You may have noticed that we're doing a video game music festival while the summer months are still here — but you may also be wondering why we haven't included the most important music of all.
Fear not! I'm here to save the day by ranking EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF FAIRY FOUNTAIN FROM THE LEGEND OF ZELDA. That's right, it's a slow news day very important use of my time, that no one asked me to do, even. We'll start with the "worst", and move our way up to the "best".
And please, before you all come into the comments and tell me that I'm wrong: try listening to (at the time of writing) 23 different versions of the same song and come out the other end with your sanity intact. Also, tell me your ranking and we can compare our notes!
23. Fairy Queen (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, 2002)
The Wind Waker has two versions of Fairy Fountain, and this one is the worst. Fairy Queen is a strangely carnival-themed take, to go along with the creepy flirty child queen of the fairies. Listen, I do not like the Fairy Queen, and I do not like her song.
Don't get me wrong — it does exactly what it's meant to. You've been led to believe that the Fairy Queen is a huge, matronly lady, only to find out that it's a child. It's unsettling. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
22. Choose Your Adventure (The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, 2004)
The title screen for Four Swords Adventures is a version of Fairy Fountain that sounds familiar, but is apparently entirely its own. It's louder than A Link To The Past's original, and it's in a different key to Ocarina's, too. I find this one a little too unsubtle and unoriginal, I think — it's certainly a very pared-back Fairy Fountain, but it offers nothing new for the tried-and-tested formula to set it apart.
21. File Select (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, 2011)
I'm being mean here, but I have to be to separate these themes from one another: this one sounds a bit like someone playing a harp with a screwdriver and an appointment to be at in five minutes. I really like Skyward Sword's music, but this one just rubs me up the wrong way — it's oddly rushed, weirdly paced, and sort of... angry-sounding? Somehow? I like the soaring strings, but they just come in a little too late; I've already been scared away by the rest of it.
For a game that's all about the harp, I would have expected something a little more interesting from Skyward Sword. This, for me, is not it. Sorry.
20. Lucky Lobby Ball Fairy Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, 2015)
This one's a secret one, achieved by keeping the Lucky Lobby Ball, up in the air while you wait for new matches. It's not... great, and neither is Tri Force Heroes, but it's a nice little secret nonetheless — it's just a shame that it has to include the noise of the sword swipe when you're actually playing the game. Then again, it's kind of grown on me, like a little metronome. Bwep.
There's also an 8-bit version if you wear the Timeless Tunic!
19. Fairy Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, 2007)
Having to create a Fairy Fountain that can compete with the previous Zelda game, Twilight Princess, but remain functional on the DS's limited hardware, must be tricky — and Phantom Hourglass' Fairy Fountain doesn't really stand out as a result. It's a little bit too synthetic, a little bit too muted. An average take, I think.
18. Fairy Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, 2013)
A Link Between Worlds has three versions of Fairy Fountain, and this is the one that's actually used as the fairy fountain theme itself. This one is the worst of the bunch, but it's still good... it's just a little too fast, and there's a strange off-beat harp in the background that makes it oddly unsettling, like there's a song playing in another room. As far as Fairy Fountain themes go, this one isn't as magical as the others.
17. File Select (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, 2006)
We're starting to get to the good ones, rather than the ones that are just a little off for some reason. Twilight Princess' take on the File Select screen is pretty by-the-numbers, so there's not a whole lot to object to.
However... I'm not 100% sold on this one, to be honest. The piano playing seems a little forceful, and although I'm well aware that I'm trying to find just about anything to nitpick the differences at this point, I think I'm right. I'm discovering that I prefer the gentler File Select screens.
16. Fairy Fountain (Hyrule Warriors, 2014)
I guess it's no surprise that Hyrule Warriors didn't do a totally wild take on a classic, but with the downright weird stuff they did to the Zelda timeline, I think they probably could have done it anyway. This take is good, don't get me wrong, it's just a little boring!
15. File Select (The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap, 2004)
By this point in the Zelda series, Fairy Fountain has very much become one of the very recognisable tunes, especially for the file select screen. Minish Cap's File Select take is nothing that will blow you away, but it's quite a lot bassier than the rest, making it seem a little more grown up. It's alright.
14. Great Fairy Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 2017)
This one is so fast, but it really fits with the Fairy Fountains in Breath of the Wild — they're hard to find, a little bit unnerving, and exciting. Your heart beats in time with this speedy version as a giant woman comes out of a flower, screams, and then eats you; it feels almost as if it's trying to keep up with itself.
