Last night I was on the elliptical machine when my iPod nano shuffled to Gerudo Valley, track 4 of The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD. The CD was a special pack in with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword which I regrettably didn’t play as much as I have played the soundtrack.
I don’t think of myself as a super video game nerd, and my friends who do play video games can vouch for my lack of game playing ability. But this collection of music I think stands out as good music, exceeding what I would have expected from a video game soundtrack or a television or cinema score. Of course there are little moments when musical cues provide a thrill associated with memories of gameplay; if at anytime in real life I were to hear the secret notification and a key falls out of the sky I think it would be the best thing ever. (Main Theme Medley, 0:48)
Track Listing for The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD
- The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley
- Kariko Village – Twilight Princess Theme
- The Wind Waker Symphonic Movement
- Gerudo Valley
- Great Fairy’s Fountain Theme
- Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement
- The Legend of Zelda Main Theme Medley
- Ballad of the Goddess from Skyward Sword
Yesterday I found out that Viz (VizKids) published a translation of the Legend of Zelda manga series and I may have purchased all ten volumes. I was reviewing one for Edelweiss but didn’t realize there was a whole series. I had finished Ocarina of Time Part 1 and wanted to continue on so I checked at the bookstore I was in and on the shelf I found all ten of them sitting there, waiting for me. I immediately looked online and read about the ten volumes — hopefully soon to be more than ten with the upcoming release(s) for Skyward Sword — and perhaps as a rash impulse buy I grabbed all of them.
As a confession, I haven’t finished most of the games. This is one of the reasons people give me grief about video games; that and lack of skill. However the manga are helping me fill in the plot holes. It’s a little better than reading spoilers online…Plus, if I don’t buy books, bookstores may cease to exist as we know them. :-/
Anyhow: positive review, both for the CD and the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Part 1. One jar containing a fairy out of one jar slot.
Edit: I forgot to mention that Koji Kondo is responsible for much of the Legend of Zelda music.