Carla: Do you have any idea how difficult it is to escape from Monkey Island? Guybrush: No, how difficult is it to [with overly dramatic emphasis]Escape from Monkey Island™?
Carla: ...Well, it's really difficult!
He does the same thing twice later while talking with Meathook.
Also, in the second and the third games, Guybrush askes LucasArts (via telephone) and Le Chuck what's The Secret of Monkey Island, dropping the first game's title.
In Metroid Prime, you can tell the creature the Space Pirates have been studying will turn out to be pretty nasty once you learn that it's been code-named...well, take a wild guess.
Fire Emblem tends to name each game's MacGuffin [The] Fire Emblem. However only the GBA titles say the subtitles, which are names of an important artifact.
The Japanese title of the 11th game Goddess of Dawn is Micaiah's title. The English title of "Radiant Dawn" is never mentioned.
The World Ends With You -- welcome in that we get to find out what they were smoking when they came up with that one. (Turns out it's suggesting that the parts of the world you ignore might as well not exist, and with Neku (who is told this) that means a lot might as well not exist. Thank you, Title Drop!)
As a bonus, the game also namedrops the Japanese title, What A Wonderful World, ad nauseum near the end of the game.
In the English version, we got the English title explained. The Japanese title was explained at that same point in the Japanese version (FYI, it means the world was always an amazing place; Neku just refused to notice)
Dante's demon-hunting business in Devil May Cry shares its name with the game.
And there's a more direct Title Drop in the third game, which explains that Dante named the shop after a line spoken by Lady at the end of the game during a Sand in My Eyes moment, telling him that even a demon might cry over his brother (seemingly) dying.
As just almost every single game in the Elder Scrolls series is named after an ingame setting[1], none of the games' subtitles should count. But Daggerfall however, does in a much very blatant and glorified manner in it's epic opening FMV.
Uriel Septim: "Rest well this night...for tomorrow, you set sail...for the kingdom of DAGGERFALL!"
The Bloodmoon expansion for Morrowind mentions the Bloodmoon event. Some of the games mentions the actual Elder Scrolls, but never in situations relevant to the main plot.
The phrase "Sonic Heroes" was apparently rammed into the game of the same name for no reason. Both Sonic and Eggman use it to describe Team Sonic, but it also appears in Team Chaotix's theme song, meaning that it might describe all the main characters...even though they have completely different reasons for fighting Eggman and actually fight each other every so often.
In the same game, Sonic's explanation to Metal Sonic as to why he lost to them
Metal Sonic: It's no use...why can't I defeat you...? Sonic: Because we're SONIC HEROES! (strikes a pose)
Metal Sonic then promptly faint/powers down, possibly due to being beaten, but one must wonder if it was of that being the only reason he got...
In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, when Luke Atmey insists on describing himself as an "Ace Detective," Phoenix awkwardly introduces himself as "Phoenix Wright...Ace Attorney." Being Phoenix Wright, the whole scene is not an especially important conversation, especially because Pearl and Maya insist on also being an "Ace"...spirit medium and apprentice, respectively.
Boktai: The Sun is In Your Hand has a Title Drop that's unusually hard to spot. During the final boss fight, Django and Sabata refer to the power of "Our Sun". (You know it's important because there's a voice clip and because Django, who's usually a Heroic Mime, speaks.) So? As it happens, the game's original Japanese title -- Bokura no Taiyou -- means "Our Sun". The English title is a sort of orphaned abbreviation for this that means nothing in the game.
In John Woo's Stranglehold, Damon Zakarov tells Big Bad Wong, in his demands that he hand over Hong Kong to him, "Your stranglehold has lasted far too long."
While the ARMs in Wild ARMs have always been an important plot element in every game, the series never did a full Title Drop...until the fourth game where ARMs are weapons made from Nanomachines, and the most powerful of them assimilates the inmates of Illsveil Prison, turning them into, you guessed it, Wild ARMs.
Planescape: Torment doesn't use "planescape" -- but then, the game is properly called Torment. (Calling it Planescape: Torment is like calling another game, for example, Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate.) Torment starts getting dropped at about the midpoint of the game, increasing in frequency from there.