Honestly, the entire experience of finding a Fairy Fountain in Breath of the Wild is so much more than the sum of its parts; the song itself takes a backseat to the utter joy/terror of the large lady. It's not a particularly exciting version (in my opinion), and the speed is a little much, but in the game itself, the theme is very quietly played in the background.
13. Fairy Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap, 2004)
Minish Cap's fairies are a little different to the usual. Rather than your average Fairy Queen, each one is based on insects: the Great Butterfly Fairy, the Great Dragonfly Fairy, and the Great Mayfly Fairy, in keeping with the "you're really small" theme of the game.
The Fairy Fountain version in Minish Cap is a little slower, a little warmer, and a little more sleepy-feeling than the others — but not by a lot. It's solid; but it's not reinventing itself.
12. Fairy Fountain/File Select (The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, 1991)
The OG, the mould in which all other Fairy Fountains were made, A Link to the Past's version is used for the start screen and the fountains scattered across the map. It's a great tempo, and it manages to sound like twinkly harp music despite being 16-bit music. But I can't give it maximum points for being the original — later versions, with more orchestral takes, definitely improved on the excellent foundation that ALTTP laid down.
I'm not saying it's bad — without this version, I wouldn't have even been able to write this piece — I'm just saying we have to start somewhere.
Comments 49
Ocarina of Time's version still gives me chills.
Nice job shouting out the Scott Pilgrim version, that's a great version of the song
I'd love to see a Wind Waker HD Switch version, It would be a joy to play it again. But I also don't want it because I know Nintendo will charge will price for a 20 year old games, barely do anything to it and think that's somehow a fair price. cough Skyward sword cough
Putting the Fairy Queen from Wind Waker last is an actual crime. I came here wondering which of the top five spots it received. I'm disappointed.
The milk bar one is a classic though.
I would put the BotW in first, honestly. I just love that soundtrack. It’s one of my favorite tracks in the soundtrack as well. Just so simple and sparse and perfect.
Nigel Godrich's reimagining (from Scott Pilgrim) is actually called "Enter Goddess!" And it's absolutely a top-tier version of the song.
It takes the first appearance of the Fairy Fountain theme (and my personal favorite) from Link to the Past, and morphs it into a breathless, ethereal soundscape. 10/10
https://youtu.be/y_Py3ffubt0
@earthinheritor You might want to watch digital foundry's vid on skyward sword HD before saying something silly like this
You’re missing one
https://youtu.be/BZ8y0qx7fWE
It’s in line with these two:
https://youtu.be/sTt026NTQfE (song of storms)
https://youtu.be/r2UgrdaZmrQ (final hours)
Must be a really slow day.
The N64 version will always be my favorite.
Totally agree with number one, but the Cadence of Hyrule one is an abomination.
Pretty much agree with the whole list. I'd maybe put Ocarina a couple places higher but that's about it.
@Digimon24 It's not really silly. I get there is a big graphics improvement. But Nintendo is still the only company that charges full price for just a remaster.
I mean hell we got entire remakes of Spyro and Crash , 6 games in total and those were way cheaper. Those weren't just remasters they were ground up entire remakes and they were half the price.
I wanted my wife to walk down the aisle to this song but she didn't agree
@earthinheritor So just because 1 company did something Nintendo has to follow suit????? Skyward sword HD has killed it in the sales dept. So charging $60 wasn't that much of problem now was it? Sometimes u guys just complain for the sake of complaining.
I hold the original SNES version in pretty high regard - each one afterward kind of duplicates/elaborates on that one.
Fun activity - hit play on each of these videos on this page and have your phone/computer play all of these songs at the same time. Yes, I'm 12 years old.
I got to see the Symphony live at Hammersmith Apollo in 2012(ish). It was the best concert I've ever been to, but not because of the music: it was just a few hundred really appreciative fans, who turned out to hear music they loved. The vibe was something else.
Wasn't expecting to see the Scott Pilgrum version here but I'm glad that it was; shame we'll never get a clean studio recording version of it.
@Digimon24 Not 1 company, almost ALL of them.
Nintendo is pretty much the only company that charges full price for remakes. Us people complain because we know Nintendo is the only company that artificially inflates its prices still.
The only people that dont see an issue with it are the die hard Nintendo fans.
Y'all did Skyward Sword dirty, surprised the N64 tracks ranked higher considering how poor the sound quality was on that system.
I initially thought this was ranking the Great Fairies from aesthetics 😆 I'm sure that ranking would be a tad altered from this one.
