16 Piece Brass Band Covers “The Great Sea” from The Wind Waker

I absolutely adore The Wind Waker. Its indelible charm, cel-shaded visuals, massive world, and dynamic combat immersed me completely into the experience from day one. However, as many of you know, the reception of Toon Link’s inaugural outing wasn’t exactly rosy. The aforementioned visuals proved to be a sticking point among fans who were hoping to see something akin to the more “realistic” aesthetic that Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask had portended in their minds. I evangelized to no end the appeal of Wind Waker‘s appearance, making sure to emphasize my point that its art style provided it with longevity and that years from that time it would still look amazing when scrutinized against any metric.

Since that time, cel-shading in video games has continued to be in vogue, but I’m not here to ruminate on how I know better than most people when it comes to the enduring nature of video game design. You see, one point that the short-sighted naysayers and I were able to come to an agreement on when it came to The Wind Waker was that the soundtrack was nothing short of amazing. Re-imaginings of familiar favorites and new pieces collided to create a score that captured the adventurous spirit that this installment staked its claim to fame on. Link, having traded in his trusty steed Epona, was now sailing across a Hyrule completely submerged by a great ocean. All good seafaring adventures are accompanied by compositions that provide a lot of pomp and circumstance that convey the possibilities that lay before the hero/traveler.

“The Great Sea”, the new overworld theme, had a lot to live up to, and it not only met said expectations, it exceeded them. But, just when I thought that I had appreciated the track to its fullest, I listened to The Game Brass’ cover of it and realized that I was quite wrong. This 16 piece brass band brings French horns, trombones, trumpets, and other instruments into play to elevate what was already a boisterous, bold piece into something more. There’s just something about hearing “The Great Sea” orchestrated in this manner that immediately makes me want to start one more playthrough. Everyone in the ensemble deserves a big hand for providing us with such an excellent performance.

Be sure to check out The Game Brass on YouTube for more amazing content.

So what did you think? Are you already humming this song like I am now? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: The Game Brass