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Posted By Taylor Hoyt about 6 months, 1 week ago
Shinkara: Top 10 Video Game Intro Songs, 
No great video game is without a great soundtrack, and no song may be more important that the one that plays when you boot up the game! In my first Top 10 list I discuss my favorite video game intro songs.
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Original Art: Ririkuto
Opening song: Subterranean Kamikaze
Songs Playlist: Top 10 Intro Songs Playlist
Check out my last Shinkara review for Okami!
I have to say, quite afew songs (both comments and the vid) are spectacular, and mostly overlooked because the shear numbers of them, but my pick would be Chaos legion title theme
“Blood Remains”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP4QvaUFwu0
Just seeing the scenery, as if you were walking through the old arches looking upwards and seeing a bright sky above yourself, justifies the shear beauty of the theme.
And of course, what is a childhood without the NES beat em up Double Dragon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoJ7YFUotTA
I was only familiar with the Megaman theme song. Never played any of the other games you listed.
Her’s a list of my top 5
1. Silent Hill The song really sets the mood for the game. The Banjo stylings really mess with your mind.
2. Silent Hill 2
When you hear the first couple of notes you know exactly what game it is from.
3. Silent Hill 3
Yeah there’s a theme running here.
4. Wild Arms
Got that cross between western and asian music to become very very catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOFibwVMw0
5. Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters
Has a real 70′s B movie feel about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4YhK2Msk-8
And not quite at the beginning of the game so not qualified but I love it!
Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday from Metal Gear Solid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m4tYUfYCj4
My favorite intro song of all time to this day has gotta be from Suikoden III – ‘Exceeding Love’. The game itself isn’t the best in the world, I know, but it was the first one in the series that I played and I fell in love with it, and I think it was thanks in part to that beautiful intro song. It just grabs you in and makes you ready to go on this epic quest with all these characters~ ^^
And since no one’s linked to it, here we go for anyone who’s yet to hear it themselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHtx0W2PCh0
if possible I’d list Fable’s intro the one I found the most amazing was the second one plus Theresa’s voice is always impressive to me
as for others
I’d say Wind Waker’s Intro was always catchy and upbeat to me
the only other game’s intro I liked aside from Halo 2
was EverQuests theme I never did mind hearing it when it was loading but I did have to turn it down for it was boisterous
Uncharted is one of my favourite tunes, but I’d add a few that I think were missing in no particular order:
1) Cannon Fodder
2) Metal Gear Solid 2
3) Deus Ex 1
4) Final Fantasy X
5) Monkey Island 2
6) Silent Hill 2
7) Lotus II Espirit
If you love the Tales of series, you should check out Tales of Phatanasia for SNES. The intro song Yume wa Owaranai was sung by Yoshida Yukari. Totally blew my mind back in the day that an entire song can be put on an SNES game.
I didn’t like the game growing up, but Onimusha 2′s intro was so kicking it still sticks with me to this day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKuGpaZZ3pc
Samurai Legend Musashi’s was a rocking surfer song that made you want to cut stuff up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiM_95fl2TA
But one of my all time favorite intros was the one from Dark Cloud too. Never thought I could love accordions as much as I did during this one and it got you hyped for an adventure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWrVJTKGdgs
You got a great list, dude. I might do something like this myself down the line.
Well My mist maybe is not really refined, But I will Put those themes I love to hear when I boot up the game. There is not really an order.
1-The Legend of Zelda , a Link to the past. I don’t know if there are more heroic Zelda intro themes, But in this one is exciting in the very moment the arpegio ends and the Music Blast’s off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM1j2zp3gx8
2-Doom 3: I really love and hate this game (everybody knows it’s flaws and what made it great at the same time) But the theme says everything about the game. It easily tells you everything the game is without even playing it. It has atmosphere, and then the rock part is heavy, is tense, then the atmosphere again. And the end is apocaliptic as it gets.
Music:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ysDV9POBXE
3-Street Fighter 4: Not super, I love Super SF 4 but SF4 vanilla has the best intro. The presentation is great , and the combination of music and punches and powers make you feel prepared to fight your best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTahWd19wrs
4-Splatterhouse 2 and 3: I can’t Choose. Both are really great. They both feel like a horror movie musically narrated. While the second game has a more classic feel. The 3rd has more like a modern horror music. I sometimes just boot up the games just to hear the music and then close the emulator.
