Wii U review: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

A decade after its original Gamecube release, The Legend of Zelda title that introduced the cel-shaded Toon Link and the Great Sea he sailed across received an HD remake on Nintendo’s Wii U. During the years between the original Wind Waker and this new Wind Waker HD, it was expressed that there were a number of features that the development staff wanted to work into the original release, but were unable to due primarily to technological restrictions they faced in 2003. Wind Waker HD promised to be more than a simple visual upgrade of the original Gamecube adventure, and ultimately incorporated a number of reworked gameplay features, as well as a few new additions.

While many remakes in recent years have seen significant visual jumps in their quality (i.e. – Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Final Fantasy IV DS, etc.), Wind Waker HD’s strongest graphical showings come from its improved lighting effects and more strikingly visible environment textures. Character models and the various locales across the Great Sea appear largely unchanged from the Gamecube original, due in no small part to the fact that cel-shaded graphics were far ahead of their time, and have since aged significantly better than the visuals of nearly every other game in the long-running series. The soundtrack, however, has been cleaned up a bit, and a few subtle variations on classic tunes have been thrown into the mix.

For those who missed out on the Wind Waker during its original 2003 release, the story is set hundreds of years after the events of Ocarina of Time. The intro sequence explains that, even though OoT's Link was able to save Hyrule from Ganondorf’s evil conquest once, after he had returned to his own time there was no one to stop the Gerudo King once he escaped his imprisonment in the Sacred Realm. In a last-ditch effort to save the people of Hyrule, the goddesses washed away the kingdom, sending the people to live on the islands that now marked the Great Sea. As centuries passed, those who knew the legends of Hyrule dwindled in numbers, though on Link’s birthday, he receives a green Tunic from his grandmother, which she cites as being associated with the hero of legend, and a tradition for boys to wear on his home of Outset Island.

Not long after, a giant bird carrying the pirate captain Tetra flies over Outset Island, only to be struck by a cannonball from Tetra’s pursuing crew members. The bird drops Tetra in the forest atop the island, and Link decides to go help at the insistence of his younger sister Aryll. After scaling the island and fighting a few monsters, Link rescues Tetra and the two exit the forest only to witness young Aryll be whisked away by the giant bird from before, who mistook Aryll for Tetra. Determined to save his sister, Link acquires a shield and sword and climbs aboard Tetra’s ship as they head for the Forsaken Fortress.

Once inside, Link manages to sneak past Moblin patrols and is reunited with his sister, who is being held captive with two other young girls in a prison cell atop the Forsaken Fortress. However, this victory is short-lived, as the giant bird swoops in and tosses Link to the ocean, at the command of its shadowy master. The next morning, Link awakes to find he has been rescued by a talking sailboat which calls itself the King of Red Lions. He informs Link that the master of the Forsaken Fortress and the one who has been spreading monsters across the Great Sea is none other than Ganondorf, and that Link must gather three pearls in order to access a greater power capable of stopping Ganondorf’s schemes.

Mechanically, Wind Waker built directly off its N64 predecessors Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. The titular Wind Waker, which is used to control the direction of the wind that steers your sailboat, as well as a few other key interactions, effectively stood in for the previous musical instrument, the Ocarina of Time. Combat followed suit, with carefully timed strikes being coordinated with the trigger-based targeting system. The set of items Link collected from the various dungeons are still implemented with great frequency in later legs of The Wind Waker, often used in tandem with other items or weapons to overcome more challenging and complicated hurdles. While the core of this experience may remain largely the same, it is largely to the game’s benefit, as Wind Waker HD doesn’t need to fix what isn’t broken. That said, the optional gyroscope controls are available for the Telescope and Picto Box, should players feel so inclined to explore these additions, though the classic joystick controls are generally more smooth and precise.

