General Zelda Best Soundtrack

[ihateghirahim]

Music has been a key part of Zelda since the first game; both in gameplay and in theme music. Its one of the best parts of the games. So what is the best soundtrack?

 

[JuicieJ]

Skyward Sword's. It has a remarkable amount of diversity in tones while never straying from a specific style that fits the game, and an extra layer of depth was added onto the otherwise simplistic soundtracks of the past, making the music more robust and atmospheric while keeping the timeless memorability. It's pure pleasure to listen to.

Runner-up is definitely Spirit Tracks.

 

[Ronin]

Twilight Princess. For many people the soundtrack seemed unmemorable and/or repetitious, but aside from Majora's Mask it's the one I remember the most and love all the more. I'd explore the vastness of Hyrule Field just to listen to its theme, and even take my time in Boss fights to hear that epic rise in tempo as Link was about to smite his foe. Maybe fans don't remember the music too well overall, but those are two prominent instances that struck me as unforgettable.

 

[Moonstone]

I felt the soundtrack of Wind Waker best gave me the sense of openness and adventure, which is all I ask for in a Zelda game.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Would have to be Twilight Princess, I think this soundtrack is definitely one of the most underrated when it comes to this kind of discussion. Honestly when it comes to soundtrack there are 2 distinct games that come to mind and they are Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess, for some reason I think it's the contrast that I love about these two.

Twilight Princess is definitely a darker Zelda game than most and it had more realistic situations and themes, which in my opinion worked hand in hand with the soundtrack. An example would be the theme of the Twilight Realm, it was dark and mysterious and in a way fearful, this suited the current situation in my opinion as we saw the terror that had took over Hyrule. Midna's Lament would be another example, this theme did have this sort of magical tone but it was quite depressing which again suited the current situation, Midna was on the verge of death, this track really captured the moment and made it feel more realistic. I think there were quite a few fresh additions that set a dark and mysterious tone to this game and in that way it kind of stood out to me.

There were also plenty of other track which in my opinion complimented that specific moment or even the setting. Snowpeak would be one of my favourite examples, the soundtrack felt mysterious, it was very quite and mellow which gave the feeling of isolation and this was what Snowpeak really was meant to be. Other themes such as the Faron Woods felt quite magical and suited the actual surroundings as it felt quite natural suiting the nature on the forest. The theme in Lake Hylia and Zora's Domain sounded magical which really complimented the amazing setting and the water effects. Truth be told I could go on a lot of how I thought the soundtrack really worked in the favour of the overworld.

There were also some great dungeon themes, some of the best in the series, plus due to the sheer amount of dungeons in this game it gave a great variety; from the mining sound in the Goron Mines to the ghostly theme in Arbiter's Grounds, to the puzzling theme in the Temple of Time and so on... I would also like to mention an example of how inspiring the soundtrack was, this would be the theme of the main area of the game, Hyrule Field. It actually was very motivational and it made the whole adventure feel epic, like when you entered Hyrule Field you had this incentive or a motive to actually go out and fix what was wrong with Hyrule, this is just one of the examples but I though TP did a great job in this aspect.

I really think that Twilight Princess had a large soundtrack with many memorable pieces that were not only unique and fresh but also each track felt different, it was definitely one of the more diverse soundtracks in a Zelda game to date. Of course you had all the happy/magical tracks but you also had quite dark mysterious tracks combined with motivational and emotional tracks that made very situation more realistic. In my opinion I think a soundtrack should really compliment the game in every way, it should make the player feel what essentially is meant to be felt in that current situation and this was the case with Twilight Princess in my opinion.

 

[DarkestLink]

Top 5 for me...

Ocarina of Time>Spirit Tracks>Skyward Sword>Twilight Princess>Majora's Mask.