Splatter 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i06CZFbZzZk
Splatterhouse 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nd20faHxVQ&feature=related
5-Sonic CD (US version): The Japanese version feels like an anime opening , but is really forgetable and it didn’t age very well. In the other hand… The US version has a overall soundtrack I HATE (specially because of the creepy themes). But the opening is just EPIC, I mean, epic for sonic standards. It makes you feel energized and ready to run forever. Perfect for a sonic game.
Sonic Boom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luxY2azWDyc
6:Hitman: Codename 47- I don’t really remember any part of the OST from hitman, except for the intro music. It has a sci fi feel, it’s sophisticated. Great for a Stealth game with some sci fi aspects inside the plot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBqbr_T8F8Y
7: Age of empires 1, and 2: Cruel, Overwhelming. Epic, Relentless, tragic. That’s what can define a big scale war. Not only both intro vids have a poetic point of view, the music does a great job telling you what a war was in the Ancient era and the Medieval Dark Ages. I recommend you just see those openings because it will make you feel something inside in the end. This would probably be my Number 1 if I were reviewing in a fixed order.
Age of empires intro : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw32ozJRmOw
Age of empires 2 intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rS_n3JVTPE&feature=related
8: commandos. Beyond the call of duty menu music
Duty, efficiency, perfection, Perfect to describe a COMMANDO.
Commandos menu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C14uPHg–vE
9:Command and conquer, red Alert 2.
Oh sh*t This is THE THEME. Command and conquer games always had good music, But this one has good intro music, and good menu music (the others barely had an intro). It perfectly describes the hell of a big scale war and how chaotic this game is. This is probably my second place.
INtro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwtNDkHch0
10:Fallout. (the original game) It’s a really touching intro vid, and that music ironizes all the death and violence in the wasteland (and our world in general, while we watch a millonaire Ad, millions of people die every day) , with it’s particular 50′s style that combines well with the oldschool post-apocaliptic game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geLiEiAiQJA
Other games that didn’t enter the list but are awesome
Max Payne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv0y0On8ZGQ
GTA 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqE8M2ZnFL8
Earthbound :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3dIWyvNoxM
Borderlands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai7pMPCDHpo
Duke Nukem : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnHD-kngaUY
Warcraft 2 :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUF12vUSlUQ
Worms 3d: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTmK55f5No
For me personally Did You See That Shadow? from Touhou 12.3 (Hisoutensoku) is my favorite intro theme. It just feels much more epic then Sky Of Scarlet Perception did in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VfViTUkcSA
Nice list. My own tastes skew more towards Western RPGs and games. So my top five list (in no particular order) would be:
- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura -
http://youtu.be/ftvpi-6Z6qw
- Homeworld -
http://youtu.be/hOJaXybK4_A
- The Elder Scrolls -
http://youtu.be/EMao-aSeO2w
Since Elder Scrolls III the opening theme has been basically the same, so I’m lumping Elder Scrolls III-V together.
- Fallout -
http://youtu.be/o5MwFFZNMfU
Same as Elder Scrolls, lumping all the games together. Really, the songs chosen all fit the atmosphere of the games extremely well and helped expose me to the excellent music of the 40s and 50s.
And finally,
- Borderlands 2 -
http://youtu.be/SzZ8YtuiVD4
While the first game had a great opening theme too, for whatever reason the theme for the second game just “clicks” a lot better.
Dearly Beloved is the opening song and is one of my personal favorites. If you do wait on the title screen a clip will play with an orchestra instrumental version of Hikari(Japanese equivalent of Simple and Clean):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcHKO0Qo9n8
Since there was the mention of the Kingdom Hearts songs here, especially Simple and Clean, thought it couldn’t hurt to clear up:
Simple and Clean is the OPENING Song. Unless I’m mistaken and it’s shown if you’re waiting at the starting menu too long in a short clip (like many games like to do), it’s not fitting the rules.
