This is a post I’ve wanted to work on for a long time. For all intents and purposes, this is my favorite game of all time and it has a musical score to match. Recently a sequel was released in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. The soundtrack reworks many of the original songs from a Link to the Past in some truly beautiful ways. I really wanted to talk about that soundtrack but decided it would make more sense to pay tribute to the original first. As I forewarn with all of these tributes: GAME SPOILERS TO FOLLOW(although seriously if you’ve never played A Link to the Past, can you really call yourself a gamer?)
I want to start out with a big shout out to Koji Kondo! I did not learn his name until recently but he has composed almost all of the best Zelda and Mario soundtracks in existence. You should learn his name too because he deserves to be known.
Title
Right from the title screen this game captured my heart. The beautiful harp as the triforce comes together and then the crashing regal castle theme. A Link to the Past was probably the first game where the music made me feel cool. Epic is the word that comes to mind. This game had scale. A huge (for the time) open world to explore, dungeons to explore, weapons to collect, giant monsters to defeat and secret caves to discover. Every time I turned the game on, this title screen music would prepare me for the battle ahead.
Select Screen
Just like the crystal music in Final Fantasy, the fairy music in Zelda is always a soothing place to start the game. A rest if you will before the coming onslaught. I could sit on the file select scene for hours listening to this soothing theme.
Opening Demo/ Time of the Falling Rain
If you let the title screen sit when you turned the game on, you were treated to a cool opening demo(this happened a lot during the SNES era) and the music that plays is a longer version of the song played in the prologue “Time of Falling Rain”. I love that the game opens during a storm. This music combined with the rainy visuals really set the prologue apart. First of all I was wowed by the storm visuals. Secondly it provides a different perspective of the overworld vs. later in the game. It creates this very specific place in the timing of the game. When you trudge through that same area by your house later in the game and its sunny, you actually have memories of the area from a different time. You think to yourself “Man, remember when I just woke up in my bed and had to walk through the rain and sneak into the castle to rescue Princess Zelda? ” I love that feeling and this is probably the first game I played that provided that experience for me. The feeling of the progression of time and all they did was change the weather and add some mood music. Genius!
Hyrule Castle
I love that the game throws you almost immediately into an adventure. You sneak into a castle, obtain a sword and shield and a dying wish from your uncle, rescue a princess from a mace wielding knight and then sneak out through the sewers! Thats how you start a game! It helps that the Hyrule Castle music is so epic! I like how it makes you feel like a sneaky ninja and a brave knight all at the same time as you take out enemy knights left and right. I love that the game also has more than one way of taking care of threats. Who can forget the first time an enemy’s shield deflected your sword while he was just a little too close to the edge. Watching his hopeless face as he tumbled off into the darkness to that whistling sound. Epic.
Cave
Who can forget the creepy cave music? Traveling through dark tunnels with nothing but the light of your lantern facing rats and snakes while stepping in puddles. This game was the master of atmosphere and its unique area themes helped cement that feeling. Its this kind of music that made you feel weary of strange travelers you’d meet in said tunnels who want to follow you to an exit. An early form of character trust. There was this element of, I met this guy in a seedy cave… is he going to help me or hurt me when I lead him out. (referring to a cave on Death Mountain)
Church
My first experience visiting a church in a videogame. A fitting end to the opening of the game. After traveling through the dungeons of a castle and through some eerie caves, our secret door at the end of the cave leads to…. A church? So cool! The weird SNES choral music and the stained glass windows. I like that you never give a second thought to leaving Zelda in this sanctuary. Its just that serene there.
Overworld Theme
Definitely the most prominent theme for the first half of the game, the “Overworld Theme” is first heard after rescuing Princess Zelda and exiting the sanctuary. The storm has now passed and you walk out into the sunny world of A Link to the Past. This theme is infused with a sense of adventure! The horns boost your confidence about the world around you and the marching drums pleasently accompany you as you travel across the world. I love that they dont provide you with much direction at the start of the game once you reach the overworld. You’re free to travel as you please within the limits of your equipment and to explore the nearby town for some instant gratification of item rewards. A Link to the Past is a perfect example of being an open world game within bounds. You can travel where you want to and uncover new secrets all the time without feeling like there’s just way too much to explore (ie: Bethesda Games). A Link to the Past is a perfectionists dream. Enough variety to keep you on your toes without jamming a bunch of busy work unnecessary content down your throat just to pad out the completion of the game. Every single heart piece and side quest is unique and fun.
Kakariko Village
Your first stop is the nearby Kakariko Village. I love how peaceful the theme is. Its like coming home after a long day at work and finally getting a chance to sit down and rest. I love that the town immediately rewards those who want to explore. Ive played a lot of games recently where they allow you to go off the beaten path and explore but when you do, theres nothing to find. This actually can be detrimental to a gaming experience because if you then later have the opportunity to explore again, you may pass it up because last time it was a waste. Here you can immediately collect bombs and rupees from secret treasure chests, blow up hidden walls to get pieces of heart, purchase your first bottle and get a bug catching net! Stopping by the town, you get to leave with almost double the inventory and you feel much more prepared for your journey.
