I am sure some of you remember our staff's Top 10 Zelda Bosses video we did earlier this year, and we are here to bring you our second edition of staff choices with the Top 10 Zelda Scores. The list itself took some time to compile with fierce debates and much blood shed. In fact, I presently have my lackies ripping up the carpet in the staff meeting room to replace it with some cheap tile to sort of help hide the mess. In the end, I think we came together and got what we feel is a pretty solid top 10 list here. Everyone has their own musical tastes and different songs touch us for different reasons. Keeping that in mind, hop inside to see the staff selections for the Top 10 Zelda Scores.
10. Don't Want You No More
Some people are not aware of this song, but you've certainly heard it. The song was first heard in a trailer for Twilight Princess and was available for download off IGN. The thing about the song, though, is that when it was played it was given the name "Don't Want You No More" by The Allman Brothers Band. If it was the actual intent for the song to be named that, I am not sure. Most likely not because it is actually a song by the Allman Brothers.
The remarkable thing about this piece is that it is in fact the first time the public has ever heard Zelda music completely, officially, orchestrated. It was written by Mahito Yokota, who also did the soundtrack of Super Mario Galaxy with Koji Kondo. It is an absolutely beautiful piece and perfect to give the feel of what Twilight Princess is about. It starts with a melancholy oboe solo and progresses into a gorgeous orchestra crescendo. The whole piece is a prime example of what Zelda music orchestrated COULD be and SHOULD be. Finishing it just makes you want more.
9. Oath to Order
Majora's Mask is quite remarkable for its unique music. Oath to Order is one of the songs Link learns on his Ocarina. He learns it after defeating the first boss of the game, Odolwa, releasing the giant inside. The giant teaches Link the song so Link can call the giants when they are needed. Next to the Song of Healing, this could quite possibly be the most important song learned in Majora's Mask. Playing it literally saves the world of Termina by calling the Giants in order to keep the moon in place as Link fights Majora (Spoilers, by the way).
The song itself is a very somber piece that seems to show sorrow and regret. The melody Link learns is played once at the beginning but does not repeat itself through out the piece, instead moving to a progression of chords and a harp playing arpeggios that imply the melody. It is certainly a classic and the haunting melody seems to echo in your head as it finishes. It is not one that is so easily forgotten.
8. Title Theme of Ocarina of Time
Ocarina of Time did not start off with bang. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It starts with a feeling of peace. The theme at the title screen perfectly sets the feel for the beginning of the game. Ocarina of Time does start off with a feeling of harmony, as Link begins his story with little understanding of what is going on outside the forest.
The beautiful melody has an equally beautiful backdrop as Link gallops by on Epona as the moon sets. There are scenes of Epona drinking from the river before they again dash off into an unknown fate. It ends with us entering the woods where the journey begins. The music itself, even the first time hearing it, feels nostalgic and one reminisces as if Link, who is an adult at this point, is himself reflecting as he rides around Hyrule Field. Eventually his thoughts drift back to his home, the forest.
7. Title of The Wind Waker
Another absolutely exquisite opening theme, The Wind Waker's theme again gives an exact idea of what the game itself is going to feel like. It has a distinctly nautical and exotic aesthetic. In this case, it is an extremely up beat, happy melody perfectly matching the then unique visuals of the game.
The piece is a mixture of the two songs learned by Link which he then teaches to the two sages, Medli and Makar, in order to awaken them to their destiny. Both songs, The Wind God's Aria and The Earth God's Lyric, are very bright pieces that perfectly interact and weave with each other when mixed. The piece shows exactly how the fates of both Medli and Makar are as intertwined as the music. It gives a slight hint at what's to come.
6. Dark World
A Link to the Past is remarkable for the egregious amount of music it contained and the amount reused in later games, especially Ocarina of Time. The Dark World, despite its popularity, has not been reused in any game other than Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Four Swords. It is, however, still one of the most recognized pieces of Zelda music. The song is first heard when Link enters the Dark World (thus the name) in A Link to the Past and counteracts the Overworld theme of the Light World.