The “Intro” Song, that playes in the game-start menu, is “Dearly Beloved” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCfowliTnlo
Still a great song that can give you chills, but not the famous “Simple and Clean” or “Sanctuary” from part 2.
Please correct me if I’m wrong with the “waiting on the menu” part. It’s been a while since I played the game ^^
I definitely wasn’t referring to Simple and Clean when I made Kingdom Hearts an honourable mention, haha. Dearly Beloved is the song I meant.
My top ten:
10: Jet Set Radio Future
9: Deus Ex
8: Super Mario World
7: FALLOUT 3 (Yes I know its licensed but it fits so well)
6: Doom 3 (Trent Resnor for the win)
5: Legend of Zelda: Link to the past
4: Donkey Kong County
3: Uncharted 2
2: Killzone 3 (Seriously go listen to it NOW)
1. HALO 4
I put Halo 4 on this list because the raw range of emotions that is has might as well be a spoiler for the entire campaign. It is FAR AND AWAY the best in the Halo Series for OST, and Halo is already at or near the top of the industry for sound design, Halo 4 sound track will shame even that of block buster movies and Final Fantasy.
Since you seem to be a big fan of the Tales series, I’m going to recommend you play the first two Star Ocean games. They were made by a lot of the same people that made Tales.
Anywho, I can tell we kind of play different types of games. The only one that would cross-over to me is Scars of Time.
My top 5 would be..
5) Final Fantasty X
4) Chrono Cross
3) Star Ocean
2) Secret of Mana
1) Chrono Trigger
Coincidentally, my top 3 are my top 3 favourite games, not necessarily in that order.
Chrono Trigger has such a simple theme.. but every time I hear it, I get kicked so hard in the Nostalgia, and I get super pumped for the game. I think it also reflects the game itself exceptionally well.
Secret of Mana’s theme song is just beautiful. The rest of the soundtrack is more cutesy, but the theme is so perfect.
Star Ocean 2 is my favourite game, so I can’t help but adore the theme. It also does reflect the game itself pretty well. I also like how the movie intro song is connected to the song that plays at the press start screen. (I must stress I mean the theme song from the original game, and not the remake. The remake has an anime JPop thing that is alright.. but definitely not as good as the original)
Chrono Cross is really not a game I enjoyed, unfortunately. Probably because of the CT hype thing, but I do love the soundtrack. They really took Chrono Trigger’s music to a whole new level of amazing.
Annnnd Final Fantasy X’s opening seem really gets to me. It’s hard to explain.
(Also an honorable mention, love the theme song for Kingdom Hearts at the press start screen).
Can definitely tell you’re a console gamer.
I don’t really have a top 10, but I do have a top 5. And yes, I am a PC gamer.
5) Heroes of Might & Magic III
4) Bastion
3) Spellforce: Order of Dawn
2) Homeworld
1) Civilization IV
(p.s. Don’t take the whole console/PC thing badly. I just happened to grow up with one and only had extremely limited access to the other – as in, only when I was around my friend’s house did I ever get to play console, and that was only back in the Mega Drive/SNES era)
Taylor is my bro, but you definitely nailed it. “Baba Yetu” from Civilization IV is easily the best intro song of all time. I’m pretty sure it’s the only video game theme to win a Grammy Award.
FUCK YOU BUDDY,
I HAVE TO GO PLAY HOMEWORLD AGAIN, NOW.
No seriously Kudos to you for remembering that awesome game. RELIC needs to make more.
Should seperate consols that use sound chip and consols using CD-music as it’s very different in making the music for em. Ofc CD music will sound alot better as it’s basicly just a CD playing. While chiptunes have massive limitation.
Hard to properly judge a list with mainly entries from games you haven’t played, what I heard during the video was good though. Of the ones I know on the list, Scars of Time was placed too low, that would be #1 or #2 on my list. Not sure if you’ve played The Legend of Dragoon but it has my favorite opening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLMQuYbh4q8
you misspelled snake eater at number one. Also lack of kh annoys me. I could be wrong and its been awhile but I thought those 3 songs happen before the start button. I also disagree with that limiting rule, because one that starts at the beginning is an intro song. I’m Not a big fan of this list, because we differ greatly. I am especially surprised at uncharted 3 hitting number 2. If you played that game for any length of time it was extremely annoying and grating.
