Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Now that I've opened my mouth for the first time in ages on this thread, I might as well add something.

In what direction do you think Zelda U should go music-wise? Specifically, do you think the time of sweeping overworld themes – such as this beta piece from Twilight Princess – has come to an end? The overworld themes are among the most iconic and well liked of the Zelda tradition, but there's just the fact that they tend to dominate the soundscape completely. Going by everything we've seen until now, we'll be spending a whole lot of time in the fields, which are bigger and more varied than ever. On top of that, if Nintendo is truly aiming for an unbounded world, they can't even hide the musical transitions behind loading screens and the fact that you're entering a new, secluded area.

Going for a more ambient style, a kin to Skyrim, would be one way to solve the problem. The price would be the loss of memorable tunes: again comparing to Skyrim, I remember a few sad violins, some bells and the main theme; that's about all the game had to offer musically. Some sandbox games don't even have music magically playing everywhere, instead opting for radio stations or the like. This obviously wouldn't do for Zelda.

What I'd find interesting would be if the music would ever so subtly change based on which part of the overworld you are. Say, you're slowly inching towards Death Mountain and as you get closer, more and more percussion is added to the mix. Soon the Death Mountain theme, which could be a variation of the overworld theme or a its own piece, would completely overtake. Of course, implementing such system would be time consuming, but they've got time (about a year, it seems) and its been done before even within the Zelda franchise (case in point Hyrule Castle of Twilight Princess).

E: And whilst typing all that, the discussion has turned to Ganondorf and speedos (a Google search which, btw, yields far too many results).

@ClockworkMario: I think if they make each theme a little more subtle, they could make area-themed music work. I mean, in most 3D games, the music transitions from the current tune to the battle theme, and then back, so it wouldn't be much of a problem.

@ClockworkMario: I don't think your last idea is too far-fetched at all and I think we'll be seeing something like that. Subtle changes in background music are in plenty of games; Nintendo games as well. In most games, the music changes once you're underwater, or your health is on low. Especially the first example is not too different from music changing depending on location.

I thought they did it very well in that market place in SS. So maybe something like that but only on a bigger scale.

!!!! You missed me!!!!

@ClockworkMario: An atmospheric soundtrack like Skyrim would be a nice change of pace, at least for the overworld. The nice thing about a soundtrack like that is that it doesn't get old quite as quickly. If it had your idea of a patchwork of themes triggered seamlessly across the landscape, and you wanted very gradual transitions between areas, a structure-less soundtrack like Skyrim's would transition easier.

I don't know if anyone else was interested in the piano solo music from the first trailer? I think it could be cool, if it was mixed in with orchestra or electronic filters, but it was the most prominent instrument throughout the soundtrack. There could be a reason for it, too; there could be pianos you could play in the towns. Heck, if I were to get carried away for a minute.. Legend of Zelda: Piano of Time!

Isn't that that Ocarina of Time did with the Hyrule Field theme?

I thought I addressed this.

Its not my fault if you can't understand my points when I present them clearly.

@Haru17: Sorry Haru, I meant it as a harmless joke.

Ah, sorry then. Didn't catch that.

@Haru17: It was a little mean, though, I admit. I was trying to give a comical oversimplified mal-summary of the events that took place in this forum post-Game Awards.

Also a euphemism in Hyrule.

Ayyy, lmao! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus

It was less about "this thread needs more wet shirts" and more about "it had been a while since blast said something like that".

Zelda U, forever alone.

If it fulfills my (more reasonable) expectations it'll be an easy 2016 GOTY. If not I think all of my nostalgia will shrivel up and die.

OT, but I just finished up Wind Waker again last night. Man, that final showdown with Ganondorf is so fantastic. The story cues came out of nowhere, turning Ganondorf into a sympathetic villain at the last minute, but they were still very satisfying. The overall presentation, set piece, and 2-on-1 with Tetra on support is really cool.

I had wanted to replay the whole series in 2015 to lead up to the new game, but only ended up finishing Link to the Past, Link Between Worlds, Ocarina of Time, and now Wind Waker. Guess that's OK though with the delay anyway... 2016 is now the year. Think I'll try get the Oracle games and Link's Awakening done first. Already about halfway through an Oracle of Ages playthrough anyway.

It's weird, I actually have also been playing Wind Waker again (mainly because I never got around to playing the HD version when I got it). I cannot remember the last time my opinion of a game has done such a 180, if ever. The story isn't as compelling but I'll blame that on seeing it repeatedly (4th playthrough, seen some LPs etc). But when I played the game I loved the required sections of the gameplay (before the Triforce hunt) and thought the sailing eventually became really annoying and disappointing. Now I think the dungeons are mostly disappointing compared to every other 3D Zelda and the sailing is great (though obviously, part of that is because swift sail).

The Wind Waker had a weird case of 'rectangles with textures on the walls' syndrome as far as dungeon design went (even more than the N64 games at some points). At least in the Wind and Earth temples, anyway.

It just bugs me, and again replays are unkind, but I really feel like they could have done more with that game, even on the gamecube.

While it's still one of my favorites, Wind Waker definitely has very weak dungeons. It feels as though so much effort and focus went into designing the world itself that they got to the dungeons and were like "ehhh..."

Toon Link is still Best Link though. Half the development budget was spent on his facial expressions and sass.

For the first 5 or so hours of Windwaker, I thought it was the best Zelda game.

I loved the story beginning. Loved Outset Island, loved Windfall, loved Dragon Roost. And then after Dragon Roost I thought the rest of the game just went nowhere. No more interesting locations to visit and no more interesting dungeons.

2 more towns or Islands a bit like Outset would've improved the game massively.