It has an adventurous and heroic feel to it while also feeling somewhat menacing. The feel of the music pushed the player along into the darker, more dangerous world. It is a classic piece of Zelda music and deserves every bit of attention it gets. It is quite surprising that it has not been reused in more Zelda games, but who really knows if it won't at some point in the future.
5. Gerudo Valley
This is probably the favorite piece for everyday Zelda fans. Next to Saria's Song, this is amongst the most lively of all the pieces in Ocarina of Time. It snugly fits into the genre of Flamenco music with lively guitar, horns, and clapping hands. For comparison, see an amazing flamenco guitar performance here.
Flamenco is primarily meant to dance to and the Gerudo Valley theme is no different. It's also interesting to note that Gerudo Valley itself somewhat resembles the deserts of Spain and that the Gerudo people resemble Gypsies, who were generally native to Spain, to a degree. However, I'm not sure how Spanish would react to the ultimate antagonist of the world being spawned from their country.
Gerudo Valley is a fantastic and extremely memorable piece, and will likely be remembered for a long time. Unfortunately I couldn't find any good live versions of the song played in the proper flamenco style. If anyone can find one, feel free to pipe up in the comments.
Best Part: The trumpet solo at 1:02. Great stuff and certainly makes me want to dance.
4. The Legendary Hero (Introduction to The Wind Waker)
I personally know this song very well as it is one of the few pieces I can even play a part of on piano (next to Moonlight Sonata.) Much like Gerudo Valley, this piece is also in a particular style, in this case classical Baroque music. It starts off simple enough, just a piano arpeggio introducing the prologue to The Wind Waker. The fantastic thing about the piece though is how it tells a story without even needing to read the text on your screen.
The beginning is obviously the introduction to the story which then progresses into reminiscent flute solo that gives the feeling of a minstrel telling a long past story. Then, with the build-up into the classic Zelda theme, the story progresses into a feeling of adventure. It continues with the hero's adventures and the quelling of Ganon's power until the hero runs off into another adventure; then things take a turn for the worst.
The storytelling in the music alone is glorious, and there's never been any piece like it before or since. It is certainly a unique piece of amazing song writing and tone poetry.
Best Part: The Violin cadenza starting at around 2:08. It perfectly sums up the condition Hyrule and is astonishingly beautiful.
3. Dragon Roost Island
I loved this piece in the game but, straight out from the beginning, I need to point out the absolutely mind-blowing live version played during the Mario & Zelda Big Band Live! concert by Mr. Yoshihiro Arita and his band. Hearing it played by actual instruments in the exact style in which the piece was written was, and is, a dream come true. If you have never heard, please click this link now and listen. In fact, click this link and watch the whole concert.
For the actual in-game piece, it is no less fantastic. The Wind Waker is chock full of great music, but this song stands out from the rest primarily for when it's first heard it is shocking and uncommon for Zelda but also for the addictive theme. It's honestly not a complicated piece in any way, mostly a repeating theme with background guitars twiddling some chords; but for weeks, maybe months (for me, years) you can come back to this piece and get almost endless enjoyment out of it.
Interesting to note here, this piece is also a flamenco piece like Gerudo Valley hence the urge to dance every time I hear it.
Best Part: The theme. Basically every time it is played is the best part. One of the single most addictive pieces in all of Zelda.
2. Stone Tower
The Stone Tower theme is unique in that there are two of them: stone tower and inverted stone tower. I know, personally, I heard these themes around, oh, a billion times each. See, the first time I played Majora's Mask, I was completely unaware of the Inverted Song of Time so I played through most of Majora's Mask at normal day speed. Hence I lost, a lot. The great thing about it is that the piece genuinely never gets old. It's beautiful but not obtrusive during my intense concentration on figuring out the 3D Rubix Cube that was Stone Tower.
An interesting fact about the Stone Tower Theme is that it is similar to the Elegy of Emptiness played backwards. There are also certain parts of the piece itself that are the same backwards, primarily the bass part.