My #1
Soul Edge/Soul Blade on the PSX. Ok, the lyrics are a bit cheesy, but man did that intro kick ass back in the days.
Outside of being a great musical intro, it’s also one of the greatest videos ever made To This DAY. It has so much scope and grandeur that none have ever reached from the launching of the many trebuchet and the collapsing castle behind the fleeing horseman to the exploding Japanese Shiro behind the kunoichi!
My current top favourite is Sangri-La, the opening song for Corpse Party on psp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZNSuSyo6gk
Duke Nukem and Doom’s theme songs are probably my 2 best ones. No other theme songs puts you in the mood to kick ass and chew bubble gum, even if you’re outta gum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf47DQj_2Gg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poyWs95UYCI&feature=related
P.S. I completely understand about the Sonic; Colours theme. I was working in Game Stop when that game came out and I heard that song 5 times a day or more, its a pretty fun earworm
Great List!
I was so happy to see some Persona represented in there, P3 and P4 have amazing soundtracks that I don’t think is discussed nearly enough.
The only thing I was sad not to see was Simple and Clean from Kingdom Hearts which still gives me chills to this day (though I’m not sure if its applicable now I come to think on it, I’m not sure if it plays on the title screen). But thats just me.
Chrono Cross would make my list for certain, even though I haven’t gotten overly far in that game. As for games that got missed… I can think of a few.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnEzkbdTa0I Demon’s Souls, for matching the tone of the game so well. It always felt to me like the song was constantly creeping up on you, threatening to swallow you whole at any moment. Fitting for a game which made difficulty a selling point.
My personal pick for the representative of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise would be the second title loop for Nocturne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__AYd80yVlE though the opening to Digital Devil Saga 2 is a close second due at least to Serph’s awesomeness in the beginning of the video.
While typing, I suddenly thought of one that was so obvious that I can’t believe it wasn’t at the start of my list. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLLE_PvJ5mY Metroid Prime, hoyeah.
Moving on to another one that I thought of during the video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMxQOVaQrKU the intro theme to Fire Emblem, used across many games. This version is the most memorable for me due to the fact that it’s the first iteration of the song that I heard.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the intro movie to Metal Gear Solid 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifPZsRgJIXE . I can’t remember if The Best is Yet to Come was played in an intro movie for Metal Gear Solid 1, though even if it did, I’ll stick with Metal Gear Solid 2 due to the fact that it took time for The Best is Yet to Come to grow on me.
And now, it’s getting a bit tougher to think of games I’m missing… That said, Smash Brothers definitely deserves a place on my list. The question is, however… Would it be Brawl, or Melee? I think I’m leaning a bit more to melee, perhaps because of the video. I do think that I might like the tune of Brawl’s theme better, but the overall package of the opening movie…? In that, I think Melee has an edge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbYUUaXPOMw
Honorable mentions? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r37–9eniIQ Mega Man Battle Network 1-3 for being awesome (can’t remember if 4 used the same song as well), and Sonic CD for being totally nerdy in a kinda amusing way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYW7-hNXZlM
Hum… I think that’s all I can think of for now.
I totally agree with your number one choice, but only in its Japanese original form, to be honest i raged quite a bit when i heard the western version for the first time since the band that originally made it, Bump of Chicken, happens to be one of my favorite bands, replacing the great vocals with that stupid guitar still makes me a bit angry…
Interesting note about the the Abyss intro. They had to rerecord the song since they couldn’t get the rights for the artist’s vocals. So if you listen to them back to back, you’ll find that the American version has a larger emphasis on the guitar and bass to make up for the lack of vocals. Here’s a comparison of the two…
Japanese
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afp4jgCCzxk
American
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gaMKbv-xHU
As far as my favorite intro songs? Well, here are a few of them…
Tales of Vesperia english opening(Vesperia was the reason I bought a 360 and it’s still one of my favorite games on the system)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpW6ZvIazFk
Legend of Mana(This opening just goes to show you the power of music. Like Chrono Cross on your list, there is just a sense of awe and wonder that this track evokes.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TrqigkUtuY
Xenoblade(Just open this in your browser and set aside a few minutes to let this song play. It’s simply beautiful.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgPcl1WJ98Y
Metal Gear Solid 2(MGS2 is still my favorite in the series simply due to how people are still unraveling the last hours of this game a full decade later. It doesn’t hurt when you kick off a game with something like this.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiPon8lr48U
Fire Emblem main theme(I only started playing the franchise a year ago, but have come to love the music from it. The main title shows up in some fashion in every game so I kind of have to cheat here. The first link is from Shadow Dragon, the DS remake of the original. The second is the orchestral version of the main theme found in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiPon8lr48U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVlE8u6Hhp8
Phew, that was a long post. Hopefully I was able to share some of my favorite intro songs with the rest of you.
