Intro Music

[ComradeJim270]

I recently was listening to "Hell March" from "Command & Conquer: Red Alert", and it occured to me that it is probably one of the most awesome musical themes of any game, ever. You can't hear it without thinking of Allied troops being fried by Soviet tesla coils, and the like. I got to thinking about other great intro music in gaming, compositions that are not only good as music, but also seem to be connected on a subconscious level to the experience of playing that game. You can't hear the theme to Deus Ex without thinking of Deus Ex. You can't hear the Morrowind theme without thinking of Morrowind. Same with the Halo theme. To me at least, they're all awesome works of music which immediately conjures up the feelings associated with the game, whatever they may be.

What intro music (music that is played in an intro movie or in the main menu) does this for you? What games do you think have the best themes? I know I'm not the only one who sometimes finds himself sitting before a menu screen just to hear the music, and I'm not the only one who put "Hell March" on repeat while playing Red Alert.

 

[Iceman23]

Well as you already said, I feel the Halo theme nails the game perfectly, every time I hear it I always find myself thinking about the epic size of the Halo rings, or the pulse pounding action of the final drives in both Halo 1 and Halo 3.

I also remember the epic feel that the theme of Starwars Republic Commando struck me with, huge armies (the Clones and Drones most often) either asembling to fight, or blowing each other to hell with the crazy weapons of the Star Wars universe.

Another nice theme is the "Justified" song in Dead Rising, every time I hear it, I instantly think about zombies, slowly walking towards me.

 

[Blayze]

I like the Main Menu music from Civilisation VI and Galactic Civilisations II: Dark Avatar, myself. GalCiv's especially, as it sounds, well... epic, really.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

The music from the main menu of The Legend of Zelda would be my favorite. I also really like the music used in the main menu, and the introduction of Final Fantasy II, which includes the crystal theme, the Red Wings theme, and prologue music.

 

[defcon 1]

Kingdom Hearts (opening video)
Metal Gear Solid 3 - (Snake Eater)
Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within - (menu video)
Zelda: Twilight Princess (press A+B video[start for Gamecube])

I'm not sure which one I like best

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Oblivion's opening theme is pretty good. I also enjoy Halo's theme. And Final Fantasy VII-X-2.


Edit: Also, both Chrono games (Cross and TriggeR0 and Morrowind have awesome themes and overall music.

 

[Duck Sandwich]

Mega Man 3
Mega Man X5
Maximum Carnage
Halo

 

[broadband]

i think half life 2 and hitman have some of thebest music, i think i also liked the terran battle theme of starcraft

 

[RentCavalier]

FFIX truly has an underappreciated soundtrack.

 

[Hey Joe]

The Morrowind intro just kicks arse and it easily recognizable, I like the Halo theme that seems to draw upon Gregorian chanting.

 

[ComradeJim270]

I love the chanting in the Halo theme, it's powerful and really goes well with the religious references that permeate the games' story. Most of my favorite themes 'fit' the game... the gothic feel of Deus Ex fits nicely with the conspiracy-laden plot, which often references centuries-old secrets and the like... yet it also has a very fitting futuristic feel to it. Of course, the marching in Hell March... also perfect for the game... and Frank Klepacki is just awesome by default in my book. I'm actually surprised nobody else has mentioned Hell March, is that just... too long ago? Come on, people, it's awesome!

I see Half-Life mentioned here, but don't really remember it having a theme... but then, I never played it when it was new, I played HL: Source MUCH later, so maybe I'm missing something.

I agree with the comments here on the Morrowind theme, all of them, except maybe the one about it being repetitive, that never bothered me. Brilliant wording in your assessment of it, Jeffers... "restrained but epic". That's the main reason I prefer it over Oblivion's theme. The Oblivion theme feels like it's somewhere between "out of control" and "trying too hard".

Did I seriously just start three paragraphs in a row with the same word? Sloppy, sloppy...

 

[Copter400]

Runescape (shut up, SHUT UP!) has some really memorable, catchy tunes, particularly Barking Mad. I love Vortal Combat from EP:2. The Psychonauts Polka theme was good, because polka has this sort of zany, wild feel to it, which suits the game well. Oh, and the opening theme to Drakengard was good, whatever else you can say about the game.

 

[Crowbites]

Dynasty warriors. Particularly the intro from number 3. Yes, I'm one of those strange people who actually likes those games.

 

[[HD]Rob Inglis]

The music from the Doom games really gets me going.
Halo does have good music despite what anyone sez.
Metroid Prime has great music.
I like most midi music from really old games..
If you've ever heard the Duke Nukem Forvever Theme Song, you'll know first hand how awesome it is.

 

[Divinegon]

Ace Combat 0, which is also the final boss music.

Latino style, chorus voices and epic feel to it all around. Every time I play the game I see the intro video just to hear the music.

 

[Strafe Mcgee]

The boss music to FF7 is probably the best the series has had, and really got me in the mood for frenetic menu flicking.

 

[Calobi]

I like the Main Menu music from Civilisation VI ...

so true, however my OCD means I'm going to have to correct it from 'Civilisation VI' to 'Civilization IV'.