 

[ihateghirahim]

The songs in OoT were magical. I never have been more captivated by music in a game. They set the mood perfectly, and I especially love that one that plays when you first see Ganondorf. Zelda's Lullaby is so magical. The main theme gets you ready for an exciting adventure. The Gerudo theme just can't be beat. The songs you actually play each bring a unique experience. I wish there was some way to listen to them in the game. The Minuet of Forest is just lovely; although the strange nature of the Forest Temple theme is a bit of a contrast The Bolero gets you ready for a more serious setting. The Water Temple warp song is wonderfully complemented by the equally magical temple theme; both relieve some of the tension of the impossibly-difficult dungeon. The Shadow temple warp and theme scares you, and it worked on me a little too well. The Spirit Temple has a less-memorable musical component, but it goes well with the well-done dungeon.

All in all, the OoT soundtrack is the best in the series. Each song alters the game with its unique contribution. Many other songs feel like filler put there to complement the already-made game, but OoT's go hand-in-hand with the game.

 

[winterbbytumblr]

Skyward Sword takes it for me! I loved how the whole soundtrack was orchestrated- It was just BEAUTIFUL!!! I wish that i could download every song onto my iPhone, but i'm not sure if I could. Other than SS, Wind Waker has some of the best songs too! Not necessarily the songs played on the actual Wind Waker, but the songs in the background, such as the Dragon Roost Island theme is one of my favorites, along with Molgera's Theme. However, the orchestrated soundtrack of Skyward Sword is just beautiful, and it's version of Zelda's Lullaby just makes this my favorite soundtrack.

 

[LittleGumball]

What a question. I'm a music buff, so here goes...
Skyward Sword, closely followed by 25th Anniversary, very closely followed by Ocarina of Time, closely followed by Majora's Mask, then everything ever.

Skyward Sword used ACTUAL INSTRUMENTS to record the music. Enough said, really. Reality>synthesized sounds ALWAYS.

Again, 25th anniversary had real instruments. It was like listening to a chamber orchestra recording, but with songs I recognized. And said songs have been remastered into real instruments, which I love listening to.

I'll admit, some of the reason I placed Ocarina of Time's music so high is because of nostalgia reasons, but it really is good music. Sometimes I find myself humming the music in my head during a particularly boring class. Plus I can play quite a few songs from there.

Majora's Mask reminds me of Ocarina of Time in a lot of ways, including the music. It may not be real instruments, but the effects of the music fits well in all situations, especially the Skull Kid's theme.

 

[HylianHero]

Skyward Sword for sure. There is no contest. The fact that the music was orchestrated made it sound so awesome and I was really impressed by the sheer number and diversity of the songs in the soundtrack. The songs stand out and play a full role in defining the game. And it has the largest number of great and memorable songs for me. All this puts it far above the rest.

There are some others that deserve to mentioned though-

TP's soundtrack had some really good songs, but overall the soundtrack was too back-ground-music-ish. If only it had had orchestrated music, its soundtrack would shoot above and beyond the others. But the songs that are good (Midna's Lament, Hyrule Field) definitely deserve praise.

The Minish Cap also had some amazing songs for a 2D handheld game. Some of my favorite Zelda songs are from its soundtrack. As far as 2D games in general though, its only rival is ST.

However some games didn't have good soundtracks. Mainly, OoT. I only say this because I think the soundtrack of OoT is overrated and frankly, not very good. The soundtrack has an overwhelmingly low number of songs and most fail to be very memorable. There are a few gems, but none that gain the soundtrack any redemption. The soundtrack is ok, but not great. The only thing this soundtrack has going for it is nostalgia.

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

I voted for TWW purely for the catchiness. The music wasn't very Zelda-like, but it fit the cartoony theme of TWW really well!

Here's my soundtracks in order of the games I've played:
TWW>SS>MM>TP>OOT>ST>ALTTP>PH>AOL>LA>FSA>TLOZ>

 

[Spirit]

Wind Waker its wonderful, very clever and you can feel the excitement within it of Koji Kondo being able to draw from more than one theme.

 

[Legend of Link]

Wind Waker's soundtrack is definitely the best because it just gives you a great incentive to go on an adventure and also just makes me happy

 

[DekuTreeSprout]

My vote goes to Zelda ll: The Adventure of Link.

 

[Aelic7]

Spirit Tracks has easily the most memorable tracks, even though they're low quality sound-wise. There are so many quality songs that I had to give it my vote.