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A collection of my favorite videogame music. Note that most of them are from games I played so I might miss some great ones from games I never played.
Switch / Wii U
Zelda : Breath of the Wild (2017)
Hyrule Castle
Manaka Kataoka & Yasuaki Iwata
I'm impatiently waiting to get my hands on a Switch to play this (I know the Wii U version is completely OK, but it's not like I don't already have tons of games to play), and with such a historically high reception, I'm beyond excited. I went to a friend's house last week and he showed a couple parts and the size of the world, how dense it is and the number of things you can do is mind boggling. He also showed me a few minutes of the Hyrule Castle as he was about to go fight Ganon and hearing this theme was amazing. Honestly, this raises a new bar for Open World games and I wonder how other developers will react to prevent their own games in the genre from feeling bland. I look forward to playing it and give it my full thoughts here afterwards.
I believe everyone who plays Breath of the Wild will have complaints (both minor and major ones), but most of them arises from the way you play it. BotW is not only completely non-linear, but it also gives the player a lot of freedom in their own play style. I know a lot of people who played it, and everyone played it in different ways. One did a lot of sidequests, one rushed directly to dungeons, one did not use potions and food so that battles got harder, etc. I feel like BotW will revolutionize the open world genre. Its level design is stellar to say the least, far beyond most games. If you play it, have fun! It really is a good game.
Speaking of the overworld: Monoltih Soft (known for Xenoblade) helped Nintendo with BotW. Which means that every piece of the overworld is made by hand, and not generated biomes like many other open world games (like Skyrim). The attention to details is overwhelming.
I'm also waiting on buying a switch. I may pick one up this summer of course with this game. I'm trying not to look at gameplay or watch reviews of this game. Being a long time Zelda fan, I'm sure it's amazing.
The game is so epic its almost overwhelming. I do recommend it though. Agree this theme makes challenging the ruined castle feel truly epic.
I got it for the Wii U, good times. I'd just get it for the Wii U if you have one, but yeah it's your call if you really feel like you have to wait. I wouldn't even consider getting a Switch until Christmas. I wound up actually loving the WIi U after all when I randomly bought it one summer sale. There just isn't a lot on the Switch at all now. I don't really get that soft launch entirely though I'd like to see the Switch do well as I feel bad for the Wii U in some aspects. Nintendo gimped themselves relying too much on the tablet gimmick, but I still like the Wii U a lot anyways (never owning a Wii helps my case for it too).
I do not think you need to not own a Wii to love your Wii U. It has a lot of amazing games. Like Wonderful 101, Yoshi's Wooly World, Xenoblade X, Zelda BotW, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, etc.
Even though BotW lived up to its hype for many people, there are always those for which it did not. If so, the hype is most probably its downfall. BotW is a great game, but everyone will find both objective and subjective flaws in it.
I know people have mixed feelings about the soundtrack for this game (personally I like it), but this is one of my favourite pieces of music in the whole series.
this one is my favorite and i love wen it smoothly shanges when you go outside
This song is made 1000 times more impactful if you hear it for the first time by going straight to the castle from the plateau. Everything about that castle makes you feel like you are a scrub who has no business being there at that point in the game (in terms of in-game progress as well as personal skill). The music only adds to that feeling of being over your head.
Jacob Equi my brother went straight there first thing to grab the hylian shield
I was panicking the entire time when I got to Hyrule Castle, I was so used to the calm melancholy music so the Hyrule castle music made me feel crazy xD it's even more intense outside
the only good song i like of this mediocre zelda
Elias Nicolas Miranda Mediocre? Why
the most boring and weakest zelda i've ever see weak soundtrack,generic open world,no enemy variety,weapon durability,style ripped from tron (neon everywhere),the same looking dungeons (very important problem in a zelda game),cringy voiceacting and meh story. even the dungeons of skyward sword have more variety then BOTW and the open world is too generic remind me of final fantasy 15,the infamous metal gear solid 5 and fuel i hope the next zelda has more effort on the dungeons,story and variety and return with no voice acting everyone put a 10/10 but is not i've give a 8.5 or 9 because is still a great game for everyone who like open world games but for me in a zelda is mediocre
in my top 10 best main zelda games i put in last place
You'd put Breath of the Wild 10th of the main Zelda games? There are only 9 main console games (the original, Zelda II, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild). I'm curious what your top 10 list is, because it seems like you're being contrary for attention.
