You have found the Master Sword!
Since Twilight Princess is to blame for my recent absence, it only seems fitting to dedicate this post to my favorite series of all time, The Legend of Zelda. In fact, I will go one step further, and do what can be arguably the most important song in each game; the title theme.
Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo - Title The Legend of Zelda ~Takt of Wind~ Original Sound Tracks Titled Windwaker in America, this opening track to the game quickly let you know that this installment in the epic series would be different. Being very celtic in nature, it’s a cheerful little number that you can’t help but smile at when it comes on. It helps to set the mood for the rest of the game quite well.
Koji Kondo, Ryuichi Katsumata - Title Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony Though the song has been updated in presentation, the beauty loses nothing. As opposed to the Windwaker’s opening theme, Ocarina of Time’s title track is a more mellow song. With a touch of meloncholy to it, the darker, more serious nature of the game becomes quickly apparent. After having played the game, even, you can even hear the sadness that comes with the story in the title.
Koji Kondo - Title BGM Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1 That’s right. The title to the game that started it all. Though the production is sorely outdated by today’s standards, the epic feeling that it stirred inside each person who powered on their NES that first time to find themselves in the amazing world of Hyrule is still the same. The nostalgia value in this is so high it’s almost unbearable. It makes you want to power that relic up once more and follow link through the original quest once more.
It’s only a fiddle in the south.
One of the best things about video game music is when it’s redone. One way of redoing it is with a full-blown orchestra. It adds something special to the original composition, especially for older games or ones on systems who’s musical capabilities are very limited.
Noriyuki Iwadare - Gyakuten Saiban - Courtroom Suite Gyakuten Saiban Orchestra Album ~Gyakuten Saiban Meets Orchestra~ From the Gyakuten Saiban series (Phoenix Wright in America), this orchestral version of the soundtrack is amazing to say the least. The music takes on a whole new persona with the full-bodied sound that only an orchestra can provide. This song in particular becomes an epic masterpiece by itself. You can just imagine yourself in a courtroom as the drama unfolds before your eyes.
Yoshihiro Arita With His Band, Seiko - The Song of Epona Mario & Zelda Big Band Live CD This interpretation of the Epona theme from Ocarina of Time does such a good job of recreating the feel of the song. The performance throws the song heavily into the Country genre, but that’s where it belongs to begin with. Even those who aren’t fans of the style might enjoy this track.
London Symphony Orchestra - LILIA Symphonic Suite Falcom Neo Classic From Studios in London City Whether you’ve played a Ys game or have even heard of Falcom is not important here. What is important is that the music to their games is generally in the higher end of the spectrum, and this piece helps prove that. This 10+ minute suite is beautiful to say the least. It’s almost hard to imagine that it came from a game, but it did.