The Music of The Legend of Zelda
i wanted to write a review about the music of the game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, because, like many others right now, i am playing through the remake on Switch 2. i was surprised by a lot playing through the game. primarily because of the shot of nostalgia i have been experiencing. but not just any regular nostalgia, but of a somewhat greater version. specifically through the music (otherwise i wouldn’t be writing about it for the site here). i’ve been finding the emotion displayed in the game to be something that has not only hooked in to the original game but also is weaving a kind of resonance of its own.
nostalgia is certainly not sacred. not anymore. it used to be. for me that was about 12-ish years ago. as i was getting through college, coming into true adulthood, i began to look backwards instead of forwards. instead of wanting more, i wanted what i had. it was a round this time that the corporations of the world began their suspiciously well-timed mining efforts on the common soul. well... i won’t get my soap box out, but needless to say, after years and years, and many more tired years of having my nostalgia mined for all it’s worth, i’m nearly burnt out.
okay soapbox gone. what compelled me to talk about the game was revisiting it’s core concept around music. around the work of Koji Kondo (see my review of the original soundtrack here), and around revisiting the past through music. through this game.
it was just a couple years ago that i played through Ocarina of Time through to the end, for the first time. i had played most of the way through many times, but never to the end for some reason. while i had expected a great return home, a trip back to my childhood, for some reason, it wasn’t there. and by the time the credits rolled over, there was a strange emptiness i felt. beating the game did not reinvent my experience with the game. which is fine, but it was notable.
there have been quite a few moments during my playtime that i was frankly astounded at the preciseness of attention to detail in the music that really caught me off guard. the music feels like the right amount of the same, and the right amount of renewed arrangements. by towing this very careful line, the music of the game is perfectly geared to cash in on the anticipated nostalgia in our brains, and also give something new to keep the experience fresh.
for reference, i’ve spent the in between years (from original to remake) checking out the orchestral symphony renditions from Nintendo. and while i do find the full on orchestra style of music to be incredibly cool and impressive, especially for from something from my childhood, they’re just not THE tracks form the original game. that part in your brain that autocompletes a song you know so well, before it even hits the next note, is important to acknowledge when renewing music from our past. if it doesn’t match our expected and established pattern, then it can be kind of irksome. especially when playing the game.
i was surprised and delighted to find that the game rides this line. feeling fresh, but maintaining familiarity. the music in the Zoro Domain is veyr much the same, yet alos includes some nice little instrumentation and flourishes that elevate the original to better feel out the atmosphere of the zone. or how the shop music is just as haywire and kooky as the game, it even holds the same artificial feel. but by throwing in some accordion and other natural instruments form the inspired locations, it brings the pieces to life JUST the right amount. for me, i still especially enjoy the artificial nature of the music in the original game. it feels era appropriate, and not everyhting needs to be orchestrated to be better (see Pokemon Gold and Silver: National Park by Junichi Masuda). i especially found this aspect of the game so compelling if only because i thought the recent Persona 3 remake really dropped the ball with the music. the original hits that iconic level, so hearing each beat and refresh in the music not snap on the beats i’m expecting, it created some background friction when playing. that’s a different subject, but to me it’s an example of a soundtrack that tries to refresh the original but goes a touch too far off the rails. and example of how tight this rope can be to walk.
my particularly favorite moment that made me stop and take a long moment. it happens when seeing Saria, as a kid, in the Sacred Grotto, during the Goron quest. - in the original game, the lost woods music plays straight on until you see her playing her ocarina on the tree, then the music will stop, y’all talk for a bit, then the music continue.
-in the remake, the music is noticeably slowed down to almost half speed. it feels almost creepy in how warped it sounds. but it’s effective. and as you work your way up this labyrinth, this music can easily be taken for granted as in game soundtrack (like the rest of the game), but as you come up to Saria playing her ocarina, you realize it was her creating the music the whole time. the music felt strange because it was diegetic, bouncing off the walls and narrow hallways from far away. the reason it’s so slowed down is because she is broken hearted about Link leaving. it paints an incredibly vivid picture that was only hinted at in the original. what was once a scene that i glanced over, became one that really affected me. i felt the intended moment, the sorrow from Saria, the loss in the moment. (after this, when talking to her, the music in the whole place stops, the ambient forest sounds are beautiful to take a moment on)
for one of the first times, a remake didn’t just cash in on upgrading the graphics, or meet the status quo of the original, but pushed the story further, and by music alone. it was a moment that excelled on the foundation of what the game was already doing. slight tweaks and adjustments to the original soundtrack, but never so far that it broke trust with the player. by the time trust is established, it can be subverted just a bit. it never over-leverages Koji Kondo’s work to mine more nostalgia than it should, but to punctuate a moment originally intended but held back my limitations of the time.
of course music is one of the greatest binding factors in humanity. i’ve spoken on this enough throughout the site. Ocarina of Time is bound to its music in deep ways and lasting ways. even today almost 25 years later, from a soundtrack i’ve heard to death and back, i find something compelling from it. what surprised me was that even my nostalgia jaded self can be swayed, just like i had been years ago from the original game. a testament to both the original compositions and the deft reworking of their forms.
