Tears of the Kingdom Composer Masato Ohashi Discusses The Challenges and Joys of Creating The Game’s Soundtrack
Posted on April 16 2024 by Sean Gadus
Tears of the Kingdom is an absolutely massive game, and it required a soundtrack as sprawling and epic as its map in order to do Hyrule justice. Like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom utilized a variety of composers to construct its sprawling soundtrack. The game features the work of four composers: Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, and Tsukasa Usui.
As part of a post on Nintendo’s Japanese recruitment website (as translated by Nintendo Everything), Tears of the Kingdom composer Masato Ohashi discusses the challenges of constructing some of the game’s expansive soundtrack as well as the process behind creating his favorite track. For Tears of the Kingdom, Ohashi was responsible for composing the dungeon interior music, character themes, and cutscene music. Ohashi notes that one of the major challenges of composing for the game is balancing the soundtrack with the game’s sound effects. It is important to create music that does not interfere or detract from the “flow of play, make the sound effects hard to hear, or clash with the mood or tempo.” For the composers, it was crucial that the music supports the experiences the player is having in the game rather than distract from it.
One of the songs that Ohashi is most proud of is the ascent to the Wind Temple. This piece proved to be very complicated because it involves a long period of gameplay, and the music needed to give the player a sense of progression over an extended period of time. Ohashi and the team ultimately divided the piece into different sections or arrangements: one for the lowest level of altitude near the snowy mountains, another for the group of ruins that climb towards the sky, a third for the floating boats, and a final arrangement for the skydive into the tornado. Ohashi actually started by creating the music for the climatic scene of Link skydiving into the tornado, and then worked backwards to ensure that the tension is building as the player climbs higher and higher.
The composer discusses the importance of creating a sense of momentum for the player as they climb higher and higher, along with the sense of relief or excitement when the player finally reaches their destination:
“We wanted to reflect the change as the player got closer to the hidden goal of their journey in the clouds, as they climbed higher and higher, and the cold became more severe. Then, when you reach the ship and jump down into the clouds, the blizzard stops and a blue sky stretches out before you, and we decided to have the scene without music, to give a truly lasting impression of a sunny spectacle.”
Ohashi also shares his reaction to playing this section of Tears of the Kingdom for the first time, and he felt joy and satisfaction in knowing that the music came together according his vison and the vision of the programmers. This comment leads into the Ohashi’s reflection on the critical role that collaboration played in Tears of the Kingdom‘s success. Ohashi worked alongside programmers and designers when composing for the game, and successful communication between different teams allowed Nintendo and its team to create music “without compromise.”
What do you think of this interview by Tears of the Kingdom composer Masato Ohashi? Are there any other songs from the game that you would like to know more about? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Nintendo (via Nintendo Everything)
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.
