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Title Drops in Video Games.


  • From Ace Combat Zero: "We'll start over from 'zero' with this V2...". 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 as you select your aircraft before the final mission.
    • In Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, guess what the title of the first mission is. Go on, guess.
      • Ditto for its mobile prequel Skies of Incursion as well.
    • "Our Princess is looking at a mural. There's another one here too. It shows a whole bunch of space elevators. "Skies Unknown"...huh."
  • Ace in Space: The name of Enby's blog is "anace-inspace".
  • Edward mentions that he's "alone in the dark" during the intro of Alone in the Dark 3. He'll say it again every time you enter a dark room in the same game.
  • A Midsummer Nights Choice: The game's Either/Or Title is Frolic in the Forest. The first line of the epilogue is "and so your frolic in the forest has come to an end".
  • From Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs: "This world is a machine. A machine for pigs. Fit only for the slaughtering of pigs."
  • 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.
  • "The era and time of this story is unknown. After the mothership "Arkanoid" was destroyed, a spacecraft "Vaus" scrambled away from it. But only to be trapped in space warped by someone........"
  • Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon: When you fight Father "Thumb" Dolmayan, the leader of the Rubicon Liberation Front, as the boss of the NG++ version of "Survey The Uninhabited Floating City", he gives you the whole hymn of the RLF, the first part of which RLF members have been shouting at various times, and the last part of which refers to the name of the third ending of the game — "Alea Iacta Est"translation:
    "Thumb" Dolmayan: "Coral, abide with Rubicon. Coral, endure within us all, for none of us shall cast the die."
  • While there is no Title Drop in Ascendancy, there is a Developer Drop. The game's developer is The Logic Factory. One of the planetary structures in the game you can research and build is called Logic Factory (without "The", although its description features the article). Here is the in-game description:
    "The Logic Factory is a research complex that specializes in the entertainment and happiness of sentient beings. It provides both research and prosperity."
  • Astebreed drops its title when your mecha becomes the titular Astebreed for the last two stages of the game; the second to last stage is also titled Astebreed.
  • Atomic Heart is named for the in-universe Soviet project which gets thrown off track by the robot malfunction at Facility 3826, which P-3 learns about just after leaving the Vavilov Complex. It involves activating the hidden combat functions of Soviet robots exported to the United States to cripple vital infrastructure and allow for a swift Communist takeover, with nuclear power plants — the country's "atomic heart" — being the first priority.
  • 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.
  • Battle for Wesnoth:
    • Heir to the Throne:
      • In "Cliffs of Thoria", Konrad and Li'sar drop the campaign title by separately introducing themselves to Keh Ohn as "heir to the throne of Wesnoth".
      • Just before the final scenario, Delfador has this to say:
        Now, let us not tarry here any longer! The dawn breaks! The time has come for the heir to the throne to claim it!
      • And then after the final battle, at start of the epilogue narration:
        And so the Dark Queen’s reign was ended. Li’sar, daughter of Garard II and Heir to the Throne of Wesnoth, was crowned Queen and Bearer of the Sceptre of Fire, which she would pass on to all her successors.
    • Secrets of the Ancients refers to forbidden knowledge of how to become a lich. Ardonna drops the title at the very start when expressing her desire to know it and at the very end when hoping that someone else in the future would want to know it too.
    • The narrator of The Rise of Wesnoth ends the first opening narration and the epilogue by saying that the story that will be/has been told is about "the Rise of Wesnoth" (in title-case as if it's an in-universe story).
  • Ragna/ Hazama: Restriction 666 released. Dimensional interference field deployed. BlazBlue activate!
    • In addition, the subtitles for each game is also an important plot element: Noel is the "Calamity Trigger", the one who would inherit the true power of the Azure; the "Continuum Shift" is a Stable Time Loop Noel created with the Azure; the "Chrono Phantasm" is an individual who exists in a timeline where they shouldn't (such as Celica); and the "Centralfiction" is Ragna, who becomes pivotal to the continued existence of the world.
  • Yugo of Bloody Roar has a move named "Bloody Roar".
    • Also one to the Japanese title, Beastorizer - a zoanthrope who transforms from their human form to beast form is said to "beastorize".
  • BLUE REVOLVER has the Device-regulation organization known as Blue Revolver. Additionally, the True Final Boss's final attack is called TLB-999 "Blue Revolver".
  • 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.
    • The sequel, Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django, has this occur again as a callback to the ending of the previous title for Django in a moment of peril, allowing him to regain the power of the Sun to both control his recent vampirism and defeat Red Durathror.
  • The NES version of Bomberman does this in the ending, while the Japanese version also does the same for Lode Runner.
  • Braid does it twice throughout the game, and both times are somewhat confusing.
  • Brutal Orchestra has this Played for Laughs. After fighting him, Bronzo, the resident Fourth-Wall Observer, tells Nowak to look in the direction of the camera and say "This really is the Brutal Orchestra." A confused Nowak reluctantly agrees.
  • 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.
  • 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 SEIGE AND CONQUEST!" The most awkward title drop (that wasn't a lampshade) ever.
  • 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 "Metempsychosisnote  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 Cave Story (the original version and WiiWare remake), the password to the hideout in Plantation is a Title Drop backwards.
  • "'Tis the darkest Glyph thou bearest. It sacrifices stray souls to summon unearthly force. Unearthly force shall obey and serve thee. 'Tis named Chaos Legion."
  • 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.
    • Within the game, the title of the Explorers and Exploiters story arc is randomly wedged into dialog by a random NPC about a quarter of the way through.
  • From a famous ClockUp game: "A constant state of euphoria".
  • In Colobot, the game is named after the colonizing mission you participate in.
  • 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.
  • 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."
  • In Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, one chapter is called Shangri-Lanote  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.
  • In Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, when the Bandicoots fight Cortex for the first time he greets them with "Crash Bandicoot, it's about time!".
  • CRASH And that's why no one believes that penguins can LEARN TO FLY!.
  • In Crusader Kings 2 around the year 1100 the pope sends a letter to all rulers, informing them of the creation of the crusades. The letter is titled "Crusader Kings".
  • Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is dropped through the reveal that it's the game show for which everyone was mindwiped. Also the only real time Danganronpa is mentioned without any fourth wall breaks, owing to the franchise existing in-universe.
  • Dare to Dream: In the ending. Tyler's psychiatrist mentions how "rumors abound" that he still has the magic key somewhere, "in case he ever has to dare to dream again!"
  • "And deliver our family from the revenous, clutching shadows... Of the Darkest Dungeon.
    • Another comes in the form of the last and hardest area of the game, "the Darkest Dungeon".
  • The second Dark Parables game, The Exiled Prince, gets title dropped during one of Princess Ivy's monologues. Later installment Queen of Sands, which is a Character Title, also gets this.
  • "But your progenitor found the fourth soul... The Dark Soul."
    • "Is this the blood...? The blood of the Dark Soul?"
  • In the Dark Tales series, the installments Lenore, Morella, and Ligeia are all Character Titles, so their titles are dropped frequently throughout the games. The Raven also has a fair few title drops, owing to the plot revolving around a group called the Raven Society.
  • 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"
  • From the ending of Deadly Creatures:
    Wade: And George Struggs, the cops asked him what happened before he slipped into that coma, and he kept mumbling something about... deadly creatures.
  • Deadly Rooms of Death: In The Second Sky, Arky challenges Beethro to solve a room of his own creation, which he calls a "deadly room of death". When Beethro solves it, he then makes another seven.
  • Dead Space has the final chapter in the game rather appropriately titled, "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.
    • In Dead Space 3, players are able to hear this line on a recording, "It's all just dead space"-Dr. Earl Serrano, referring to something told to him by an old colleague. The original line was meant with the idea that there was just no alien life anywhere in the universe, and nothing to study, but for both the player and Serrano, those words take on a whole new meaning; the cycle of death and rebirth brought about by the Markers has left nothing but emptiness across the stars. In this way, it has both a literal and figurative meaning.
  • "Prepare for Descent..."
  • The Detectives United series doesn't do this for the individual installments, but the series title is occasionally dropped, the first time being at the end of the first game when the partnership is made formal.
  • Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey has a partial one.
    A very special girl would have to undertake an enchanted journey across magical lands, helping princesses in need.
  • Devil May Cry: Dante's demon-hunting business/shop, "Devil May Cry", shares its name with the series title. The phrase also serves as the protagonist devil hunters' first reply to their customers' phone calls, as heard in Devil May Cry 1, Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 5. Aside from those, other variants of the phrase have their own context:
    • In the manual of the first game, an anecdote of Enzo Ferino describes what Dante does for a living and how scary a Death Glare Dante can pull off to even make the devil cry.
      Enzo: "Rumor says blue blood may be flowing in that guy's body. I tell ya, if he glares at a guy, even The Devil may cry."
    • It's said multiple times in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Though Dante has a habit of dropping the phrase "Devils never cry" Once an Episode, it's not until the end of this game (during his Sand In My Eyes excuse for crying over his brother seemingly dying) where Lady tells Dante in response to that, "Even a devil may cry when he loses a loved one." Chronologically, this would be the first time the phrase is mentioned. In the epilogue, Dante finally names his demon-hunting business as "Devil May Cry", and both he and Lady say it in unison just as the latter narrates in the background.
      Dante: Now I can start my business.
      Lady: Oh, speaking of a kind devil, he finally decided on a name for his shop. It took him quite awhile to pick one. Want to know the name?
      Dante and Lady: "Devil May Cry"
    • "Devil(s) Cry" is a Downplayed derivation of the series title. The main theme of Devil May Cry 3, "Devils Never Cry", has verses ending with the line "Praise to my father, Blessed by the water, Black night, dark sky, The devils cry". In Nero's "The Time Has Come" battle theme from Devil May Cry 4, the last lyric before the song repeats is "I make the angel scream, and the Devil CRY!"
  • DonPachi 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.
  • Doom:
    • The final map of the Doom Game Mod Hell Revealed is named... wait for it... Hell Revealed.note  Other mods which do this include: Hellcore, Hadephobia, No End In Sight, Ancient Aliens.
    • Played with in TNT: Evilution (one half of Final Doom); many of the crates have TNT written on them despite not being volatile.
    • In Doom 64, where its final level is a title drop to its Working Title, The Absolution.
    • Each installment in the Back to Saturn X series includes a number of atmospheric intermission levels, which are always named after the given installment's subtitle (Get Out Of My Stations, Tower in the Fountain of Sparks).
  • Dragon Age:
    • The series 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 Nevarran dragon hunters) at the beginning of this century, the game is set in the Dragon Age.
    • The name of the setting is a bit of a disguised one. During development they just called it "The Dragon Age Setting", or THEDAS for short; apparently they never bothered to think of something better and so it stuck.
    • Jaws of Hakkon, a DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, gets mentioned several times during its events, as the Jaws of Hakkon are the name of an Avvar tribe who serve as the primary antagonists.
  • The eponymous Dragon's Crown is an artifact sought after by the powers that be in Hydeland for its famed power to control dragons. It actually holds no such power, but becomes a symbol when retrieved after defeating the endboss, a sign that warriors strong enough to slay dragons reside in Hydeland's borders.
  • Dragon's Dogma never actually mentions the title in the game itself, but rather in the game's main/ending theme Eternal Return, "Yet, now he sees the dragon's dogma, unbound by time; all-binding, grand design." The title of the game, and even the title of the song, should make sense to the player by the time they reach the game's true ending.
    • Upon defeating the Dragon it drops a powerful weapon of the type your character is currently wielding, named "Dragon's ____". Dragon's Dogma is the one-handed sword.
  • "Looks like it's time to kill."
  • The Elder Scrolls:
    • Every work in the franchise has the surtitle "The Elder Scrolls". In virtually every work, the eponymous Elder Scrolls themselves are mentioned at some point. In a few cases, the Elder Scrolls play into the game's main quest or into a major faction questline, while in others they are only mentioned in off-hand dialogue or in-game books.