I’m surprised nothing from Zelda was on the list, but I DO love me some Sonic Colors, doesn’t quite beat the Sonic Adventure theme, but it’s definitely up there in my book!
Well I’m not sure if visual novels count as ‘video games’ but I’ll represent them anyway since I doubt a lot of people will be exposed to their amazing music otherwise. Some favorite Start Menu or pre-Start Menu tunes are:
Magnolie (Piano Version) from Quartett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Rwp8rdEyw
Currents from Genso Suikogaiden (can never get enough Suikoden love!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PNjCnoaugM
The theme from Corpse Party (can’t remember the name)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTGJz0fP2og
Heart 2 Heart from To Heart 2 (one of the few VNs that plays its opening video prior to starting the game)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUpmJaeqQw
aaaand this isn’t a visual novel but let’s get some Super Robot Wars love, huh? Crest of Z’s plays during the start menu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZApFlVeSOAk
and that’s pretty amazing. JAM Project makes everything so much more epic.
Good list, though! Glad to see some Tales of and FFT love!
While I thought about my favorite intro songs during the video, there were many that came in mind. One of it HAD to be place 1, no matter what. But I can’t give any top 10 after place 1 without a good and long rethinking of the songs, so I keep it with place 1 and many mentions ^^
My no. 1 just has to be the Intro of Secret of Mana.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yxKgiYXGLM
And I admit that theres a HUGE nostalgic factor to it. I loved this game to death as a kid and was lucky enough to experience the game in it’s entire lenght in 3-player-mode.
I even replay the game now on my smartphone – that’s how much I love it.
But if there’s one thing I can remember from the very first time of putting the game into the console? It’s the Intro Music.
From the howling during the Nintendo-Logo, to the melancholy of the songs start to the highspirited middle part and the yet again melancholic last tunes, that promised a great adventure.
I remember to start the game and just let the intro run over and over again to hear that small bit of music.
Accomplished with the picture of the heros in front of the Mana Tree, with all the Birds flying alongside, this was a moment that burned into my mind and that inspired me since childhood.
No way that any other intro EVER could replace this. I even get teary while writing it.
Other intro’s I really love are the 2nd Intro of Tales of Symphonia, that’s played in the PS2 version of the game. I love it even more in it’s instrumental version later in the game, but still a great intro song.
Also the famous Final Fantasy Intro Tune, that I heared first in the Intro of Final Fantasy VII.
I also have to mention most of the Zelda Openings. From Ocarina of Time to Majoras Mask to Windwaker to Skyward Sword to Twilight Princess… While I have to mention Twilight Princess especially in it’s second part (after the first intro), which is one of my favorite Zelda tunes.
I really liked this list ^_^
I do like the Mega Man 2 intro, but 3 is actually one of my favorites. Not that I would take 2 off the list, I’d just probably pop it on the list with MM2.
The Sonic & Knuckles theme is really short, but sweet. I kind of associate it with Sonic the Hedgehog. In fact I use that song to drown out other addictive songs when they get stuck in my head XD
I really think you should play Colors though. The theme is catchy and the gameplay is really good. That and Unleashed really honed the gameplay mechanics that lead to Generations. Endless Possibility is my favorite theme from Unleashed, but I don’t think it plays on the start up screen ^^;
I would also add Super Smash Bros. Brawl to the list – sooo epic.
Final Fantasy X’s intro music simply enchants me.
I would put the intro from the first Wild ARMs on the list too. While it’s more country than the game lets on, it’s still a memorable tune which I associate with the series to this day. (it was even recycled in a screensaver on the 2nd WA game!)
