Rank the Zelda soundtracks per-game

[GoronGainz]

Which Zelda game has your favourite OST? What about your least favourite?

Entirely personal to your preferences & the games you've played.

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Majora's Mask and Wind Waker have my favorite soundtracks.

My least favorite is, none really. Just those two are my favorite.

 

[Sheikah_Witch]

Majora's Mask wins for sure. Koji Kondo was inspired by Chinese opera and it shows. It has a great, sinister vibe to it. Love it. Wind Waker comes close second as well. I also like ALTTP's soundtrack. The dark world theme slaps!

Skyward Sword deserves a mention for it being the first fully orchestrated game in the series.

 

[Spirit]

Wind Waker is up there for me as my favourite along with OoT, MM and ALttP.

The worst are probably the Oracle games, I find it difficult to recall any tune from them.

 

[MapelSerup]

SS is my favorite, but very close to some others.
Haven’t heard much from the Oracle games, so I guess they’d be my least favorite.

 

[twilitfalchion]

My favorite Zelda soundtrack is WW's. Nothing really comes close.

 

[Duskyblue]

Mine is Ocarina of Time. I don't know why, but that one just stuck with me through the years. Although I played the other games more recently, it's the OoT songs I remember most.

 

[thePlinko]

Majoras mask and Windwaker are easily my favorite, with OoT, ST, and LA also being good contenders.

As for least favorite, yeah the oracle games didn’t have much, but I’d also throw in Minish cap. They just didn’t have any memorable songs, except for castor wilds which is only memorable because of how little it fit the area

as well as BotW.

BotW had a soundtrack?

 

[twilitfalchion]

BotW had a soundtrack?

Yes, yes it did. It didn't have as many memorable tracks as previous Zelda games, but what is there is excellent.
https://youtu.be/SqhZbK6RI8g
https://youtu.be/LiTsXcrxZfg
https://youtu.be/F0_f_S0h7bY
https://youtu.be/GA3H8Ws8b3Q

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

my top favorites are twilight princess, skyward sword, majora's mask, minish cap, and technically zelda 2 since for as few songs as it has ,none of them are bad

least favorites would be breath of the wild and four swords, botw has some stand out tracks but I'm just not a fan of the atmospheric ones that it has, and four swords is just completely whatever
quick mention to the dark world dungeon theme in link to the past which I absolutely hate and you hear it so often

 

[leek2d]

Which Zelda game has your favourite OST? What about your least favourite?

Entirely personal to your preferences & the games you've played.

