A GOOD INTRO

FF7 did have an intro. The first mako reactor was indeed an introduction - it introduced the game's setting and some characters.

After reading a lot on here about which types of introductions are preferred, I did it FF7 style - jumped straight into the action.

You can jump straight into the action without having flashbacks. I think this is my favorite style. FF9 for example starts you off attending a play which you find out shortly thereafter you will be kidnapping the princess during. It has events and action occuring from the get-go. It then proceeds to have zero flashbacks over the course of the next 50 hours.

FF6 is another good example of this. While there are a couple very brief flashbacks to things you don't understand in the first dungeon, they are more like momentary visions than flashbacks, and they explain almost nothing. There are flashbacks about other characters later, but as for Terra, you just start from the beginning of the game and move forward.

Flashbacks aren't bad, but if you overdo them like FF7 does (the Nibelheim flashback in Kalm is more than half an hour long), you can lose the player's attention just as easily as if you gave all that info at the beginning of the game.

B makes me want to kill myself. Just sayin'.

I'm doing sort of a mix, it starts with a black screen with some dialogue (not really a background of the world), then it leaps into the action, you get some exposition, fight some very winnable battles, then transported to the continent you'll be on for the majority of your playing time. But before being let out into the big wide world, you'll be doing some mandatory events (chores, whatever) while being explained the overall game systems in the process. The entire sequence will probably be a half hour or more. But if I do it right, it'll flow from one thing to the next without boring the player.

This is an interesting topic about an important issue; first impressions. Here are my thoughts on each.

A: Straight into the action: Game is then a series of flashbacks

This can be a great way to proceed, but it can also be tricky to pull off well. Final Fantasy XIII did it, and in my opinion it didn't work out terribly well in that case(though that is arguably not the fault of the writing, as it is apparent that huge chunks of that story were missing, most likely cut for time). As LockeZ pointed out, not every story that 'hits the ground running' needs to feature flashbacks before the point of medias res. Star Wars Episode 4 features no flashbacks, yet by the end the audience understands all of the characters and their motivations to some degree. Personally, I think flashbacks break up the game and should really only factor into the narrative late in the game, when the story and the characters have 'earned' the player's investment.

B: Hero wakes up in a village and does numerous chores.

This one gets a bad rap, but it can actually be a good way to proceed, depending on how interesting the characters and the setting are. Marrend mentioned the Persona series as an example of this done well, and I'd also add games such as Baulder's Gate to that list. If the characters are engaging you don't need to have your game start in the middle of a war zone. A quieter beginning can actually serve to get the player more invested in things. Remember that The Lord of the Rings starts in The Shire while things are still peaceful, and as a result the reader had a point of reference for what was normal in this fantasy world. This allows the reader to empathize with all the dark turns the narrative takes, and the hobbits wanting to return to their peaceful lives.

C: Game begins in the first dungeon.

This can be pretty neat. Final Fantasy VI and VII did this, and depending on the execution this might be the best way to start. It lets the player get used to all of the mechanics, allowing them to see what the game is all about in the first five minutes. The potential problems are a lack of investment (who are these guys and why should I care?), and difficulty. If the dungeon is too hard, the player may run out of resources and become frustrated, but if it is too easy then the player may become bored. This approach takes a lot of careful planning.

D: Black screen explaining the game world

At one point or another, every game designer becomes friends with the black screen of narration. The rule of thumb here though is keep it brief, saying exactly what the player needs to know about the setting and backstory and not a word more. Any and all embellishments to the narrative should be handled in in-game sequences. I know some people like to avoid this sort of thing, but it can often be an invaluable tool for setting things up, especially if the game drops the player right into medias res right afterword.

There isn't any reason one needs to settle for a black screen though; a picture or two goes a long towards making such a sequence engaging to the player.

E: Other

There are a number of other ways to begin. For example, some games, such as Ogre Battle or Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, begin with a personality test for the player. This can really get a player engaged early on, but if the sequence over stays its welcome it can get really annoying, especially if the results of the quiz don't effect all that much.

Another way to begin is with the ending of the game, with the story then starting some time in the past while it works towards this point. I don't recommend this, simply because I don't like to know what is going to happen. Furthermore, if I know how things are going to end I don't feel as though I have any real input in the events of the game. This sort of thing really works better in movies than in games.

There is also the tutorial intro, which is literally separated from the main game. Often this takes the form of some kind of virtual world or totally isolated area, such as in Shin Megami Tensei II or Shin Megami Tensei Imagine. If one is planning to start this way, I recommend keeping it as short as possible, only explaining the most basic of mechanics to the player. I think it is preferable to place tutorials throughout the narrative, introducing them when they become relevant, rather than introducing them in rapid succession at the very start.

Then there is the 'fake out' intro, where it looks like a player will be playing as one protagonist who then dies or is otherwise removed from the story and replaced with a completely different protagonist. An example of this is Final Fantasy XII, where you play briefly as Vaan's brother Reks during the intro, or the heroes in Lufia and the Fortress of Doom. This can sometimes be effective, but it is tricky to pull off. If the character is just there to be a fake-out, the the sequence has no real lasting impact. If on the other hand, the character is crucial to the overall plot with a good payoff, then it can be a great way to begin.

There are more but this post is already long enough. :)

In the best jRPG of all-time, the introductory area is just you wandering your home town and its millennial fair.

A., but the game doesn't have to have a series of flashbacks. Straight to action, and after the player has warmed up to the game, some intro. I (like most players here, I'd guess) am not very patient for intros, and a long intro before actually playing the game is a turn off.

I don't think there is a particular intro that is the best one. Choose one that fits your game. A few thing to look for though:

Don't bore the player. Whatever type of intro you choose, make sure it's entertaining enough to keep the player playing.

Is you intro actually a fair introduction to your game? The intro should contain elements that are prominent in your game. If most of your game is spent in dungeons or enemy strongholds, you should not have the player start locked in the main character's hometown for half an hour. Likewise, starting with full action isn't fair if your game is very light on action.

Anyway...

A: Straight into the action: Game is then a series of flashbacks

As others have mentioned, this minus the flashbacks is even better. Sometimes there are good reasons for flashbacks, the hero is 20, but there are parts of the story that takes place when he was much younger. However, presenting something boring as flashbacks instead of intro doesn't change much other than delaying your shortcoming as a writer a bit.

B: Hero wakes up in a village and does numurous chores.

I can only recall one game (Blacksmith's Apprentice) where I liked this approach. To pull this one off successfully, you need an nice village with interesting NPCs. You really have to capture the feeling that it's a home and not just "the first town". I also want the chores to be as interesting as possible.

C: Game begins in the first dungeon.

This one is pretty similar to A. I want a fun dungeon and all that.

D: Blackscreen explaining the gameworld

You better explain something that interests me (the goddess creating the world, being attacked by a demon and then sealing said demon is not interesting) or make it short. This intro has so far always bored me, but I'm sure there are ways to make it good.