RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Music Reviews > Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony
Reviewed by: Mithrandir
A great arranged album even with a lack of instrument diversity.
Zelda 64: The first Zelda game released on the Nintendo 64. I still remember the day I played that game, it was so cold outside! :o) Anyway, Koji Kondo brings us an arranged version of the OST. Like the title game says, The Ocarina of Time, there is a link with ocarina. And since there were so many songs to be played with Link's ocarina, the arranged version took some. Koji Kondo's style is still recognizable in all the albums he does. From Mario Bros to Zelda, he brought us unforgettable themes. Who in the world never heard the Zelda theme? Even a lot of years after the release of the NES, Mario Bros music and Zelda music are well-known. Well, let's get started. This album has all of Koji Kondo. It has this something that would make any VGM fan say: This is Koji Kondo for sure. That's something I like from the album. When the composer is completely unrecognizable on the arranged soundtrack it's always fun.
One thing I don't like about this album is the lack of instrumental diversity. Koji Kondo chose only strings, piano, guitar and ocarina. No percussion whatsoever. No brass either. That's one of the major problems of the album. Trumpets would have been great by giving it some greatness to some tracks. Still, the strings do the job for most of the tracks. If you take Market Place, the strings do a magnificent job since the track has this country-gathering- feeling. Sometimes the lower strings replace the drums and lower brass. Let's take the example of Hyrule Field and Zora's Domain. And the plucked strings give this light-hearted feeling to some tracks like Goron City and Kakariko Forest.
Another problem of this album is that if you are looking for REAL orchestral well, you'll be deceived. This album gives you the impression to listen to a recital of a string quartet since only strings have a major place in the album. There is some dramatically feeling that could have been achieved only by an entire orchestra. But still, some tracks are kind of given life with strings. Let's take example on Zora's Domain which is clearly improved from the OST. Also, most of the tracks kept the OST form kind of making this album not really an Arranged album. But that goes with the lack of instrumental diversity.
Among the best tracks on the album, we can find The Opening Theme which is so beautiful. I especially like the 'end' (at about 3 min) where the intensity rises and the chords are so beautiful they'll put you in trance. Another amazing track is Gerudo Valley which even without guitars and hand claps stays one unskippable track. Also the Ending Theme which reunites all the ocarina songs. Among them, my favourites: Lost Woods, The Windmill (which is too short), the Bolero of Fire and many others.
But thepi' de resistance of this album is for me the Legend of Zelda Medley. Wow, this is something for gamers that have been playing Zelda games since the NES era. Starting with the opening theme of Zelda (NES), it continues with the main overworld theme. The strings really do their job. After the overworld theme, the track continues with the music from Zelda dungeons. This part is really amazing. After that it continues with the Theme from Zelda II (NES). After that, comes the Opening theme of Zelda: A link to the Past. Then, it starts again with the overworld theme to continue with my favourite part: The Dark World theme. How I would have liked this part to be longer. The end arrives with this solid ending.
So the album is not so bad for a Zelda album considering it is different from the OST. So it's up to you to decide if it's good or not. Even with all his problems, this album remains one of my favourites. It deserves an 83.
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| Album Information | Reviewer Rank |
|---|---|
|
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony Published by: Media Factory Release Date: January 27th 1999 Composed by: Minako Hamano, Kozue Ishikawa, Koji Kondo, Akito Nakatsuka Arranged by: Ryuichi Katsumata 1 Disc, 13 Tracks Catalog: ZMCX-102 |
83 |
Reviewed by: Mithrandir
A great arranged album even with a lack of instrument diversity.
Zelda 64: The first Zelda game released on the Nintendo 64. I still remember the day I played that game, it was so cold outside! :o) Anyway, Koji Kondo brings us an arranged version of the OST. Like the title game says, The Ocarina of Time, there is a link with ocarina. And since there were so many songs to be played with Link's ocarina, the arranged version took some. Koji Kondo's style is still recognizable in all the albums he does. From Mario Bros to Zelda, he brought us unforgettable themes. Who in the world never heard the Zelda theme? Even a lot of years after the release of the NES, Mario Bros music and Zelda music are well-known. Well, let's get started. This album has all of Koji Kondo. It has this something that would make any VGM fan say: This is Koji Kondo for sure. That's something I like from the album. When the composer is completely unrecognizable on the arranged soundtrack it's always fun.
One thing I don't like about this album is the lack of instrumental diversity. Koji Kondo chose only strings, piano, guitar and ocarina. No percussion whatsoever. No brass either. That's one of the major problems of the album. Trumpets would have been great by giving it some greatness to some tracks. Still, the strings do the job for most of the tracks. If you take Market Place, the strings do a magnificent job since the track has this country-gathering- feeling. Sometimes the lower strings replace the drums and lower brass. Let's take the example of Hyrule Field and Zora's Domain. And the plucked strings give this light-hearted feeling to some tracks like Goron City and Kakariko Forest.
Another problem of this album is that if you are looking for REAL orchestral well, you'll be deceived. This album gives you the impression to listen to a recital of a string quartet since only strings have a major place in the album. There is some dramatically feeling that could have been achieved only by an entire orchestra. But still, some tracks are kind of given life with strings. Let's take example on Zora's Domain which is clearly improved from the OST. Also, most of the tracks kept the OST form kind of making this album not really an Arranged album. But that goes with the lack of instrumental diversity.
Among the best tracks on the album, we can find The Opening Theme which is so beautiful. I especially like the 'end' (at about 3 min) where the intensity rises and the chords are so beautiful they'll put you in trance. Another amazing track is Gerudo Valley which even without guitars and hand claps stays one unskippable track. Also the Ending Theme which reunites all the ocarina songs. Among them, my favourites: Lost Woods, The Windmill (which is too short), the Bolero of Fire and many others.
But thepi' de resistance of this album is for me the Legend of Zelda Medley. Wow, this is something for gamers that have been playing Zelda games since the NES era. Starting with the opening theme of Zelda (NES), it continues with the main overworld theme. The strings really do their job. After the overworld theme, the track continues with the music from Zelda dungeons. This part is really amazing. After that it continues with the Theme from Zelda II (NES). After that, comes the Opening theme of Zelda: A link to the Past. Then, it starts again with the overworld theme to continue with my favourite part: The Dark World theme. How I would have liked this part to be longer. The end arrives with this solid ending.
So the album is not so bad for a Zelda album considering it is different from the OST. So it's up to you to decide if it's good or not. Even with all his problems, this album remains one of my favourites. It deserves an 83.
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