    • The sub-title for each game in the main series to date is a Metafictional One-Word Title of an in-universe "The Place".note . Daggerfall drops the subtitle in a very blatant and glorified manner in the opening cinematic:
      Uriel Septim: "Rest well this night... for tomorrow, you set sail... for the kingdom of DAGGERFALL!"
    • Both of Morrowind's expansions drop their titles in dialogue repeatedly. Tribunal refers to the trio of Dunmeri Physical Gods who play heavily into the plot, while Bloodmoon refers to the event the main quest is centered around.
    • Both of Oblivion's major expansions qualify as well. Knights of the Nine has you re-establish the eponymous order, while The Shivering Isles takes place primarily within the eponymous Daedric realm of Sheogorath.
    • Both of Skyrim's major DLC expansions keep the trend going. Dawnguard has you work for/against the eponymous order depending on your choices, while Dragonborn pits the Last Dragonborn against the first.
  • Throughout the galaxy, a legend is told. On a distant planet, a grim fortress stood, until a deadly force parted the heavens and descended upon the keep. Though brought to ruin, the ashes of that place hold an artifact of impossible power. A gun that can kill the past. Over time, the fortress was rebuilt, and some who hear the legend would risk everything for another shot. To claim their prize and make what was done, undone, they must...
  • Besides containing the book the Tome of Eternal Darkness, the game of the same name works the term into dialogue fairly frequently.
  • Spoofed to hell and back in an Easter Egg in The Evil Within 2, if the player goes all the way back to O'Neal's safehouse during Chapter 8:
    O'Neal: I told you I wasn't going to leave this place. It's fucking EVIL out there.
    Sebastian: That may be...but there's EVIL WITHIN, TOO...
    (Both slowly turn and look at the camera.)
  • Fairyside: As said in Memory 5, it's a forbidden spell to gain knowledge, for a price.
  • Fallout: The in-game radio in the games mostly has songs with lyrics referencing the end of the world, either literally or metaphorically:
    • One of songs in Fallout 4 is "Crawl Out Through the Fallout".
    • Fallout: New Vegas: Several of the DLC have this:
      • 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.
  • 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.
    • Until Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, when Lightning gives us this.
      Lightning: I guess this... is my final fantasy.
    • And again in Final Fantasy XVI in an exchange where Clive Rosfield lands a finishing blow on Ultimalius after a heated battle. While this appearance is subtle, the second use is far more explicit, where a book of the game's story is revealed in the post-credits scene, named Final Fantasy.
      Ultimalius: The world you seek is but a fantasy!
      Clive: The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!
  • The final story quest of each of Final Fantasy XIV's expansions is named for said expansion.
    • Heavensward has a variation on this with the "Heaven's Ward", the Knights Templar of Ishgard.
    • Starting with patch 3.56, the final main scenario quest for each major patch shares its title with the name of the patch it came with. The only exception is 4.1's "The Legend Returns" patch, as the name refers to the optional Return to Ivalice alliance raids. However, that patch's final quest still evokes the spirit of a title drop, being called "Return of the Bull", as "The Bull" refers to Raubahn, a character who is seen in-universe as a living legend.
    • Patch 6.1, "Newfound Adventure" mixes it up by using the name for the first main scenario quest of the patch.
  • Fire Emblem:
    • The series tends to name each game's MacGuffin [The] Fire Emblem.
      • The strangest variation of this comes in Fire Emblem Engage. Specifically, The Fire Emblem in this game refers to Alear themselves, who became the thirteenth Emblem, dubbed the Fire Emblem, after the other twelve emblems combined their powers to revive them after their reanimated body gave out.
    • Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn are notable in that both games' Title Drops were Lost in Translation. The games are called "Path of the Blue Flames" and "Goddess of Dawn" in Japanese. "Goddess of Dawn" is name-dropped frequently at the end of the second game referring to the original goddess Ashunera, before she split into Yune and Ashera, while Ike's Red Baron title at the end of the duology is given as "Hero of the Blue Flames", which was omitted from the English version entirely. (Though later games would retroactively give him the title "The Radiant Hero", to preserve this)
    • The subtitle for each version of Fire Emblem Fates, "Birthright" and "Conquest", are among the lyrics of a song Azura performs in their respective games. The full song also drops the titles of various levels.
    • Fire Emblem: Three Houses has the "Crest of Flames", which is another way to say the "Fire Emblem". The branching storylines are also named "Silver Snow", "Crimson Flower", "Azure Moon", and "Verdant Wind", which are taken from the Japanese title 風花雪月 (Fuu Ka Setsu Getsu, "Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon").
  • "We are the Galaxians / Mission: Destroy Aliens"note 
  • In Galaxy Angel: Eternal Lovers, Tact accepts that he has, for better or worse, become The Captain of the Moon Angels, and they're off to save the galaxy again...so they really shouldn't be named after the White Moon any more. They then adopt the name "Galaxy Angels". However, they're back to "Moon Angels" by Galaxy Angel II. This makes sense, as they're now Older and Wiser and no longer the main heroines.
    • Each of the games of the second trilogy also has it at some point. "Zettai Ryoiki no Tobira" in a translated naming convention sense, as the hub-dimension of ABSOLUTE is what zettai ryoiki roughty translates to, and the Chrono Gates that lead to ABSOLUTE also are mentioned a lot and are key plot points. "Mugen Kairo no Kagi" gets dropped frequently as it refers to the Key to the Infinity Corridor, the mcguffin of the game. Lastly, "Eigou Kaiki no Toki" is only once at the very end, referring to the Eternal Recurrence that the Will have been carrying out in destroying and resetting the universe over and over again.
  • Skillfully used in the first Geneforge game — the title initially seems to be just an oblique reference to the series' essential concept — 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.
  • The title of the Touhou Project fangame Gensou Shoujo Taisen (or for English speakers, "Fantasy Maiden Wars") at first seems to be a play on the title of Super Robot Wars, which the game is based off of.. That is, until the very final chapter of the game, where after the final boss declares their last Spell Card ("The Furthest Reaches of Dreams", which causes them to buff themselves with nearly every spirit in the game), every character on the side of the heroes comes together to declare a Spell Card of their own, which, fittingly enough is called "Fantasy Maiden Wars" (Which increases all allies' Maximum Power and SP by 150 and restores their usage of Full Power Mode each turn).