On that subject, Baldur's Gate mentions the city fairly early on, and as the latter third of the game takes place mainly there, it's hard to avoid it being mentioned. Throne Of Bhaal has the war between Bhaalspawn be around and for the title location, so it gets mentioned as well. On the other hand, Shadows of Amn doesn't use the title, though the nation of Amn it takes place in is mentioned; nor does Tales of the Sword Coast, with similar mention of the region.
Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter do this -- Icewind Dale, the name of the region it takes place in, much more easily. Heart of Winter, on the other hand, does it much more subtly:
Seer: A woman knows a woman's heart, and a strange, beautiful, and cruel thing it is. But the cruelest of all is a heart of winter, for it beats not with love, but with loss, and nothing may comfort it.
Clearing four lines of blocks in Tetris is called a Tetris.
In Tetris: The Grand Master, the highest rank obtainable is Grand Master.
Olivia's poems seem nothing but a cute character moment until she recites the final stanza of her last: "But now we dance this Grim Fandango..." It refers to the four year journey to Eternal Rest taken by all but the most virtuous souls.
Strong Bad: Onward to Strong Badia! Strong Badia the Free! Homestar Runner: Hey, that's the name of this-- Strong Bad: Shut up!
On the Subject of Telltale Games -- in the the last episode of Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse:
Max's Superego: Sam, Sam. They say that idle hands are the Devil's playthings, but there is something far, far worse. An idle mind is the Devil's Playhouse: a stage for the most vapid, horrible, and destructive stories to be made real.
Seconds later, he then goes on to lampshade it by saying "Didn't think I'd be able to work the title in, did you?"
In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the subtitle is taken from the operation Snake carries out for the most of the game, named as such because he's taking on the members of the Cobra unit.
Probably the most meta one in the series, though, is a repeated series acronym drop from Drebin in Metal Gear Solid 4, as he screams (about a tank that is chasing them) 'we've got an MGS on our asses!' and 'We've gotta shake off the MGS!'. The scene ends with the MGS getting flipped into a ravine as the characters carry on. Interpret that as you may.
For fairly obvious reasons, Portable Ops didn't manage. It tried hard, though, and involved an optional scene where Snake commented about how the operation felt 'portable'.
Oh, and don't try to count the number of times Snake says "Metal Gear!?".
Grand Theft Auto III has a mission called "Grand Theft Auto", which also happens to be one of the most difficult Watch the Paint Job missions in the series. It later plays with the title in a mission where you must steal a package from the airport, called "Grand Theft Aero".
Even before then, there was the rap song "Grand Theft Auto" written for the first game's soundtrack - a remixed version of which is also in III.
Take a wild guess what Grand Theft Auto IV lists the player character's criminal records as in the LCPD Database.
Skillfully used in the first Geneforge game--the title initially seems to be just an oblique reference to the series' essential conceit--bioengineering in a fantasy environment by use of magic. However, when it turns out to actually be the name of the Lost Technology that serves as the series' ongoing MacGuffin and Artifact of Doom, the player instantly recognizes his goal for the remainder of the game.
Mega Man Battle Network 4 manages to shoehorn its subtitle (Red Sun or Blue Moon, depending on the version) in twice -- once for the tournament and once for the giant laser. Near the end we learn that the tournament was a front for finding a netbattler to stop the asteroid, except this falls through because that was the BACKUP plan.
Ironically, the game as it exists in localization is technically called Super Robot Taisen. Getting Crap Past the Radar for naming rights disputes, Atlus?
The feat is duplicated twice for Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier: the party acquires the not-so Humongous Mecha Gespenst Phantom, Alt Eisen Nacht, Weiss Ritter Abend as backup units, and they are dubbed "Support Robot Weapons". "Endless Frontier" is immediately used following a prologue real describing the multiple worlds connected by dimensional gateways.
Some older SRWs would Title Drop the game during the final scenario, as in the case of Super Robot Wars Compact, where the last scenario is called "Super Robot Wars".
