Poll of the Day > Why can't Zelda have music as good as the Galaxy games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

SMG and SMG2 could both compete for greatest video game OST of all time, yet there's never been a Zelda game that can remotely compete with either game's fully orchestrated soundtrack. Probably the closest a Zelda game has come is Skyward Sword's soundtrack, but it's still nowhere near the same level.

You'd think Zelda should be the one with the GOAT orchestral pieces.

I like the SMG soundtracks, but they felt kind of out of place to me. I'm just not sure if I like that "fully orchestrated" sound in a video game. It would probably be better suited for Zelda than Mario, but then again the simple OoT and MM soundtracks do the trick for me.

Rockies posted...

I like the SMG soundtracks, but they felt kind of out of place to me. I'm just not sure if I like that "fully orchestrated" sound in a video game. It would probably be better suited for Zelda than Mario, but then again the simple OoT and MM soundtracks do the trick for me.

Good gravy, keep that icky opinion away from me.

Uh, which part of it was icky? And why? I don't understand why people are so obsessed with "fully orchestrated". I also don't know what that even means since everyone seems to use it differently. Like, does it mean recorded with a full symphony orchestra? Or just using real instruments, some of which you'd find in an orchestra, as opposed to using midi/samples? Are they talking about music written in a certain way?

Rockies posted...

Uh, which part of it was icky?

The part that settled for mediocrity, i.e., the idea that it would be acceptable to use MIDI soundtracks in a Zelda game these days as opposed to actual instruments.

Rockies posted...

Like, does it mean recorded with a full symphony orchestra? Or just using real instruments, some of which you'd find in an orchestra, as opposed to using midi/samples?

Could be either, but generally "fully orchestrated soundtrack" means "not MIDI". In terms of Zelda specifically it would obviously be better to go with the orchestral style.

Sure, real instruments over midi is a fair thing to ask, but the composition style of the older games would still work. As you probably know, older games had a limited number of "instruments" (sound channels) to work with, so that's where you get a lot of those minimalist songs. With a modern game, when you can just use a recording of any music performance, you can have a much bigger sound, but I'm not sure that means you should. The Galaxy soundtracks are written more like a movie score than a video game imo.

Rockies posted...

Sure, real instruments over midi is a fair thing to ask, but the composition style of the older games would still work. As you probably know, older games had a limited number of "instruments" (sound channels) to work with, so that's where you get a lot of those minimalist songs. With a modern game, when you can just use a recording of any music performance, you can have a much bigger sound, but I'm not sure that means you should. The Galaxy soundtracks are written more like a movie score than a video game imo.

Video games should strive to have a score comparable to that of films; hell, I'd say they already give films a run for their money in terms of the soundtrack. Now granted, not every video game needs to have a soundtrack as ambitious as a full orchestra, but when it comes to the mainline 3D Mario and Zelda titles, they absolutely should be firing on all cylinders with the music composition.

Now begone from my topic, you treacherous heathen, you.

Nah. Go listen to the soundtrack for Super Mario 3D World. It relies on simpler, catchier compositions, but it's much more fitting imo. So many songs exude pure joy... particularly the snow level theme. And they still have a decent orchestral sound, but not like a movie score.

Zelda really shouldn't have any music IMO. I actually loved that about Breath of the Wild, that it was so minimal on the music. I don't like going into a meadow with BAAA BA BA BA BA BA BAAAAA blaring.

Zelda has better atmospheric music while Mario has catchier music. Generally, I prefer catchy music. Songs like Good Egg Galaxy and Gusty Garden Galaxy are good, but I think my favorite is the Purple Coins theme.
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wah_wah_wah posted...

Zelda really shouldn't have any music IMO. I actually loved that about Breath of the Wild, that it was so minimal on the music. I don't like going into a meadow with BAAA BA BA BA BA BA BAAAAA blaring.

You know, you got me thinking, would games have as much music if we started out with 3D games? I was gonna say no music would be bad in a 2D Zelda game, but I'm not sure if we'll see any more of those anyway. It's much more of necessity in 2D games, but atmospheric 3D games like BotW can get away with less of it (though I personally wished it had more). So now I wonder if having music in games is partially just carrying through with tradition.

Honestly, I don't think we'll ever see a game from Nintendo as good as Super Mario Galaxy. I think that was the peak. At least for a while.

Maybe 15 years from now we'll have some more game changers.

SilentSeph posted...

Zelda has better atmospheric music while Mario has catchier music. Generally, I prefer catchy music. Songs like Good Egg Galaxy and Gusty Garden Galaxy are good, but I think my favorite is the Purple Coins theme.

for me I prefer either depending on what i'm playing adventure games I prefer atmospheric music. its one of the things I loved in elder scroll games, the music was there and it was decent music but it was subtle and didn't overpower other aspects of the game.
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