History Main / MusicalSpoiler

* In the second half of the combined ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles]]'', touching a Giant Ring teleports the player to Hidden Palace Zone, where a Super Emerald can be obtained. Later, Lava Reef Zone Act 2 having the same theme as Hidden Palace Zone indicates in no uncertain terms that the latter is physically near/within the same volcano as the former, and the next Zone.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': "[[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn Can't you hear the music?]] That's a 4/4 string ostinato in D minor! Every sailor knows that means death!"
* For ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', "[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory You've Got a Friend in Me]]" has been used as a theme, only ending on the line: "Our friendship will never die...", setting the scene for the film.

* There is an extraordinarily subtle one in Friendship is Magic. In "A Canterlot Wedding", the reprise of "BBBFF" ends on a deceptive cadence, foreshadowing Cadance's true nature.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', you know a visit to the Threed Sunset Hotel is about to go very, very wrong when the usual hotel theme is distorted into an eerie parody of itself.

* There's a severe difference in style between the normal BackgroundMusic and the fight music in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. Thus, if you enter an area and the music abruptly shifts gears, get your sword out. This is especially true for the third game, where the fight music has ''vocals''.

** The dragons of ''Skyrim'' are practically the spiritual successors to the Cliff Racers in that regard. And come with convenient [[ConLang Dovazhul]] [[OminousLatinChanting chanting]], often in the form of TriumphantReprise of the game's main theme, to let you know annoyance-from-above is on its way.

** The dragons of ''Skyrim'' are practically the spiritual successors to the Cliff Racers in that regard. And come with convenient [[OminousLatinChanting Nordic chanting]], often in the form of TriumphantReprise of the game's main theme, to let you know annoyance-from-above is on its way.

* The final boss of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' is an [[InvertedTrope inversion]]: it had special music for its first forms, but used the ''mini-boss'' music for its final form.

* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', the title character's attacks had their own background music. Occasionally she started her attack but the 'tense' or 'battle' music would continue, which was a sure sign the attack would fail (either because it was SoLastSeason or to show the enemy she was facing was not just any random monster of the day.)

* In the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', followers of Nybbas, the Demon Prince of Mass Media, can gain the supernatural ability to hear background music. Changes in the background music can warn them of danger.
* The power for a PC to hear the background music also appears in ''TabletopGame/TalesFromTheFloatingVagabond'' as one possible effect of the "Rogers and Hammerstein Effect" shtick.

* At one point in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', your comrades actually advise you to listen to the volume of the background music in order to judge whether a helicopter is near you or not.

* There's a severe difference in style between the normal background music and the fight music in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. Thus, if you enter an area and the music abruptly shifts gears, get your sword out. This is especially true for the third game, where the fight music has ''vocals''.

* Same thing in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', which are also by Bethesda. Players should especially take notice when the danger music starts up here, because a [[DemonicSpiders Deathclaw]] could be bearing down on you. Another caveat is that the Pip-Boy radio overrides the background music. The latter game also has creepy music when enemies are nearby but haven't detected the player yet, which [[VariableMix transitions]] to the full-on battle music when they spot and attack you.

* The freeware PC game ''Survival Crisis Z'' varies the number of instruments used for its background music based on the number and type of enemies near the player, ranging from a simple bass beat to an almost-overwhelming cacophony of industrial, glass, and synthetic noise. Given that zombies can randomly appear ''en masse'' just by entering and leaving buildings, it's not at all uncommon to walk through a door and instantly know you're in trouble by virtue of several additional instruments kicking in.

* In ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', the room before (or with, in many cases) the boss always has the same ominous background music playing to indicate a battle will start. Comes with a long corridor for build up.

* [[GoodBadBug Appears accidentally]] in VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor. If the normal background music stops when you open the door to a room, instead of changing quickly when you walk through the door, it just means the game is having trouble loading both the massive amounts of enemies in the room and the awesome 'Monster Zoo!' theme.

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': While you encounter mid-bosses at different points in the game, as well as rooms that are locked and need to be cleared of spawning enemies before you can move on, the sign that you're about to fight a major boss is the subtle yet intense background music before entering the boss area. When about to face the FinalBoss, there is no music in that area at all. This indicates that you're gonna be fighting the TrueFinalBoss here if you meet certain criteria. Also, the FinalBoss's {{Leitmotif}} will change into a sad orchestra halfway through the fight, indicating its formerly-friendly state but is now corrupted and forced to fight you.

* In the Greenwood area of ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer'', there is a dog who, when talked to, will tell you that "today's special is...you!" accompanied by an abrupt end to the background music. The dog will then proceed to explain that he was only joking, and the background music starts up again.

