The Mighty Nein, the newest animated adventure from Critical Role, revealed a new, exciting introductory sequence. It features our favorite cast of misfits, outcasts, and criminals kicking ass and taking names, while also hinting at several agonizing backstories for characters, such as Liam O’Brien’s wizard Caleb, and Travis Willingham’s orc warlock, Fjord.
All in all, the intro looks amazing. But I couldn’t help feeling that something was lost in the song choice.
The intro uses “Welcome to Wildemount,” a truly stellar song composed by producer and singer Colm McGuinness. It’s a track from the soundtrack album of the same name, the second one released by Critical Role Productions LLC’s record label Scanlan Shorthalt Music. It’s a great nostalgic choice, and I suspect that fans of the second campaign will love its inclusion.
But for me, The Mighty Nein‘s intro fails to capture the hype and excitement that accompanied the second campaign’s actual-play adventure. “Your Turn to Roll,” composed by singer-songwriter Jason Charles Miller, was an instant classic for me when it was first revealed in 2015, and it only got better when co-founder Sam Riegel added lyrics to the melody for the animated Campaign 2 opening in 2018.
Featuring vocals from Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, as well as Riegel himself, the song was catchy and fun. At the time, I hadn’t even watched the second campaign yet, but this was such an earworm that I still saved it to my phone. It’s a song that knows how to get you pumped before you dive into an episode of fantasy hijinks.
The Mighty Nein‘s intro with “Welcome to Wildemount” doesn’t strike the same chords for me. It’s a grand piece of music, but from what I know of this party, I can’t help but feel that its tone is a little off.
Of course, Critical Role has already said that the animated show will have a few surprises and differences from the actual-play campaign. A tonal change for its intro seems to be one of them.
The Mighty Nein will be available to watch on Prime Video from Nov. 19. If you can’t wait until then, or want a head start to get to know the characters of Critical Role’s Campaign 2, the actual play is available on Spotify and YouTube.