[review-body]
i wanted to write a review about the music of the game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time because, like many others right now, i am playing through the remake on Switch 2. i was surprised by a lot while playing through the game. primarily because of the shot of nostalgia i have been experiencing. but not just any regular nostalgia, but of a somewhat greater version. specifically through the music (otherwise i wouldn’t be writing about it for the site here). i’ve been finding the emotion displayed in the game to be something that has not only hooked into the original game but also is weaving a kind of resonance of its own.
nostalgia is certainly not sacred. not anymore. it used to be. for me, that was about 12-ish years ago. as i was getting through college, coming into true adulthood, i began to look backwards instead of forwards. instead of wanting more, i wanted what i had. it was around this time that the corporations of the world began their suspiciously well-timed mining efforts on the common soul. well... i won’t get my soapbox out, but needless to say, after years and years, and many more tired years of having my nostalgia mined for all it’s worth, i’m nearly burnt out.
okay, soapbox gone. what compelled me to talk about the game was revisiting its core concept around music. around the work of Koji Kondo (see my review of the original soundtrack here), and around revisiting the past through music. through this game.
it was just a couple of years ago that i played through Ocarina of Time through to the end, for the first time. i had played most of the way through many times, but never to the end for some reason. while i had expected a great return home, a trip back to my childhood, for some reason, it wasn’t there. and by the time the credits rolled over, there was a strange emptiness i felt. beating the game did not reinvent my experience with the game. which is fine, but it was notable.
there have been quite a few moments during my playtime when i was frankly astounded at the preciseness of attention to detail in the music that really caught me off guard. the music feels like the right amount of the same, and the right amount of renewed arrangements. by toeing this very careful line, the music of the game is perfectly geared to cash in on the anticipated nostalgia in our brains, and also give something new to keep the experience fresh.
for reference, i’ve spent the in-between years (from the original to the remake) checking out the orchestral symphony renditions from Nintendo. and while i do find the full-on orchestral style of music to be incredibly cool and impressive, especially for something from my childhood, they’re just not THE tracks from the original game. that part in your brain that autocompletes a song you know so well, before it even hits the next note, is important to acknowledge when renewing music from our past. if it doesn’t match our expected and established pattern, then it can be kind of irksome. especially when playing the game.
i was surprised and delighted to find that the game rides this line. feeling fresh, but maintaining familiarity. the music in Zora’s Domain is very much the same, yet also includes some nice little instrumentation and flourishes that elevate the original to better feel out the atmosphere of the zone. or how the shop music is just as haywire and kooky as the game, it even holds the same artificial feel. but by throwing in some accordion and other natural instruments from the inspired locations, it brings the pieces to life JUST the right amount. for me, i still especially enjoy the artificial nature of the music in the original game. it feels era-appropriate, and not everything needs to be orchestrated to be better (see Pokemon Gold and Silver: National Park by Junichi Masuda). i especially found this aspect of the game so compelling, if only because i thought the recent Persona 3 remake really dropped the ball with the music. the original hits that iconic level, so hearing each beat and refresh in the music not snap to the beats i’m expecting created some background friction when playing. that’s a different subject, but to me, it’s an example of a soundtrack that tries to refresh the original but goes a touch too far off the rails. an example of how tight this rope can be to walk.
my particular favorite moment made me stop and take a long moment. it happens when seeing Saria, as a kid, in the Sacred Grotto, during the Goron quest.
in the original game, the Lost Woods music plays straight on until you see her playing her ocarina on the tree, then the music will stop, y’all talk for a bit, then the music continues.
in the remake, the music is noticeably slowed down to almost half speed. it feels almost creepy in how warped it sounds. but it’s effective. and as you work your way up this labyrinth, this music can easily be taken for granted as in-game soundtrack (like the rest of the game), but as you come up to Saria playing her ocarina, you realize it was her creating the music the whole time. the music felt strange because it was diegetic, bouncing off the walls and narrow hallways from far away. the reason it’s so slowed down is because she is brokenhearted about Link leaving. it paints an incredibly vivid picture that was only hinted at in the original. what was once a scene that i glanced over became one that really affected me. i felt the intended moment, the sorrow from Saria, the loss in the moment. (after this, when talking to her, the music in the whole place stops, the ambient forest sounds are beautiful to take a moment on.)
for one of the first times, a remake didn’t just cash in on upgrading the graphics, or meet the status quo of the original, but pushed the story further, and by music alone. it was a moment that excelled on the foundation of what the game was already doing. slight tweaks and adjustments to the original soundtrack, but never so far that it broke trust with the player. by the time trust is established, it can be subverted just a bit. it never over-leverages Koji Kondo’s work to mine more nostalgia than it should, but to punctuate a moment originally intended but held back by limitations of the time.
of course, music is one of the greatest binding factors in humanity. i’ve spoken on this enough throughout the site. Ocarina of Time is bound to its music in deep and lasting ways. even today, almost 25 years later, from a soundtrack i’ve heard to death and back, i find something compelling in it. what surprised me was that even my nostalgia-jaded self can be swayed, just like i had been years ago by the original game. a testament to both the original compositions and the deft reworking of their forms.