  • Glory of Heracles (DS) was title dropped by one of the playable characters, Heracles, who muses that great muscles means nothing to the "glory of Heracles".
  • God of War drops it many times, first with Ares and then Kratos being referred to as "God of War".
  • 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. The Golden Sun is in fact a giant golden mass of Psynergy that is formed by the power of all four lighthouses converging over Mt. Aleph, signalling the return of Alchemy to the world.
    • That said, the very first true "dungeon" of the first game featured a puzzle involving a golden sun icon.
  • 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".
    • When you steal a car, sometimes the police say "Grand Theft Auto" over the scanner.
    • 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.
    • Grand Theft Auto 2 also has a mission named "Grand Theft Auto", which is one of the longest and hardest missions.
    • And take a wild guess what Grand Theft Auto IV lists the player character's criminal records as in the LCPD Database.
  • 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.
  • Guilty Gear is title dropped a few times in conversation, but it's only at the end of the first game that we find out exactly what it's referring to. Or rather, who. It's the main character, Sol Badguy. Sol was once a brilliant scientist named Frederick, and he worked on the Gear project, but he was turned into one by the main villain of the story. Forced to watch his creations rampage across the world and kill millions, he decided to adopt a new identity and use his Gear powers to hunt down and kill the others. And now you know.
  • Gun Witch: When talking to Chief Victoria for a quest, she's the first person to call Beretta a "Gun Witch".
  • Several chapters in the Half-Life series are name-dropped in dialogue:
    • The original game has a chapter called "We've Got Hostiles", named after one of the lines that the enemy soldiers introduced in this chapter can say when going on alert. Whether you actually hear them say that line during the chapter, however, is left up to chance.
      • A later chapter is named "Forget About Freeman!". These words can be heard during a radio broadcast at the start of the chapter urging the military to evacuate the Black Mesa facility.
      • The Half-Life: Opposing Force chapter "We Are Pulling Out" is named after another broadcast from the main game ("We are pulling out and commencing airstrikes!"), as this time you come across the soldier who's sending out the message.
    • Half-Life 2 has "A Red Letter Day", which is what Kleiner says in reference to the inauguration of the Resistance's newly re-established teleporter network.
      • Half-Life 2: Episode One also has Kleiner name-drop the first chapter's title, "Undue Alarm", when reassuring Eli that Alyx and Gordon ought to already be far away from the critically unstable Citadel (which they aren't).
      • Subverted with Episode Two, which has Eli refer to the G-Man as "our mutual friend" during the chapter "Our Mutual Fiend".
    • Half-Life: Alyx has "Is Or Will Be", which Alyx asks of the Lone Vortigaunt when he cryptically refers to Eli as being both dead and about to die.
  • Halo:
    • Halo: Combat Evolved:
      • "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.)
      • Keyes says that the guards call the ringworld "Halo", but an early scene drops the title before anyone even knows what a Halo is.
      • 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".
    • Halo 5: Guardians: "She calls the Guardians to serve her!"
  • Hatred: "My life is just cold bitter hatred. And I always wanted to die violently."
  • Heavy Rain is the name of the book Madison writes at the end. Ethan also comments "Heavy rain... it's been the same for days now." in one of the optional dialogue choices (when picking up Shaun from school).
  • At first, Hellsinker just seems like a flashy title. That's until you reach the final boss.
  • Hollow Knight: The playable character is not the title Hollow Knight. This is revealed when reaching a memorial statue in the center of the City of Tears, which starts with a Title Drop in larger text to draw more attention to it. The text "Hollow Knight" also appears at the end of a flashback sequence when the Void Heart is obtained, and again as the text for fighting the regular Final Boss.
    MEMORIAL TO THE
    HOLLOW KNIGHT
    In the black vault far above.
    Through its sacrifice Hallownest lasts eternal.
  • "Hi, it's 'Kate' from Hotline Miami's dating service."
  • House of the Dead. Guess what the last chapter's name is, as well as where it takes place?
  • 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.
  • I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream ends in a title drop during bad ending, just like the novella. Averted in the good ending as the title never comes up.
  • "Help me. I don't want to die. I'm scared."
  • I Miss the Sunrise has one in the very last scene: As one character watches the first sunrise they have seen in millennia, they remark, "God, I missed this."
  • The mission "Standard Protocol" in inFAMOUS:
    Cole: And they'll glass the whole city, just like that?
    Moya: It's standard protocol when it comes to containing biological threats. Like it or not, Cole, you're in this all the way.
  • Infinite Dunamis: in one of the two possible true endings, the protagonist argues that the humanity possesses 'infinite dunamis' (dunamis being a term from the Aristotle's philosophy meaning, basically, potentiality).
  • The online game Into Space 2 named the achievement for reaching space "Into Space".
  • This happens in I Wanna Be the Guy, towards the end:
    The Kid: Wait... Former Grandfather The Guy... you killed him!
    The Father: As you will now try to kill me, or be killed yourself!
    The Kid: No! I wanna be the guy!
  • Akin to the films, the various James Bond video games also had name drops such as From Russia With Love and Everything or Nothing.
  • "Prepare to Joustnote "
  • Judgement Silversword does one when declaring the name of the Final Boss:
    — WARNING! —
    [ JUDGEMENT SILVERSWORD ]
  • "The Orbital Mechanized Temple — The Twin-tined Instrument of Mankind's Destruction, KAMUI". Displayed upon starting the first stage.
  • 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.
  • In the King's Quest II Fan Remake, a Title Drop is used when Caldaur and Lavidia hear the reason Graham is seeking to open the Door of Destiny.
  • "The job... Killer is Dead."
  • Kingdom Hearts:
  • Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil has one, delivered by the King of Sorrow just before the Final Boss battle:
    King of Sorrow: When people encounter sorrow, they try to forget it and pretend it never existed at all. 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.
  • Aversion: "You know, Ellie, we really are The Last of Us" is never actually spoken. It came from a meme poking fun at Narm-inducing Title Drops in video games.
