The use of music in Zelda games is genius.

Bomby · 11-30-2006, 03:16 PM

Am I the only one who finds that the use of music in Zelda is a large part of the genius of the series? Not just the fact that Link plays an instrument in pretty much all of the games, but the fact that the music they use is thought out carefully, and matches the mood of the particular scene in the game perfectly.

I mean, a lot of programmers would get lazy and just throw in some techno for a fight scene, because it sounds high tech and has lots of energy. However, techno just doesn't get you excited for fighting like an old fashioned war call.

Everything matches perfectly. Using OoT as a specific example: The theme in the Kokiri Village and the Lost Woods captures a childish innocense that the Kokiris have, the Spanish-sounding song in the Gerudo desert gives it the feel of a Western movie, Hyrule Town sounds old fashioned, etc.

Anyways... any thoughts?

LinkManDX · 11-30-2006, 04:04 PM

Music is supposed to set a mood in a game. What you described is the PERFECT example of this. Zelda does this very well, esp. in OoT.

Bomby · 11-30-2006, 04:09 PM

^ I wasn't saying that Zelda was the only game in which music was used to set up the mood, but it's one of the few that actually does it correctly. I could point out 100 games (and movies) that don't do a very good job.

Tad Venture · 11-30-2006, 06:53 PM

Other games that I definitely credit to this are the Donkey Kong Country games.

But yes, you are definitely correct.

**Booyakasha** · 11-30-2006, 06:57 PM

Even I can't criticise the music in OoT. I think the Forest Temple was a particularly good example of fitting the music to the location--the echoing vocals and rattling percussion were perfect, given the temple's spooky, undead-heavy vibe.

Tad Venture · 11-30-2006, 07:03 PM

The Forest Temple music is a great song to put on repeat and do homework.

**Booyakasha** · 11-30-2006, 07:13 PM

Believe it or not, I actually downloaded it for that very purpose my first year in college.

**Wyborn** · 11-30-2006, 10:03 PM

Twilight Princess' music is also masterful in a different way - the final battle music in particular is so fitting I don't think anything else I've heard has compared.

The Missing Link · 11-30-2006, 10:42 PM

The bulk of my MP3 list is Zelda soundtracks. I'm looking forward to getting the Twilight soundtrack, although there was a lot brought forward from Ocarina. Suffice to say, you can get lost in the music of those games rather easily.

**Wyborn** · 11-30-2006, 11:05 PM

Ocarina had the extra advantage in that music was one of the primary themes of the game, so it was a lot easier to remember from repeated exposure.

BrandonTragedy · 11-30-2006, 11:16 PM

OoT Music > Just about any other game music.

Tad Venture · 12-01-2006, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exsanguination

OoT Music > Just about any other game music.

I'd say it's up there, but I would probably place Chrono Trigger ahead of it because I'm biased. Games with awesome soundtracks are Chrono Trigger, OoT (primarily, but other Zelda games also have awesome music--Wind Waker had a great soundtrack which made up for the disappointment it was), the DKC games (mostly 1 and 2), FFVI, Mario RPG, and a bunch of others.

Galefore · 12-01-2006, 05:10 PM

Nobuo Uematsu and Koji Kondo truly are geniuses of mood-setting music. The forest temple is a great one, as is the Shadow Temple, with the operatic moaning and dark, deep background sounds. In Majora's Mask, there was an amazing song in the Woodfall Temple, with the jungle-chanting, the bongo music, and the amazingly fitting, toe-tapping beat. And, to also say a great deal, even the Great Bay Temple's metal clanking music was wonderful to set the undersea tone and the constant danger within the temple-walls. I liked even the Clock-Town music, the fiddle line still playing in my head constantly as I speak. Truthfully, in terms of music, I prefer MM, but OoT is great too.

Fire Temple music, Spirirt Temple, Water Temple, it was all befitting. Koji Kondo... that man is brilliant.

***ZeldaGirl*** · 12-01-2006, 05:53 PM

Zelda music is really wonderful. And like Boo and ML said, I do listen to the Forest temple when doing homework.

LinkManDX · 12-01-2006, 07:23 PM

Koji Kondo does this in a lot of games, not just this one. The song in the Space Pirate bases in Metroid Prime is an excellent example. The song is kind of a creepy, eerie song that builds up tension, which, combined with a bunch of darkness, builds an incredibly creepy mood in a gamer.

Galefore · 12-01-2006, 09:14 PM

^That is known quite well, but we are in a Zelda forum, therefore we are solely speaking of his genius within the boundries of Zelda. Good point, though.

Koga · 12-02-2006, 11:01 AM

I really like how the music makes the mood of the overworld and underworld so very different, as early as the first game.

When I play through OoT I still play the Sun's Song every time night falls, because I want to listen to the music.

I think MM had some great tunes, but unfortunately I didn't like the music that plays in any of the four areas before you beat the dungeon boss (the music that is slightyl different in each area, but the same melody). Though it fitted the mood, it's one of my least favourite Zelda tunes of all. I love Deku Fortress, Stone Tower Temple and especially the Milk Bar.