Little changes to some of the items and questlines in Wind Waker HD end up going a long way. When sailing across the Great Sea, the Cannon, Crane, and Wind Waker are automatically set to the D-pad, while the Sail is set to the A button, allowing you to set another three separate items to the X, Y, and R buttons respectively. This cuts down on the amount of time spent swapping from the inventory. On a related note, the Gamepad’s touch controls allow you to drag items to these three buttons on the fly, without needing to pause the game first. Those who recall the Tingle Tuner from the Gamecube version will find it has been replaced with a more practical counterpart in the form of Tingle Bottles, which can carry messages into other player’s games via Miiverse, offering a more community-oriented experience not unlike the hints players can leave for one another in Dark Souls.

For completionists who enjoyed snapping pictographs of friendly faces and Ganondorf’s loyal monsters during their journey to turn into sculpted figurines at the Nintendo Gallery, the number of open slots in the Picto Box has been bumped up to twelve, as has the number of figurines that can be crafted each day. Enemy spoil drops appear to have been improved as well, making sidequests dependent on the number of Skull Necklaces, Butterfly Pendants, or Golden Feathers in your possession much quicker to complete. A speedier sail is available around the game’s midway point, and the process of collecting Triforce pieces during the late hours has been cut in half, thanks to the majority of the chart locations being replaced with the actual Triforce shards themselves. This not only makes collecting the Triforce shards feel like less of a chore than in the original Gamecube version, it circumvents the severe hiccup in the story’s pacing that comes as a result from suddenly needing to divert all of your attention from the buildup toward the late-game challenges and subsequent intense progression of the story.

If you have never experienced this particular Legend of Zelda title before, the HD update is a fantastic option. It’s also perhaps one of the most easily-accessible Zelda titles out there, for those who may have only experienced a scant few games in the series – not to say that The Wind Waker is an overly easy experience, but it does provide more intuitive controls and in-depth tutorials that stack as the game gradually offers up new options for improving combat and puzzle strategies. While the visuals may not be a vast improvement over the Gamecube original, they still hold up strong today, and offer a very distinct style that matches the sense of wonder in this fantasy setting, as well as the coming-of-age direction that the story takes with its younger protagonist.

My rating: 8.5 (out of 10)

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD journal - entry three

When I first played Wind Waker, I was in middle school and had no qualms about sinking hours into the tedious process of collecting three pictographs at a time, bringing them to the Forest Haven’s Nintendo Gallery, and then fast-forwarding time via the Song of Passing to have them converted into sculpted figures one by one. While Wind Waker lacks as many real meaty sidequests as its home console predecessor Majora’s Mask offered up, the more involved sidequests that Wind Waker does have are just that – very involved, and by association, rather time-consuming. I am incredibly pleased to see that Nintendo has not only quadrupled the number of pictographs Link can store in his Picto Box at any given time, but also upped the ante on the number of figures that can be sculpted per day to a matching twelve. To some, the Nintendo Gallery might seem like a silly distraction, but I always found it to be one of the most entertaining and rewarding sidequests in Wind Waker.

Conversely, my single least favorite leg of the original Wind Waker adventure was the process of collecting all the Triforce charts, having them deciphered for an obscene sum of money, and then having to track down each Triforce shard thereafter. It was such a boring routine that really threw off the game’s pacing, especially after the revelation of Tetra being the heir to Princess Zelda’s bloodline and the search for the two new sages had significantly boosted the excitement and intensity of the narrative. Lo and behold, Nintendo also improved upon this by asking players to seek out a mere three Triforce charts, while many of the remaining Triforce Shards have been allocated to the treasure chests that previously housed their respective charts. Those few Triforce shards that still lie at the bottom of the sea are immediately visible on Tingle’s In-credible chart. This particular fetch quest feels much less a chore, as it requires approximately half the time and effort than in the original Gamecube version.