  • Legacy of Kain has a few examples. In Soul Reaver it's "Become my soul reaver. My angel of death." In Soul Reaver 2, the Elder God tells Raziel "You are always and will always be my soul reaver." During the final battle in Defiance, the Elder God says, "This defiance is pointless."
  • In most games in the 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.
    • Played With in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword:
      • 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".
      • Subverted when Groose says "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.
      • The game's subtitle is never directly dropped in-game; the sword in question is called the "Goddess Sword" toward the beginning of the game and the "Master Sword" after it gets upgraded... but it actually does happen, thanks to the Skyward Strike mechanic. To do this, you need to raise your sword skyward.
    • In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Midna refers to Zelda early in the game 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.
    • In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker after you defeat Cyclos he will comment that you're "quite the Wind Waker".
    • In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, while the subtitle is never spoken in the base game, the Champions' Ballad DLC does have a scene where Kass drops it:
      Kass: Let not the sound leave horses riled. Breathe in the breath of the wild.
    • Strangely averted by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The game's backstory shown in the instruction manual contains the quote "Link, the time has come when I must tell you the legend of Zelda handed down in Hyrule". Ironically, Zelda II happens to be the only game in the series to not have "The Legend of Zelda" in the English title, or "ゼルダの伝説" in the Japanese title.
  • Life Is Strange:
    • At different point in the game, Max says "Life is... weird" and "Life is... so not fair.", subverting this trope.
    • A combination of this trope and Development Gag: Graffiti can be found in various places reading "I'd rather lead a life full of oh wells than what ifs". What If? was the working title for the game.
  • "A MadWorld, huh? I'll fit right in."
  • "Look at all these lawless people! Anarchy Reigns!"
  • One coming from the sequel, "Danny, listen; It's a Manhunt. And they won't stop, until we're both dead."
  • "Namco presents Mappy" note 
  • 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 civilizations of the galaxy call it... Mass Effect."
  • Mario Party 9: Toad Road has some rock formations atop mountains shaped like the letters M and P, standing for Mario Party. Below these rocks is a large island shaped like a 9.
  • In Master of Orion 2, the movie that plays after the player wins declares him or her the Master of Orion.
  • In The Matrix: Path of Neo, when the Wachowskis' avatars show up to explain they changed the ending for the benefit of the medium, Lana summarizes the original ending from the movie in an increasingly sped-up voice. This is what she says normally:
    Lana 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, which it occurs after his abandonment of the perspectile nature of truth, accepting the totality 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 to peace.
  • The names of individual chapters in the Max Payne series are all dropped at some point, usually during Max's Internal Monologue.
  • 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.
  • Mega Man X8: Paradise Lost. Guess what is the name of the Final Boss' Desperation Attack?
  • Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X: After Zero sacrifices himself to destroy Vile's mech:
    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...
  • All the Metal Gear games after Metal Gear Solid have subtitles, and engage in subtitle drops:
    • At least once a game, Snake (or another character) says "Metal Gear!?".
    • The MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear has a subtle one in the form of a cheat code. Typing "intruder" while the game is paused will increase the ammo capacity of each of Snake's weapons to 999. "Intruder" was the working title of the game.
    • Solidus: And we will become The Sons of Liberty!
    • 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. The title is also dropped in the theme song, which also plays at a few other points in the game, such as the ladder climb after The End or the final five minutes of the battle with The Boss. Eating a snake on some ports of the game will also unlock an achievement by the same name.
    • Ocelot: Behold! Guns of the Patriots!
    • Probably the most meta one in the series, though, is a repeated series acronym drop from Drebin in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, 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'.
    • Metal Gear: Ghost Babel averted this as well. There is a "Project Babel" in the plot, which forms half of the subtitle, but the subtitle Ghost Babel was mainly chosen because it conveniently shared the same initials as the Game Boy.
    • The subtitle to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker refers to the game's main Metal Gear unit which Big Boss faces off against before the game's first pre-ending sequence. We also learn why it is named as such prior to that battle.
    • In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, after completing the game, if you input the Konami Code using a controller, Raiden will announce the game's title.
    • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has two notable instances. The first is in a cassette recording from Snake and Ocelot's initial journey to Afghanistan, in which the latter explains how the former is experiencing phanton pain in his missing arm. The second is in a speech Miller gives to Diamond Dogs in Chapter 2, where he states that Skull Face's actions have left them suffering from a metaphorical phantom pain which lingers on despite his death.
  • Metroid:
    • 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.
    • Metroid Prime: Hunters is a spin-off in the series, and has the "Prime Hunter" multiplayer game mode.
    • The title Super Metroid, which is quite traditional to Super Nintendo games, is also a name of the result of another research project.
  • Might and Magic:
    • VI: The Mandate of Heaven ends the intro with the narrator stating that "These signs and omens can mean but one thing: that your destiny is part of the Mandate of Heaven." The Mandate of Heaven is also mentioned in passing a few times by non-player characters (in the context of the ruling dynasty being said to have lost it).
    • In VII: Day of the Destroyer is mostly done by you: very few non-player characters refer to the eponymous day in the full (mostly it is 'that day'), but the dialogue option to ask about is Day of the Destroyer.
  • Minotaur Hotel: Happens twice. Once when you need to name the wi-fi network something, so you name it "Minotaur Hotel", and another when it's been pointed out that the hotel doesn't have a name, so you just decide to name it "Minotaur Hotel" as well.
  • Mirror's Edge has the Title Drop in the opening narration. "We call ourselves Runners. We exist on the edge, between the gloss and the reality — The Mirror's Edge. We keep out of trouble, out of sight. And the cops don't bother us. Runners see the City in a different way. We see the flow. Rooftops become pathways and conduits, possibilities, and routes of escape. The flow, is what keeps us running. What keeps us alive."
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:
    General Shepherd: We are the most powerful military force in the history of man. Every fight is our fight, because what happens over here matters over there. We don't get to sit one out. Learning to use the tools of modern warfare is the difference between the prospering of your people, and utter destruction. We can't give you freedom. But we can give you the know-how to acquire it. And that, my friends, is worth more than a whole army base of steel.
    • The in-game menus give the campaign for this game the title "For the Record". The first words spoken while the final level is loading: "This is for the record."
