Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Soundtrack Review: Legend Of Zelda - Wind Waker

Rating: 9/10

It's an unusual opinion I have in the Zelda fandom: Wind Waker is hands-down my favorite game. For many reasons, including the creativity, amazing fight controls, lovable characters, lack of a water temple, dozens of awesome sidequests, and the sailing (which I totally loved). Another one of those reasons is the music - I would say WW has the best soundtrack of any game in the series.

I always judge soundtracks by three main factors: Creativity, Quality, and Suited to the Scene. Wind Waker has all of those things in spades. There's a wide range of sounds - the songs for each area are all unique. They set a perfect mood for every boss and event. The musical arrangements are like I'd never heard before.

The other wonderful thing about the music is how emotional it is. Not just sad or dramatic. The songs range from perfectly festive, to utterly majestic, to mildly terrifying. The sheer range of emotion in the soundtrack is impressive on its own.

The only real complaint I have with the music is that some of the songs do feel a bit...empty, I suppose is the best way to describe it. For the most part, the arrangements in Wind Waker are very sparsely orchestrated. Most of the time that works, but in some songs it just leaves you feeling disappointed. But that's a minor complaint, and this game still has my favorite soundtrack out of all the Zelda games.

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