Dead Space has the final chapter in the game rather appropriately titled, er, "Dead Space". Which is kind of funny when you realize it's the only chapter that takes place on a planet instead of a ship in space.
The actual significance of the title is made clear when it's explained that the Marker create a sort of "dead space" around itself that keeps the Necromorph bacteria and the resultant creatures dormant.
From Ace Combat Zero: "We'll start over from 'zero' with this V2..." (complete with quotations in the subtitles). The EU non-numeric titles Distant Thunder, Squadron Leader and The Belkan War all show up in their respective games.
And Shattered Skies as the name of AC04's eighth mission, and part of your commander's speech before the final mission.
The main heroines of Tsukihime and Fate/stay night has the title of the game, or part of it, as the name of their true ending. Actually makes a lot of sense in the case of Tsukihime (Moon Princess) since the title is direct reference to her.
Tsukihime's "sequel", Kagetsu Tohya, has a character in a side-story named Souka Tsukihime. Incidentally, she's the graphic designer's favorite character.
Despite Sion being technically the main heroine of Melty Blood, being the main heroine of the entire series gets Arc the title drop in that game. Her Blood Heat Arc Drive is named "Melty Blood."
Golden Sun has a title drop, but if you play only the first game you wouldn't know it, since the term only shows up in the lead-up to the final battle of the second game.
That said, the very first true "dungeon" of the first game featured a puzzle involving a golden sun icon.
Throughout the entire history of the Final Fantasy series, the only time those words are mentioned together is in Dissidia Final Fantasy, when Chaos refers to the ten warriors and Cosmos' journey as being the Final Fantasy.
Dissidia's secret ending is concluded with the Narrator saying:
"We shall journey on the road that continues...to the Final Fantasy."
Although in Gilgamesh's Final Fantasy XII boss cameo, his ultimate attack is called Ultimate Illusion, a synonym to Final Fantasy.
Additionally, the 5-person Band Attack used by the the final party of Final Fantasy IV in its sequel The After Years is called "Final Fantasy."
Also, in Final Fantasy VIII, the Japanese version of Edea's speech in Galbadia plays out a little differently from the English translation, and includes a line referencing the series.
Edea: You and me. Together, we'll bring about this final fantasy.
There's an old Real Time Strategy game by Sierra called Castles: Siege and Conquest. They had a basic version, and one on CD. The CD has an opening cinematic with full voice and FMV in game discussing the history of various castles. And wouldn't you know it, the ending of the cinematic says: "To become king you must conquer...CASTLES SIEGE AND CONQUEST!" The most awkward title drop (that wasn't a lampshade) ever.
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom features two drops of the subtitle, with first the veteran in the bar, and later Admiral Tolwyn, giving the full line, "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance." At the end, Blair asks Tolwyn, after stating that his plan would cause many deaths and force humanity to become barbaric, "Is that the price of freedom?" in a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
Hobbes addresses Blair as, "Wing Commander" in Wing Commander II when, despite being higher-ranked, he orders him to lead the mission they're on.
In Wing Commander: Prophecy, Maniac toasts, "to the free and easy life of the Wing Commander."
In the film, Angel describes herself to Blair as, "your Wing Commander."
The third game's subtitle, Heart of the Tiger, is Blair's title among the Kilrathi, which also serves as the phrase to awaken Hobbes' true personality.
X: Zero! Hang in there, buddy! Zero: X...I'm always telling you...to be more careful...but now look at me... X: Don't waste your energy talking, Zero. We've gotta fix you up. Zero: There's...no time for that...Sigma is close...Very close... X: Zero... Zero: Go now...Maverick Hunter X...
In the Touhou Project games, Spell Cards have names which generally take the form of something like Love Sign "Master Spark", and this is used for a Title Drop a few times for the final Spell Card of the Final Boss. In Perfect Cherry Blossom, Yuyuko's final spell card (before her Desperation Attack) is titled Cherry Blossom Sign "Perfect Cherry Blossom of Sumizome"; in Mountain of Faith, Kanako's final attack has no "sign" part of its name (though it is far from unique in that regard) and is simply called "Mountain of Faith"[2].
