As The Legend of Zelda gets ready to mark its 35th anniversary in 2021, it's an appropriate time to look back at the myriad ways the franchise has consistently elevated the video game medium. One component that especially deserves in-depth appreciation is the gallant, ethereal music that has permeated Link's adventures from the NES to the Switch. Courtesy of composers like Koji Kondo, Hajime Wakai, and Kenta Nagata, the music of The Legend of Zelda's best music is more than just a pleasing soundtrack.
Music is arguably the engine of each Zelda game, igniting a timeless sense of adventure and mystery at every turn. Whether exploring a creepy dungeon, carrying out an idle task, or galloping across an open field on Epona, the songs that accompanies many of Link's endeavors create a sense of grandiosity few other gaming franchises can equal.
Picking the best and most representative compositions across the series is no easy task. One could assemble a top 25 and still have to make some difficult exclusions. Nevertheless, here's the top five best songs of the past 35 years.
#5 Best Zelda Song: Dragon Roost Island - The Wind Waker
Much of the score for The Wind Waker is inspired by traditional Irish music. The best song, however, is Dragon Roost Island's theme, which channels more Spanish flamenco elements. The mixture of flute, Spanish guitar, and castanets also couples nicely with the sounds of the ocean breeze and waves that occasionally emanate nearby.
#4 Best Zelda Song: Astral Observatory - Majora's Mask
The Astral Observatory theme somewhat idiosyncratic choice, given it's not part of a major level. Moreover, it's an atypically no-stress part of a game where the consequences of Link's actions are deathly urgent. This serene Marjora's Mask track plays in an observatory just outside Clock Town, only accessible by an underground passage. The calm, looping shimmer Koji Kondo wove into the song mirrors the tranquility of Professor Shikashi and his abode, a rare place of peace in a world constantly fraught with darkness and impending mortality. The accompanying music also magnifies the sense of wonder of stargazing, even if the main sight through the telescope is an ever-looming, apocalyptic disaster.
#3 Best Zelda Song: Dungeon/Palace Theme - Zelda 2
1987's Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link remains an audacious sequel that expanded the series with challenging gameplay, as well as introducing now-familiar elements like the magic meter and Dark Link. The difficulty was synched up perfectly with this 8-bit masterpiece, whose restless drive and ominous atmosphere still resonate over 30 years later. After just a few seconds of listening to Zelda 2's palace theme, any gamer can feel the sensation of wandering into a dark dungeon, sword at the ready to fend off Dairas and Moblins.
#2 Best Zelda Song: "Zelda's Lullaby" - Multiple Titles
This list would be incomplete without the song that signifies the franchise's namesake. "Zelda's Lullaby" is one of the most deeply moving compositions in video games, one that evokes intense feelings of nostalgia, love, grief, hope, and honor. Every time it accompanies a scene with Princess Zelda, whether in the present or in a flashback, it connects with the player. The lullaby's greatest incarnation would fittingly be in what is often considered the best installment in the series, Ocarina of Time. In a game where music and rhythm are core gameplay components, Link often has to play "Zelda's Lullaby" on his ocarina in order to progress.
#1 Best Zelda Song: Zora's Domain - Ocarina of Time
The music throughout The Legend of Zelda is renowned not only for its originality in terms of composition but for its unique arrangements to boot. The best example is the tropical Zora's Domain theme from Ocarina of Time, which incorporates steel drums and a gentle classical guitar to give the area a magical atmosphere unlike any other. It takes on an extra tinge of longing when Link returns to Zora's Domain as an adult, only to find the palace frozen and almost all of the Zoras missing. This number would receive a stellar rearrangement in Breath of the Wild, but nothing tops the original that soothed players back in 1998.