Back in the olden days of gaming, you couldn't play any game without running up against a bunch of loading screens, especially once optical discs became the default game copy format. Most of these were pretty irritating, interrupting your fun with bland graphics, useless information, and exceptionally long load times.
There were a few exceptions to this, however. Some loading screens offered some manner of a minigame to keep you occupied while you wait, while others would offer tidbits of the game's lore or just some funny quips. Whatever the means, these were the loading screens that you were a little less bothered to be interrupted by, and in some cases, perhaps even looked forward to.
9 Yonah's Diary - NieR Replicant
In most adventure games and RPGs, time doesn't seem to move forward unless you explicitly advance the plot. All the NPCs in villages will still be where they were doing the same stuff until you do anything that affects the world. This is technically true for NieR Replicant as well, but only at a glance.
In truth, while you're off adventuring around the world, life still goes on in your home village, including for your ill sister, Yonah. The loading screens all show entries from Yonah's diary, detailing her reactions not only to your actions but her own day-to-day. It's a small detail, but it helps make the world you're playing in feel a little more alive.
8 The Training Room - Bayonetta
Bayonetta, much like most character-action games, can be a bit difficult to wrap your head around if you're not used to the genre. The combat system requires a particular blend of timing, rhythm, and spacing, one that can be tricky to pick up in the heat of a combat encounter.
This is why, when the game is loading, you can press the Select button to activate a Training Room where you can practice your combo inputs. You even get an entire movelist on the side of the screen with inputs and delays to help you get it down pat.
7 Demon Fang Minigames - Okami
In Okami, Demon Fangs are a sub-currency earned by defeating demonic foes with very particular Celestial Brush techniques when they're on the verge of death. Demon Fangs are necessary to trade for certain useful items like the elemental tablets and the Fog Pot, but farming all the necessary Fangs can be a headache.
Luckily, the game gives you an opportunity to earn a few more on the loading screens. Okami's loading screen features two minigames: one where you need to time button presses to paw prints, and one where you need to mash as fast as possible. Good performance in these games can earn you Demon Fangs at a surprisingly steady clip.
6 Shooting And Slashing - Devil May Cry 3
If there's one thing that Devil May Cry's Dante loves, it's busting out a rip-roaring wombo-combo on any demon dumb enough to look at him funny. While the game's loading screens do unfortunately break up that action a bit, you can still keep your adrenaline pumping with a bit of button mashing.
While the game is loading, you can pound on the controller buttons to attack the "Loading" sign at the bottom of the screen, slashing it, shooting it, and even blowing it sky-high. Hey, the loading screen could be considered a demon of sorts, so you get to be Dante in this situation!
5 Growing Saibamen - Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3
All the Dragon Ball Z Budokai fighting games had cool minigames in their loading screens, from the spinning Master Roshi in the first game to the scanning Dragon Radar in the second game. The coolest one, though, was definitely the third game's loading screen, where rapid-focused button mashing would cause the distinct green, bald heads of Saibamen to sprout up from the ground.
Growing Saibamen doesn't offer anything practical, but the first time you mash fast enough to get one or two fully grown, you can't help but want to try and beat your record every time another loading screen pops up.
4 "Do You Feel Like A Hero Yet?" - Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line starts out as a bog-standard military shooter, and the loading screen tips reflect that, offering simple advice on gameplay and tactics. However, as anyone who has played this game can tell you, the story gets dark, and fast, becoming a tale of military intervention gone horribly wrong.
As things start to spiral out of control, the loading screen starts to condemn the horrible actions you've taken. And we don't mean "you" as in your player character, Walker - we mean you, the player. Some standout lines include "If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here," "This is all your fault," and perhaps the most chilling line of them all, "Do you feel like a hero yet?"
3 Sora's Instagram - Kingdom Hearts 3
Near the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 3, Sora is given a Gummi Phone, a smartphone-like device that he can use to keep in contact with his friends from across the worlds. This phone also features a camera, complete with a suite of Instagram-style filters.
Apparently, while you're not looking, Sora and friends make liberal use of this camera, because when the game is loading, you can see the pictures they've been taking, complete with captions and hashtags. What social service are they posting to, and who's actually seeing these posts? No idea, but it's pretty cute and funny, so why not?
2 Marching Hieroglyphs - Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity tells an alternate view of the story that was hinted at in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which by Breath of the Wild's standards, is already ancient history. To preserve that aesthetic, during every loading screen, you see hieroglyphic images of every playable character marching across the screen.
Two details make this cooler: First, every time a new character becomes playable, they'll join the procession on the loading screen. Secondly, if you press any button, you can take control of the hieroglyph of Terrako, the tiny Guardian, and make him run and jump all over the screen.
1 The Door - Resident Evil Series
Possibly one of the most iconic loading screens of all time, the original Resident Evil, as well as several of its sequels, featured a slow, deliberate animation of an opening door every time you transitioned between areas. You can't skip the animation, and you never know what's going to be behind that door, so it went a long way toward keeping the game's tension nice and high.
In Resident Evil 2, there was even a door that, when opened, immediately revealed a gaggle of zombies coming right for you. There was only one such door in that game, but if you opened it, it was enough to make you fearful of every door that came after.