Video game soundtracks are my favorite type of music. In this essay, I talk about why I like video game soundtracks, what my top ten favorite video game soundtracks are, and covers and medleys.
My favorite type of music is video game soundtracks. I like them for when I read books because they can help me focus and block out noise. I also like them for when I am doing chores and the like for the same reasons. I generally listen to them while I write as well. I am listening to a guitar cover* of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time soundtrack while I am writing this. I really like video game soundtracks because they do not take a lot of brainpower to process and do not contain any distracting words. They help block out the loud background noises of the homeschool environment and make it a LOT easier to focus. I particularly like the soundtracks from The Legend of Zelda video game series, specifically the new game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I also like a few soundtracks from the Super Mario Brothers series, but I generally like songs from The Legend of Zelda.
*See second-to-last paragraph
I have compiled a list of my top ten favorite video game soundtracks of all time. I am going to talk about each of them in detail in the following paragraphs. Overall, my favorite types are overworld themes/main themes as well as boss themes. My favorite versions are orchestrated, although the originals are really good too. I will begin with number ten and work my way up through number one.
Number ten on my list is Lorule Castle from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I really like this song because it is quite intense, and is played during an intense part of the game, near the very end, right before a betrayal. I also really like the instruments it is played with, particularly the trumpet. Since it is on the Nintendo 3ds instead of an older console, the sound quality is also really good compared to some of the more pixelated soundtracks. For a few of the songs I have put newer orchestrated versions instead of the original themes.
For number nine I chose Dragon Roost Island from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD. I chose the HD version because the audio quality is slightly better than the original version. They are pretty much the same song though. This song has the flute in it, which sounds really nice with the other instruments. It is just a really good song overall.
Number eight is the second newest song on this list, being present only in the newest game from The Legend of Zelda. I chose the main theme from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The first time I heard this song was watching the trailer for the new game several months ago. It is so epic and yet so peaceful at the same time. It also has some hints at the main theme from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and while that theme is not on this list, it is a nice theme. This song gave me goosebumps when I first heard it because I was so excited for the new game. It definitely deserves a spot on this list.
Number seven is one of the two songs from the Mario series. It is the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme from Super Mario Galaxy. This is commonly called the best song in Mario. Super Mario Galaxy has a fully orchestrated soundtrack, and this is no exception. I really like this song because it captures the entire vibe of Super Mario Galaxy into one soundtrack. It is very adventurous and energetic. The trumpets sound really nice particularly. It would be a shame not to have this song on the list.
Number six is the theme that plays when Gannondorf (the final boss) goes into his third phase in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It is a great high intensity boss battle theme, that also references the boss battle themes for Demise from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Calamity Gannon from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is really good for motivation, like when you are late on a homework assignment and you need to get it done quickly. In the boss battle itself it is also very fitting, the very end of you journey and the battle against the root of all evil (in the game of course).
For number five, I chose an orchestrated version of one of the most well known game soundtracks ever. The band performance from Super Mario Odyssey is an orchestrated remake of the overworld theme from the original Super Mario Bros for the Nintnedo Entertainment System (NES). This theme is just so iconic, and to hear it on the trumpet played by in-universe musicians is just music to my ears (pun intended).
For the fourth place, I chose Revali’s Theme from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is somewhat calm, and the violin sounds really good with the accordion and the piano. I’m not quite sure how to describe it, quite honestly. It just sounds really, really good.
Now for the top three. Number three is the theme that plays during the credits of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It combines all of the best songs from that game into one epic medley*. Those songs are The Ballad of the Goddess, the main theme from the original Legend of Zelda for NES, Skyloft, and the sky theme. I really like this one because I really like the songs that make it up, and it is an even more epic version than the main one. It is one of the few Medleys that are found in the games without modifications made by others.
*See second-to-last paragraph
Number two is one of the most popular songs in the Zelda community, none other than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Gerudo Valley theme! The guitar in this song hits hard, with the little hint of trumpet. The theme matches the desert perfectly. This song definitely deserves its number two spot.
Finally, last but not least, we have my favorite piece of music. It is from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which is a spin-off of The Legend of Zelda. It is a combination of the master sword pulling theme from many of the other Zelda games and the main theme from NES The Legend of Zelda. Very few modifications are made to the original themes, other than being fully orchestrated. It is a very epic theme and fits the scenario very well. The hero pulls the legendary sword, turns around, and you fight the very source of the evil (granted, this isn’t the final encounter of the game, but that doesn’t make the theme any less cool). Again, the use of trumpets in this theme sounds really good. It is very heroic, as it should be for the situation that it is played in. This theme deserves the number one spot on my list easily.
In addition to the normal soundtracks there are two more types of music that I like. I like medleys and covers of Zelda soundtracks. Medleys are when a lot of songs are strung together into one longer song, and some of these medleys are better than others. Medleys aren’t generally a part of the original games, and are often performed by outside musicians. Covers are when somebody outside of the creators of the music plays the music, sometimes with minor modifications, and often with different instruments. I like them because they can sound better than the originals and often have their own little quirks and differences.
My favorite music type is video game soundtracks. I really like them because I can listen to them while I do mediocre tasks, and they can also help me focus and work better. I talked about my top ten favorite soundtracks in detail, and I also talked about medleys and covers for these same songs. I listen to these songs on a day-to-day basis, and I really enjoy them.