What Makes Zelda Music So Special?
In celebration of Zelda month, I’ve asked five VGM artists (Qumu, RebeccaETripp, Ro Panuganti, Patti Rudisill, and Soundole VGM Covers) to answer one important question—what makes Zelda music so special?
What makes the music of Zelda so special?
Qumu: I can't really pinpoint what it is, but Zelda music in general always manages to make me feel something, whether it's a sense of adventure from the Overworld themes or unease from dungeon/temple themes. I also feel the music plays a bit role in the environmental storytelling (at least in the modern Zelda games). There's so much you can learn about an area in a Zelda game by just listening to its theme.
RebeccaETripp: The music of Zelda has a unique way of making the player feel relaxed, comforted, and "at home" while simultaneously enabling them to feel confident and "in control” within what would ordinarily seem like a hostile setting. Even when the context surrounding a given track or, indeed, the track itself is dissonant or downright creepy, there is usually something about it that’s either directly relatable on an emotional level (picture the “Last End” track in Majora’s Mask), or so intriguing as to entice the listener to venture outside of their comfort zone (picture the Forest Temple track from Ocarina of Time). The music encourages the player to interact with the environment and immerse themselves in the aesthetic, beauty, and culture surrounding it. It acts as a kind of magical filter between the game itself and the player.
Ro Panuganti: The music of Zelda is so expansive now, but it always has a sense of adventure and exhilaration. There's always some sort of recurring melodies and super secret themes from other songs. You get the sense that you truly are in that world. I also love that it can borrow from dozens of musics, even Eastern and African tunes, but always with this Legend of Zelda style.
Patti Rudisill: I think there is something inherently magical in the music and the way it sounds, even apart from the imagery within the game. When I was first introduced to Zelda, the music was associated forever with the immense world I was exploring, but I still hear that same magic even in OST’s of the games I haven’t yet played. There is a certain wonder and curiosity that is present in all of the scores and within the context of the game that it adds so much!
Soundole VGM Covers: To me, its depictive clarity. Whether setting the tone for galloping across open fields or creating eerie and mystical atmospheres in dungeons, Zelda's music has always been powerfully evocative.
What's your favorite Zelda OST and why?
Qumu: I've always been biased towards Wind Waker as it was my first proper Zelda experience. It has some incredible tracks, but the more I think about it, the more I lean towards Majora's Mask. It's just filled to the brim with emotion—tragic and unsettling, but with a hint of optimism here and there.
RebeccaETripp: That’s got to be either Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess.
Ro Panuganti: I'm torn between Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess!
Patti Rudisill: Ocarina of Time—I think it will always be my favorite. It was my first Zelda game and a huge part of my life for a long time, but even so I find myself always coming back to the music of this game more than any other.
Soundole VGM Covers: Breath of the Wild. I feel like it meshes the gameplay and world-building more than any previous soundtrack (and I also personally just love subtlety in VGM music).
What's your favorite Zelda cover that you've produced and why?
Qumu: My cover of “Sword Search” from Link's Awakening. I feel I managed to mix the right chill genres and to set the mood just the way I wanted.
RebeccaETripp: Maybe my Twilight Princess or Wind Waker medleys! I think I had the most intense emotional experiences while working on those!
Ro Panuganti: Visually, the “Shadow Temple” was just hundreds of hours experimenting and learning how to bring that song and game to life. Musically, I'm really proud of “Spirit Temple” and “Forest Temple”. Those songs are incredibly iconic while remaining ambient and less upfront in the games. Using Indian instrumentation and writing a lot of my favorite riffs to play makes them special, plus one has a guest solo by one of my favorite guitarists, Artificial Fear.
Patti Rudisill: I’ve done more Zelda covers than anything else so it’s tough for me to choose haha! I think my favorite video would have to be “Korok Forest”, but for just the music specifically probably “Kass’ Theme”. I really enjoyed taking inspiration from Dvorak for that one to make an energetic string quartet arrangement that was as much fun to perform as it was to arrange.
