 Music plays an integral role in the Legend of Zelda series. Along with Mario, it is one of the earliest video game franchises that was actually known for its music. Zelda music is considered some of the best in the world of gaming, and has had many concerts dedicated to performing its iconic songs. Music even plays an important role within the games themselves. Many Zelda games have musical instruments as central plot-related items, such as the Ocarina of Time, the Wind Waker, and the Spirit Flute. Music has a magical quality within the Zelda universe. Songs are shown to manipulate forces of nature, allow one to teleport, or even change time itself. The series makes extensive use of motifs. Certain songs reoccur throughout the series, and are used to convey important character and plot-related information. Point is, Zelda music is important. So, when Breath of the Wild was announced during E3 of 2014, hopes were high for what this epic new Zelda game soundtrack would have in store. Upon the game's release, fan reaction to the soundtrack was... ...mixed. To fully understand why Breath of the Wild's soundtrack might have garnered some negative reception, we need to look at the context of Zelda soundtracks, to see the precedent set by previous titles. Let's look at a brief history of 3D Zelda game soundtracks. Ocarina of Time sets the precedent with an epic and adventurous score. Koji Kondo was finally able to take the heroic melodies from the 2D Zelda games, and give them the sweeping orchestral sound enabled by the improved hardware of the Nintendo 64. Majora's Mask builds on these ideas, but with a more somber tone. It's adventurous, but also foreboding and creepy, just like the game's story. Wind Waker sounds uplifting and adventurous, perfect for sailing the Great Sea. Added to the mix is a bit of nautical, swashbuckling flair, the perfect accompaniment to the seafaring gameplay and maritime setting. Twilight Princess is epic and adventurous, well suited for the game's larger scale. But like Majora's Mask, it's quite solemn and tinged with darkness, reflecting the more mature tone of the game. Skyward Sword was the first fully live orchestrated soundtrack in the series. It's romantic, whimsical and adventurous, perfect for this grandiose tale above the clouds. Because of the standard set by these past games, fans have expectations of what a Zelda game should sound like. While each title soundtrack differs in many ways, there's a common language to Zelda music. There was a certain word I used a lot when describing past Zelda soundtracks. Let's rewind. Epic and adventurous score, uplifting and adventurous, epic and adventurous, whimsical and adventurous. Fans expect Zelda games to sound adventurous and heroic. Usually this means an orchestral style, invigorating and bombastic, like something out of an old fantasy adventure movie. Well, Breath of the Wild soundtrack wasn't that. It was even more somber than Majora or Twilight. For the most part, it wasn't bombastic and orchestral. The most frequently heard songs were just solo piano compositions. Breath of the Wild subverted expectations and challenged what a Zelda game should sound like. Well, I for one think Breath of the Wild soundtrack is very well done, and changing it up was a great choice. That's what this video is going to be about. Here are my goals for this video essay. For one, I want to dispel a few misconceptions I see far too much. The idea that Breath of the Wild has no music, or that Breath of the Wild's music is just random notes on a piano. More than that, I want to challenge the idea that Breath of the Wild's music just isn't a proper Zelda soundtrack, or simply that Breath of the Wild soundtrack is bad. Most of all, I hope this video essay will be able to show how Breath of the Wild's music works. First we need to look at what Breath of the Wild's approach to music even is. How do we define this new and unexpected style? Well, past Zelda games can be fit into the romantic era of music history. This style of music was at its height around the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romantic music is expressive and uses melody and musical progression to explicitly convey ideas or emotions. It usually opts for larger orchestration and is highly focused on tonal melodies. In contrast, Breath of the Wild is the Zelda series' first venture into the Impressionist era of music. The era of Impressionism was mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionist music focuses more on atmosphere. It conveys emotion through suggestion rather than a detailed score. Rather than focusing on intricate, sweeping arrangements, Impressionism uses other aspects of music such as texture, timbre and tonality to create a mood. Impressionist composers are also less preoccupied with writing an identifiable melody and are more willing to make use of ambiguous tonalities. Past Zelda games have very iconic, memorable tunes that you can hum or sing. Breath of the Wild has a good handful of these, but a lot of the music just isn't memorable in the same way. Just try and hum along to the Hyrule Field theme. It's tricky. But this isn't an inherently bad thing. I'd argue it works very well in Breath of the Wild's favor. This leads me into my first main point. Breath of the Wild's music better suits its gameplay and setting. Breath of the Wild is a huge open world game. In this sort of setting, a typical Zelda overworld theme would get repetitive and annoying. So instead, Breath of the Wild opts for an avant-garde, atonal piano piece, which is quite fragmentary. It fades in and out at various