But I totally agree on Crono Cross’ score – Great Score. Good game. Horrible Sequel.
Mt top opening tune of all time is “To Zarankand” the opening to FFX and my favorit pice by nobuo uematsu.
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Pw_fRPAyI
Legend of Mana’s intro song ranks up with Chrono Cross’ for me. Wild Arms 3 gets a lot of mental playback too.
Well Taylor (you know what, I’m starting to grow into an idea that I’m calling you Shinkara because it does fit for the character you protray to host of a show that bears the same name as well), I’ll be recommenting here since I watched this video on your YouTube channel.
I am not good to recall intro songs in video games, but that’s because many games including the ones listed here I never played. So little time for me to do other little things and I’m keeping up with college and all. However, songs/music I can dig in and these songs are great to check it out (Persona 3 theme does sound great to me. I’m starting to feel if I have to jump in the Persona series to see what’s so great about
).
The only intro that I can think from the top of my mind is, of course, Dark Cloud. The violin alone is the best thing to play with opening scenes.
Anyway, maybe next time, if you’re planning to do the list of best video game soundtracks, that I’ll contribute something valuable than this comment I’m posting ’cause it’s repetitive and long.
Overall, thanks for the video. See ya!
Yes! Chrono Cross has an excellent intro I used to watch it everytime I played it.
A few other games that I think have excellent intros are Batman: Arkham City,”The First Awakening” from The Last Remnant, “Sonata Prolouge” from Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light, Suikoden III’s intro, “Open your heart” from Sonic Adventure, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s intro, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’ intro, and Skyrim’s intro
My favorite one is especially Batman: Arkham City’s intro. It just gets you pumped to play as Batman as the song builds up to an excellent orchestrated finish. A terrific song for a terrific game.
Anyone who reads this, I suggest you check out these intros and see if they sound good to you or not.
And thank you Shinkara for showing me Persona 3′s intro. It sounds terrific!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTeAZTKuk2k&feature=related
Mana.Khemia my all time favorite game op!!!
and my all time favorite J rpg, for one simple riesen.
I hate alchemie in games, but here I love it.
I actually like the Sonic Colors theme myself, and I think it accompanies Sonic’s rise and fall and re-rise. Cashcash may not be Crush 40, but if the song fits use it.
I love video game intros every game I play for the first time I always wait around the title screen (if thats what comes first) to see what the game has in store for me or what the over all tone will be like and they always take me to my own world to imagine what kind of adventure can be inspired from the theme I’m listening to I’m ratter indecisive about what I’d say my favorite is but I’ll agree that your list is an grate selection.
Lotta good ones, Wave Race brought back memories. Couple of my own suggestions: Xenoblade Chronicles, Final Fantasy VII, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and Banjo-Kazooie.
No Katamari Damacy? It is awesome and sets up the weird little game perfectly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpFFzWPzA2c
YEAH UNCHARTED 3! WOO! FOR NUMBER 2! Great choice
Also have you heard Intro to Free- -Dangan- by B’z? Great way to pump a player into a game that might seem boring to them.
Version of comment with links in it is awaiting moderation… and on this site, that seems to be a death sentence for comments (I’ve never had a comment await moderation and actually get it!), so I figure I’ll post again *without* links.
Very cool list. Always interesting to hear what songs resonate with people.
I have no particular order for mine, but I will say that the Wild Arms opening is almost certainly number one.
Another classic that I feel often gets overlooked is Solstice on the NES. Really, anything Tim Follin composes for has amazing music (with an amazing title screen!), but Solstice is easily the standout, representing some of the best that 8-bit has to offer. It’s also like, 3 minutes long. On the NES. You don’t normally get that!
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, too, has not just one, but two amazing openings, both of which I watched every single time I booted up the game. And I put 102 hours into that game!
The original Japanese openings are the good ones, though — before the inclusion of Dante from Devil May Cry. They’re much, much better than the later Dante versions, IMHO. You want to talk about music putting you in the mood to play a game, Nocturne is the place to look!
…I could go on forever at this point, but these are some that I felt were very much worth noting. They’d be near the top of my list for sure, if I were to make one as you did.
