The hugely successful Symphony of the Goddesses orchestral tour is entering the final stretch of its 2017 run, so regular attendee Arjun Joshi went along to check out the amended version with Breath of the Wild content.

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As you may know by now, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses (SotG) events utilise extremely talented orchestras, touring the globe and entertaining fans by the thousands. It’s a great show –  I’ve been twice in London before attending a third time just yesterday (Tuesday 21st) – and I’ve even reviewed it by comparing it to another orchestrated event, Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions.

However, eager fans will know that the SotG team announced earlier this year that the 2017 tour includes pieces from the franchise’s latest instalment, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Naturally, this excited many. It surely is – on paper at least – a reason to attend again, or go for the first time if you haven’t already. Having been and experienced this for myself, I’ll address the key question - is it worth a revisit with the new Breath of the Wild pieces? Naturally, while I’ll refrain from going into direct spoiler territory, there may be some potential indirect ones, so you’ve been warned.

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As soon as I booked my tickets to the show back in March, I wondered to myself what the team could possibly include from Breath of the Wild, and which songs and pieces they would “sacrifice” for said game during its two-hour show. The former question was due to – in my opinion – BotW containing an arguably lacklustre conventional soundtrack due to it being more concerned with subtle environmental sounds, along with elegant and short bursts of instrumental chimes to compliment its free-roam, open-world setting. In fact, I touch on this subject in further detail in this soapbox piece. 

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Image: The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

With all of the above said, I’d like to start by saying, quite simply, yes – whether you’ve been already or it’s your first time, I would recommend seeing SotG with its new Breath of the Wild content. For those who’ve attended previously, the show does feel slightly different right off the bat. It’s nothing huge, but the rearrangement of certain assortments to compensate for BotW’s inclusion freshens up the show. In all honesty, actually, due to the year-plus gap of the SotG team performing in the same city, even the recognisable and memorable parts are just as enjoyable as witnessing them for the first time and feel new again – at least for me due to not remembering absolutely everything I’ve seen before, despite it being my third time in attendance! But if you’re someone who still requires more change, there's also a couple of new pieces from other Zelda games – which was a nice surprise.

As for the Breath of the Wild content my earlier inklings came to be, in my opinion. I’ll avoid major spoilers here, but while overall enjoyable I just don’t feel that some of the songs chosen were the best additions to the show – especially when you consider the fact that some existing pieces had to be axed to make room for them. And that’s both the faults of the SotG team and the game itself, at least in my opinion. As stated earlier, the soapbox piece I’ve linked to above explains why in greater detail. I won’t mention which BotW songs made the cut and which parts of the ensemble were removed, however, so if you're someone who's been already and planning to go again you can see for yourself whether you like the changes or not.

Regardless, I do feel the show was definitely worth attending. Firstly, I think it’s still worth going again even if nothing did change – but that’s just me being a Zelda music enthusiast. But with the inclusion of this year’s stellar entry to Miyamoto’s almighty franchise, and thus resulting in the rest of the assortment being shaken up as well as a few new additions, I recommend it to both returning and newcomer audience members alike.

As always, there are goosebumps all throughout. And if it's any consolation at all, the SotG merch has all been updated to include Breath of the Wild imagery in its t-shirts and posters. If you've not been before and would like a slightly more in-depth look into Symphony of the Goddesses, have a click of my comparison review via the first link in this article.

Let us know if you've been to see the tour this year, or if you're planning to go along to one of the upcoming concerts.