moments throughout the game, but never sticks around permanently. This way, it never overstays its welcome and doesn't become too repetitive or obnoxious. It could come in at any time and provide a backing track for any menial task you're doing. I really like this because it adds both a sense of charm and emotional weight to the minutiae of playing Breath of the Wild. Whether you're chopping down trees or foraging for mushrooms, everything you do is valuable and worthwhile. Also, it's really not accurate to describe this song as just random notes. I'm not going to go into the music theory for this video, as it's been talked about a lot before. I'll link a great video in the description. Yes, this theme is not very melodic or tonal, but it's far from random. The song is structured and the notes are chosen with intentionality. It's simply a different style of composing than most people are used to from a Zelda game. Breath of the Wild is a very different Zelda game, so it makes sense for the music to follow suit and be different as well. The focus of Breath of the Wild isn't an epic larger-than-life adventure. Rather, the game's core is in the title itself, The Wild. This is a game about exploring the wilderness, so I think it was the right choice to shift the musical focus to silence, punctuated by the occasional melody on the piano. Sometimes less is more. Think of it like a painting. Negative space is just as crucial a part of artistic composition as anything else. At times, a quiet ambient soundscape is just as effective at conveying the right feeling as an orchestral score. Breath of the Wild knows when to let the music take a back seat, shining the spotlight on its soundscape. Soundscapes are generally underappreciated in games, but they're just as important as the music. And Breath of the Wild's soundscape is very intricate and very impressive in a technical sense. A lot of the nuances of the sound design would be drowned out by a loud orchestral score. For instance, the tranquil silence of exploring the wilderness makes the jangling sound of a nearby cork more easily grab your attention. We'll get more into the specifics of the sound design a little later. Breath of the Wild's Hyrule is not like the Hyrule from past Zelda games. It's post-apocalyptic, destroyed, and generally empty. It makes sense for much of the music to feel similarly sparse and empty. One great example is the Temple of Time theme. In this game, this classic Zelda location is a dilapidated, ruined cathedral, a shell of its former self. This theme takes the song of time from Ocarina and strips it down to its bare bones, interspersing phrases of the song with complete silence. This empty and hollow version of a familiar song effectively conveys the idea that you're exploring an empty and hollow version of a familiar location. Not only is the music a great representation of the game's setting and gameplay style, but Breath of the Wild's soundtrack better suits the story and themes. Breath of the Wild is not a story about heroism. Think about it. This isn't a story about a steadfast hero bravely stepping up to defeat evil in a battle to save the world. The battle already happened 100 years ago, and Link lost. Ganon was victorious, and Hyrule was destroyed. All of Link's friends are dead because of his failure to seal away Ganon. This is a tragic story infused with guilt and loss and sorrow. Arousing orchestral fanfare simply isn't appropriate for this heavier tone. This is why a subdued and introspective piano is perfect for exploring the remnants of Hyrule. It evokes the burden Link is constantly carrying on his shoulders, the sadness and loss that pervades the world that Link couldn't save. Furthermore, when Hyrule fell into ruin, it became overrun with monsters. It's literally plagued by the essence of Ganon's evil. This version of Hyrule is dangerous. While the wilderness is usually quite beautiful and serene, dangerous beasts could be lurking around any corner. An atonal, melodically ambiguous theme is a great representation of this looming uncertainty. It's equal parts relaxing and unsettling. But it would be misleading to act like Breath of the Wild soundtrack is entirely ambient and impressionistic. The music that plays in key locations such as towns are a completely different story. There's the absolutely lovely, peaceful Hatino Village theme. Or the scorching Middle Eastern flair of Gerudo Town. The Korok Forest theme is probably the most in line with the traditional Zelda theme. These songs, unlike the sparse and fragmentary piano of the overworld, are very melodic and tonal. In a thematic sense, the melodic and tonal compositions for these town's songs provide a period of respite from the uncertainty of the wilderness. These towns are the last remaining settlements of Hyrule. The remnants of civilization, which were lucky enough to survive the calamity. They are those rare, safe havens within the treacherous world of Breath of the Wild. The relative silence of the rest of the game makes these songs all the more impactful and heartwarming. The best example of this is Tarry Town. Tarry Town's song is the polar opposite of the music you hear while roaming Hyrule. It is one of the most tonal, melodic and harmonically pleasing songs in the game. This is fitting because Tarry Town is one of the safest and most welcoming places in Hyrule. Storms literally clear up and the sun comes out as you walk into the town. Unhappy people all across the map go to Tarry Town to start a new and more fulfilling life. As you find more people to move into the flourishing town, more