Check Out the Evolution of Zelda Music as Performed on Violin
Posted on September 15 2018 by Sean Gadus
Is there a more identifiable and iconic feature of the Legend of Zelda series than its music? Since 1986, when Koji Kondo’s iconic Overworld theme exploded into our hearts and minds, the series has been lauded for its diverse and wonderful back catalog of music. It’s so popular that it has its own incredible concert series, Symphony of the Goddesses.
This video by Rob Landes is a wonderful compendium of Zelda songs throughout the past three decades. With a lot of quirky humor and inside jokes for veteran fans of the series, this video is a love letter to all things Zelda. I love how the original versions of the music play alongside Landes, which really helps the viewer/listener to track the evolution of the music in Nintendo’s prolific series.
The video opens with the classic Overworld theme (complete with Landes waking up and the oft-quoted, “it’s dangerous to go alone”). From there, it moves forward in time, featuring songs like Zelda II‘s Great Palace theme, A Link to The Past‘s Death Mountain/Skull Forest theme, Ocarina of Time’s title theme, Majora’s Mask‘s Stone Tower Temple theme, The Wind Waker‘s Dragon Roost Island theme, Twilight Princess‘ “Midna’s Desperate Hour,” Skyward Sword‘s “Fi’s Farewell/Gratitude,” and Breath of the Wild‘s main theme. It’s a laundry list of stellar songs, all of which are lovingly recreated on violin.
What do you think of this wonderful journey through The Legend of Zelda’s musical history? Let us know in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
