Edge of the Empire, "Escape from Mos Shuuta," and "Long Arm of the Hutt"
The other day I finished running my first adventure of the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG, specifically the Edge of the Empire incarnation. I started with the Beginner Set and its pre-packaged adventure "Escape from Mos Shuuta" and the free sequel (more just a continuation) "Long Arm of the Hutt." Funny story: I purchased the Beginner Set shortly after the game first came out over a decade ago. After a few years of it sitting unused I eventually got rid of it when downsizing on some games/books... only for me to buy it again a few years down the road. Many such cases!
The Beginner Set and "Escape from Mos Shuuta" follow the common approach of mainstream RPG beginner boxes/quickstarts/what-have-you of linearly introducing specific mechanics, with some (but limited) chances for deviation. If you don't mind this kind of thing (I get for some people it's probably a non-starter) it's probably one of the better examples. Between the pregens being decently well-defined and tied to the action going on, the strong theming of Edge of the Empire, and the in media res beginning, the genre conventions would already nudge the players in the direction the micro-adventure wants you to go. While it's apparent to the players that the game is introducing mechanics a la a tutorial, it's also handled in a way where it feels right narratively.
One reason a GM might want a more on-rails, drip-fed introduction to this game is that, at least on the surface, it is mechanically different from what some players might be used to. Being originally a Fantasy Flight product, Edge of the Empire uses their own proprietary dice system with non-numerical faces that they will, of course, sell to you. In theory you can use normal polyhedral dice and convert the results, but I would rather blow my brains out than do this (which is how they get you). Really it's just a dice pool system with "good" and "bad" dice and some narrative effects tied to certain results, but it's different enough to what the average D&D player is used to that there's some sense in having a step-by-step "do this, then do this" type tutorial.
"Long Arm of the Hutt" is a more typical trad adventure, broken up into a three act structure with a decent mix of ways to solve its various conflicts. Unfortunately through some inadequate prep on my part the players got to the last act/session with only one way out: horrible violence. The meat of the second act involves a party where the PCs can meet various individuals that can provide various clue about alternative ways to take care of the adventure's antagonists. I read it through a few times (as suggested by the adventure), but I would have done a better job had I made a web map or something like that. There were a few bits of info that I should have highlighted or otherwise noted down to find ways to nudge the characters towards asking about in conversation without necessarily handing it to them on a platter. Instead I unintentionally went more the opposite route, and was more tight-lipped than I needed to be because I didn't have a clear visual reminder of what I wanted them to get out of the scene. Once all was said and done, they didn't really have much to show for it, and all that was really left was to go in guns blazing.
They did impale a Hutt with a chandelier, though, so all's well that ends well I suppose.
The system itself is solid. The dice rolls resolve quicker than one might expect at first glance, and the triumph/advantage/threat/despair results add some fun twists and turns. The cynical view is that these "narrative mechanics" are there to distract from the fact that it is still, at its core, just another character building game. As far as such games go it seems like a pretty good one, but I feel like there might be more "going on" with it than necessary for the kind of game it presents itself as. Something like FATE could probably accomplish the same kind of style it is going for with significantly less cruft, and I might try doing just that if I run something Star Wars-y again.