recent updates

help


User login

Add new comment

Certainly, an epic review

Submitted by Zach Whalen – Thu, 2007 – 01 – 25 12:25

Great review, Amanda. I enjoyed reading it and I look forward to someday getting my own Wii so I can discuss the game more competently. I was never a big fan of the original iterations of the Zelda Universe, but I cite Ocarina of Time as a big factor in getting me interested in games as an adult player. I played the heck out of that game when it first came out, and I recall the sense of a shared quest that I felt talking to my friends about it. There was so much about that game that expanded what I thought was possible in a gaming experience.

 

There is also the integral role that music production takes in gameplay itself, though this is to a much lesser degree in Twilight Princess than Ocarina of Time. For this game in particular, the reactive score was really something – the music changes to fit the actions of the gamer. If Link is standing around on Hyrule Field, a very basic version of the area music plays, but once the gamer starts running on foot, more instruments are added. It gets even more exciting when on horseback, and the tune changes entirely when fighting. Boss battle music is similarly responsive to the action, with the mood of the music changing depending on if the boss is in a vulnerable position or not. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't encountered a game with “smart” music like this.

This does exist in Ocarina of Time (and probably Majora's Mask and Wind Waker, though I don't recall paying as much attention to it in either), but I imagine the capabilities of the Wii make it a more smooth process of change between musical states. I wrote something about that use of music in Ocarina of Time, and while there probably are other examples out there of "smart" music, the rich musical tapestry Koji Kondo created for Zelda makes its musical performance distinct and engrossing. It works well, I think, because of the strong melodic elements that intertwine in ways that don't sound repetitive. Obviously, I haven't seen how this works on Twilight Princess, but assuming it continues the same practices with the same musical material, I really look forward to experiencing it.

Reply

*
*
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.


*

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd><img><div><strike>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • You may quote other posts using [quote] tags.
  • Images can be added to this post.
More information about formatting options
Verify comment authorship
Captcha Image: you will need to recognize the text in it.
*
Please type in the letters/numbers that are shown in the image above.