1. Twilight princess has my favorite sountrack, but i will say with it also being my favorite game a lot of bias is probably in its favor so...... As well i will say its music does take a lot more warming up to than the soundtracks such as OOT's... This soundtrack is in my opinion the most unique out of any soundtrack there is, and for this particular reason: This sondtrack differentiates heavily, going from dark to light in an EXTREME way; i mean just look at the difference between the "after battle with zant" theme and the "hyrule field" theme!!. But somehow, through that, it blends these perfectly, and no track really feels out of place. Now other zelda games may do this, but in twilight princess these dark tracks go darker, and these epic tracks go epic-er (alll imo). It perfectly captures every possible theme, and every possible moment even through its varying track- and because of these reasons, this soundtrack also brings the most emotions out of me (not just because of my bias). These songs will forever hit harder than the rest, and it will forever be my favorite of the zelda soundtracks. Notable Bangers include: Specifically this version of zoras domain (my favorite version), Horse Battle, King Bulbin, Hidden Village, Blizzetta second half, Hyrule Field Theme, Midnas Lament, Gerudo Desert, Faron Woods, etc
2. Skyward sword- Such bangers, having songs fully orchestrated totally brings a lot more musicality into zeldas tracks, and they should keep going this route (unless ofc they need midi for creepy songs and sound effects, etc) Theres basically no song i feel that was not interseting or not worth a listen, even through its extremely lengthy track (sharing a relative length with tp)... Notable Bangers Include: Skyloft Theme, Romance in the Air, Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, Earth Temple, Lanayru desert (past), Levias Battle, The Sky theme, etc.
3. Majoras mask- Although a lot of songs are copied and pasted this soundtrack just gives so many feels. Every song, no matter how happy or sad, always has that sad feel, whether its context or certain small details. Captures the essence of the game perfectly. Notable Bangers Include: Song of Healing, Clock town (day three), Minigame Theme, Music Box House, Boss Battle, Milk Bar, Romani Ranch, and Middle Boss Theme.
4. OOT- i mean what can I say? It was the game that started the (now cut off) branch of linear zelda games, along with providing original bangers that other songs continue to remix. The feel of this whole original, adventure-y new world is captured perfectly as well. It did well with the limitations it had on music (Being on the n64), and some of these songs even live up to the hype, or even more than songs without such limitations. Its probably the 3rd unique-est soundtrack (ofc i think tp and ss are a bit more unique), but being the origin for a ton of songs to come after it I have to give it notable credit. Notable Bangers Include: Hyrule Field, Kokiri Forest, Lost Woods, Windmill Hut, Kakariko Village, Dondongo Battle, Middle Boss Battle, Market, Zeldas theme, Gerudo valley, Forest Temple, etc.
5. WW- of all of the *linear* 3d zeldas this is probably the one i have listened to least. Dont get me wrong, it brings so many bangers but also im just mad Sage Laruto and Fado couldnt get their own special songs(since both of theirs is based on the title screen cutscene). I mean its a very cool detail, but i dont know they're such interesting deep characters that I think could've benefited more from new themes instead of the title screen cutscene. Sure it fits, them being around for the original prophecy and all but thats already basically established. I think ive talked about them enough though. This soundtrack definitely reflects the adventurey feel though, almost as good as SS and TP do but not as much (hopeful that was understandable). Notable Bangers INclude: Outset Island, Grandmas Theme, Great Sea Theme, Dragon Roost Island, Windfall Island, Great Fairy Fountain (my fav version of great fairy fountain), Title Screen, Molgera Theme, etc.
6. BOTW- I dunno. It captures the feel, maybe the most of any soundtrack. Its empty, but heavy when it needs to be. To me, its just too empty. I think its overworld themes could be more compact, like original overworld themes but considering this game already branched off from the linear line of games i suppose thats fitting. Its too empty in my opinion, and to me it feels as if they just put a piano over everything. Its nice, but theres too much piano when there doesnt need to be- dont get me wrong i love the piano but its just too much. The overworld themes are also very quiet and dont stick out much- which leads me to my next point. While this game has some very notable bangers, it also comes at the cost of having some very forgetable tracks: including all of the overworld themes. On the positive side, this soundtrack handles remakes of original songs very well. This great fairy fountain version, hyrule castle, kakariko village, etc are all exceptional. Notable Bangers Include: Hyrule Castle, Opening Cutscene, Hinox Battle, Stone Talus Battle, Guardian Theme, Gerudo Village, MIphas Theme, and Revalis Theme
7. TOTK- of course being a new-ish game this is the sountrack im least familiar with. For being a sequel of a game, i feel this game still does not feel new enough. Majoras mask handled being a sequel very well, and really only reused the same character, I feel as if totk should've done the same, but instead it relies too heavily on its counterpart BOTW, and its music is the same. Many of the themes were copied, and i wished they would've done some touch ups to make the soundtrack more explorable and newer, like what they did with the original wind waker vs the HD version (Which i forgot to mention, but I loved that they did this). Because, believe me some of those tracks did need a few touch ups. for being more filled than BOTW this soundtrack is still very empty. Overall, this soundtrack is probably the least remarkable of (though i hate to say it) any of the 3d zeldas.... On a positive note, this game has quite a few bangers and does its new themes justice. Though it didnt handle the old themes well, these new themes are TOP TIER!! Believe me. Though it came in last place, it is by no means a bad sountrack and is definitely worth a listen. Some notable bangers include: Ganon Dragon Fight Theme, Colgera Theme, Depths Diving Theme (That brass is everything), Queen Gibdo Theme, etc.

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

I was very disappointed with the soundtrack of Link's Awakening '19 but only because it felt cheap and lazy. I can't say it's my last favorite though, that distinction land squarely on The Adventure of Link.

 

[thePlinko]

I was very disappointed with the soundtrack of Link's Awakening '19 but only because it felt cheap and lazy. I can't say it's my last favorite though, that distinction land squarely on The Adventure of Link.

A fully orchestrated soundtrack felt cheap and lazy to you?

 

[BloodyKun]

Pretty tough to judge on a scale when there were different limitations at the time, as well as entirely different intentions, but mine would probably be something like this, from favorite to least:

Skyward Sword
Tears of the Kingdom
The Wind Waker
Majora’s Mask
Link’s Awakening remake
Breath of the Wild
Oracle games
The Minish Cap
Phantom Hourglass
Adventure of Link
Twilight Princess
Ocarina of Time
A Link to the Past
Zelda 1

I didn’t finish Spirit Tracks, so don’t feel right judging it as a whole, and don’t really remember much of A Link Between Worlds. One I’m not sure on is Four Swords Adventures…there were definitely original tracks but I remember most were near straight rips from ALttP? Might want to take another listen now.

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

A fully orchestrated soundtrack felt cheap and lazy to you?

If it had been orchestrated (which it wasn't), then they could have pulled off something extraordinary. Instead, it retains that grating midi sound (surely an intentional choice, which I can respect,) and only improves a couple of tracks. Listen, I know it's a hot take, that's why I said it here. I'm also biased because I grew up on LA, totally admit that. The OG Gameboy had only four audio channels to work with at least one of those dedicated to sound effects yet the sound team pushed through the limitations and produced some wonderfully diverse, unique, and recognizable tracks. There was very little in LA'19 that stood out as improved over the tinny, miniscule, mono chiptunes of the OG.

Edit: It may not be as evident when you're playing in handheld mode, but try hooking it up to a TV and really listen to the soundtrack.