Last year's announcement of a lovely-looking vinyl boxset featuring the Breath of the Wild soundtrack caught many a Zelda fan's attention. Featuring a classy blue-gold box and loads of the game's incredible key art, it's a beautiful collection billed as "the first time a Nintendo soundtrack has been commercially released on vinyl outside of Japan."

Alongside the larger 8LP set, Nintendo and Laced Audio have also produced a 34-track 2LP set that's commensurately budget-friendlier, and as of 4th September, both collections are now out. Nintendo of America kindly sent us the larger Limited Edition (which features fancy effects on the discs - more on that soon), so let's take a closer look and see if it's worth the asking price.

First off, as you'd expect for the price ($49.99 / £49.99 for the 2LP LE version, $194.99 / £159.99 for the full LE set here), this is a handsomely presented package from the moment you peel off the plastic. The gold detailing over the blue pattern on the cover looks exceptional, and sliding out the inner section reveals familiar artwork of Link scaling a rockface at sunset.

Taking out the eight slipcases, you get eight more artworks, while the rears show the tracklisting in the blue/gold style to match the outer box. Inside each slipcase is another sleeve with glossy art depicting Link, the Champions, and some enemies over the matte background. I appreciate how the inner sleeves open along the top; unlike some vinyl packages, the discs here won't accidentally roll out when you pick one off the shelf.

The reverse of those inner sleeves has a hole revealing the Sheikah symbol printed on the disc labels, and the discs themselves are pressed with a "splatter effect" in the Limited Edition version (the 2LP LE version features a blue-and-white marble effect).

The blue/white and gold/white splatter over transparent vinyl alternate per disc - odds are blue, evens are gold. It's certainly eye-catching, and I love how it illuminates over a light source (I'm going to assume that uplit turntables exist and look fabulous).

However, the haphazardness of the splatter here feels more Splatoon than Zelda; it doesn't quite jibe with the ornate detailing elsewhere in this set. Also, slipping out Disk 4, I was struck by Revali's impish grin and got the distinct impression he had dropped a 'bomb' from a great height all over the disc. The thought just popped in there, and from that point I couldn't unsee/unthink it whenever I took out a 'gold' disc.

Each to their own, but I wonder if the blue/white marble would have been more fitting. Either way, the non-limited, slightly cheaper black vinyl option would feel appropriately classy if you can't get hold of, or aren't keen on, the Limited Editions.

Onto the music itself, the 16 sides here contain 130 tracks from the game, organised thematically and "reflecting players’ adventures in the game." Mimicking the ebb and flow of your own experiences in Hyrule is a smart approach and makes for a cohesive listening experience that doesn't jump between moods too much. The last thing you want on a chill morning is a menacing boss battle theme ruining your Sunday vibe and, by and large, the track order feels organic and satisfying.

I won't reproduce the entire tracklist — check out Nintendo's site page for the entire rundown — but particular highlights include Disc 1 Side B (the villages Hateno and Kakariko and Kass satisfying my aforementioned Sunday mood), Disc 2 Side A (lots of Overworld variants and galloping), and Disc 5 Side B (some drama with Fireblight Ganon segues into Korok Forest via the Lost Woods, capped with a spot of Hestu).

As you can surmise, I tend towards the lighter, minimalist pieces that focus on Hyrule's natural beauty, but there's plenty of drama with the Divine Beast battles and big, Calamitous compositions if you're after foreboding themes and bombast. There's no point me retreading this enormous audioscape here - you've all played Breath of the Wild and you know its soundtrack is epically varied and wonderful. (And if you haven't? Probably best hop to it before investing in 200 dollars' worth of splattery vinyl.)

One important note is that the composers — Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, Hajime Wakai, and Soshi Abe — are credited per disc, which is great to see. It would be even better to have details on exactly who wrote which track, but given Nintendo's sometimes-obtuse approach to individual credits, it's good to see these composers highlighted. It's also good to remind fans that it isn't just Koji Kondo pumping out the classics these days (although he does get a credit on the final disc, likely due to the inclusion of the 2017 trailer music).

In terms of audio quality, I'm no hi-fi critic, so as much as I'd love to get flowery describing the gentle strings lulling the listener to reverie while simultaneously engaging the senses with sparkling bright tones punching through the midrange...that's not my field of expertise.

Suffice it to say that these tracks were "specially mastered" for this vinyl release and they sound suitably lush on my setup. (I played it on a Denon DP-300F turntable through an Onkyo TX-8150 amp and B&W DM601 S2 speakers, audiophiles.)

Given that the entire soundtrack is available via the Nintendo Music app, I switched The Stables back and forth, moving between the app over WiFi and the record through phono inputs, and the trademark rounded sound of the vinyl was immediately apparent. Everything was crisp, but you get that addictive analogue warmth on the discs. In a world of sterile, streamed audio, the ceremony of putting on a record and hearing the physicality of the medium is an event.

With the soundtrack easily accessible elsewhere, many eyeing this set may consider the actual audio element here secondary (I wonder how many people who don't own a record player are still considering picking this up?). However, Laced and Nintendo have put in effort beyond the box and the fancy vinyl material. It sounds great.

Whether it's worth $200 is another question, and one only you can answer. $20-30 per disc is the going rate for boutique records (they're often a lot more), so the asking price is reasonable for what you get. It's hard to fault the presentation, too, beyond preferences around splatter patterns and marbling. It's an utterly gorgeous thing.

As a collector's piece, then, this is a stunningly presented soundtrack boxset for a game that evokes powerful memories for many. BOTW defined a generation and is in the conversation for Nintendo's greatest ever piece of software, so if you're looking for something meaningful to memorialise this artwork in your home — and a statue or some other displayable merch isn't quite your style — this is a suitably epic celebration of an all-timer.

Thanks to NOA for sending over this sample. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Deluxe Vinyl Soundtracks — both the 2LP and 8LP sets — are shipping from today in both standard and Limited Edition flavours. They're available direct from Nintendo, via Laced Records, or at select retailers (although stock varies by territory at the time of writing).

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