Soldiers of Kakariko Village
I love the almost ironic intensity of this short theme involving soldiers chasing you after you’re reported to the police.
Guessing – Game House
If you’re going to have minigames that people must play multiple time to achieve victory, you better have an addicting, fun theme to go along with it! There were plenty of minigames in A Link to the Past but two spring up in my mind immediately when I hear this. The first is shooting arrows at faraway targets with precise timing to earn rupees and the second is digging digging digging for that final piece of heart.
Sanctuary Dungeon
Zelda games can really be divided into two distinct pieces. Overworld exploration and Dungeon Exploration. A Link to the Past has some of the best dungeons in gaming history and this theme propels you forward through them. My favorite part is the subtle horn solo. So beautiful. I could sit here and talk about all the joys that await you in the dungeons of a Link to the Past but you really just have to enjoy them for yourself.
Boss BGM
Another staple of Legend of Zelda is epic boss battles. Monsters many times the size of your measly Link. I found this cool video that tributes all the bosses so feel free to watch it if you want some serious nostalgia. Boss music needs to be in your face and intense to amp up the feel of the battle and this short but powerful theme works wonders in making the bosses feel scary.
Boss Clear Fanfare
And every game needs a victory cheer to reward you for that hard earned victory.
Turned Into a Rabbit
One of the MOST WTF moments in gaming! The first time you use the warp portal to enter an alternate universe and become a bunny rabbit!? You see a goblin kicking around a little plushy character. Nothing makes sense! And then before you know it, you’re back in the real world tackling the temple for the third pendant. I love this short little theme. Its full of mystery and fills you with a sense of curiosity. It also foreshadows one of the greatest twists in gaming history. At this point in the game, no one could have imagined that there was an entire second world in that alternate universe. It’s like watching the first season of SPOILERS Fringe before discovering just how deep the rabbit whole goes into the alternate universe.
Forest
Once again atmosphere wins in A Link to the Past! After collecting the 3 pendants, its time to head to the forest in search of the legendary Master Sword! The forest is a hazy maze full of secret traps and even a thief! I love the flutes.
Master Sword
That feeling you get when you finally reach the master sword and pull it out of the stone!! Theres nothing like it and this music helps reward you experience.
Priest/ Ganon’s Message
Aghanim. The evil priest who caused this whole mess in the first place. His goal is to open the portal between the light world and the dark in order to resurrect Ganon. He whisks Zelda away to the dark world. Link defeats Aghanim in a fierce battle of magic beam tennis and the game is finally over….
Dark World Theme
In one of the greatest twists in gaming history, Link is banished to the dark world, awakening on top of a giant pyramid as this theme begins to play. This is by far my favorite zelda music of all time. So dark and foreboding and yet still filled with that same propulsion for adventure that the Hyrule Theme provides. The best part about this twist is that a game you thought you’d beaten turns out to be barely started. 8 more dungeons await you! Double the amount you’ve already completed! Collecting the seven crystals and bouncing back and forth between the two dimensions is fun beyond all reason. Doing it all to this song… What a masterpiece!
Dark World Dungeon
The dark world also means we get a new dungeon theme. This creepy ominous music accompanies all of the dark dungeons and keeps the tension firm with its shaky strings and deep horns. So many dungeon memories!
Crystal/Rescue Zelda Theme
The dark world is intense most of the time. Your one respite is upon receiving each of the 7 crystals when youre rewarded with beautiful theme to calm you down again before popping back up on the world map. When you finally rescue Zelda, this theme is expanded upon starting at around the 50 second mark. This second hauntingly beautiful little addition to the theme is just so perfectly amazing! I’d love for them to expand upon that theme….
Dark Forest Mountain
When you finally make it back up the mountain in the dark world to tackle the final dungeon, you encounter yet another amazingly epic victory theme. Nothing pumps you up for the final dungeon like this theme does. I’m a firm believer in games having unique music for their final dungeons/bosses because once again, they provide a sense of progression, a feeling that this is something different from the run of the mill in the game.
Battle With Ganon
Speaking of which, who can forget the music playing during the epic final showdown with Ganon inside the pyramid?? The crazy tension as he starts to turn invisible, toss a giant trident at you and tries to literally end the battle by knocking you out of the arena. Shooting silver arrows never felt so good.
Triforce Chamber
Remember when I said I wished they would expand on that piece of theme in the Zelda Rescue Theme? Well here it is in all its glory! The Triforce Chamber and its haunting melody as you finally get to hold the triforce over your head! Damn that thing is big!
Ending Theme
Beating A Link to Past gets you a beautiful seven and a half minute ending theme complete with a full montage of character endings as we see a birds eye view of the world we spent so much time exploring. The theme really provides a sense of victory. It reminds of when they all win medals at the end of the first Star Wars. There’s just this sense of pride and joy and laughter.
Credits
I love that sitting through the credits provides you with this cool slowed down version of the hyrule theme!
So there you have it! A highlight of some of the best nostalgic music in video game history that accompanies possibly the greatest video game of all time. Let me know if you enjoyed this and what games you want to see next! Should I continue my final fantasy VI tribute? More Zelda? Chrono Trigger? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thanks again for reading!