seemed to mind, since it meant getting to experience more of the game’s incredible world.
11 Kingdom Hearts III’s Ending And Epilogue Lasts 28 Minutes
After years of waiting, Square finally got the third installment of Kingdom Hearts III out to their fans. Although the game might have buckled a bit under the weight of the absurd amount of lore Nomura placed in the game, hardcore fans still loved getting some level of closure.
Overall, the game featured around twelve hours of cutscenes to tell much of the remaining story. The last boss and epilogue of the game lasts around 18 minutes until the credits roll, but even the credits contain another 10 minutes of epilogue scenes for the Disney characters and the Kingdom Hearts protagonists.
10 Death Stranding Has Around Seven Hours Total Of Cutscenes
Death Stranding is a 2019 action game developed by Kojima Productions. Norman Reedus, best recognized for his role as Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead, plays the lead protagonist in the game, along with appearances by other big names in the acting industry.
Like most Hideo Kojima games, Death Stranding is full of cutscenes. The turning point of Death Stranding takes place at around two hours into the game, and the longest sequence without player inputs is a whopping 31 minutes long. The game is well-reviewed, either in spite of or because of its extended film sequences.
9 Xenosaga Has Around 500 Cutscenes Across Its Three Episodes
Xenosaga is an RPG divided into three episodes and published by Namco, with its first entry in 2002 and its latest entry in 2006. Xenosaga isn't afraid to include many cutscenes throughout its installments. Over its three episodes, the game presents around 500 cutscenes to its players.
The longest cutscene in the series is 25 minutes long and occurs towards the end of the third episode. Despite the number of cutscenes, Xenosaga has an 8.8 rating on IGN and scored 83 percent on Metacritic.
8 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Has A 25-Minute Debriefing Scene
It's probably not a huge surprise to see the Metal Gear Solid franchise's name again, given Hideo Kojima's love for screening short films inside of his games. Another lengthy cinematic sequence occurs in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, predating Metal Gear Solid 4's notable and record-breaking cutscene.
The debriefing scene in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater lasts around 25 minutes, making it one of the longest cutscenes in the entire franchise. Another competitor is the 20-minute ending for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
7 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Has A 33-Minute Ending
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the third Xenoblade Chronicles and the seventh entry in the Xeno series by Monolith Soft and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The Xenoblade games are notorious for their lengthy cutscenes, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 takes the prize for the longest sequences.
The game's ending scene totals around 24 minutes, and if players watch the credits and post-credits scene, it clocks in at 33 minutes. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a favorite among games despite its long cutscenes and continues to be a best-seller. Unsurprisingly, its sequel Xenoblade Chronicles 3 looks to be an even more popular game with critics.
6 Final Fantasy VI Has One Of The Longest Cut Scenes In The Franchise
Another familiar face in the annals of long cutscenes is Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise. The longest cutscene in this series is during a fan favorite, Final Fantasy VI. Final Fantasy VI is beloved by fans of the franchise for its outstanding music and immersive plot.
The cutscene clocks in at around 23 minutes. It occurs during the final boss battle, where players face Kefka for the fifth time. While the credits run, the story continues in the background, in a way forcing the players to read the credits if they want to complete the story.
5 Yakuza 2 Floods Players With Cutscenes At The Beginning
Yakuza 2 is the sequel to Sega's 2006 action-adventure PS2 game, Yakuza. The Yakuza games are very cutscene-focused, which could pose a nuisance to some players. Players are forced to sit through around an hour of cutscenes at the beginning of Yakuza 2 with short installments of gameplay in between them.
Yakuza 2's longest single cutscene is around 23 minutes long. These long cutscenes can be tedious, especially when they occur during the game's introduction, making a bad first impression on a lot of players.
4 Kingdom Hearts Union X Is Mobile Kingdom Hearts Game
Kingdom Hearts Union X is a mobile game for iOS and Android devices and was released in 2016. The game itself has undergone many title changes, like its first title of Kingdom Hearts Unchained X. The game is set prior to the events of the original Kingdom Hearts and follows a Keyblade-wielder from Daybreak Town.
While long video game cutscenes often occur as an introduction to the game's ending, this 15-minute sequence occurs midway through the game. Square Enix shut down online services for Kingdom Hearts Union X in June 2021.
3 Yakuza 0 Has A 42-Minute Epilogue To Wrap Up Its Story
Fans say Yakuza 0 is the best Yakuza game in the series. It condenses everything that works about the series into a single game, all wrapped up in the glamour of the 1980s bubble period. Players who mainline the game will still find around 14 hours of cutscenes waiting for them.
Anyone who beats the final boss though will discover an additional 40 minutes of cutscenes just around the corner. The scenes wrap up multiple plot points for the end of Kiryu and Majima’s stories before the credits roll, and even after the credits there’s another four minutes to set up for the next game.
2 Star Ocean: The Last Hope Has A 46-Minute Long Cutscene
Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a 2009 Square Enix role-playing game that serves as a prequel to the original Star Ocean. The Last Hope is the fourth installment in the Star Ocean game franchise and is full of lengthy cutscenes.
The longest cutscene clocks in at around 46 minutes, introducing the final battle and occurs just before the game ends. Square Enix is no stranger to long and plentiful cutscenes. Many gamers may be familiar with the sheer number of them in Final Fantasy games.
1 Metal Gear Solid 4 Holds The Guinness World Record For Longest Cutscene Sequence
Metal Gear Solid 4 holds the Guinness World Record for Longest Cutscene in a Video Game, with a whopping 71 minutes of uninterrupted cutscenes. The series of cutscenes in question is titled "Epilogue" and explains the events after the game's conclusion, which takes over an hour because Metal Gear Solid has one of the most complex timelines in gaming.
There is also another 27-minute long cutscene present in Metal Gear Solid 4. Hideo Kojima is known for creating a cinematic feel in the Metal Gear Solid games, so it's no surprise that his games have a lot of cinematic sequences.