My Top 5 Title Screen Songs
Title screens are sometimes things players can forget how important they can be. I mean they're not the essential part of the game; a bad or boring one won't hinder anyone's experience, but a good one sticks with a player. Title screens are the first thing a player sees when booting up a game aside from the slides of the game's publisher, developer, and sometimes the engine, so it can set up the mood for the game. The first piece of music you hear may also let you know what kind of experience you're getting into. So let's dive into this list of my personal top five title screen songs in gaming.
5. Nate's Theme
First up is Nate's Theme from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Nate's Theme sounds like the theme of an epic action movie franchise like Indiana Jones. It evokes that you're about to embark on an epic journey. This is also one of the few western game songs that I like.
The number four spot goes to the "Main Theme" of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was pretty surprised when I found out that Nobuo Uematsu composed this piece, but after thinking about it I can see it. His use of a choir is has precedence in the Final Fantasy games with tracks like "One Winged Angel" "Hymn of the Fayth" and "Liberi Fetali". It is an epic piece and personally the Smash Bros. theme song for me. I haven't played any Smash Bros. since Brawl, but if it's not the title screen song of Ultimate, this will be playing in my head instead.
3. Dearly Beloved
OMG such a nostalgia trip every time I hear this track. This is the most calming title screen music I've ever heard and the title screen itself is artistically composed. The character contrasting with the white background adds a pop and it exudes some of the childlike nature of the Kingdom hearts series.
2. Title Screen - Ocarina of Time
Arguably the best title screen in gaming, but it's just quite not number one for me. Ocarina of Time's title screen is so great because how serene the song is accompanied by the visual of Link riding Epona through Hyrule field during the rising sun. The title screen gives way that there is a whole world out there for you to explore or just relaxing run through. The song is so damn chill.
Honorable Mention
In less than a year Persona 5 has become one of my all-time favorite games and thus I have an attachment to hearing the menu theme whenever I take a break from the game. This is the menu theme from the original and not Royal. Both are pretty chill, but "Phantom" I feel is just slightly better. The Menu screen in Royal looks cooler with it being a dynamic shot in Shibuya, but the original fits slightly more with it being set in Mementos. It's still quite a stylish title screen however with the high contrast silhouettes.
1. The Place I'll Return to Someday
At the number one spot is "The Place I'll Return to Someday" from Final Fantasy IX. This one is entirely attached to a specific moment in my life and its impact, but "The Place I'll Return to Someday" is genuinely a good song. The title screen itself is simple, but you also get the character slides with the quotes to accompany it that gives you a bit of insight into each character's personality. Nobuo Uematsu has said on record that Final Fantasy IX's soundtrack is his Magnum Opus and he did a solid job with the first piece of music that the player hears. They'll be for a treat once the actual adventure begings.
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