I would not say that I am quite as blown away by this updated version of Wind Waker as I was by Ocarina of Time 3D – as I previously mentioned, the character models and environments of Wind Waker HD look largely the same as before, save for better lighting and a clearer filter for the game’s presentation. Plus, even though it is two console generations removed, this HD remaster is still on a home console as opposed to a handheld. But it is certainly flying higher than I anticipated during my first journal post. As of a few hours ago, I started my dive into the Wind Temple, and as such, I would expect my review of Wind Waker HD to be posted sometime by the end of next week, as there isn’t a whole lot left ahead of me before I take on Ganondorf and finish this adventure… once again.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD journal - entry two

Perhaps my initial judgments toward Wind Waker HD were premature. Now that I’m getting deeper into the story, I’m finding there are plenty of little updates that go a long way. I am a tad surprised that there does not appear to be any use of the stylus for scribbling notes on the sea chart ala Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks (or at least, there is no such functionality that I have yet come across). However, including the little tidbits of information the fish-men provide Link with their respective island chartings is a convenient addition for anyone who is new to the Wind Waker experience, or who is taking on this adventure many years after they originally tackled it on the Gamecube. After all, many of these hints or pieces of advice pertain to quests later in the game, like the Ghost Ship, the items required to enter the Earth and Wind Temples, and the Triforce Charts.

I’ve recently acquired the Swift Sail, which is far and away my favorite new item in this updated Zelda adventure. Not only does it make travelling to nearby islands a super-speedy process, but it easily cuts the time spent filling in the sea chart in half. The Tingle Bottles have proven entertaining, and I applaud those who have utilized them for more practical uses like aiding younger players who are stuck at a certain point in the game. That said, I’ve also found some of the messages within these Tingle Bottles quite amusing, whether the author of the related posts meant for their work to be humorous or not.

While I still feel that this HD version is not the visual spectacle other HD updates in recent years have shown themselves to be, there is something to be said about the finer details of this Wii U update of Wind Waker. I’ve come across a number of textures that I never noticed in the original Gamecube version, such as the small Triforce shape inside the barrier beam emitters within the Tower of the Gods, and the shapes of the Hylian people praising the Master Sword within the chamber below Hyrule Castle. As I mentioned in my previous post, the single biggest visual improvement seems to have come in the form of the game’s lighting, and as I have recently witnessed, this is not simply from the sun or the torch fires – the pearls required to summon the Tower of the Gods from the watery abyss look absolutely gorgeous, as does the room wherein Link faces the dungeon’s boss Gohdan. Even the Beamos eyes look far less blurry than they did back in 2003.

Wind Waker HD may end up being one of my earliest reviews posted in 2015. I’ve spent the past couple of days dealing with some post-Christmas crud, and as much as I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played of Persona Q thus far, playing through Wind Waker is a much easier task, especially since it is a game that I’ve beaten at least five times over now. My expectations of Wind Waker HD ranking among the greatest of all the games I play in 2015 are basically zero, but the aforementioned improvements that I have recently discovered have certainly earned it a few extra points toward its (eventual) overall review rating.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD journal - entry one

I received Wind Waker HD as a gift for purchasing Mario Kart 8 within its ‘early adopter’ window, and then subsequently set it aside for a rainy day. It’s not that I don’t like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, far from it – it’s my fifth favorite Zelda title, only tailing slightly behind Majora’s Mask, Skyward Sword, the Oracle titles, and Ocarina of Time (numbers four to one, in that order). But I did last replay Wind Waker about two years ago, and felt I should wait a while before tackling this remastered edition at the risk of my experience feeling too much of a mundane retread. That said, I am not certain if this will be one of my earlier reviews on 2015, or if I will tackle it in spurts and give priority to The Wonderful 101 and Watch Dogs.

The great thing about Wind Waker, at least for the sake of this replay and upcoming review, is that it has a relatively quick main storyline. I am, however, very much interested in seeing what all of the reworked gameplay elements are and how different their offerings are from the original Gamecube version. As of right now, I’ve just purchased the sail on Windfall Island, and I have a few key points I wanted to hit on.

