Title Screens/Main Menu's

[Moonface]

We had a thread about this on the old board that was made back in 2012, and obviously a lot of games have released between then and now to give us even more title screens to share that we really like.

The main reason I wanted to remake this thread is because over the last couple of weeks I can't get the title screen/main menu out of my head for WipEout HD +Fury:



By default, the game does not load with the Fury style and instead uses the HD style, which while good just doesn't come close to the Fury one for me. I wish there had been a Fury variant added in the WipEout Omega Collection but if memory serves me right that game only offers a single choice for menu style and it's more or less a replica of the HD style. Now that I think about it WipEout HD +Fury might be the only game I've played that gives you a choice of changing the entire aesthetic of the main menu.

[ShiraNoMai]

Yeah that's so cool. Love that.

One of my favs that you mentioned in the old topic was Xenoblade Chronicles (the OG). Just love the simplicity and how it changes through a day/night cycle the longer you keep it on:

[Mr EliteL]

Find it funny how I'm just going to reiterate what I posted in the old topic, because each one came to mind once again for now.  

Also agree with the Xenoblade one do like that title screen.

Yoshi's Island for it's day and night versions, although for me it was the GBA version but they're basically the same just GBA's slightly smaller. I remember so long ago that I never noticed the tiny Yoshi in the center, well when it rotates back round to the 'front' when I first played, then when I noticed it I found it so adorable. Still do. Plus the music on both, ah. 

 

Mario Kart Super Circuit, would always get me in the mood for some kart racing. Although maybe not so much now unless I was holding my GBA right this second...*looks over at where it is* Hmm.

 

Dragon's Dogma (vanilla) with Into Free by Dangan playing over it with the slow build up in the song picking up later, with Girgori in the background resting on a ruin. If only we got to see that kind of image in-game though, just a random encounter with the dragon all of a sudden as it surveys the area. Still, also like the Dark Arisen version anyway with the calmer theme.

[Moonface]

Dang I really do not like the song for the OG Dragon's Dogma menu. It really does not fit the tone of the game for me and if I had heard that when I first booted the game I don't think I'd have been as anticipatory about pressing Start. Especially since no song in the actual game is like the OG menu theme which would make it even more jarring for me.

I also didn't know Yoshi's Island has more than one title screen. I've only ever known of the daytime one and thought that was it. If the night one is based around the theme of World 6 I'm surprised there isn't a title screen themed around every world in the game though.

I can't really think of any game that does a title screen with a day/night cycle where the title screen isn't a good one either. OoT, Animal Crossing, Terraria, just for the ones I can think of that use that feature that weren't already posted in here, are all really good. I think Xenoblade might be the best one to do it though out of any that exist.

Thinking of transitional title screens, any that transition into or out of gameplay/cutscenes are some of my favourites too. God of War 2018 and God of War Ragnarök both boot up on a fresh file to a title screen that shows Kratos, and as soon as you choose Start Game the menu UI fades away and the opening cutscene starts right from the shot that was being used for the menu with no cutaway. A big thing for those two games was the single-shot camera and having it even apply to the menu is so cool.
Conversely, Horizon Zero Dawn does a superb transition into its title screen rather than out of it, and I can't think of another game I've played that does this: https://youtu.be/VuH-a5jp8sU?t=308

[Dragon Lord]

Genshin's title screen is super nice. Has great music on it (obviously with music being one of the strongest points of Genshin), you can get multiple times of day on it (day/evening(sunset)/night), and is very pleasant to look at. Definitely a very nice opening to the wonderful world of Teyvat.

I'll post some videos of the title screen later. I don't have time to search them out right now before work, sadly.

[ShiraNoMai]

If the night one is based around the theme of World 6 I'm surprised there isn't a title screen themed around every world in the game though.

I remember so long ago that I never noticed the tiny Yoshi in the center, well when it rotates back round to the 'front' when I first played, then when I noticed it I found it so adorable. Still do. Plus the music on both, ah. 

So, during each transition between world clears, Yoshi goes around the island and blows up the respective boss' castle that he just beat. During the transition from 5th to 6th Worlds, he has to climb up the staircase of clouds up into the sky and blows up that castle--all of which leads him to get transported into this "night" version of the map.

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxDFTZNE3gb0S...IECMiOmarE

[Moonface]

Man, if I felt like doing it and the themes between worlds are distinct enough, I'd love to make a title screen mockup themed around each world of Yoshi's Island just to see how it would look. It would remind me of the level select screen of Croc where each island is a different theme.

Thinking of a title screen that changes which I never mentioned even in the old thread, Ape Escape had great title screens across all of its mainline entries. They always take on the same theme of the main character running through an endless field after a group of monkeys trying to capture them, but the third one took it further by changing out the level theme so it wasn't always just the same location every time, and AE3 also lets the monkeys steal your items. If you let them steal the net and capture you with it, the title screen changes to the two protagonists being chased by the monkeys wielding their stolen gadgets instead, which I always found to be neat. I also don't think I've ever seen another game change the title screen based on the player actually losing or getting a game over.


Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy also has a banger of a title screen. This was the first game I ever got that had a dynamic day/night cycle, and it reminds me a lot of the thematic approach to the OoT title screen. It features an in-game scene of the starting village in the game, and the camera sweeps through it while the time of day progresses, giving the player an immediate idea of the sort of game they're going to be getting into, which was a great idea for this as it was Naughty Dog's first new IP after Crash Bandicoot and also their first PS2 title, plus it featured no loading screens which I don't think had been done yet for a platformer. It's a shame the following games never did anything as neat for their title screens as this one did.

[Moonface]

My teacher had us play this in class today, and god damn this intro sequence and main menu is one of the best I've seen in a game: