Daily Debate: What’s the Best Temple Theme Song in Tears of the Kingdom?
Posted on November 26 2023 by Josh Wittmershaus
Recently, I wrote a Daily Debate discussing the best dungeon and temple theme songs throughout the franchise. Absent from my top 5 is any song from Tears of the Kingdom. So, I want to focus specifically on our newest edition to the Zelda world and the music that accompanies us in the temples or “levels.” One thing I really enjoyed about Tears’ temple themes is that they changed over time as you unlocked more parts and progressed towards the final boss. For the sake of this debate, I am going to focus on just the music in the temple or dungeon and their corresponding areas, and not the music played during the battle with bosses.
This leaves us with the music from the following events and areas.
- “Wind Temple Theme” (including the approach to the Wind Temple also known as “Cumulonimbus”)
- “Fire Temple Theme”
- “Lightning Temple Theme”
- “Spirit Temple Theme”
- “Water Temple Theme”
- Thunderhead Isles theme
- Construct Factory theme
- “Hyrule Castle Theme” (i.e., the Zelda chase sequence)
- “Ancient Zora Waterworks Theme”
- Gloom’s Approach and Gloom’s Lair theme
- “Yiga Clan Hideout Theme”
I chose not to include Lomei Labyrinths; however, I totally understand the argument of including them and if you choose to have them on your list. That said, here’s my top five:
5. “Water Temple Theme” — This temple gets a lot of criticism from the fanbase, but one thing that I enjoyed about this was the music. It felt so deep and dark at times, which contrasted well with the visuals of being in the sky among bright blue architecture.
4. “Gloom’s Approach and Gloom’s Lair theme — I wouldn’t be surprised if this was most people’s first choice. The reversed vocals and choppy, chaotic instruments really conveys how demented and distorted this area is, and how much it has been corrupted by gloom and by Ganondorf.
3. “Wind Temple Theme” and “Cumulonimbus” — The music leading up to the ship is dark and heavy like the storm surrounding it, but once inside the ship, the music becomes more light and airy, like much of the music in the game. As you progress throughout the dungeon, the music becomes more and more haunting, almost reminding me of the theme song to the movie Halloween. By the time you’ve made it to the end, the once-ambient theme has turned into a militant march with a full orchestra leading you to face Colgera.
2. “Construct Factory Theme” — I think what I enjoyed the most about this is my experience of stumbling upon it before the game had progressed enough to let me interact with it. While I raced around trying to figure out what to do, the beautiful, almost regal music accompanied me, with strings drawing out notes and echoing vocals reminiscent of the sacred place it turned out to be.
1. “Fire Temple Theme” — Long, padded out instruments and vocals resonate in the background of a chaotic dance between synthesizers and percussion. This didn’t feel like happy-go-lucky Goron City anymore. As one progresses through the temple, the drums become more forceful, strings become more prominent, and eventually it takes on a flute that brings the whole song into something I’d expect to hear on a 1970s fusion jazz record. We need to talk more about how cool this song is.
Honorable Mention: The Hyrule Castle theme that plays while you’re chasing Zelda was very exciting, and the music really conveyed the sense of tension in the air, but it didn’t quite stand out to me like my top five did.
Did I miss anything in my complete list? What do you think of my top 5? What’s your favorite temple/dungeon music from Tears of the Kingdom? Let’s chat about it in the comments!
Josh Wittmershaus is a writer at Zelda Dungeon. Originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, he now resides in Northern California. Aside from Zelda, Josh enjoys playing music, seeing live music, music history, and all other things music. He also enjoys skating, hockey, and the occasional political or philosophical thought exercise.
