Daily Debate: What Were Your Thoughts of the Pre-Recorded Zelda Orchestra Concert?
Posted on February 11 2024 by Michaela El-Ters
Nintendo released the pre-recorded Zelda Orchestra Concert on February 9, 2024 for music enthusiasts and Zelda fans around the world to enjoy. Nearly 30 minutes long, the concert featured a variety of songs from Zelda games old and new, such as main theme from Tears of the Kingdom, “Ballad of the Goddess,” “Zelda’s Lullaby,” “The Ballad of the Windfish,” and many more.
The concert was pre-recorded without an audience, and this was admittedly pretty noticeable at the beginning and in between songs when the orchestra would stand up. If you’ve been to a Zelda concert, let alone any video game concert, you’re expecting the applause! The silence was almost distracting. Luckily, though, the performances were fantastic. The screen behind the orchestra played scenes and gameplay from across the franchise and the recording seamlessly transitioned between showing the screen and the orchestra. The dynamic lighting on the stage was also pretty great, setting the tone and mood for each song effectively.
If there’s anything I took away from this performance, it made me appreciate how good the main theme song was for Breath of the Wild, and how much I enjoyed it more than Tears of the Kingdom’s music. Hearing them in the same performance reminded me of how gripping and moving Breath of the Wild‘s main theme is. Could it also be that I watched those trailers a million times in 2017 before the game came out? Maybe.
In terms of music selection, I think it was pretty good, but there were definitely some selections and omissions that felt like missteps. For example, the concert did not feature any melodies specifically from The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, or Majora’s Mask. Meanwhile, the concert included two songs from Breath of the Wild. Don’t get me wrong, they are both incredible songs! But with a series this expansive and so little time, I would have liked to see a greater selection of songs across the games. Especially if two Breath of the Wild songs means sacrificing an inclusion from The Wind Waker, for example.
Overall, though, this concert was beautiful to watch. I think it’s amazing that Nintendo took the time to record it and share it globally when it could have just as easily have been canceled entirely (and it would have been justified). What did you think of the Zelda Orchestra Concert? Let us know in the comments!
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.
