Daily Debate: What Zelda Sounds Have a Personal Connection in Your Life?

A while back, I wrote an editorial on how the sounds of the Zelda series are well-designed to stimulate our emotions and imaginations. Fast forward a few months, and my daughter has really cut her teeth on a number of Zelda games, especially Breath of the Wild and the Warriors titles. Now, when she has to force a laugh at one of my groaner dad jokes, she sounds like a found Korok.

Back when personalizing phone alerts was the hot new thing, I searched all over for various Zelda chimes. I would assign a different version of a treasure chest or item pickup to each notification worth its salt. To this day, if my phone makes a Zelda noise, it’s from an app or alarm that truly Pavlov’s my dog. For instance, anything to do with Zelda Dungeon and my phone pumps out the sound of an enemy being slain in A Link to The Past.

One final example from back when mobile phones weren’t common: I had a friend in college who would belt out the last phrase of Wind Waker‘s item-reveal tune whenever he would buzz my apartment lobby. Hearing those couple of notes, I knew, whether he was there to study or hang out, the day had just gotten a little better.

So what is it for you? Are there Zelda sounds that syncopate your day, connecting your real life to your love of Zelda? If it’s a recurring sound, is there a certain game’s version of it that is definitive to you? “Sound” off below!

Andrew Millard

Andrew is a writing teacher in the American Upper Midwest. He has been playing Zelda games since 1990.