Also, Tenshi from the Fighting GameSpin-OffScarlet Weather Rhapsody gives us Scarlet Weather Rhapsody for all Mankind.
In Imperishable Night, the "sign" parts of all of Kaguya's Last Spells are called Imperishable Night's End. Furthermore, the "sign" parts for her five normal spellcards are all called Impossible Request, which matches her stage title "Five Impossible Requests".
There's also Mokou's spell card Imperishable Shooting.
And if you survive enough of her Last Spells, Kaguya will drop it in dialogue in a much more meaningful way than just naming:
The game's Japanese title, Mushuugeki, appears in the title music theme, "Dream End Drama ~ Border between Dream and Reality".
You know that stuff just got real when humans bring in their Sword of the Stars dreadnought class. No other space conquest game has a suitable name.
The original game and its Expansion Packs also perform a Title Drop at the end of their intro voiceovers:
"We learned to wield the Sword of the Stars." (cue previously mentioned dreadnought firing its Wave Motion Guns)
"Born of fire, born of steel, born of science, Born of Blood."
"My people are no longer hiding, and now we darken your skies, like A Murder of Crows."
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri doesn't really count, as Planet orbits the star system, so it comes up quite frequently. The expansion, Alien Crossfire, does the drop in the cinematic, explaining that two opposing alien factions have landed on Planet, and the humans will thus be caught in the alien crossfire.
The second Another Code game pulls it off near the end, though in a variation it only mentions the subtitles (Gateway of Memory in Japan, A Journey Into Lost Memories in Europe):
Ryan Gray: Do you understand why your father brought you here, Ashley? It was to open the doorway to your memory. To open that door and embark on a journey into lost memories.
In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Jill ends her opening monologue stating that her escape from Raccoon City will be her "last escape"; a reference to the Japanese title, Biohazard 3: Last Escape.
House of the Dead. Guess what the last chapter's name is, as well as where it takes place?
OVERKILL follows suit as well.
Star Ocean 1: "People say the universe is a Star Ocean."
"Don Pachi" means "leader bee." Throughout the series, you collect bee icons, and upon fulfilling certain requirements for one of the games, you get to fight the True Final Boss: a flaming bee, the leader of the enemy forces you've been decimating. And in the first game, the elite air force you're training for is known as DonPachi Squadron.
The penultimate quest in the last content patch for World of Warcraft, which involves the players and one of their faction's leaders escaping an encounter withArthas Menethil. This leads directly into the raid on Icecrown Citadel, and is named "Wrath of the Lich King".
In the final patch of Cataclysm, Deathwing yells "IAMTHECATACLYSM!" at the start of the Madness of Deathwing encounter, in which he attempts to use an attack called Cataclysm that essentially is him finishing the job he started by breaking out of Deepholm, and which the raid must interrupt to avoid instantly wiping.
Glory of Heracles was title dropped by one of the playable characters, Heracles, who muses that great muscles means nothing to the 'glory of Heracles'.
Happens a couple of times in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom with a couple of the character's Hyper Combos and the games they come from: Batsu's Ultimate Hyper Combo is called 'United By Fate', while Frank West has his 'Dead Rising' Hyper Combo.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood: While the furigana in the game's subtitle reads Chi no Rondo for "Rondo of Blood," the literal reading is Chi no Rinne, meaning "Metempsychosis[3] of Blood." The latter is also the title of the game's final stage, as well as its reenactment in the sequel.
In the English versions of both Symphony of the Night and the PSP port of Rondo, the stage's name is simply rendered "Bloodlines", dropping a different title entirely.
In City of Heroes, Paragon City and the Rogue Isles are refered to as the City of Heroes and the City of Villains, respectively, numerous times.
The meaning behind the title of Suika is only revealed in the true ending, where it becomes Ojou's new name by combining the kanji for water and summer.