First off, the graphics and art style are not as big of an improvement as I had expected. Wind Waker’s cel-shaded direction has led it to be, from a visual perspective at least, the Zelda title that has simply aged the best. The gameplay is a different beast entirely, but when Wind Waker HD was first announced, I thought it an exceptionally odd pick for that very reason. With the Wii U’s significantly improved graphical capabilities over its predecessor consoles, Majora’s Mask, even Twilight Princess could have received major facelifts while finding new and fun things to do with the Gamepad. But Wind Waker HD only has a few notable trumps over its Gamecube counterpart that I have come across thus far – the lighting is superb, and some of the environment textures have been cleaned up.

It’s far from enough to make me feel like this is a whole new spin on an old classic. The cel-shaded character models look almost exactly the same as they did back in 2003, and the blocky/angular portions of environments look outdated. I know they might keep well with the cartoony style of the game, but with the updates Nintendo did perform on this Zelda title, they look a bit out of place, as well as more so dated than most of the game’s other visual components.

Secondly, the few new mechanics I have come across are merely optional control schemes for pre-existing items, or replacements for tech that was effectively impossible to replicate on the Wii U (such as the Tingle Bottle replacing the GBA-connected Tingle Tuner). The gamepad’s gyroscope can be used to aim the telescope, and I would assume the Pictobox as well, though I couldn’t say for certain, as I turned the gyroscope’s finicky sensitivity off after my first use of the telescope. The touch screen can be used to slide items to the X, Y, and R buttons, but it doesn’t really save any significant time over the typical button and joystick combo of the old Gamecube controller. I appreciate the game being a gift, as prior to receiving it, I did not have any intent of purchasing Wind Waker HD, but now that I have it, I’m finding the majority of the updates underwhelming. That said, there is still plenty of game left ahead of me, so perhaps the Great Ocean still has some surprises in store.

New Zelda, Wind Waker HD for Wii U

Today Nintendo confirmed that there is a brand new Zelda game in the works for the Wii U, as well as the fact that they will be re-releasing The Wind Waker for the console in HD. The screens that have been shared thus far show off greater lighting effects and more vibrant colors, though the textures and character models appear largely unaltered. However, the final product could appear much different than this, so we will have to wait and see. With regards to the new (and currently unnamed) Zelda title, Eiji Aonuma stated that the development team wants to rethink conventions of the series, such as linear progression and the fact that most Zelda games are single player.

Top 5 Legend of Zelda Enemy Designs

I think I have made it pretty clear by now just how big a fan I am of the Legend of Zelda series. There are only a handful of other video game series that I feel are as consistently good as Zelda, and one of the things that I love most about it is the fact that each game perpetuates a sense of "everything old is new again". Sure, there are familiar plot points and characters, but they are portrayed in a new light with each additional game. One of my favorite examples of this approach comes in the form of the many enemies that populate Hyrule and its neighboring nations. For this list I am not necessarily identifying my favorite enemies in particular, but rather my favorite versions of said enemies. Keep in mind that this list is limited to standard enemies, and that bosses and mini-bosses are not eligible.

#5 - Poes (Ocarina of Time): Poes are generally few and far between in Ocarina of Time, save for the Big Poes that litter Hyrule Field after Link becomes an adult. The place you first encounter them is the Kakariko Village graveyard. They aren't too difficult to dispatch, as long as you are patient and wait for them to show themselves to you. There have been a number of radically different versions of Poes since, but the idea of a cloaked phantom carrying a lantern is just so classic and perfect. They disappear just to mess with you, and fighting them is as much about them toying with you as it is about you quelling their torment.

