We’ve noted many times on our website that certain elements of video game design don’t always get appreciated immediately by fans. Nowadays, the visuals and the gameplay are what gamers focus on first, and then they’ll look at the other elements if those “basic needs” are satisfied. But if you ask longtime gamers what they feel is one of the most important elements in game design, they’ll tell you it’s the music that helps drive every single scene that’s going on. For many gamers, The Legend of Zelda has some of the best video game music in the world, and Nintendo has let players enjoy that music in various ways.
Some of you might remember when the 25th anniversary of the franchise was going on during the days of the Nintendo Wii, the company brought together a special orchestra to record some fan-favorite tracks and then play them in a special concert series around the world. They released the concert recording via a special edition of one of their games for fans to enjoy. Fast forward to now, The Legend of Zelda Orchestra is known for its incredible performances, and they were SUPPOSED to perform once again in Japan during the 2024 Nintendo Live event. But, if you recall, that event was canceled due to death threats. Not cool, by the way.
However, Nintendo is willing to turn the situation around, so they put the pre-recorded performance by the orchestra online for people to listen to. It’s a 30-minute musical wonderland, and you’ll likely have fun hearing all your favorite songs from the series via this talented orchestra. Check it out below:
Many elements of this performance are special, not the least is the videos of the various games they played tracks from to highlight how far the series has come. But truly, the wonder is thinking about the songs and how they used to be unique 8-bit tracks and then how they slowly were able to turn them into orchestral masterpieces.
Even when you look at the most recent games, which were a part of the orchestral arrangement, you’ll see how grand and sweeping the songs are and how memorable they helped the games be. The latest entry on Nintendo Switch was recently revealed to have sold twenty million units, and we know that the team is already working on the next entry.
The only question is, what songs from the next game will capture us like these did?