1. Song of Healing
While songs from Zelda generally evoke some sort of emotion, the Song of Healing is especially known for its sentimental, melancholy tone. It's really an extremely simple song, but sometime simplicity is the most effective. The first time we hear the Song of Healing was Majora's Mask when it was taught to us by the Happy Mask Salesman in order to save Link from his Deku curse. It is quite possibly the most important song exclusive to Majora's Mask, perhaps next to Oath to Order. It is used to save Link, release Darmani from his regrets, and help Mikau save Lulu's eggs. In the process Link releases their souls and creates the Deku, Goron, and Zora mask which can be used in his adventure. This song also appears in Twilight Princess as one of the songs Wolf Links sings at a Howling Stone.
The song is all together both memorable and beautiful. Some of the most memorable parts of the melody are the cut scenes that follow each time it is played. Darmani sees a large group of Goron who seem to be cheering for him, either cheering for his heroism or wishing him goodbye, as he sheds tears and gathers the courage to move on. Mikau sees Lulu, who takes his hand and encourages him to move on. It's all very heartfelt and memorable, enhanced by the Song of Healing playing in the background.
And that's it folks. Did you enjoy the list? Credit for the compiling, writing, and collecting of the music on the list belongs to one of our local staff, Phil Stetson. Thanks Phil, as I know it can be bothersome tallying up the entire staffs votes to get a definitive list. Keep in mind folks, this list represents the ZI staff as a whole and not an individual staff member's personal list. Do you agree? Do you disagree? What's your favorite Zelda song?
Categories: Articles, Exclusive
While it's near impossible to narrow it down to just ten, as many amazing Zelda songs as there are, this is a pretty damn good list.
Made my day :)
HAHA Take that Ocarina of Time, you got one or maybe 2 songs. Best zelda game my butt. Majora's Mask all the way!
Also I definitely agree with the Song of Healing as #1 I know crap all about music. But its awesome and iconic of that game as a whole. And I am very happy Stone Tower got put on here, nonetheless that its second, its my favorite dungeon.
I would like to see a Top 10 Item/Equipment list with videos of these items being used. Would be awwwwwesome.
Yes. The Song of Healing is such a good song. I think it does deserve number one in this list as it's tone set the emotion for Majora's Mask - the sadness, the emotions. Lovely. I wouldn't mind hearing this on a piano as the game version, for all it's goodness, couldn't compare to the real thing :)
Great selections, indeed.
Some of the links don't work, like the one to the live version of Dragon Roost Island.
This MUST be revised. Anyone listen to the Spirit Temple theme Lately?
The best song in OoT.
The song of healing sounds exactly like what it is... the song you play to the dieing hero to tell him his life was good but now he must pass on and come to peace. Very melancholy.
After listening to them all I decide to play them all at once.
Beautiful chaos. I'm surprised my computer didn't explode.
Lules: what do you mean some of the links don't work like live versionof dragon roost? All vids work, and there is no link to a live version of anything. All links are to game sections.
Good list, though the "Dark world" was re-used in four swords adventures. And i think that you should rather make a "thirty top" list, considering there are so many other great songs! But i agree on most of these songs though.
I shall leave my grammar Nazi aside for the time being just to focus on the great list!
Hurrah for musics! :D
A 30 top list is a future possibility (as in, expanding on this list itself). Music is one of those things we can ever expand on and post moreabout down the line. We have ST coming up, sowho knows? Our top 10 may change. If not, we can release a 11 - 20 and a 21 - 30 segment sometime next year.
Where in the goddamn hell is the series theme? The series theme is easily the most memorable and all around best song to be found in the Zelda series, and not including it is pretty much blasphemy. Not to mention the lack of anything from Zelda 2... the theme of that, at the very least, is an exceptional song and deserves to be on any top 10 list for the Zelda series, same with the Temple music. This is one of the absolute worst top 10 lists I've ever seen, let alone for the top music from the Zelda series.
Great list - I enjoyed listening to these songs, and from now on will always refer to the Twilight Princess theme as "Don't Want you No More."
Just as a reference, Mr. Nathaniel, we Mexicans don't practice Flamenco - that's a Spanish dance. I'm sure the Gerudo were meant to be gypsie-like in almost every aspect, from the music to the fame as thieves... which is a burden that gypsies carry even now. They do have awesome music though! For modern day gypsie music, search for anything by Goran Brechovich.
@River Zora
Yeah, sorry about that, I'm going through and reading it and there is a few things that need to be fixed. They should disappear soon.
;D
@ Gaby
To get Nate off the hook, it was me that wrote it. I used to live in Austin, TX and there were guitarists on the corners that would play Flamenco. I guess it's my own assumption and lack of research that I said it was Mexican. I'll be sure to change it when I go back to edit RZ's grammar errors. :P
Also Oriandu, I am sorry the list upsets you. Naturally, it's an OPINION list, so you are free to disagree. The missing of two songs makes the list fail? The Legend of Zelda theme is an all time classic, but only so because it's in every game. It's usually not the best song in any game it's in (save the original LOZ), so I don't feel not including it blasphemous simply because everyone knows it. Everyone knows I Want it That Way by the Backstreet Boys, does that mean it's a top 10 song of all time?
What I am getting at here, is that while yes the original LOZ is great, you can justifiably leave it off the list. It's rarely the best tune in ANY Zelda title if were just talking purely musical theory here. As for the AOL Theme: It was actually part of the list of songs that barely made the cut.
ANyways, it's an opinion list, and I apologize if you think it's the worst ever. There are a lot of good songs in the series, and I feel what we have here are 10 of the best.
"After listening to them all I decide to play them all at once.
Beautiful chaos. I'm surprised my computer didn't explode."
Great suggestion! I loved the cacophony of music coming at me, bits of each rising to the top at various times. I also got a big kick out of how it meshed up so that as soon as nine songs ended, all that was left was a slight pause and the final portion of 'The Legendary Hero' where it wraps back around to the slow, introductory portion.
WHERE IS THE SONG OF STORMS???????
WHERE IS THE DEKU PALACE THEME????
Song of Storms T.T
I have to say that there are too many zelda songs that I love, a top ten wouldn't feature them all, not even a top 20... perhaps a top 50 XDDDD.
What, where is the Forest Temple theme?
EVERYBODY loves that one I thought that would be a shoe-in for #1.
>captain cornflake
I think the only way to make everyone happy here would be to make a Top 10 list for each game. It would definitely take FOREVER, but it seems like it would give lots of other songs the credit they deserve. :)
Overall, I really like the list!!!! The majority of the songs on here are some of my absolute favorites.
lol @ PIGZIG
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I'd probaly need top 100...although I pretty much love about every single song in the Zelda series
awesome list it's so awesome it needs a new word...SNAUSOME!
I never really noticed how great that Twilight Princess song is. Oboe solos RULE!!!
Also, I never really got the Ocarina of Time opening. It's good, but I can't listen to it for long. And Dragon Roost music gets annoying after a while. But they're both good songs.
And about the Stone Tower Temple music = backwards Elegy of Emptiness... Doesn't the forest temple music sound like reversed Bolero of Fire? I guess that's a similar case.
My personal favorite from the Zelda series is The Ballad of the Wind Fish, from Link's Awakening.
I just tried the "play all the songs at once" thing, and it was crazy random chaos. That is, crazy random chaotic bliss! Hearing the peaks of "Don't Want You No More" and Stone Tower, only to slow down with the OoT title and end perfectly with the last section of the Wind Waker's "The Legendary Hero." I think I'm gonna go watch "Wizard of Oz" with Dark Side of the Moon.
And the Ballad of the Wind Fish is indeed amazing. ;)
Song of Storms is the best in my opinion...
But is very difficult to make the top 10
Ummm... but.... well it's a good list after all^^
Well, certainly someones a little obsessed with Majoras Mask.
Only thing I don't agree with is the fact the credits theme from A Link to the Past wasn't included
solid list either way, I enjoyed this a lot
I love the list, even though it is insane for anyone to make a top 10 list with such masterpieces competing against each other. The only ine I was really missing was Serenade of Water, which both in OoT and especially in Twilight Princess takes my breath away. Emotions, sadness, melancholia.. All that in just a few tones... That's the magic of Zelda music!
This is a great list! I'm glad to see that some of the repeated Zelda songs aren't listed. Songs like Zelda's Lullaby and Saria's Song are good but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Great descriptions, too; they made the music even more enjoyable to listen to!
Oath to order? song of healing in 1st place? stone tower? WTF
Where is serenade of water? one of the most beautiful songs eva.
Where is clock town theme?