* ''VideoGame/{{Scratches}}'' subverts it near the beginning, on the first time you [[spoiler: go down to the [[CreepyBasement basement]], creepy ''Film/{{Psycho}}''-like strings start playing giving you the feeling ''something'' is gonna jump at you from the shadows at any moment, this effect makes you want to leave that place as soon as possible.]] Later its played straight when [[spoiler: for looking for Catherine Blackwood's corpse on the yard the music changes when you happen to dig on the right spot]], also on ''Last Visit'' after solving all puzzles [[spoiler:the music changes to the same creepy strings heard on the basement hinting of the scare lurking nearby.]]

* The 3D ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games all replace the normal music with a combat theme when an enemy is near. In addition, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' also had a special remix of the Hyrule Field overworld theme that plays whenever you've exposed an enemy weakpoint, and is generally your cue to commence button mashing (or Wiimote waggling) to get in as many sword-hits as possible before the boss recovers.

* The epic final showdown with [[spoiler:Risky Boots]] in ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}: Half Genie Hero'' is set to the regular boss music. Sure enough, she's not the final boss, and after her, you fight [[spoiler: The Tinkerbrain]], the real final boss, whih has a unique music for both its forms.

* The ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' anime is very structured musically. For example, if you hear a little "DUM!" or a similar sound, chances are Conan was looking at a very important clue. Further more, every specific moment of each episode has a fitting theme so if you hear the happy sax song, bad guy's screwed... And if you hear sad sax song, bad guy will say how unfair life was to him.

* Inverted in the trailer for ''Magna/{{Naruto}} Shippuden'' Episode 248- the normal musical lead-in for the trailer is replaced by screams of terror, as we finally get to see the Nine-Tailed Fox attack.

* Inverted in the trailer for Naruto Shippuden Episode 248- the normal musical lead-in for the trailer is replaced by screams of terror, as we finally get to see the Nine-Tailed Fox attack.
* In the first episode of ''Anime/KillLaKill'', when Ryuko is first revealed to be wearing her Kamui Senketsu "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWhcTesRFq0 Blumenkranz]]" starts playing. The fact that this is the theme music for Ragyo Kiryuin [[spoiler:Ryuko's mother, not that Ryuko knows at the time]] is not at all a coincidence.

* The soundtrack for ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has boss battle themes for Toriel ("Heartache"), Papyrus ("Bonetrousle"), Undyne ("Spear of Justice" and "NGAAHH!"), and Mettaton EX ("Death by Glamour")... but while they're all about two to three minutes each, Mettaton NEO's theme is only about thirty seconds long. He only lasts one turn in his battle before he's cut down in a single stroke by the Fallen Child.

* The more difficult bosses in ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} IV: The Dawn of Ys'' use "A Great Ordeal" for their battle theme, as opposed to "Battle 58".
** In ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} VI'', the music is silenced before the first boss appears.

* ''VideoGame/{{MGCM}}'': At the beginning of the scene at Chapter 4 Episode 5 in the main story, when eerie music plays in the background, you know something [[NightmareFuel extremely]] [[CerebusSyndrome bad]] [[WhamEpisode will]] [[SurpriseCreepy happen]]. [[spoiler:Kaori, one of magical heroines, [[KillTheCutie screams in pain and dies from fatal injuries after being ambushed by a demon.]] The next scene is even worse: [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie She's subsequently corrupted into a demon.]]]] SpoilerTitle is also involved in that episode as the title of it is [[spoiler:"The End of Daily Life".]]

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' has an example heard in a few cases, there's a certain ominous theme appropriately titled "Danger Ahead" in the small section of the level before a boss battle, as can be seen when on the UFO before fighting Topmaniac, the small section of level before Tarantox and before the first King Kaliente battle (although really, it's kinda ironic the only bosses this happens for are those that don't need the warning because they're generally easy). Similarly, there's a kind of dead obvious giveaway of the boss battle about to start in Bowser Jr's reactor levels, in that his theme tune starts just before the boss starts attacking (and Bowser Jr himself will fly in and taunt you.)

** "Danger Ahead" was remixed in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', but it only played in Bowser Jr's Boom Bunker--which is a pretty ominous level in itself, featuring the wreckage of [[HumongousMecha Mega]][[DropTheHammer hammer]], a castle with prison-style spotlights, a planet consisting of little more than a slew of spinning platforms and a [[UnrealisticBlackHole black hole]], a subspace swamp, and the sun as a massive fireball looming in the background.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]: Right before the opening titles, [[spoiler: the Daleks' theme also plays]] as the view from Earth pans up to see the other stolen planets.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]: Right before the intro, [[spoiler: the Daleks' theme also plays]] as the view from Earth pans up to see the other stolen planets.