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Okay, I know this post is late. I also know that I’m not Andy. But just listen for a moment, he’s busy and he asked me to fill in (i.e. I bugged him until he said yes).
Nothing makes an impact on a game in exactly the same way as a main menu. A game finally gets it’s chance to show you “hey, here I am, this is what I’m about.” The visuals, the music, the fonts (yes, the fonts) – everything is there to tell you exactly what you’re getting into and pull you deeper into the experience. So to say that the main menu themes carry a lot of weight is a bit of an understatement, IMO. Halo: Combat Evolved, Pokémon Red and Blue, Sonic the Hedgehog…these are just a few of the legendary main menu themes in the hallowed halls of video games
I humbly submit that The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind’s main theme, Nerevar Rising, sits in that pantheon.
Every part of this song exists to tell you about yourself and what you’re getting into:
(the drums begin) You are small, a single person in a vast world.
(the drums crowd out the quiet orchestra) That world is overwhelming, full of dangers, and will drown you out if you get a chance.
(the orchestra grows louder, swelling and adding instruments) But time and persistence are on your side, and you will come to master this place as you gain skill and knowledge.
(the drums fade into the background, the horns swell, the movement solely in the strings) You are the hero this place needs.
Even the name, Nerevar Rising, is to remind you that you are the hero, Nerevar, reborn and returned to heal a blighted land as you adventure the island. The song continually reappears throughout your adventure as you traverse the game’s island, reminding you of the grandiosity of the adventure.
Absolute chills.
I can, and have, gone on forever about the importance of this game to a young Bookslap. How at the age of 14, I spent nearly the entire summer by myself, frittering away the days holed up in my den, playing Morrowind and only Morrowind. How it continues to shape my idea of what games can and should be to this day, including the haunting title theme. But honestly, the song speaks for itself. Give it a listen and let us know what you think!
