It took me a while to come around onthe new version of the Legend of Zelda format. While I likedBreath of the Wildjust fine, I couldn’t help but miss the classic Zelda dungeons and tools that the series was known for. By the timeTears of the Kingdomcame out, however, I was fully on board with everything Nintendo was doing with the series.
While I do miss some of the more classic Zelda elements like the linear dungeons solved used tools found within them, there are plenty ofother games that scratch similar itches, like Death’s Door and Tunic. There is one thing, however, that no series has gotten right since The Legend of Zelda dropped its traditional structure in favor of its open-ended design: the music.
The Legend of Zelda is missing a musical element that has always been a staple of each game. Link used to actually be a part of the game’s score. Now that the series is in a new era, I can’t help but feel like something has been lost along the way.
Zelda Has Become Intentionally Quiet
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom areintentionally quiet games. Both largely ditch the bombastic scores of the previous entries in the series in favor of quiet piano melodies that complement the scattered remains of Hyrule. I understandwhythe games sound the way they do, but I think that adding a musical instrument to Link’s toolbelt would do something to help tie the sparse bits of the score together with the player to make a more cohesive, emotional experience.
Take The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, for example.The game tied its soundtrack to the various songsthat we had to learn and play on the titular ocarina, making each one memorable. Since there were songs for each area of the game and songs tied to major story moments, the ocarina helped establish a mood for different sections with the player based on how each song felt. A similar argument can be made about the Wind Waker conductor baton inThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, as well as the various instruments Link has access to through the masks in Majora’s Mask.
The Zelda series is intrinsically tied to music- through its score, yes - but also through the songs that the player is required to perform. It’s a shame that the most recent entries have dropped that element in favor of a much quieter, less musical style.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the music in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, but I also don’t find it memorable in any way. I can kind of hear the quick piano theme in my head that plays when you come across a Guardian, but other than that, I don’t connect with the soundtrack in any meaningful way. Getting Link involved with it in some form by giving him an instrument orsome other musical mechanicwould do a lot to make it resonate with me more.
The Role Of Musical Instruments In Zelda
The musical element of previous games in the Zelda series served an important functional purpose as well. Playing a certain song lets you fast-travel or conjure the wind to sail in a certain direction quickly or heal the sick for story purposes. I understand that it’s much simpler to just fast-travel to the Skyview Towers in Tears of the Kingdom by selecting them on the map, and I’m not saying that should change per se for future entries, but just that the music that the player performed had a tangible effect on the world and served as another tool for Link to use.
Even in Twilight Princess, Link will play a tune on some Grass Whistle to summon Epona - subtle, but still present.
Additionally, there was also a fair amount of ‘magic,’ for lack of a better word, that came with the music in previous games. There are plenty of magical entities in Hyrule, but perhaps the most accessible and the most powerful were the songs handed downthrough generations of Hylians and Gorons and Zora. The music felt like an important part of the world, a tradition that Link and the player, by extension, got to participate in. Its absence in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom makes the series feel like it’s lost something that made it really come alive.
I’m not sure what kind of place musical instruments can have in the series now that it’s dropped its classic structure and embraced a new one, but I’m sure Nintendo would be able to figure out an interesting way of including them inthe next mainline Zelda game.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Link is just going through a phase right now where he’s embarrassed by the music he used to listen to and make when he was younger. If he’s anything like me, however, he’ll come around again and realize that it’s actually pretty good still. Who knows, maybe he’ll drop hundreds of rupees to see My Hylian Romance now that they’re on tour again. Or maybe that’s just me?