Where is saria song?
where is song of storms?
I know that 10 is a short nummber to all the great music themes of the legend of zelda, but serenade of water and clock town theme deserve a place in the top 10.
Song of healing at #1 surprised people eh? It's simply put, in my mind anyways, the single most touching/important song in the entire series.
We do like MM The Real Zelda Fan, but obsessed? I don't know. Earlier this year I wrote an article explaining how TP is the best Zelda ever, Phil threw up his thoughts on why MM is the best ever today, and I know someone else wanted to do the same thing for TWW down the road.
We like Zelda in general, but MM and TWW feature the two best sound tracks in the entire series, hands down.
So obsess over MM? MM has 3 songs, TWW has 3, and one of MM's songs is also technically in TP as well. So meh.
Hey,
Great list!!!!! I just adore the music from the Zelda series, and being a musician, I'm very picky about what I do and don't like, but the music is just so spectacular, and they have so much emotion and heart put into them, they're just amazing!!! I agree with all of them..... although I think it's sad that we have to pick and choose our favorite songs, when all of them are completely BEAST (not to be related to dark beast)!!! I love them all though!!!
Other candidates that are definitely worth to be though of in no particular order:
The Legend of Zelda Series Theme
Song of Time
Zora's Domain
Goron City
Song of Storm's
Zelda's Lullaby (or Zelda's Theme)
Spirit Temple Theme
TP Theme
SnowPeak in TP
Malo-Mart: Castle Branch
Hidden Village from TP
The Indigos-Go's-Daru Blue from MM
Both credit parts from TP
Midna's Theme
Ganondorf's Theme
Epona's Song
Calm and Hope (which also may be known as Return of Calmness or Memories of Impaz, beautiful all three ways though)
Going down the Rapids on Zora's River song from TP
Lake Hylia's Theme
Facing Ganondorf from TP
Fyer's Theme from TP
Sorry if I missed something, but these are the one's from the top of my head, I know a lot of them are from Twilight Princess, but I have to admit, the music in that game was pretty beast as well. All of the songs deserve some credit, but these are just as special!!! Hope these get to be put in to any other list that you might make!!!
Ballad of the Windfish...
I knew I should have voted...
I think you needed to add the song of storms and saria song both of them good songs and I think that those songs added a lot to OOT...
song of healing = saria´s song
I think the TP Hyrule field song is one of the best songs in the entire series because it really builds up the adrenaline for adventure and epic medieval action. The OOT hyrule field song is amazing too, but this one has a more upbeat melody to it and gives you that heroic feeling of saving the land and its people.
Therefore, TP hyrule field song should be included somewhere on that list, perhaps within the top 5.
This is a great list. I'm not offended by any omissions, but I was surprised that Saria's Song or Song of Storms didn't make it - they seem to have a huge following. I personally might have included Queen Rutela's theme from TP, or at least one of the thousands of pieces that include the main TP theme (which is catchy despite being overused)... the western shootout in Hidden Village was my fav. lol. Also, I just finished a round of WW and noticed how great the Wind Temple's music is. It's very subtle and I wouldn't be surprised if nobody can hear it in their heads at the drop of a hat, but I recommend to anyone checking it out, and wonder if it came anywhere close to this list. Anyway, I definitely agree that MM & WW have the best soundtracks. Thanx for representn'.
Always loved Wind Waker's title theme: so calm, so peaceful, so hummable! So flat-out awesome! Like Dark World, but loved it's Brawl cousin even more. The Twilight Princess theme is exciting with the horns in the start, and Song of Storms is lovely! Wind Waker's Gohma's theme was perfectly messed-up, and Molgera's theme was toe-tappin! Frankly, they're all great in each and every way!
The only song that I don't quite know that to think of is The Great Sea. Between Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, I've heard that song so many times that it has bored it way through the back of my brain to glue itself into the core so solidly that it has not persisted from constantly playing on it's highest volume since summer 2008!!!
...I still love it though <3...
What sane person leaves the A Link to the Past Ending off this list??!?!?!
Overall, good list. I think I agree with 8 of the 10. LTTP Ending theme is inexcusably missing in my opinion... and I'd also think that the AoL title theme would make it.