Favorite Instrument

[Farore's Chosen]

Flutes, Ocarinas, Harps, Animal Whistles, Howl Stones, Baton are just a few of the instruments Link gets to play, whether your calling up a storm, summoning a sassy witch, or warping through time, instruments have played a part in nearly all Zelda games.

What are some of your favorite instruments? Least Favorites? And what would you like to see in future games?

I love the Ocarina from OoT and the Howl Stones too. To a lesser extent I have a lot of fun with Nayru's Harp.

Instruments I'm not crazy about, the Goddess Harp from SS and the Spirit Pipes from ST can be a tad frustrating. I loved the idea of the Spirit Pipes, but they're hard to get right, plus accidentally blowing spit into the microphone can't be a good thing.

Warping instruments were ok, I neither love nor hate them.

Animal Flutes, well I only use Ricky and Dmitri's, because Moosh is kinda hard to control.

 

[Beauts]

It's all about the Ocarina of Time. I don't like the harps because I feel like they're no fun to play. The spirit pipes were okay, I suppose. I despised the animal whistles and howl stones though, to be honest Twilight Princess isn't exactly my favourite game in the world anyway but it just grated on me. I prefer the instruments you actually have to kind of learn stuff for, like the ocarina. It felt more like you were actually playing an instrument.

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

In terms of usefulness, it's a tie between the Ocarina of Time and the Wind Waker. I use both instruments quite frequently while playing their respective games. Two things that both instruments have in common are the ability to warp and the ability to switch between day & night at will. Warping is, without a doubt, far more useful in The Wind Waker while quickly switching between day and night is generally more useful in Ocarina of Time. Majora's Mask, of course, takes the Ocarina of Time to a much higher level by adding the different instruments depending on which transformation you are using. I also find the Ocarina of Time easier to use.

I really like them both, but I think I have to give it to the Ocarina when it comes to usefulness; just the larger variety in songs with unique abilities and the fact that it's easier to play puts it a little ahead of the Wind Waker in my books.


When it comes to overall concept though, I have to give it to the Spirit Flute. There are many reasons why I like the Spirit Flute, but the biggest one is the fact that it is the only instrument in the series that feels like an instrument when it's being played. Players must blow into the mic to create a sound, slide it to blow into the proper holes, and hit all the notes with precise timing. For people who aren't very musical, this could be tough, but as a musician myself, I found it to be incredibly innovative and very fun to use. I love the sound, I love the design, and I love the tunes. The only real problems I have with it are the fact that blowing into the mic can sometimes be extremely awkward, especially when around lots of people, and some of the rhythms may be deemed too complex for some people. Those are mostly nitpicky though, and overall, I quite enjoy the Spirit Flute. Enough, in fact, to refer to it as my favourite [playable] instrument of all. It actually inspired me to purchase my own (albeit much bigger) pan flute.


I have to be honest though. Even though I have a lot of gripes with many of them, there aren't actually any instruments in the series that I truly hate. On the contrary, I quite enjoy all of them, even the Goddess Harp (even if it's hard to play, it's still a cool concept, and fits well with the story). The Spirit Flute is my personal favourite, and I find the Ocarina of Time to be the most useful, but really, all the instruments are great, and I found it somewhat difficult to really pick a favourite. From the Ocarina to the Howling Stones, each one is unique and each one spices up the games to make them more flavourful. Wonderful additions to the series.


But ya, favourite instrument = Spirit Flute.

 

[InsomniacAttack]

Ocarina. Especially from Majora's Mask. It was just so much more useful in this game.

 

[Odolwa]

 

[Spacefiller]