The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary CD Review

There are few game franchises with musical soundtracks as storied as The Legend of Zelda‘s. In this 25th year of this most hallowed franchise, those who pre-ordered Skyward Sword received a magnificent gift in the form of a symphonic CD filled with nostalgia and greatness.

Arguing the merits of the original compositions that are represented by this CD is worthless; it’s no exaggeration to say they’re all stone-cold masterpieces, though one’s familiarity with some of the specific tunes in some of them may not be there (I, for instance, forgot entirely about some of the absolutely unbelievable compositions on Twilight Princess‘s soundtrack). The question that always arises when what is ostensibly a remix album (and for most of these tracks, that’s exactly what this is) is released is whether they add anything meaningful to any of the tracks – and in this CD’s case, that’s exactly what it does, over and over again, for 48 minutes.

The album starts off with a bang with the “Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley,” which combines some of the more famous music from a wide range of Zelda games, up to and including Spirit Tracks. Indeed, if one particular track dominates this medley, in my view it’s the train theme from that game, and the symphonic arrangement maintains the bouncy joyousness of the original while adding an epic quality that was lacking in the original MIDI version you heard coming out of your DS. That’s not to say that any other component parts of this medley are lacking, though the arrangement sometimes feels a little random. Quiet moments seem to come out of nowhere, though it’s by no means a gamebreaker here considering the quality of the individual arrangements.

The CD case lists the second track as “Kakariko Village – Twilight Princess.” However, when I went to listen to the original track in question, it was difficult to notice the Twilight Princess-specific arrangement in this version. To me it really sounds like a prettied-up version of Ocarina of Time‘s version, and that’s by no means a criticism. This is the nicest-sounding track on the album, feeling like a long-lost waltz by Mozart. And when the song hits its crescendo halfway through, it’s straight-up glorious.

The thing that’s most striking about “The Wind Waker Medley” is just how unbelievably accurate this arrangement is to the original sound of the original compositions. I think that the music in The Wind Waker was perhaps overlooked at the time due to the game’s graphical style, but listening to this mix, one realizes just how affecting those melodies were. Whether it’s the light touches of

Dragon Roost Isle

Outset Island or the uncannily-accurate ocean-faring theme, this is one of the very strongest tracks on the CD. I, for one, completely forgot about the bombast with which this game tackled its boss music, and it makes for some thrilling listening.

The most formally different (and thus, engaging) tracks on the album is the “Gerudo Valley” theme. Originally a duet of flamenco guitars and trumpets, the new arrangement is like the best 1960s action theme you never heard. The trumpet is just as brassy in this version, but the guitar is gone, with its melody lines transferred to any number of symphonic instruments. It’s wildly different from the original, but the melody is just as strong, and in this version it’s an undeniably interesting interpretation of one of Ocarina of Time‘s standout tracks.

“The Great Fairy’s Theme” sounds about how you’d expect – very harp heavy and very lovely. This is the most mystical song in the entire Zelda catalog, and hearing this very live-sounding arrangement is sure to send shivers down the spine of anyone who’s played a Zelda game. Melodically, this track has always been a powerhouse. It shares quite a lot in common with Final Fantasy‘s Prelude theme, but this one has always been my clear favourite for video game intro music. So mystical and yet so lovely, and this version captures it in its variable rhythms wonderfully.

The “Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement” sounds like how we all envisioned Twilight Princess would sound upon the release of that unbelievable trailer back in 2004. This is the most bombastic and epic portion of the entire CD, and it gets the blood pumping like no other arrangement on the CD. If only Twilight Princess actually sounded like this! I actually think that upon further review, Twilight Princess had my favourite compositions in the entire Zelda canon, with crazy mixed-metre boss fight music jutting up against abstract soundscapes while in the Twilight sections. It was undone by its MIDI-ness, however, and this arrangement brings it to its full glory. If you’ve ever been super-fond of Twilight Princess (as I have), but ultimately felt a twinge of disappointment from it being held back in some ways (as I also have), then this track is essential listening.

The nostalgia comes to a fitting conclusion with the “Legend of Zelda Main Theme Medley,” which gives a variety of interpretations of that song, the Overworld theme from the original Legend of Zelda in its many incarnations. This is also really the only place where the 2D Zelda games are given their moment in the sun (outside of some incidental music in the first medley), and the various interpretations of the series’ most iconic theme are all just so unbelievable.

The album ends with a slightly differently-arranged version of “The Ballad of the Goddess” from Skyward Sword, a theme so strong it’s destined to enjoy the same status as many of the other tracks from Zelda‘s storied history. Here it’s a little bit more variable in volume and rhythm than the version we’ve all heard from the game, but it’s still just as awe-inspiring as ever.

So now that I’ve gushed for so long, are there any problems with the CD? Well – no. The stuff that’s actually on the CD itself is impenetrably great. There’s no arguing with the quality of the instrumentation or arrangements. However, perhaps it’s what’s missing that puts a small damper on the proceedings. As mentioned earlier, the 2D games are only very briefly touched on; and some of the “deep cuts” that are fan favourites are nowhere to be found. Majora’s Mask, which for my money has the spookiest and most effective soundtrack in the whole series, is basically missing in action, and other favourites, like the intro music from Ocarina of Time (sends shivers up my spine!), are also nowhere to be found. As much as I dug the Kakariko Village theme, I’d rather have had a more omnibus approach to the music.

But at the end of the day, it’s not only free, it’s free AND awesome. Considering the absolute perfection on display in what we were presented, I’m obligated to award this CD…