instruments are added to the song. These instruments, and many of the motifs added to the song, are borrowed from the hometown of the character you invited. For example, the Rideau brings along an added woodwind section, while the Gerudo adds a sitar. This step-by-step modification of the background music is a great way to illustrate a town being built from the ground up. And incorporating melodies and instrumentation from towns all across Hyrule conveys the idea that Tarry Town is a melting pot, where people from all walks of life work together to build something from nothing. That's what's so touching about the Tarry Town side quest. The people of Hyrule are building something out of nothing. Tarry Town is a symbol of hope for the future of Hyrule, showing that there's a future to look forward to in this post-apocalyptic world. Hyrule can be rebuilt one small step at a time. It's one of my favorite side quests in the game. It requires some serious deforestation, but the heartwarming result is totally worth it. Also, pretty much all of the town's songs are comprised of live recorded instruments, which I think only further elevates their comforting and welcoming feel. If you listen closely, you can even hear the musicians taking a breath, or sliding their fingers on the strings. This gives the towns a rustic, homely quality, and reminds you that these are living, breathing settlements full of people. I'm sure the piano for the Hyrule Field theme was recorded live as well, but it's so fragmentary and unpredictable that it doesn't have that same human quality to it, which provides a nice contrast between the wilderness and the towns. Also, these town themes aren't performed by big, full orchestras. They focus on solo performance or small ensembles. It sounds more like folk music than a cinematic movie score, which adds a very natural and organic feel fitting for the game about the wilderness. These themes have another very clever role in the game. Music has a sort of gravitational pull in the player, drawing them towards key locations. As I mentioned earlier, Breath of the Wild has a very intricate sound system and really smart sound design. Each sound effect was meticulously crafted. For example, a lot of time was spent just on Link's footsteps. The sound team recorded tons of different variations based on what kind of material he's walking on, and even factored in the rattling and clanking of the equipment he's carrying. Sound effects are realistically implemented into the environment to create one of the most believable and immersive soundscapes I've ever heard in a game. The volume, panning, reverb, and equalization of the sound effects are constantly adjusted on the fly based on the distance of the source of the audio, the size of the space in which a sound is emitted, whether there are any barriers or walls between the player on the sound source, and even other variables such as whether it's windy or raining. The music similarly shifts depending on the player's distance to its source, such as a stable or a town. As Link walks nearer to a stable, the volume of the song increases. This is why the contrast between the subdued silence of the wilderness and the liveliness of the towns is so important. The towns and stables break the silence and stand out, giving players an auditory clue to help them locate these important areas. Hearing faint music naturally makes the player want to go investigate. It pulls you towards the source. A similar effect is achieved with the bird-barred cast, whose accordion tunes can be heard from quite a distance away. If you play the game long enough, this song becomes instantly recognizable, and you're automatically drawn to find casts who will usually give you a clue to find a shrine. Specific auditory cues play when you're near a tower or a shrine. As you can see, music is used to pull players towards areas of interest. This is a non-intrusive and non-handholding way to nudge players towards their goals within a massive world which is easy to become lost in. I shouldn't imply that all the music in Breath of the Wild is soft or relaxing, however. Just listen to the amazing song that plays when you expose a Molduga's weak spot. This game can do intensity when it's needed. On the whole, Breath of the Wild's enemy encounter themes have the complete opposite effect as the towns and stables. These themes break the silence in a way that isn't meant to comfort you or lure you in, but rather to alert you to impending danger or something you'd be better off avoiding. When you are near some weak mooks like Bacoblins, you hear some simple percussion, a tribal-sounding melody on the Marimba, punctuated by dramatic string staccatos. Over time, it builds into a more dramatic song fit for battle. It doesn't sound too alarming, but it definitely conveys that you should stay on your toes. Stronger enemies such as Lionel's are signified with this intimidating piano bassline, but the most terrifying thing to hear is this. This flurry of high-pitched, atonal piano note has a horror movie quality, and there's no mistaking what it means, run. A similar effect is achieved before a blood moon. This unnerving little song creeps its way in as the sky turns blood red. You get used to it after the first few times, but the first time it happens, it's genuinely quite freaky. Another way Breath of the Wild's soundtrack is effective is the way it brings back classic motifs. Nintendo loves to bring back nostalgic songs, and it happens a lot in the Zelda series in particular. But in comparison to other Nintendo games, and other Zelda games for that