You get to find the Mask of the Betrayer in Neverwinter Nights 2 Mask of the Betrayer, but it isn't actually referred to anywhere in dialogue as such.
And in dialogue with Deekin, he mentions that he's going to be writing a book about your adventures in the above expansion pack, and asks the PC to give it a name. Naturally, one of the options is Hordes of the Underdark. Or "Anything but Hordes of the Underdark." Prompting some scribbling on Deekin's part.
Mass Effect refers to a category of technology that is the main Applied Phlebotinum of the game series, which is critically important for galactic civilization in the game.
The opening title consists of a short description of the events that led humanity into the interstellar field, culminating with "They called it the greatest discovery in human history. The civilization of the galaxy call it...Mass Effect".
Dragon Age pulls its Title Drop in the Codex, of all places, as part of the description of the Chantry's practice of naming each century as "____ Age" after a significant event. Since dragons reappeared in the world (after being hunted nearly to extinction by the Tevinter) at the beginning of this century, the game is set in the Dragon Age.
God of War drops it many times, first with Ares and then Kratos being referred to as "God of War".
No More Heroes is the name of the motel that Travis lives at, and is also written on the wall in any of the bathrooms that act as the game's Save Points. It's also delivered in a Take That by Travis's ex-girlfriend Jeane before the Rank 1 boss fight:
Jeane: What if the game gets delayed? You don't want this to become No More HeroesForever, do you?
The sequel title drops both the series and subtitle name. First in the opening...
Narrator: This is Travis Touchdown's desperate struggle. Travis: Hold it, you violence-loving bastards. Before you start your desperate struggling, you should drop a nice save.
After Bishop is murdered, the words Desperate Struggle is seen written in blood. Also, near the end of the game, Travis is reffered to as the No More Hero.
King of Sorrow: So I used the ark to lift Lunatea's Veil. All so that you could save the Kingdom of Sorrow. So that Lunatea can once again remember...
The V in "Veil" is even capitalised in the subtitles, to make it obvious it's a Title Drop.
The song When You're Gone does this for the most recent Silent Hill game.
"I know, I know, there's something I've forgotten! A time, a place, a shattered memory!"
At the end of Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield it is explained that the Big Bad was like a raven picking the bones of an old war and the other Big Bad his shield protecting him until his children were ready to fly.
"While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it...Halo."
Strangely enough, in later games they're referred to as "the Sacred Rings" by the Covenant.
In the first game, Cortana drops the title of one of the soundtrack pieces during a cutscene in the first level. "With all respect, Captain. This war already has Enough Dead Heroes". Later, the first chapter of "Two Betrayals" is named after another song, "The Gun Pointed At the Head of the Universe".
In most games The Legend of Zelda series, the subtitle inevitably gets dropped early on, pointing a giant neon arrow at something important. No points for guessing the Ocarina of Time is going to be important in a game called The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.
Subverted in The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword. To quote Groose "Nice going, you two. You guys were totally amazing in this little adventure I like to call the Legend of Groose". So close, yet so far.
Although the game's opening cinematic (one of two if you wait around at the title screen) is an interesting example. It ends with "Now, a new legend bound to this great story stands ready to be revealed. A legend that will be forged by your own hand." In the trailer version of this cinematic, it ends with the game's logo. In the actual game, it boots you back to the title screen to fill it out with "THE LEGEND OF ZELDA".
In The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, Midna refers to Zelda early on as the "Twilight Princess," mocking the fact that her kingdom has descended into Twilight. Turns out she was just screwing with everyone--Midna is the real Twilight Princess.
A case 2 happens Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (called ...and the Last Time Travel in Japan and ...and the Lost Future in Europe), where the second part is the last words said by Claire, Layton's girlfriend, before being sent back to the moment of her death 10 years ago by a faulty time machine. The phrase was slightly changed with each version to match each localized title.
In Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, the last of the secret puzzles is called "The Diabolical Box" (for good reason, being an especially difficult block-pushing puzzle).