Soundole VGM Covers: That's hard to answer! Either “Song of Healing” with Holland Albright or my lo-fi “Overworld Theme”. Both were significant learning experiences that helped push my production skills. Oh! But also my “Korok Forest” reed trio with Bassoonify and Medllix, which kicked off the Gamelark Reed Trio!
What's your favorite Zelda cover that someone else has produced and why?
Qumu: There are so many good ones out there, but I think my favourite is Vector U's cover/remix of “Dark World” from A Link to the Past. I just really like the way it sounds, and I think it captures the original really well. The use of sound effects is also on point!
RebeccaETripp: It’s a difficult choice, since I listen to many different Zelda covers every single day. Maybe the “Korok Forest” cover by Melody Geeks? Then again, it might be something from The Second Narrator or Doc Nano. Ask me again on a different day, and I might have a different answer, haha.
Ro Panuganti: Unsurprisingly, Artificial Fear's versions of Ocarina of Time music are killer—I'll choose his take on “Shadow Temple”. There's something very haunting in how he used tom-heavy drum riffs and original game samples, but once you get to the meat of the tune, he writes some of the most remarkable grooves ever. Plus, a breakdown that involves Link screaming; it's too perfect.
Patti Rudisill: There are so many incredible covers that I love, it would be impossible to choose a current favorite, but one that will always stand out to me was Kristin Naigus (Field of Reeds) cover of “Fi’s Theme” from Skyward Sword. This was the cover that introduced me to her work, years before we met or I had even started my own YT channel. I wasn’t used to hearing VGM covers so incredibly performed and produced, and this one totally blew me away and set a high bar to follow!
Soundole VGM Covers: Again, this might be a tricky one to narrow down! I really enjoy everything that Amie Waters makes during Zelda Month, and her covers are just going from strength to strength. Off the top of my head, this cover of “Riding (Night)” from Breath of the Wild by Amy Turk and Patti Rudisill is an absolute masterpiece. I'm also very glad I got to be involved in this epic Link's Awakening medley by Bassoonify. The work that's gone into that is absolutely staggering. I can't really speak of any singular favorites! Just a ton of standouts that satisfy me in different ways.
What's your favorite Zelda memory?
Qumu: It's become sort of a tradition to play Zelda games with my significant other, and whether it's completing Wind Waker together 100% for the first time or huddling together to play Minish Cap on a tiny handheld screen, those are some good memories.
RebeccaETripp: It might be tucking myself into bed and following around all the Clocktown residents, just to see where they go, and talking to them wearing each of the masks to get all the dialogue. That was pure magic at the time! It was so exciting whenever I discovered that a character had new dialogue that I hadn’t seen before.
Ro Panuganti: Since I wasn't an exceptional gamer, my sister and I spent hours playing Zelda on our own terms. We would go around Ocarina of Time making up stories for Link, fishing, and just barely making it up to the Water Temple. There's so much adventure in that game, and a lot of it can be created by you. Plus, beating the game itself impacted me so much, I was submitting homework about Ganondorf by the end of 3rd grade.
Patti Rudisill: This is only tangentially related to playing the games themselves, but performing in the chamber concert version of Symphony of the Goddesses at Nintendo World is one of my all time favorite memories. People started camping outside the store the day before to get into the concert! It was wall-to wall-people, and the cheering of the crowd was deafening, but the second we started to play, you could hear a pin drop (or sometimes, a gasp when someone recognized what song we were playing only from the first note!) The respect and excitement for the music was unreal, and of course, I felt it myself too. It was such a whirlwind since I was only in New York for 36 hours for the concert, but the entire experience was so surreal and unforgettable.
Soundole VGM Covers: Hmm...I'll narrow it down to two: either the feeling of exploring the wide open worlds of Ocarina of Time and Link's Awakening as a kid, or binging Breath of the Wild recently, slowly filling in that world map, and relishing each new alluring point on the horizon!