For this section of research, I intend to look into a few different relevant games that make use of cutscenes, in hopes that I will be able to gain a further understanding of when, where, and why cutscenes are used in games, so I can then implement cutscenes into my own story/game.

Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo, 2017)
Super Mario Odyssey, unlike many of the original Super Mario games, makes uses of a number of cutscenes throughout the course of the game. I decided that I would look into the cutscenes of this game in particular because it is relevant to my audience, but mainly due to the fact that the game is not story heavy, which was the main influence for my game/story concept.
Because there are quite a few cutscenes, I will be mainly looking into the different types of cutscenes that are being used, and when they are being used.

To begin with, the game starts out with a cutscene. This cutscene establishes the protagonist (which is pretty obvious from the title of the game), and the game's antagonist, along with the damsel in distress (which once again wouldn't be too difficult to guess since it's a Mario game, and almost all of the stories involve the antagonist/Bowser kidnapping the Princess/Peach, and the protagonist/Mario chasing after them to save her). 
This cutscene acts as the first introduction of not only the antagonist but also introducing the premise of this game's story, as there's a bit more to it than many of the previous games (this being that Bowser had kidnapped Peach to marry her).
During this same cutscene, the protagonist's situation is shown (being that he was kicked off of the ship and landed in a new land/kingdom, and then the games sidekick is also shown (with the cutscene giving a reason for the sidekick joining the protagonist, being to save his sister.

Other cutscenes that are apparent throughout the game include the introduction of the mini-bosses, 'Da Broodles'. Each time the player arrives at the specific location of a boss fight, the cutscene for that boss starts. Each of these has the same purpose which is to introduce the boss and allow the player to know that it is a boss fight.

Another common cutscene that is used throughout the game is a cutscene shown when obtaining the objective items/power moons, which is a part of the cutscene that's shown when the boss is defeated (cartoon puff of smoke/stars from the boss as they disappear, and then the moons appear). A cut scene like this is shown every time a boss is defeated (whether it's 'Da Broodles' or the other mini-bosses).

Another one of the more common cutscenes is when the Odyssey (the ship) leaves/enters a kingdom. Each of these cutscenes shows the ship taking off and flying into the distance. While in the air, Mario and Cappy (the sidekick) are often seen talking. The main topics talked about are gameplay tips or some information about the next kingdom.
As the ship arrives at a new kingdom, there is a slight showing of the kingdom before the ship lands and Mario/Cappy exit the ship.

My Cutscenes
As my game/story is not story heavy with loads of events occurring, I wouldn't need as many cutscenes as other existing games.
However, I feel like opening and closing the game with a cutscene would be the most effective route to take.

Additionally, I like the idea of using cutscenes to introduce new locations, meaning for our game cutscenes could be shown when a new island is approached (with the camera possibly panning around the island?).

Although there are no mini-bosses in our game, there is still the main boss. This boss will be encountered a number of times throughout the story (well twice) and will be fought against at least one of the times (this still being developed). To introduce/end the boss fight, I feel as though the use of a cutscene(s) will be important.

Finally, one of the last types of cutscenes I feel should be included, are cutscenes for when the player obtains the item objective, which in our game will be map fragments. During this cutscene, the map could be shown, and each continuing cutscene shown for each map could build off of the previous, showing the map being pieced together.