#4 - ReDeads (Wind Waker): When I first played Ocarina of Time, I was eight years old, and the ReDeads scared the crap out of me. Every incarnation of the ReDeads since has put me on edge, simply because I know that as soon as they begin wailing, I need to mash the controller as fast as possible to avoid them humping and choking the life out of me. For 1998, the Ocarina of Time ReDeads are way creepy. But the Wind Waker ReDeads are so much cooler looking with their tribal African earrings and disproportionate bodies. They appear to be wooden and are a pale navy color, which adds an air of mystery about them. Are these ReDeads actually undead or are they some sort of possessed dolls?

#3 - Shadow Beasts (Twilight Princess): As I have mentioned before, I wasn't as much a fan of Twilight Princess as I was of most other Zelda games. But it does present a number of pretty realistic enemy designs. The Stalfos look like actual skeletons, the Poes look like scythe-wielding dolls, and the ReDeads look like mummies. All of these are interesting enough to look at, but the real winner for me has to be the Shadow Beasts. In truth, their story is quite sad, considering Zant transformed his own people to serve him as monsters. But they are so alien and weird with those tendrils that hang down like hair and the stone helmets - they are one of the most bold and artistically inspired new enemies to grace the series in a long while. I know they aren't that difficult to defeat, but I still have a soft spot for them.

#2 - Darknut (Wind Waker): There are actually quite a few enemy designs that I love in Wind Waker, and it was a bit difficult to narrow the list. But easily my favorite from that game are the Darknuts. The Darknuts have always been presented as classically trained knights, though their physical forms are often shrouded in mystery - like the Twilight Princess versions, for example, whose armor falls off only to reveal chainmail covering every inch of their body, and masks over their faces. But in Wind Waker you get to see them as wolf men, which I assume is due in part to the fact that Wolfos were left out of the game, and thus Nintendo used them as inspiration for this vastly different approach to the knight look. It's very fitting actually, as the Darknuts prove the most honorable fighters in the game. They never spam randomly or sneak up behind you. They are always waiting for you to make the first move, and will continue to fight intelligently even when their sword or chestplate is lost. And their armor looks super cool to boot - my personal favorite being the crimson armor set with the cape, as worn by the Darknuts you face immediately before fighting Puppet Ganon.

#1 - Stalfos (Skyward Sword): Without a doubt, my favorite enemy across all the Zelda games has to be the Stalfos. A skeleton soldier - it's such a simple yet perfect inclusion to the series medieval fantasy motif. Where the Skyward Sword Stalfos differ so greatly from Stalfos in other games is in both their physical design and combat style. Most other games portray Stalfos as being roughly the same height as Link, but the ones in Skyward Sword tower over him and carry massive swords. And since they both attack and block with those swords, Link has to be careful and accurate with his own Master Sword when striking back. They are only so many times over the course of Skyward Sword that Link encounters Stalfos, but each is intense and thoroughly enjoyable.

Top 5 Legend of Zelda games

It's no secret that I absolutely love the Legend of Zelda series. For years, it has been my single favorite video game series, though certain games therein rank higher than others. The Legend of Zelda series has always excelled at presenting a wonderful adventure gaming experience, though some of the titles in the long-running franchise go above and beyond. Below is a list of my five favorites - the absolute best of the best, as far as I am concerned.

#5 - Wind Waker: To be completely honest, I was highly skeptical of Wind Waker when it debuted, sporting cartoony cel-shaded graphics. But what appeared to be a game largely aimed at children proved to carry across one of the most endearing and mature coming-of-age stories the series has ever exhibited. The fact that it continued on the story of Ocarina of Time hit a nostalgic sweet spot for me, while the vast expanse of the ocean and its many islands continually fed my hunger for adventure.

The game paced itself very well, though the sluggish quest for the shattered triforce pieces proved a bump in the road. The dungeons proved varied and creative, the sidequests were in abundance, and the characters were lovable. Wind Waker was a breath of fresh air - not just for the Zelda series, but for adventure gaming as a genre.

