Wednesday, June 15, 2022

MIDI Week Singles: "Safe in Beregost" - Baldur's Gate (PC)


"Safe in Beregost" from Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition on Windows, MacOS, iOS, OSX, Android, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One (1998, 2012, 2013, 2014, & 2019)
Composer: Michael Hoenig
Publisher: Black Isle Studios, Interplay Entertainment, Beamdog, and Skybound Games
Developer: BioWare, and Overhaul Games

You first hear this theme played in this relaxing manner when you reach The Friendly Arm Inn, being your first real sense of peace and rest after you are attacked and Gorion is killed in front of you.  This theme is played again upon reaching your first large city, Beregost, which at least for me served as my primary hub outside of Nashkel in the south for a good portion of the game.  I just have so many memories of when I first played this game, stumbling upon the house infested with spiders, selling used and unneeded gear at Thunderhammer Smithy, either saving or fighting off Silke, or oftentimes forgetting that Kagain's Shop is a thing on the west side of town.

It is a little bit more fanfaric than the arrangement used for "The Friendly Arm Inn," which I believe is the same piece of music used in Nashkel, but that makes sense because both of those places are more rural compared to Beregost and having a slightly grander version of this theme might be out of pace.  That is just an assumption as I could be wrong.  The theme again plays when you finally reach the city of Baldur's Gate, and that arrangement loops faster than any of the other versions, lasting less than a minute as there is less buildup.  Maybe that is why I was drawn more to "Safe in Beregost," with its slightly longer build compared to "Streets of Baldur's Gate," and has a fuller, richer sound compared to "The Friendly Arm Inn."

This song just exudes all of the fond memories I have of playing Baldur's Gate 20 years ago, and this soundtrack is one that I am frequently drawn to and will have playing in the background whenever I am reading a Dungeons & Dragons novel (currently it is The Halfling's Gem).  That is really all I am trying to say.  If you really think about it.


~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
Into the Night We Shine

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