In Street Fighter Alpha 2, Ken title drops another popular fighting game in his dialogue with sub-boss Dan, referencing the fact that Dan is a parody of that game's main character, Ryo Sakazaki. Ken: Who are you? Do you know the art of fighting?
Conker's Bad Fur Day. Right in the intro when Conker starts to explain how he became King Of All The Lands, he says
"It all started yesterday. And what a day that was. It's what I call a Bad Fur Day."
Larry Wachowski: You see, at this point in the story, Neo stands on the verge of satori; ready to resolve the paradox of choice and choicelessness; free will versus fate, but that can only be achieved through an act of surrender after an abandonment of the perspectile nature of truth, accepting the totallity of present consciousness which ultimately allows an evolutionary transition; transcending the Cartesian dilemma through emergence of de-limited spirit which then provides the world with a third path, the Path of Neo, the path of peace.
Last line of the second expansion pack for Quake, Dissolution of Eternity:
Your consciousness fades as you realize you have halted Quake's plans for...the dissolution of eternity.
The Command & Conquer franchise has two title drops. Once in the final Soviet cutscene of Yuri's Revenge where Yuri drops the franchise name and once in Tiberian Sun where Kane yells "THE TIBERIAN SUN HAS RISEN!"
Tiberium Wars may have one as well: in-game and in cutscenes, the events of the various games in the Tiberium franchise are referred to as the First, Second and Third Tiberium War. Then there's the Firestorm Crisis, the events of the titual expansion pack.
Yugo of Bloody Roar has a move named "Bloody Roar".
Dawn of War 2: Retribution does this on the last level. "Whether I am victorious, or slain. My sins will know retribution. such is the final testimony of Gabriel Angelos"
Kara no Shoujo is named for a piece of art that appears in the story that has some eerie similarities to the murders going on. It's the masterpiece of a painter named Mamiya Shinzo. The similarities stop being eerie when the explanations start coming and instead turn disturbing.
This happens quite often in the Mortal Kombat series, particularly Mortal Kombat 9. Among others, Liu Kang to Shang Tsung, prior to their battle from the first tournament. Justified as the story is a retelling of the first three games, which featured a Mortal Kombat tournament and an attempt to merge Outworld and Earthrealm together whilst ignoring the rules of Mortal Kombat.
Liu Kang:Face me in Mortal Kombat.
The First and Second Reconstructions in The Reconstruction. Subverted in that they're only minor backstory events that are only briefly mentioned once each throughout the entire game (and you won't get any details unless you read Ques' glossary).
And then played straight with a Wham! Line in chapter 6:
"Everything we once knew and loved has vanished from this world. We are the only surviving chance for reconstruction."
In Master of Orion 2, the movie that plays after the player wins declares him or her the Master of Orion.
Besides containing the book the Tome ofEternal Darkness, the game of the same name works the term into dialogue fairly frequently.
At first, Hellsinker just seems like a flashy title. That's until you reach the final boss.
In Dead Money, the default apparel is the Dead Money Jumpsuit and the Dead Money Collar.
The main quest in Old World Blues is called "Old World Blues," but the phrase doesn't get a proper explanation until the end:
There is an expression in the Wasteland: "Old World Blues". It refers to those so obsessed with the past they can't see the present, even less the future, for what it is.
In the dialog box just before starting Lonesome Road, the option to go ahead says "Walk the Lonesome Road." Also, the phrase "Lonesome Road" is sprayed on a wall in one of the first areas, and the Lonesome Road perk is awarded at the end.
Akin to the Bondfilms, the various console games also had name drops such as From Russia With Love and Everything or Nothing.
In Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, one chapter is called Shangri-La[4] and deals with a Nightmare Fetishist stranded in Tenjin. He enthusiastically describes his horrific surroundings as a 'Corpse Party' and compares it to Shangri-La.
Sir Johannes's last journal entry in Rogue Legacy, following The Reveal: "I entered this castle a swordsman, a savior... But all I have left is a rogue's legacy."
↑ the intro to Arena notes that Arena is an alternate name for Tamriel
↑Only on Easy and Normal mode though; on higher difficulties it is "Virtue of Wind God"
