Link’s Awakening Composer Talks About the Creation Process for the Remake’s Score
Posted on October 03 2019 by Kristen G. Rosario
Ah, Zelda music. It is one of the backbones of the series, breathing even more life into each adventure we journey through. Even with a title from the franchise that may not be as great as you want it to be, you can’t deny the music’s always pretty good. This is why it’s nice when we get a chance to hear about the creative process for our favorite Zelda scores.
In a behind-the-scenes discussion with Link’s Awakening remake composer Ryo Nagamatsu, he talked about what it took to create, and recreate, the iconic score. Nagamatsu says that they had to look at the score differently considering the visual style that the game was representing:
Nagamatsu: In the Legend of Zelda games, we often use orchestrated music, and we also have a tendency to make the music more dramatic by adding elements to it when there’s already an original version of the song. However, since a large orchestra wouldn’t really fit the visuals of this title, I kept it to a small one this time. At the same time, we still needed music with ‘oomph’ for a Legend of Zelda game, so I initially created the title music using brass instruments:
Considering the unique story and characters that appear in Link’s Awakening, Nagamatsu says they decided to go into a non-orchestral direction. So throughout all the trial and error when challenging themselves to create this different kind of music, they were able to succeed. Though he does admit they had a little bit of fun when working out using this musical style:
Nagamatsu: The advantage of playing one melody with one instrument is that changes in expression or how the melody is played are easier to feel because they result in a more direct change in the music. As a result, we can make the melody wonderful on its own without tweaking it or making the arrangement more extravagant. Old games only had few tones anyway, so in that sense it’s really a straightforward remake. During the testing stage, we actually went as far as this (*laughs*):
The last interesting tidbit that Nagamatsu brings up is how they use audio clips from the original Link’s Awakening and put them into some of the remake’s scores. This is something that I myself have noticed when playing, and I think it’s a pretty nice nod to where the game originated from.
What are your thoughts on how they creating the score for the Link’s Awakening remake? What’s been your favorite score from the game? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Nintendo
Kristen G. Rosario is an Editor who joined Zelda Dungeon back in September of 2015. His current goal is to become a full-time video game journalist, hoping to eventually gain a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. While he pursues that dream, he not only takes care of his adorable dachshund Angel, but also helps run a YouTube channel with his brother. The Zelda series is a quest he hasn’t fully completed yet, but hopes to get there one day.