@Broosh I thought so too 😂 I was about to prepare myself for the terror. Stayed for the Scott pilgrim version though!
@OstianOwl Here's the Scott Pilgrim version:
https://youtu.be/y_Py3ffubt0
In Scott Pilgrim she doesn't upgrade his bomb bag but does she upgrade his Bob-omb bag?
I'll get my coat.
I come for the random Nintendo news, I stay for the Kate Gray Zelda articles.
Never agreed so much on the quality of a song while disagreeing so much on the best arrangement. The sharpness and clarity of the instruments in the Skyward Sword version compared to the muffled synth of a lot of the earlier ones is why it's one of the best. I'd recommend turning your volume down a couple ticks and trying it again. And the synth voices in Wind Waker are awful. The ones in the Light Spirit's Elegy version from Twilight Princess, which by the way should be on here, are much better.
A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time's fairy fountains are my favourite because I enjoyed those games so much. The orchestrated versions in later games are less memorable for me.
No matter what version I listen to or try to think about, I tend to think about Super Mario Bros. 3's World Map 3 when mentally listening to Fairy Fountain, often as a mashup. And that's just fine with me! I love 'em all.
personally, I love the 25th anniversary symphony the best!!
The hate that Triforce Heroes gets is sad. The game was phenomenal played with 2 others.
Wait #5 & #1 really do a great job with the beginning transition.
Talking about dairy themes, I wonder how they are going to include the fairies in the BOTW2 cuz it's essentially the first 3D Zelda where we will be seeing the same exact fairies. I hope they do something cool with them. I also hope they add a more darker tone to the song and add some orchistra / opera like vocals like in one of the versions here.
@sketchturner Oh, thanks. I just always assumed they never released it since it wasn't on the score soundtrack. Cheers!
I'd actually put Skyward Sword's first, it forces me to pause and listen. So good..
I don’t just come here for news. It’s great little pieces like this that make me smile.
I have to listen through them all, but I would have to disagree with the placing of skyward swords take. It’s so darn beautiful, and slowly builds. It uses the orchestra and choir to its fullest. Such a magical melody.
Edit: Oops I see the 25th anniversary at number 2. I’ll take it.
@KateGray Fun idea! 😂 Please do a ranking of every Final Fantasy victory theme!
@Shannynerd
I won VIP tickets to the 25th anniversary show in October 2011 through Nintendo, what a night it was. Got to meet Anouma and got a special lanyard which I have together with the programme in a display cabinet at home. Magical evening. Fairy Fountain and Gerudo Valley blew me away, and I remember loving Koji Kondo’s bit from Wind Waker on the piano.
One of my other abiding memories from the evening was the sheer number of Streetpass hits though; I got hundreds that evening!
@anzzjam thank you! I see we've already got one "slow news day" but the answer is actually that I wrote this over the course of a week, in-between news
One of my least favorite Zeldas has one of my most favorite versions of this tune.
@KateGray I will accept your ranking as hard fact because I listened to maybe 5 minutes total of the various versions that I clicked on randomly and I already have no desire to hear that song again any time soon. You deserve a medal of some sort for this. Or at least a pay raise.
@KateGray It really was an excellent article. Thank you for your hard work. I use the fairy fountain song as a lullaby for my little one. It’s a song that can really put me in a trance.
My dad will never let me forget the first time I saw the fairies in ocarina of time, I ended up crying because I was expecting something completely different.
I love this! I agree with the milkbar pick, just love the vibe in all those covers! 🤣🤣
I love the version that's part of "Midna's Lament" in SSBU:
https://youtu.be/y7o8aUXnr_Y?t=100
(I saw someone refer to it as "Midna's Triumph" because it's so bombastic. )
Great choice for number 1 - love that game so much
@earthinheritor - I wouldn't call higher res textures and reduced aliasing a big graphics improvement. Seems more like bare minimum effort. And don't forget, if you want a quality of life feature that should have been included for free, Nintendo is happy to charge you another $25 for the convenience.
@SuperToe I'm confused, are you agreeing or disagreeing haha.
I wouldnt call higher rres textures or reduced blurring and big improvement and also consider it the bare minimum haha
Thats why I'm fully against Nintendo charging full price for doing virtually nothing.
@earthinheritor I was agreeing.
Thought you were ranking the fairies themselves, not the music. >.>
The N64 versions are still the only ones for me. Can't really say I agree with #1 personally either. It just doesn't feel the same...
Kind of the same problem I had with Links Awakening HD: Yeah sure, everything is made with more realistic sounding instruments now... but I don't think that necessarily makes it better.
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