Bomby · 12-02-2006, 12:42 PM

For some reason I've always loved Zelda's Lullaby. The full version, not the ocarina version.

Galefore · 12-02-2006, 02:14 PM

^^Oh, yeah, I just remembered Stone Tower and Deku Fortress. I used to sit in front of the Deku Fortress, the two guards hopping up and down, waiting for me to ask them for entrance, while listening to that great song. Ah, great times.

I also liked Wind Waker's Earth God song. It plays at the begining of the game in the title screen, but as well when

(Although you probably know this by now, still)
Spoiler Below

Medli realizes she's a sage and plays it on the harp. It sounds great.

Also, Dragon Roost was rather good, and a few of the Dungeons.

11-30-2006, 03:16 PM	#1
Bomby The Man Who Sold the World Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere Gender: Posts: 15,266 Thanks: 215 Thanked 629 Times in 409 Posts Blog Entries: 4 Points: 13,109.94 Bank: 2,879,406.64 Total Points: 2,892,516.59 Donate	The use of music in Zelda games is genius. Am I the only one who finds that the use of music in Zelda is a large part of the genius of the series? Not just the fact that Link plays an instrument in pretty much all of the games, but the fact that the music they use is thought out carefully, and matches the mood of the particular scene in the game perfectly. I mean, a lot of programmers would get lazy and just throw in some techno for a fight scene, because it sounds high tech and has lots of energy. However, techno just doesn't get you excited for fighting like an old fashioned war call. Everything matches perfectly. Using OoT as a specific example: The theme in the Kokiri Village and the Lost Woods captures a childish innocense that the Kokiris have, the Spanish-sounding song in the Gerudo desert gives it the feel of a Western movie, Hyrule Town sounds old fashioned, etc. Anyways... any thoughts?

11-30-2006, 06:57 PM	#5
Booyakasha Mod of War Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wisconsinland Gender: Posts: 6,921 Thanks: 78 Thanked 381 Times in 240 Posts Points: 12,518.00 Bank: 28,896.88 Total Points: 41,414.88 Donate	Even I can't criticise the music in OoT. I think the Forest Temple was a particularly good example of fitting the music to the location--the echoing vocals and rattling percussion were perfect, given the temple's spooky, undead-heavy vibe. __________________ Boo--the only dude bad enough to rescue the president

11-30-2006, 07:13 PM	#7
Booyakasha Mod of War Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wisconsinland Gender: Posts: 6,921 Thanks: 78 Thanked 381 Times in 240 Posts Points: 12,518.00 Bank: 28,896.88 Total Points: 41,414.88 Donate	Believe it or not, I actually downloaded it for that very purpose my first year in college. __________________ Boo--the only dude bad enough to rescue the president

11-30-2006, 04:04 PM	#2
LinkManDX Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Some call it slums, some call it nice! Gender: Posts: 3,345 Thanks: 256 Thanked 211 Times in 123 Posts Points: 16,481.02 Bank: 6,327.87 Total Points: 22,808.89 Donate	Music is supposed to set a mood in a game. What you described is the PERFECT example of this. Zelda does this very well, esp. in OoT.

11-30-2006, 04:09 PM	#3
Bomby The Man Who Sold the World Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere Gender: Posts: 15,266 Thanks: 215 Thanked 629 Times in 409 Posts Blog Entries: 4 Points: 13,109.94 Bank: 2,879,406.64 Total Points: 2,892,516.59 Donate	^ I wasn't saying that Zelda was the only game in which music was used to set up the mood, but it's one of the few that actually does it correctly. I could point out 100 games (and movies) that don't do a very good job.

11-30-2006, 06:53 PM	#4
Tad Venture Moderator of Awesome Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 23,735 Thanks: 587 Thanked 685 Times in 398 Posts Points: 89,470.81 Bank: 127,258.33 Total Points: 216,729.14 Donate	Other games that I definitely credit to this are the Donkey Kong Country games. But yes, you are definitely correct.

11-30-2006, 07:03 PM	#6
Tad Venture Moderator of Awesome Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 23,735 Thanks: 587 Thanked 685 Times in 398 Posts Points: 89,470.81 Bank: 127,258.33 Total Points: 216,729.14 Donate	The Forest Temple music is a great song to put on repeat and do homework.

11-30-2006, 10:03 PM	#8
Wyborn Zelda Mod Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: All over the place Gender: Posts: 12,326 Thanks: 86 Thanked 439 Times in 269 Posts Points: 17,679.94 Bank: 82,155.51 Total Points: 99,835.45 Donate	Twilight Princess' music is also masterful in a different way - the final battle music in particular is so fitting I don't think anything else I've heard has compared.

11-30-2006, 10:42 PM	#9
The Missing Link Professional Lurker Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Hyrule, Washington, US Gender: Posts: 15,684 Thanks: 83 Thanked 294 Times in 201 Posts Points: 11,599.15 Bank: 82,215.45 Total Points: 93,814.60 Donate	The bulk of my MP3 list is Zelda soundtracks. I'm looking forward to getting the Twilight soundtrack, although there was a lot brought forward from Ocarina. Suffice to say, you can get lost in the music of those games rather easily.