    • Also, the intro of Modern Warfare 3 begins with Makarov saying: "Modern Warfare is based on deception."
  • Monkey Island:
  • Monster Hunter:
    • Monster Hunter Freedom Unite features a special urgent quest called "Monster Hunter", which pits the player in a Boss Rush against Rathalos, Tigrex, Nargacuga and Rajang; the first three monsters are the respective Mascots of all handheld Monster Hunter games released up to that point, while the fourth one is one of the hardest bosses. A similar quest appears later in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as one of the Aged Text quests.
    • Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate: The game, known as Monster Hunter XX ("XX" being pronounced "Double Cross") in Japan, has an endgame quest called "Advanced: Double Cross", which pits you against the game's Elite Four (the four flagship monsters of the original Generations game) plus Valstrax (one of the two flagships of this one). In the localized versions, the quest is called "Advanced: Ultimate Generation".
    • Monster Hunter: World: Iceborne: The flagship Elder Dragon, Velkhana, has the title of "The Iceborne Wyvern".
  • In Moonmist the hidden treasure of the green variation is a rare South American tribal remedy by that name. It doesn't factor into any of the other versions at all though.
  • Mortal Kombat:
    • Obviously, there is the actual tournament between realms that the series is named after, but there are also multiple instances of characters saying some variant of "Face me, [character name]. In Mortal Kombat".
    • Subverted in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath: The good ending shows Fire God Liu Kang talking to Great Kung Lao and telling him he needs to be prepared. When the latter asks him "prepare for what?", Liu Kang gives a very wide smile, almost an Aside Glance, that makes it clear he was going to say "For Mortal Kombat".
    • This particularly happens in 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.
  • In Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the final sword is called Oboro Muramasa, which is the game's Japanese title.
  • "NEO-GEO / MAX 330 MEGAnote  / PRO-GEAR SPEC / SNK"
  • My Dear Sister: At the start of the game, when the Player Character opens up her letter from Astrid, it starts with "My Dear Sister".
  • Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer:
    • You get to find the Mask of the Betrayer, but it isn't actually referred to anywhere in dialogue as such.
    • The opening sequence video for Neverwinter Nights Hordes of the Underdark closed with a Title Drop.
    • 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.
  • Night in the Woods: During the play on the night of Harfest, the Janitor shows up to dispense this wisdom to Mae: "We begin, and we end, at night in the woods, but that is not the whole of the story."
  • "Pieces of a Broken Heart," the English version of the theme song to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch references "another world," the translation of the game's Japanese title.
  • No More Heroes: "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 Heroes Forever, do you?
  • No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle:
    • The game 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 are seen written in blood. Also, near the end of the game, Travis is referred to as the No More Hero.
  • Not for Broadcast:
    • Footage that the audience isn't supposed to see is marked with a red light on your display. If you show too much of this footage, the Game Over screen will tell you that "You lost the audience because you showed too much footage that was not for broadcast."
    • During The Lockdown, one of the tapes you can play during the ad breaks is an employee training video. In one version of it, your boss states at the beginning, "This video is for internal use only, and is not for broadcast."
    • In Day 296: The Heatwave, Jeremy Donaldson delivers one if Alex Winston refuses to play the Disrupt tape:
      Jeremy: But Alex Winston, who works in production, decided... [the tape] was not for your eyes and ears. It was not for broadcast.
  • No Umbrellas Allowed: At the end of your work day, AVAC announces the forecast for the following day, ending it by saying that "no umbrellas are allowed."
  • Octopath Traveler:
    • In-universe entirely, but this bit of Pre-Asskicking One-Liner from a boss:
      Dark Reacher: You will taste the power I summoned from the far reaches of hell!note 
    • Cyrus himself name-drops it after defeating his final boss and choosing not to destroy the book:
      Cyrus: That one day, shoud we be threatened by forces from the far reaches of hell, our descendants will possess the knowledge needed to protect this realm.
  • Odin Sphere: During the best ending's stinger; the book the traveling author will write is going to be titled Odin Sphere.
  • OFF: "The switch is now on OFF," with emphasis on the capitalization. This culminates in one last Finale Title Drop, when the Batter "purifies" the world in the canon ending.
  • Ori and the Blind Forest: During the prologue, the Spirit Tree has the line "When the forest was blind", and the OST track for this scene is called "The Blinded Forest".
  • At the end of Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the closing lines of the Spirit Tree, who was Ori all along, are "It was the will of the wisps that life begin anew". During the story's second act, the main quest is also titled "The Will of the Wisps".
  • "Push start button / One player only note  / Bonus Pacman (sic) at 10,000 points."
    • Push start button / One player only / Additional (Ms. Pac Man sprite) at 10,000 pointsnote 
  • "Amazing Paperboy delivers!"
    • Each of the different opening narrations (which occur on the difficulty select screen) give one as well.
  • Persona:
    • The English version of Persona 3: FES is composed of two segments- the main game is "The Journey," while a part after the events of the game is "The Answer." In both of them, you see references to the title and the overarching themes of the story in parts of the game over messages — "Though life is merely a journey to the grave, it must not be undertaken without hope," and "The answer has been lost, never to be found again...", respectively.
    • When you start up Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight or Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, one of the characters will shout out its publisher, Atlus, then its developer, P-Studio, and then its title in time with the game's logo appearing.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • In Pokémon Black and White, N drops the title during your fourth encounter with him, in reference to his warped sense of morality.
    "Many different values mix together, and the world becomes gray... That is unforgivable! I will separate Pokémon and people, and black and white will be clearly distinct!"
  • In the fangame Pokemon Perish Song, the Celebi from the Deepwood shrine is obtained with the title move in its fourth moveslot.
  • The phrase had long predated the game. Nevertheless, in Pole Position, if you complete the qualifying round fast enough, the game may say "POLE POSITION", which means that you will start the race in first placenote 
  • In Potion Permit, Dr. Nestor presents you the eponymous Potion Permit after you pass the final exam and win the hearts of the Moonbury residents by clearing up a long-held misunderstanding between them and the Medical Association.