#4 - Majora's Mask: Another Zelda title that is heavy on artistic direction, Majora's Mask is frankly one of the eeriest games I have ever played. It is also one of the most challenging, and the lack of direction the game provides early on prevents it from earning a higher ranking on this list. Still, it does just as well as Wind Waker with regards to delivering an enjoyable story and presenting a bevy of sidequests.

In fact, Majora's Mask is largely dependent on sidequests. More than half the experience would be lost without their inclusion, and forcing players to seek out new items and locales broadens the story with each step taken. There are so many memorable characters and events that are unveiled as part of the exploration. And to put icing on the cake, the soundtrack to Majora's Mask is one of my all-time favorites. Give the Stone Temple Tower and Deku Palace tunes a listen and you'll know why.

#3 - Skyward Sword: Prior to its release, a number of sources touted Skyward Sword as having the potential to trump Ocarina of Time as the best in the series. Every trailer that I saw for Skyward Sword building up to the release date increased my excitement - from footage of boss fights with Koloktos and Lord Ghirahim to items like the Beetle and Double Clawshot, the game looked like a ton of fun. That, coupled with the fact that it was a prequel to Ocarina of Time, made me the most hyped for a game release in the better part of a decade.

For those who have read my review of Skyward Sword, it goes without saying that this game did not disappoint. It succeeded in every gameplay aspect I could have hoped for, while throwing me some welcome curveballs like the Timeshift Stones, which made the gameplay more dynamic and thought-provoking. The story was delivered in a gorgeous manner, and despite the overworld hub setup, every inch of the land that would one day come to be known as Hyrule looked breathtakingly gorgeous. Each boss fight was different and presented equal parts challenge and fun, while the final showdown was just as epic as it was intense.

#2 - Oracle of Ages: I loved both of the Oracle games - to this day, I can only think of a few handheld releases that even come close to these two in terms of clever design and overall fun factor. While the Rod of Seasons may have aided Oracle of Seasons in crafting a more visually pleasing look and well-designed overworld, Oracle of Ages had arguably the better dungeon layouts and boss fights. The items were plentiful, and each saw pretty even usage. The whole idea of correcting the course of history by travelling back in time was entertaining and engaging, and Veran proved to be a devilishly perfect villain. The sidequests may not have been as memorable as those found in the console Zelda titles, but there was still a lot to do in the land of Labrynna.

#1 - Ocarina of Time: This number one spot should come as no surprise. I have found many games that have come very close to Ocarina of Time - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Shadow of the Colossus, Metroid Prime - but none have yet managed to dethrone it as my favorite game of all time (and subsequently, my favorite Zelda game). What Ocarina of Time managed to accomplish for the day of its release is astounding. The dungeons are about as close to perfect as one can get, even with the Water Temple's reputation of being particularly frustrating. Link's story is a great fantasy tale; one truly deserving of all the praise it has earned over the years since Ocarina of Time's original debut.

Before anyone plays the nostalgia card, let me be clear on one thing: every two to three years, I sit down and play through Ocarina of Time. I do this not only because I love the game just as much today as I did when I first played it, but to remind myself of what a perfect game is. Whether it is on the N64, Virtual Console, or 3DS version, Ocarina of Time is simply a classic - one of those rare games that every gamer owes it to themselves to play.

Top 5 Legend of Zelda Soundtracks

Since I'm still on something of a Legend of Zelda high right now, I figured 'why not go ahead and post a top five list'? Below is a listing of my five favorite Legend of Zelda soundtracks, in order. Their placements on this list are determined primarily by the way the soundtrack influenced the game as a whole, and which soundtracks rank higher or lower on this list do not necessarily reflect the order I rank the games themselves.