Good list, it would require a good amount of thought to come up with a list of my own, but when it comes to intro themes that I would frequently let play out before starting up the game, 2 games come to mind: Xenoblade Chronicles and Dark Cloud 2(AKA Dark Chronicle, funny coincidence both of these games have Chronicle in their titles).
Too many J-RPG’s for my taste, Taylor (never liked that genre. Yeah, sue me.)
My list would include:
Borderlands (Ain’t no rest for the wicked)
Metal Gear Solid
Super Mario Bros. 3 from Super Mario All-Stars
Batman: Arkham City
Duke Nukem 3D
Super Metroid
Very cool list. Always interesting to hear what songs resonate with people.
I have no particular order for mine, but I will say that the Wild Arms opening is almost certainly number one. Because really, how can anything beat this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOFibwVMw0
Another classic that I feel often gets overlooked is Solstice on the NES. Really, anything Tim Follin composes for has amazing music (with an amazing title screen!), but Solstice is easily the standout, representing some of the best that 8-bit has to offer. I can’t find a good video of the title screen itself, but there are plenty that feature the music, and that’s the important part. Imagine seeing company logos for the first few seconds, thinking, “Oh, OK, this seems nice”… and then BAM. Ear candy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypNPxwnppU0
It’s also like, 3 minutes long. On the NES. You don’t normally get that!
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, too, has not just one, but two amazing openings, both of which I watched every single time I booted up the game. And I put 102 hours into that game!
Note that these are the original Japanese openings, before the inclusion of Dante from Devil May Cry. They’re much, much better than the later Dante versions, IMHO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3tHfX038Lg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__AYd80yVlE
You want to talk about music putting you in the mood to play a game, Nocturne is the place to look!
…I could go on forever at this point, but these are some that I felt were very much worth noting. They’d be near the top of my list for sure, if I were to make one as you did.
DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN! NOT A SINGLE SARDINE!
OBADIAH! VOCAL! NO FAR ORCHESTRAL!
1) Secret of Mana Epic and sweeping and sad nothing quite like this short 1:30 song.
2) Chrono Trigger Epic. Really had this trade with Secret of Mana a lot, but its #2. Was listening to this the other day ha.
3) Cross Cross: Scars of Time. I dislike this game strongly, but the opening song is amazing. And I agree that it has one of the stronger soundtracks ever (Still not as good as Chrono Trigger, but I am a bit biased) I listen to this even from time to time now. Just like above.
4) Persona 3: FES. I really enjoy the remixed introduction of this game. Its hard to skip, and with a game this long you actually need to.
5) Final Fantasy Tactics Not the intro itself, but the song that accompanies the chocobo riding sequence is one of my favorite of all time and I consider it to be the true intro.
6) Suikoden II, Suikoden III is good, but this intro has one moment that simply tops it. Also this song changes so much during its run time, simply amazing.
7) Suikoden III, another game I don’t like that much because it kills one of my favs from the first two, but that opening song is simply epic. A tour de force and completely in another language. Exceeding Love. Look it up, you won’t be disappointed.
8) FFIV, not Prelude (Which is amazing and I would choose this version over any of the other FF ones BTW), but Red Wings, that plays during the actual prologue to the game. Sweeping and epic, and just feels like a song worthy of a fleet of airships on a mission that they aren’t sure they should be doing, but carry out orders.
9) Lords of Thunder guitar and drums intro on TurboDuo CD accompanying the main storyboard. Then followed by one of the best title screens ever.
10) Lunar Silver Star Story, the Sega CD version, I absolutely love it, cheesy 80s music, complete with the 80s guitar interlude. Fighting in the Darkness, all is evil… (Wouldn’t make anyone else’s list, but it was my first real anime and song intro ever)
If I had a #11 I would put the orchestral version of Dragon Warrior from VIII on here, as Dragon Warrior got me into RPGs and I have always loved the DW opening theme.
#12 would be Wild Arms 2… man I could do this all day heh.
I love that Lords of Thunder pushed its way out of the subconscious and onto the list. Wish I could put more shmups on here, but generally their best music is in the actual stages. Like the first stage of Axelay…but I digress
I really like Suikoden I’s theme too, just can’t beat II and III’s give them a listen. Amazing.