  • "But all of this is just a Pretentious Game. I am already too late. I've built up too much space in our Tiny World by passing up too many chances to say how I feel."
  • Professor Layton:
    • 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).
    • 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.
  • "Project Wingman is away."
  • "And those of you who fight well, you will find yourselves on the path to becoming international secret agents — in other words... Psychonauts!"
  • Psychopomp: The shorthand for the protagonist's helmet, Psychopomp. Also doubles as Non-Indicative Name.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Re:Kuroi: In the ending, Michelle reveals that Re:Kuroi is the name of the project to restore and erase Kaito's memories.
  • 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."
  • Resident Evil:
    • 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.
    • Resident Evil – Code: Veronica requires the player to input a particular code, but there's no in-game hints. It's "VERONICA", and is used to initiate the self-destruction sequence.
  • "Inspired by his never ending quest for progress, in the year 2084, man perfects the Robotrons, a robot species so advanced, that man is inferior to his own creation..."
    • It's storyline sequel Blaster plays with this. While it doesn't drop the exact title, the last line of the Opening Narration states that in order to reach Paradise, "You must blast...or be blasted."
  • The final stage of Rockman 7 EP is named "The EP". It stands for "Economic Power" or "Expert Player".
  • In Rock Star Ate My Hamster, the title appears in-game as one of the Lurid Tales of Doom headlines obtainable through publicity stunts.
  • Rogue Legacy:
    Johannes: I entered this castle a swordsman, a savior...but all I have left is a rogue's legacy.
  • Used in a few of the Sam & Max games:
    • In Episode 4 of Sam and Max Save the World, "Abe Lincoln Must Die!", after the robot Abraham Lincoln loses the election (to Max, of all people) and goes on a rampage, the following exchange occurs:
      Max: I'm the president of the U.S.! Let's go bomb someone into oblivion!
      Sam: Not just anyone, Max... Abe Lincoln must die!
    • In the the last episode of Sam & 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.
      Sam: Deep... and curiously insulting.
      Max's Superego: (to the audience) Didn't think I'd be able to work the title in, did you?
  • SCP – Containment Breach: "The site is experiencing multiple Keter and Euclid level containment breaches. Full site lock-down initiated."
  • From Section 8: Prejudice:
    "Evolution. Heh. What a joke. Yeah, sure, the technology gets better. The weapons get more powerful. As soldiers, we get smarter; better trained, and more efficient at what we do. But what we do is still the same. We fight. There's nothing 'evolved' about fighting, no matter what flag we wave. It's been the same since the beginning of time. We fight to protect what's ours, and take that's theirs. So, yeah; we keep fighting. We fight over differences. Out of fear. Out of prejudice."
  • Shantae: Risky's Revenge does this during the first battle with Risky:
    Risky: Lock and load men! It's time for Risky's revenge, so let's attack aggressively!
  • The Turn-Based Strategy Shattered Union ends the intro in particularly...Dramatic Fashion.
  • 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 song When You're Gone does this for the most recent Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
    "I know, I know, there's something I've forgotten! A time, a place, a shattered memory!"
  • The narrator of Sir, You Are Being Hunted ends the introduction cutscene with the words "Oh, and do be careful, Sir, you are being hunted."
  • Used in Sleeping Dogs (2012), but you'd have to know the story behind it: The working title of the game was Black Lotus, and an important mission has you trying to acquire one.
  • Something series:
    • Something appears in a block formation in Fuzzy Tower and So Sand or Snow?
    • Something Else also appears in block formation in This is Something. This is Something and the Else Castle also forms a Title Drop.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog:
    • Sonic gets this close to doing this in Sonic Adventure 2, but obviously, the game's Word Salad Title renders it impossible. It's still very clearly the intention, however:
      Sonic: What you see is what you get — just a guy who loves adventure!
    • Sonic Heroes:
      • 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 faints/powers down, possibly due to being beaten, but one must wonder if it was because of that title drop...
    • It's the very last line of the game, too. "Yeah! We're SONIC HEROES!" Even in the Japanese version, Sonic still says "We are Sonic Heroes!" in Gratuitous English.
  • One of the possible endings in Spec Ops: The Line has Konrad narrate the inevitable fate of every soldier in war, alluding to the title in the middle.
    "There's a line men like us have to cross. If we're lucky, we do what's necessary and then we die."
  • In Spirit Hunter: NG, the eponymous NG is first spoken by Ami in one of Akira's Bloodmetry visions, when she asks Kakuya what it is. When Akira asks Kakuya about it later, she threatens him with death if he ever figures it out. Its true meaning is discovered at the end of the Demon Tsukuyomi case — it stands for Nagoshi no Gi, the ritual that keeps Kakuya sealed inside a mirror.
  • Splatterhouse: As the resident Fourth-Wall Observer, before the second battle with the Piggy Man, the Terror Mask remarks, "Show him why we call it... Splatterhouse."
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl does this in the intro.
  • Starion is the solution to one of the first puzzles in the game (AD 1985: "Be present at your birth"). Or potentially the first.
  • Star Ocean: "People say the universe is a Star Ocean."
  • Okabe Rintaro cryptically refers to events as being "the choice of Steins;Gate", only it's really just part of his silly over-the-top Mad Scientist persona. In the True Ending, it turns out that the timeline where Kurisu lives and the world is saved from World War III is called Steins;Gate. Okabe's future self explains in a message to his past self that he called it that because it was meaningless, in order to represent the idea that all his stuggles, even if erased by the timeline, all meant something in the end, for its because of them that he's there trying to save Kurisu.
  • Stellaris has the Apocalypse DLC's launch trailer. After some chaotic United Nations of Earth transmissions detailing the destruction of a UNE colony, they are suddenly interrupted by a Commonwealth of Man representitive, claiming vengeance upon the agressors by stating "With this attack. We have no choice but to protect our kind, by unleashing our almighty weapon upon them. Summoning, the Apocalypse.", promptly blowing up one of their planets in retaliation.
  • 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."
  • Street Fighter:
  • Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Lampshaded in episode 2, "Strong Badia the Free", after Strong Bad escapes house arrest:
    Strong Bad: Onward to Strong Badia! Strong Badia the Free!
