Tropedia

  • All unique and most-recently-edited pages, images and templates from Original Tropes and The True Tropes wikis have been copied to this wiki. The two source wikis have been redirected to this wiki. Please see the FAQ on the merge for more.

READ MORE

Tropedia
Tropedia
WikEd fancyquotesQuotesBug-silkHeadscratchersIcons-mini-icon extensionPlaying WithUseful NotesMagnifierAnalysisPhoto linkImage LinksHaiku-wide-iconHaikuLaconic

The background music of the first level in many videogames frequently becomes the theme associated with the series. Sometimes, the "first level" theme becomes so representative of the series that it supplants the planned Main Theme in later games and advertising material. After all, chances are that people will spend more time on the first level learning the ropes rather than admiring the title screen. This trope is more common in linear games (like platformers and shoot-em-ups) as opposed to Sandboxes or RPGS.

A Sub-Trope of Bootstrapped Theme.


Straight Examples of this trope include:[]


Subversions, aversions, and inversions include:[]

  • Averted in every game that uses the "Title Screen" music as the main theme in subsequent games.
  • The Bionic Commando theme appears to be a straight example, being the zone 1 music from the NES game but in the original arcade game the music is used on the second level.
  • The Mega Man series is all over the place with this trope:
    • Mega Man 1: Cut Man's theme is a straight example as it is usually the first level selected.
    • Averted and subverted in Mega Man 2 where the title theme is used to represent Mega Man in Marvel vs. Capcom Clash of the Superheroes and the other iconic theme is the first level...of the boss's fortress.
    • The Mega Man Legends subseries averts this by having The Flutter Vs. Gesellschaft theme from later in the game as the Iconic theme.
  • Double Dragon: the title theme is played during the final boss battle, but during the bonus sibling match that occurs when two players complete the game together, the music changes to the Mission 1 theme. This also holds true to the NES version, which has Machine Gun Willy as the penultimate boss and Jimmy Lee as the final boss.