Bad*ss Menu Music

Spam1985

Member
What are some games that you start up but find yourself not actually playing for a couple of minutes because you just have to listen to the menu music for a bit?

Here's a few examples:

Spent a lot of time on Red Alert 2's main menu!

On Red Alert 3, if you stuck around past the first two tracks, you'd be treated to this extremely heavy version of "Hell March" from the original game.

Only ever rented this game. I didn't really care for it and don't actually remember much about it except this music:
 
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This one was a regular for me at one point, I'd just leave the game running on my Xbox just to hear this on loop as I did other things. 💩💩💩💩 the Master Chief's theme, this one is a masterpiece

Another one that I absolutely adore to this day(as well as the whole soundtrack) which I think is one of the coolest menu themes around. The multiplayer(combat simulator) menu was 💩💩💩💩ing rad too!
 

Micah_DS

Member
THIS, more than the below ones:

I don't know if anyone else played Zone 66, but the theme really stuck with me:

Battlefield 1942 was the favorite of me and my friends with our LAN parties back in the day. This is technically the intro, I think, not the menu. Been a while since I've played.

There are a few others I could post, but I think those are the main ones that had me sitting in the menu listening to the music.
 
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Spam1985

Member
I used to own Perfect Dark! Yeah that music brings back memories, very badass and "moody".
The Halo and Metroid ones have a certain epicness about them, like you are about to embark on some grand galactic adventure.
No idea what Zone 66 is but I love that retro badass music there.

Battlefield1942 has a sort of military heroicness and epicness to it.
Reminds me of the early Tom Clancy titles, those had that kind of vibe to them:
 

Bart

WiseBart
Metroid Prime would definitely be a competitor for my number one spot!
The music of Perfect Dark is very nice, too. Such a great dark atmosphere it managed to create.

Two others that are very high on the list:

And then definitely also Oblivion, with that world map scrolling in the background giving a glimpse of that vast world you're about to explore:

This one probably doesn't fall under that "badass" label but it's one I'd always try to listen to (I'd go back and forth between title and menu until this theme would play):
 
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Spam1985

Member
That Oblivion intro really reminds me of Game of Thrones with the map showing the world along with the epic music.

Jesper Kyd's Hitman music is incredible, really added a lot to the tone and mood of the series and is sadly absent from the new games, as good as they are.
 

Mk.2

Member
Jesper Kyd
Speaking of:


I've timestamped the title theme song, but the whole OST is an excellent showcase of what the Mega Drive's soundchip is capable of in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. The sound really suits the style of music used in the game. Moody, cold and mechanical.
 
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Spam1985

Member
I am trigerred by the curse word in this topic's title. Please say "badass" not "bad*ss", because the character "*" reminds me of an anus.
Well I figured putting a swearword in the title would be breaking some sort of rule! Let me just leave you with this:
)*(

I've timestamped the title theme song, but the whole OST is an excellent showcase of what the Mega Drive's soundchip is capable of in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. The sound really suits the style of music used in the game. Moody, cold and mechanical.
I'm not familiar with that game but I'm digging that soundtrack. I love a lot of Mega Drive music -a big part of that is nostalgia of course, but it has certain qualities that I just can't really put into words. So I will just say bad*ss again.
I've only really heard Jesper Kyd's name mentioned in regards to his Hitman work, but I believe he has done tons of other videogame music. I've probably heard a bunch of his stuff and just never known it was him.

)*(

I'm going off topic in my own thread here since the game doesn't even have menu music, but I'm just going to mention Michael Giacchino's superb orchestral soundtrack for The Lost World: Jurassic Park - a console game that was released on both the PS1 and the Saturn. The film itself was scored by the legendary John Williams, but this game had a completely original cinematic soundtrack of it's own. I remember you could pop the disc into a CD player and just listen to the whole thing.
Curiously enough, Michael Giacchino would return to the franchise 18 years later, this time composing the score for the film Jurassic World (somehow the old game soundtrack is way better than the film score, but that's just like, my opinion man). He also did Medal of Honor's excellent cinematic music.

)*(

Just to get back on topic again, here is Chuck Rock and his band playing his menu music for your pleasure:

)*(
 
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Mk.2

Member
I'm not familiar with that game but I'm digging that soundtrack. I love a lot of Mega Drive music -a big part of that is nostalgia of course, but it has certain qualities that I just can't really put into words. So I will just say bad*ss again.
I've only really heard Jesper Kyd's name mentioned in regards to his Hitman work, but I believe he has done tons of other videogame music. I've probably heard a bunch of his stuff and just never known it was him.
Another one by the same composer, again the whole OST is excellent.


Some more Mega Drive menu music:

 
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Bart

WiseBart
Even though this thread is a bit old by now, I keep coming across some good menu music that would probably belong here. So here are a couple more humble contributions 😄

Soul Calibur II's menu theme:


Warrior Kings has some great orchestral music for its menu:


 

HASNOGAME

Member
probably the menu screens i sat on the most often as a kid, the music in the armored core games was just soooo good



good runner-up are the menus from the .Hack// IMOQ series of games:


the ps2 had so many crazy OSTs
 

Roa

Member
I can't imagine it getting more "bas ass" than this. Imagine firing up a game and the entire time you are browsing menus and setting up matches, this is what is playing lmao. This 💩💩💩💩 was literally insane and I have yet to see another game try anything close to this.

Haunting ass choirs voices, synth bassist under tones, synth cracking, all while a stalin/castro ass dude belches' a hitler esque propaganda speech about how they must genocide a group of people to protect the state, with people clapping and cheering. It's seriously 💩💩💩💩ing creepy

 

TheouAegis

Member
As a kid, I would let PinBot's theme play for a bit before I hit Start.

In my early teens I would drain the crap out of batteries just listening to Seiken Densetsu's title track, despite how short the song was.

In high school, it was Final Fantasy VI"s "Prelude".

But hands down, the one menu screen I would sit on the most throughout my life was Simone"s theme from Shining Force.
 
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TheouAegis

Member
But if we allow intro movies that I sat through multiple times, then in college, I would watch the Grandia intro every time I started the game up.

I also listened to "Yume wa Owaranai" from Tales Of Phantasia more times than I could count back then. The PSX version sucked. lol

I didn't listen to the lm enough to warrant upping videos, but honorable mention goes out to the Slayers Royal games, which had full anime openings with songs by Megumi Hayashibara herself! I geeked all in my undies when I booted those games up for the first time. Nowadays that stuff is nothing special, but I was (and still am) a huge Slayers fan.

And then another blast from my college past - "Negai" from SHOGO: Mobile Armor Division. I had this intro burned to a CD at one point.
 

Mr Magnus

Viking King
I'm particularily fond of the menu music / theme of Outer Wilds. It's a chill tune to listen to for a bit before you go planet hopping. It may not be "badass", but it's a different sort of captivating in the same manner.

 
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