    Homestar Runner: Hey, that's the name of this—
    Strong Bad: Shut up.
  • 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.
  • Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return has two instances of this. First, when the Prototypes capture Kayto Shields, their leader proclaims—in English—that the moment they've been waiting for is finally upon them: The Captain's Return! Then at the very end of the game, Veniczar Fontana begrudgingly declares that Kayto is "the Sunrider" after Kayto caps off an impossible victory with a risky Spaceship Slingshot Stunt.
  • Towards the end of Super Robot Wars: Original Generation, when the party members are briefed on the The Federation's plan to launch a counterattack on the Balmarians, it's revealed the name of the plan is "Operation SRW". After the briefing, when the other party members are wondering what SRW stands for, Ascended Fanboy Ryusei Date guesses it right, but none of the others believe him.
    • To be exact, Ryusei believes it stands for "Super Robot Wars", while Manic Pixie Dream Girl Excellen Browning jokes that it's "Sexy Romance Weapon".
    • 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".
    • Several of the games give your Badass Army a name based on the game's initial. R has the Round Knights, Alpha has the Alpha Numbers, W has Wärter, L has LOTUS, the Z games have ZEUTH and ZEXIS, UX has the Unknown Exstrikers and the Ultimate Cross...
  • 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.
  • In the end credits for Tales of Vesperia, Estelle is seen writing a book. The title's in another language, but you can tell really easily that it says "Tales of Vesperia."
  • The Talos Principle: "The Talos Principle" in-universe is a philosophical concept usually summarized by the last sentence: "Even the most faithful philosopher cannot live without his blood." To oversimplify, it states that having an existence hinging on the presence of one particular thing is the great equalizer that removes any distinction between humans and machines. Another interpretation of this is that all it takes for any living being to exist is a life source, whether blood or machinery, and without said source, that thing will cease to exist. As evidenced by the secret room in C1, Elohim's greatest fear is that he is also subject to this principle, meaning that he is not as immortal as he constantly tells the player he is.
  • Terranigma doesn't really drop the international title, not counting some self-referential dialogue in the Developer's Room, though a line in the ending that drops the Japanese title (Tenchi Souzou) is translated: "But you did fulfill your duty of creating heaven and earth," Yomi tells Ark.
  • Clearing four lines of blocks in Tetris is called a Tetris.
    • In Tetris: The Grand Master, the highest rank obtainable is Grand Master.
  • They Are Billions: When you are alerted about the final horde in a survival game or the campaign, your announcer states "Oh my God! A huge swarm is coming! THEY ARE BILLIONS!!! They are approaching from all sides!"
  • Thousand Dollar Soul has Future Clint tell Angela (in Future Todd's body) "Enjoy your thousand dollar soul" in ending #16 after she (or rather, an AI recreation of her) unwillingly takes over Future Todd's body.
  • Thomas Was Alone drops its title, in the first line of narration, no less.
  • Touch Detective: At the end of the game, Mackenzie receives a letter telling her she's become an official detective and have been given a unique name. However, Mackenzie is not too pleased with the name that's been chosen.
    Mackenzie: Touch Detective...? What a terrible name.
  • 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 Touhou Youyoumu ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom, Yuyuko's final spell card (before her Desperation Attack) is titled Cherry Blossom Sign "Perfect Ink-Black Cherry Blossom"; in Touhou Fuujinroku ~ 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"note .
  • 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 a 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."
    • The Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel routes in Fate/Stay Night get title drops during their respective routes. Unlimited Blade Works gets a title drop right at the beginning, but the titular route explains what it actually is, Archer's Noble Phantasm, a Realty Marble that summons a hill of swords for Archer to use. Heaven's Feel is the true name of the Holy Grail War ritual, meant to materialize the soul.
  • The Turing Test: Early on, TOM discusses with Ava about the Turing Test and its implications.
  • Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion spells out its premise in the opening scene of the game when Mayor Onion kicks the title character out of his house after he tears up his exorbitant property tax bill:
    Mayor Onion: Turnip Boy, you really screwed yourself!
    Turnip Boy: ...
    Mayor Onion: What do you mean "what"? You committed tax evasion!
  • Twisted Wonderland is dropped by Yuu during their interaction with Mickey Mouse through the Ramshackle Dorm's mirror near the end of Chapter 4.
    I'm in...
    Twisted Wonderland...
  • Vagrant Story: "And so began the story of the wanderer... the vagrant."
  • After the lights on the protagonist's submersible go out for a second time in Water Womb World, they swim out into the darkness to discover a group of colossal red entities who announce "WATER WOMB WORLD." They say it again when the protagonist swims out to become one of them at the end of the game.
  • "Oh no, I'm not doing this to you. The game is doing this to you. Welcome to the Game!"
  • 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.
  • 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 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.
  • "Fight me, the Wizard of Wor!"note 
    • "Burwor: 100 points / Garwor: 200 points / Thorwor: 500 points / Worrior (blue): 1000 points / Worrior (yellow): 1000 points / Worluk: 1000 points double score / Wizard of Wor: 2500 points"note 
  • 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!
      Mr Hanekoma: Listen up, Phones! The world ends with you. If you want to enjoy life, expand your world. You gotta push your horizons out as far as they'll go.
      Neku: Are you kidding? I'm stuck in the Reapers' Game. I can't even leave Shibuya. How am I supposed to expand my world?
      Mr Hanekoma: That's for you to figure out.
      Neku: [thinking] Expand my world...
    • The Japanese title, Subarashiki Kono Sekai, gets dropped as part of the line the people brainwashed by the Red Skull Pin/O-Pin say:
      "To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."
  • 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 with Arthas 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 "I AM THE CATACLYSM!" 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.
    • Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness has a title drop at the end of the opening cutscene.
    • As does Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.
      "Welcome to the world of Warcraft."
  • Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair(TurboGrafx-16 CD version only): "But you have fought off their wicked attempts and have locked these fiendish rogues in the eternal limbo of the...Monster Lair!"
  • The Armageddon weapon in Worms: Armageddon.
  • Xenogears is the name given to the main character`s mech near the end of the game after it has been upgraded by God.


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