matter, Breath of the Wild has a lot of restraint when it comes to capitalizing on these nostalgic tunes. They wait until just the right moment to hit you in the emotions with a classic Zelda melody. Some are very subtle, like how the Death Mountain theme is a slower, fainter piano rendition of Ganon's Lair from the original NES Legend of Zelda. There's also the stable theme, which initially sounds like a new song, but its chord progression and a few little melodies may sound familiar. It's only when Cass is near stable that they give you the full homage to Epona's song, also known as the theme of Lon Lon Ranch. The horseback riding themes are great. When you ride around uninterrupted, a quirky little piano riff fades in. It almost sounds like it's emulating the galloping of your horse. And if you ride around for long enough, some delicate strings are added, like a slower, more introspective version of Zelda's lullaby during the day and the Zelda main theme during the night. It's really quite a special moment hearing two of the most iconic songs from the series played in such a subdued and melancholic way. It really drives home that this isn't your typical Zelda game. It is Zelda, but with an emotional undertone we haven't quite seen before. And it's entirely possible to go through the game without hearing these themes. They're just a nice little treat for players who come across it. The theme of Zora's Domain is a direct homage to Ocarina of Time. Rideau Village does something similar. They almost do a fake out. There's this completely new intro that makes you think Rideau Village is going to have a new unique song. It takes its time and slowly starts to swell up and then... It's Dragon Roost Island from Wind Waker. Wind Waker is my personal favorite Zelda game. So I admit, it was a bit of an emotional moment hearing this song. Another emotional moment was hearing the full version of Kass's theme. You hear this silly little melody so much throughout the game, it gets totally ingrained into your head. So when you finish Kass's side quest and finally hear the full version, it's like, wow, there was more? And then it transitions into this. He was playing the classic Zelda theme the whole time. Well played. Hyrule Castle is a fantastic song. It combines a lot of familiar elements of past Zelda songs, but still stands alone as a completely new and distinct song. And the motifs they selected were perfect. It represents exactly what is going down at that point in the game. Link is coming to Zelda's aid to seal away Ganon in Hyrule Castle. Let's break it down. The bits and pieces of the Legend of Zelda main theme represent Link, trying to overcome his guilt and memory loss, and be the hero everyone needs him to be. Zelda's lullaby represents, of course, Zelda, who has patiently waited for Link, holding her own in a hundred year bout with Ganon. They even incorporate Ganon's theme from Link to the Past in Ocarina of Time, which adds a foreboding edge, reminding players that the King of Evil awaits at the heart of the castle. Finally, there's a subtle but very cool reference to the Hyrule Castle theme from Link to the Past. Just compare the brass flourishes. I think the most effective use of bringing back an old motif is the credits theme. They wait until the very end of the game to finally give players the main theme of the Zelda series in the way that most people have come to know and love it. Unlike the variation which plays while horseback riding, this version sounds tonal and familiar. The uncertainty is gone. You did it. Hyrule is at peace, and our two heroes, Link and Zelda, can finally let go of their guilt. They don't need to bear their burdens anymore. This is the pinnacle of resolution, both narratively and musically. It's the most hopeful note the game could end on, and all it took was a simple piano version of the classic NES overworld theme. When I heard those first few notes paired with the visuals, a completely black screen aside from the text which simply reads The Legend of Zelda, it was genuinely moving. But to sum everything up, I want to run through my main arguments one more time. The lack of constant background music prevents songs from getting annoying or repetitive during the long trips across the extensive map. A quiet overworld highlights the sense of emptiness and abandonment, and draws the player's focus to the wild itself. The atonal, impressionistic piano songs convey a sense of serenity, but also uncertainty, fitting the game's tone. Reinterpreting classic Zelda themes in a subdued and melancholic way reinforces the idea that Hyrule is ruined. What was once familiar is now broken and stained with grief and loss. Breath of the Wild treats its ambient soundscape as equally important as the music, allowing for a sophisticated system of auditory cues. Music provides anchor points throughout the massive map, drawing players' attention to areas of importance. The sparseness of music makes the parts that are scored more impactful. Town themes feel extra homely and comforting, battle themes feel extra startling and dangerous. Moments of emotion are all the more emotional. Not going too crazy with bringing back lots of classic themes reinforces the idea that this is a new Zelda game. Also, change is good. It's nice for a franchise to change pace every now and then. Breath of the Wild's composer tried some new things, approached the score in a different way, and I think this resulted in a very refreshing and effective soundtrack. Next, I'll be looking at the soundtrack of the Splatoon series, so stay tuned for that. I'll see you real soon.