I’m only 13 hours into The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and out of everything in the game – impressionist graphics, 1:1 sword controls, new inventory system, amazing dungeons – the best part of the game is the music.
Not just the soundtrack, but actually playing music with the Harp.
Music in the Zelda series is one of the most noteworthy aspects of each game. From Koji Kondo’s original 8-bit melodies, to the now fully orchestrated grandeur of Skyward Sword, music defines the series in ways that few games can compare. What especially sets the Zelda series apart is music as a gameplay element. While earlier games in the series had playable instruments, Ocarina of Time was the first to do so with the player pushing individual buttons to play the melodies throughout the adventure. Each home console Zelda game after Ocarina of Time had similar direct interactivity with music (including *cringe* the howling in Twilight Princess), but Ocarina of Time was the first and best with it.
Now, with Skyward Sword, Nintendo has captured that original feeling of having a new way to play music in a game. Moving past button controls, freely swinging the Wii Motion Plus to strum the Harp is unique and engaging. I absolutely love matching my movements to the pulse of light on screen. It’s like for a moment I’m transported to a Tetsuya Mizuguchi-inspired music/color synaesthesia interaction, and then rewarded with Fi singing and dancing to the tune I just performed. These sequences are all about feeling the music, and it completely resonates with me.
Nothing in any other game this year, or for many years for that matter, has made me smile and feel connected to a game like playing music in Skyward Sword has. I truly can’t wait to keep playing and see where the musical adventure takes me next!