For most fun I ever had while watching an opener, that would be Saiyuki: The Journey West. Magic Son Goku Magic Son Goku Magic Son Goku…and then me laughing. Look it up for a smile.
No Ninja Gaiden II, no Castlevania III? Really? :p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmIbCNSsLqk This was the first game I’d let idle just hear the theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJynBxTU7jU This was the second. It really got you into the mindset for the game’s story of fighting an arcane evil to save the land.
Among my favourites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHBC9SZObGM
Conquests of the Longbow. It’s a bit of an odd duckling, but I’ve always loved this sing-it-yourself ballad. It’s also my favourite VGA title ever, so that helps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTFLRhV2vI8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElxXUByrNSY
Soul Edge and Soul Calibur 2. Both games are among the few which I always watch the intro for. SC2 always gets me pumped, and Soul Edge’s… well, that’s just a darn enjoyable song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhCmajAdQ14
Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim. Aside from this being perhaps my favourite game of all time, the main menu music is really good. The game DOES have an animated intro, but it’s more narration than music. This is what you hear right out of the gate, and it persists until you finally start a scenario; great background track for customizing a Freestyle Quest to. It’s also a good tune for spontaneous whistling.
“Transcending history and the world, a tale of soul and swords, eternally retold.”
Hell yeah. Mid 90s cheesiness at its finest.
A few recommendations of my own:
Wild Arms 2 intro – it technically doesn’t count, since it plays AFTER you pless start, each time you load the game. Does it make it any less awesome though? No.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-5WOV2YRGU
Crimson Skies menu theme – puts you right in the mood for pulpy, action-packed adventure in the high skies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eAUcZn79HI
Namco X Capcom intro – I think it might be just my favorite video game song ever, even ignoring the awesome Gainax-style visuals and animation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eanxcTWC75A
You should have looked into more older titles. No intro from Suikoden 2? Where was Lunar: Silver Star Story’s intro? Hell, even Persona 4 Golden’s intro was better than Tales of Graces’.
I got a soft spot for KPOP (Graces f intro), what can I tell ya ¯\(°_o)/¯ lol.
I gotta agree with Suikoden 2 being a definite for me. The intro song did such a good job of depicting the themes of the game ahead.
Also Taylor, I will kill you one day for liking Sonic Colours intro. However, I thank you for finally admitting it should have a ‘U’ in it.
That extra U was all for you, Yousif
.
The first time I heard your number 1 pick was in a youtube video titled Tales of Fantasy VII where somebody took the time to (quite expertly) change all the characters and some of the backgrounds of the intro to match scenes from FFVII.
Aside from working amazingly, the whole thing made me really want to play Tales of the Abyss. At that point in time, I didn’t own a PS2, but I just found out it was ported to the 3DS, so now may finally be the time!
From the title screen songs theres a few that I remember being quite good. The Last Story, Baldur’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights 2: The Mask of the Betrayer, Ocarina of Time, Pokémon, Monkey Island and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.
Though technicly the last two would be cheating as I think Monkey Island doesn’t have a title screen (it automaticly fades into the first scene) and Fate of Atlantis uses the Indiana Jones theme which of course isn’t a game original.
And then there’d be Shining Force 2′s title screen, though that’s only a short jingle version of the game’s overworld theme so after these rules it’d be out too.
Badass list Taylor
. That one at #1 was freakin awesome! Now I wanna play that game for sure. Kinda bummed by Sonic Colors making the list and not 2Battle (to each their own), but these were some awesome intro songs. Love your Shinkara show btw 
Tales of the Abyss’song is the boss!
Generally intro music doesn’t stick with me, but if I where to name a few
Ar Tonelico 3 had one that I really enjoyed, and fit in well with the series rest of the series’ great music
I also enjoyed the intro to Mana Khemia 2, though after enjoying the first one, that might have more for the imagery. Shame the story and the character’s didn’t live up to the first one.
Yakuza 4 had another one I really liked (The For Faith remix they used in the Western version. Incidentally, My most hated intro song would go to Butterfly City, the song used in the Japanese version of Yakuza 4)