counting with hyrule warriors in the main consoles my top 10:breath of the wild 9:zelda 2 the adventure of link 8:hyrule warriors 7:zelda nes 6:skyward sword 5:majoras mask 4:twilight princess 3:wind waker 2:ocarina of time 1:a link to the past portable zelda i like is oracle of ages and seasons
Hyrule Warriors does not count. It is a spin-off.
He thinks Zelda II is better than Breath of the Wild, there's no point in arguing.
Nicholas Jervey well zelda 2 was my first zelda game
i like how you have a "top 10" but one of them is a spin-off which you could have instead replaced with a legitimate (and one of the best, if not the best) zelda game, link's awakening
Elias Nicolas Miranda Everybody is entitled to their opinion... I don't agree with you though ... But BOTW is not my favourite Zelda... That honor goes to Majora's Mask... BOTW is in the top 5 for me...
don't you just love bait?
Elias Nicolas Miranda personally I think it has one of the best overall soundtracks and is highly under rated
Elias Nicolas Miranda if you put Hyrule warriors in your top ten I can't trust your opinion
This is both inside and outside versions put together?
I haven't played this game, but I don't understand, why the song sounds so dark? Did Ganon took over the castle?
Yes
No surprise with this pick. Such a theme that gives off a feeling of past glory and future hope!
the genius of Japanese composers
wow
So Koji Kondo didn't do the OST for BOTW?
Nope, he did not. However, it was a really long time ago since he alone made a Zelda soundtrack. Also, BotW builds atmosphere on sound effects instead of music. Just another norm BotW has broken.
Koji Kondo hasn't been the main music director for zelda since Majora's mask, every other zelda he just contributed to.
+MAP3Music I believe it was OOT not Majora's Mask where he alone was the Composer.
+Eirian Odalis Yeah sad. Just doesn't feel like a true Zelda game without Koji Kondo...just like Mario doesn't feel right without him...
I disagree Destati. BotW shares many aspects of the Zelda series (excellent world building, weird npcs, etc.), and it shares more aspects with the NES Zelda than any other Zelda game out there. Its overworld is a silent beauty. Decaying ruins, little civilization, and a lot of wild animals. I did not mean it as a bad thing when I said that BotW builds atmosphere using sound effects instead of music. Unlike for example Dark Souls, which does the same thing, I would say that BotW really nailed this technique.
+Eirian Odalis Interesting. If that's the case then that's a good thing. There's many perfect scores for BOTW so I'm definitely interested in buying it. I'm still in awe of Windwaker and how great that game was since I myself went into that with little expectations lol...was I wrong...
Many of the reviewers who gave it a perfect 10/10 has said afterwards that 10/10 does not mean a perfect masterpiece, it means a very good first impression from the first playthrough. Speaking of WW, I think the art design in BotW is slightly better than that in WW, which is amazing considering how much I love the WW art design.
I'm so glad you used the indoor version, I prefer it by far.
Does anyone else here a bit of Ballad of the Wind Fish at 2:45?
There's something about the instruments that kick in at 00:20 that just reminds of final boss music in Final Fantasy. I was waiting for this song to appear on this channel though. When it started in BotW I stopped playing to listen to it.
Time to stock up on high-end swords!
I got chills when I first heard that. It's amazing
I like how the track gets more quiet and incorporates Zelda's Lullaby when indoor and goes more bombastic when outdoor with all the Guardian turrets and drones. But my personal favorite track of BotW has to be the maze theme.