11-30-2006, 11:05 PM	#10
Wyborn Zelda Mod Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: All over the place Gender: Posts: 12,326 Thanks: 86 Thanked 439 Times in 269 Posts Points: 17,679.94 Bank: 82,155.51 Total Points: 99,835.45 Donate	Ocarina had the extra advantage in that music was one of the primary themes of the game, so it was a lot easier to remember from repeated exposure.

11-30-2006, 11:16 PM	#11
BrandonTragedy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dirty Looks Gender: Posts: 8,040 Thanks: 212 Thanked 146 Times in 126 Posts Points: 13,719.58 Bank: 97,143.05 Total Points: 110,862.63 Donate	OoT Music > Just about any other game music.

12-01-2006, 05:10 PM	#13
Galefore Gunjinkeeper Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Fully Immersed in the Beauty and Majesty of Music Gender: Posts: 5,819 Thanks: 694 Thanked 406 Times in 304 Posts Blog Entries: 3 Points: 2,557.85 Bank: 21,615.36 Total Points: 24,173.20 Donate	Nobuo Uematsu and Koji Kondo truly are geniuses of mood-setting music. The forest temple is a great one, as is the Shadow Temple, with the operatic moaning and dark, deep background sounds. In Majora's Mask, there was an amazing song in the Woodfall Temple, with the jungle-chanting, the bongo music, and the amazingly fitting, toe-tapping beat. And, to also say a great deal, even the Great Bay Temple's metal clanking music was wonderful to set the undersea tone and the constant danger within the temple-walls. I liked even the Clock-Town music, the fiddle line still playing in my head constantly as I speak. Truthfully, in terms of music, I prefer MM, but OoT is great too. Fire Temple music, Spirirt Temple, Water Temple, it was all befitting. Koji Kondo... that man is brilliant.

12-01-2006, 05:53 PM	#14
*ZeldaGirl* Venting SuperMod Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Why do YOU want to know...? Gender: Posts: 12,072 Thanks: 514 Thanked 853 Times in 582 Posts Points: 29,164.15 Bank: 463,808.78 Total Points: 492,972.92 Donate	Zelda music is really wonderful. And like Boo and ML said, I do listen to the Forest temple when doing homework.

12-01-2006, 07:23 PM	#15
LinkManDX Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Some call it slums, some call it nice! Gender: Posts: 3,345 Thanks: 256 Thanked 211 Times in 123 Posts Points: 16,481.02 Bank: 6,327.87 Total Points: 22,808.89 Donate	Koji Kondo does this in a lot of games, not just this one. The song in the Space Pirate bases in Metroid Prime is an excellent example. The song is kind of a creepy, eerie song that builds up tension, which, combined with a bunch of darkness, builds an incredibly creepy mood in a gamer.

12-01-2006, 09:14 PM	#16
Galefore Gunjinkeeper Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Fully Immersed in the Beauty and Majesty of Music Gender: Posts: 5,819 Thanks: 694 Thanked 406 Times in 304 Posts Blog Entries: 3 Points: 2,557.85 Bank: 21,615.36 Total Points: 24,173.20 Donate	^That is known quite well, but we are in a Zelda forum, therefore we are solely speaking of his genius within the boundries of Zelda. Good point, though.

12-02-2006, 11:01 AM	#17
Koga Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: The Netherlands Gender: Posts: 17,093 Thanks: 104 Thanked 173 Times in 116 Posts Points: 106,381.41 Bank: 20,391.94 Total Points: 126,773.35 Donate	I really like how the music makes the mood of the overworld and underworld so very different, as early as the first game. When I play through OoT I still play the Sun's Song every time night falls, because I want to listen to the music. I think MM had some great tunes, but unfortunately I didn't like the music that plays in any of the four areas before you beat the dungeon boss (the music that is slightyl different in each area, but the same melody). Though it fitted the mood, it's one of my least favourite Zelda tunes of all. I love Deku Fortress, Stone Tower Temple and especially the Milk Bar.

12-02-2006, 12:42 PM	#18
Bomby The Man Who Sold the World Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere Gender: Posts: 15,266 Thanks: 215 Thanked 629 Times in 409 Posts Blog Entries: 4 Points: 13,109.94 Bank: 2,879,406.64 Total Points: 2,892,516.59 Donate	For some reason I've always loved Zelda's Lullaby. The full version, not the ocarina version.

12-02-2006, 02:14 PM	#19
Galefore Gunjinkeeper Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Fully Immersed in the Beauty and Majesty of Music Gender: Posts: 5,819 Thanks: 694 Thanked 406 Times in 304 Posts Blog Entries: 3 Points: 2,557.85 Bank: 21,615.36 Total Points: 24,173.20 Donate	^^Oh, yeah, I just remembered Stone Tower and Deku Fortress. I used to sit in front of the Deku Fortress, the two guards hopping up and down, waiting for me to ask them for entrance, while listening to that great song. Ah, great times. I also liked Wind Waker's Earth God song. It plays at the begining of the game in the title screen, but as well when (Although you probably know this by now, still) Spoiler Below Medli realizes she's a sage and plays it on the harp. It sounds great. Also, Dragon Roost was rather good, and a few of the Dungeons.