#5 - A Link to the Past: It might not have the impressive sound quality of the more recent titles, but A Link to the Past boasts what is easily the most impressive soundtrack of the four old-school Zelda games. With tunes like the Dark World theme and the Hyrule Castle theme, it's easy to find yourself immersed in this classic medieval-themed world. The sense of adventure is heightened and the battles seem all the more impressive. A Link to the Past is also host to one of the earliest 'quirky' tunes in the series - as a sort of precursor to the Song of Storms in Ocarina of Time or Kamaro's Dance in Majora's Mask, the Fortune Teller's theme is oddly catchy. The dungeon themes are a little more simplistic and show less variation than in later games, but they certainly carry an eerie, intimidating feel.

#4 - Ocarina of Time: While Ocarina of Time is certainly my favorite Zelda game, the soundtrack isn't at the top of the list, though it is still host to a number of great tunes. Though many of the tracks in Ocarina of Time are incredibly catchy, they aren't as complex as the tunes found in many of the other games. Still, there's no denying how atmospheric each of the temple themes are. Hyrule Field and Gerudo Valley's themes get me pumped for exploration and adventure every time I hear them, while the Song of Time's echoing chants serve as strong reminders of the mystical nature of this definitive title. The themes for the final boss fights against Ganondorf and Ganon serve as fitting conclusions to all the action, while the melodies that accompany the end credits provide a bittersweet finale.

#3 - The Wind Waker: The first time I heard the prologue music to Wind Waker, I fell in love with it. It was a great way to tie in the past Zelda games with this bold new take on the series. But everything that followed steered away from the familiar, and I found the majority of the soundtrack a perfect marriage to both the art style and the open expanses of the Great Sea. Sure, Dragon Roost Island has a catchy theme. But my personal favorites come from the dungeons and boss fights. On the temple side of things, the Wind Temple and Earth Temple have tracks that utilize instruments unique to the temples' motifs, while blending these with environmental sounds to further engage you in the dungeon-crawling experience. The mini-boss theme is pretty darn cool - almost as cool as the themes for Molgera and Phantom Ganon. Topping it off with the track that plays during Link's final showdown with Ganondorf while the seas crashing in around them is just plain brilliant.

#2 - Skyward Sword: This game's opening reminded me of both Wind Waker and A Link to the Past with the way it approached the origins of Skyloft. Where it stood out, though, was the epic nature of the introductory theme. It acted as both a throwback to the familiar and a fresh take on the Zelda formula (story and gameplay mechanics aside). The overworld themes take a somewhat minimalist approach. In Faron Woods, things sound quite upbeat, but they aren't overbearing. In the Lanayru Desert, the songs are comprised largely of rhythmic ambience that is in keeping with the technological motif of the region. Inside the dungeons, songs display themselves more prominently, providing the Earth Temple, Pirate Ship, and Lanayru Mining Facility with their own distinct and individual identities. The song that plays when Link travels through the Gate of Time to reunite with Zelda fuels the emotional drive of the narrative, while Groose's theme and Tubert's theme are perfect examples of the game's more light-hearted moments. The one thing I was not expecting during my playthrough of Skyward Sword was just how grandiose both Ghirahim and Demise's final boss themes would be - spine-tingling in the best way possible.

#1 - Majora's Mask: As I've mentioned before, I find Majora's Mask to be a very strange, very disturbing video game. A lot of this due to the direction the story takes, but the art style and soundtrack also play an important role in this. As the days pass, the song that plays in clock town becomes increasingly desperate and ominous, ending with an ethereal tune that embodies failure and the inevitable destruction of Termina . Each of the temples utilizes a dark theme of some sort - in the Great Bay Temple it's the industrial cling-clang, while the Stone Tower Temple combines tribal beats with more refined flute sounds. Ikana Valley bellows out noises that are downright freaky scary. The multiple themes associated with Majora convey a strange balance of evil and chaos, while the fanfare of the Deku Palace maintains somewhat closer ties to the traditional Zelda. Few video games manage to remain so artistically-driven, while at the same time maintaining such a strong narrative. And let's be honest; without the soundtrack, Majora's Mask wouldn't have such a distinct identity.