Can't listen just yet. I'm about to make my final push for Hyrule Castle tomorrow. Disregarding the Korok seeds I'm about 95% done with the other stuff. Gonna probably look up where to find a few things after taking down the final boss cause really, when you only have 8 shrines left it's not something I feel like looking for like a madman. I still need two more memories. One which I'm very well aware where it is and one where I really haven't the slightest clue thanks to how vague the image is.
Awesome theme!
Wow. This beautiful art! Its like the cover for a Zelda game back in the 90's! Also sacred Death Mountain, behold in all its danger.
My playthrough is winding down a bit at 120 hours. There are a few sidequests and shrines left, and I already look at a lot of places of Hyrule and thinking "Man, I wish I could explore this for the first time again." That's how you know you're playing an incredible game. It's not perfect, I have a few problems with it, but it's one of the best games I've played in a long time, and I'm really excited to see what's next for the franchise.
Exactly the same for me. Cheers!
There's a lot of great music in BotW but this is definitely the piece that stands out the most, melodically. A fantastic merging of the Zelda, Ganon, Windfish and Main themes.
I agree with you bro
This was one of the few really memorable pieces of music from the game. The music's still fine, but nowhere near as memorable as in the previous ones
I imagine BotW's OST was designed to be more ambient. Since you'll be travelling a lot in the overworld, they probably wanted to avoid the music from being repetitive and distract you from taking in the glorious environments surrounding you. The more standout tracks were given to all the towns (since you won't stay in them too long, they wrote the songs to be more impressive and therefore memorable, before leaving them), as well as the battles to increase the tension/drama of the action. If they made a standout track like OoT's Hyrule Field and put it on repeat in BotW's overworld, it would probably get really old fast (despite how good it is.)
Yeah, it makes sense, it's just after previous games having some of the best video game soundtracks of all time, it's slightly underwhelming to have just a good soundtrack for this
agreed for the most part, but i prefer the battle music the way it is since in WW for example i got tired of hearing strings that sounded like Yoda is Racist everytime i got remotely close to an enemy lmfao
It is a great soundtrack, it is just not as good to just listen too as the previous titles. I think the music is awesome in game though. It really brings out the atmosphere they were aiming for.
I don't think it was the soundtrack itself that was bad, but the lack of one. There wasn't a lot of music in the game, but in the sparse areas that had music, they were fantastic. This track, Calamity Ganon battle, Rito Village, Gerudo City, Kakariko, the Divine Beast Battles, Blight battles, Sandworm battle, and Horse-Night theme are just a few themes that sounded amazing. It's a shame that the developers decided to go with a more ambient soundtrack then a full blown orchestral arrangement like previous games.
I guess you just have poor and easily distracted taste. The subtly and delivery of all the music in Breath Of The Wild is moving and graceful more so than any 3 minute jingle you hear on repeat in other Zelda games.
Fuck off Jared, don't get pretentious with me about a video game soundtrack
To be honest, I love Breath of the Wild's music. Sure, it's not as memorable as the previous titles but there is something special about that music that feels "Zelda-ish" with that atmosphere. Maybe it's because of this atmosphere that I still remember of the music. I feel an epic soundtrack would break that universe and I could be kinda annoyed by that. But I understand what you are saying. There's so much memorable music in the saga that BotW's music sounds odd or unusual.
Looks like your bad manners exceeds your bad tastes.
Funny when you were the one with bad manners to begin with. Don't be a hypocrite.
lmfao fuck off jared
Jared my dear boy, you were the one whom was acting in a manner most splendiferously uncouth in the first instance
god dammit, because of you i cant watch yoda's death without trying (and failing) to hold back laughter
I hear hints of Ballad of the Windfish and Zelda's lullaby.
Aquanet there's bits of OG Overworld, Ganondorf's Theme, and OG Hyrule Castle as well
Oh, shoot. I was not expecting Zelda's Lullaby to be mixed into this. I love when composers take a song associated with "good" and corrupt it into something that sounds "bad", which, apparently, this entire song does. It's beautiful.
DScribbleF ikr?! It's like all is wrong!
The power of minor keys baby