Link and Donkey Kong are no strangers to catchy music.
Next, we have two more of Nintendo's well-known franchises, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong. Music has been a major theme in the Zelda series for a long time, with each new main game having some kind of plot-central instrument or song-learning process since Link's Awakening way back on the Game Boy.
Likewise, Donkey Kong has become somewhat of a musician himself in recent years, busting out his barrel-bongos and jamming along to the catchy rhythms whenever the opportunity arises. He even had a trilogy of rhythm game spinoffs back in the GameCube days.
By this stage, every gamer and his dog knows the epic secret about this game's central "Ballad of the Goddess" tune used in the trailers, in that it's a clever reversal of the famous Zelda's Lullaby from throughout the series. Strangely, I actually like the backwards version more than the original Zelda's theme. It's slightly dissonant, but something about it feels more heroic and grandiose.
Skyward Sword had perhaps one of the most exciting soundtracks in the Zelda series, and the coincidental success of the incredible Symphony of the Goddesses concert tour shows it. The tour is currently set to head to Australia next February. I hope to see you there!
Am I also the only one who actually likes Fi's singing? Or the character in general?
Nevertheless, here're some of my favorite tracks from the game, including a haunting ambient track
from my favorite dungeon and a new twist of a beloved classic Zelda
tune. On an slightly related note, I'm not entirely ashamed to admit that the Staff Roll music in the end credits made me cry.
| Ballad of the Goddess | Staff Roll |
| Sandship Interior (Timeshift Stone) | Learn the Song of Heroes |
In a true revival of the Donkey Kong Country series in every way, Returns borrowed from the classic tunes composed by David Wise for the SNES original. Most of the soundtrack was a wonderful homage to those tunes we fondly remember, with new remixes and twists to make them feel fresh.
Here I present two such remakes of original tunes (including the most vicious, nail-bitingly hectic rendition of the mine cart ride theme to date!), along with two of the game's original music pieces. Really though, if you haven't played this game you've done your Wii a great disservice. The levels are awesome, the music is awesome, the whole thing is awesome. Go check it out.
| Rickety Rails | Treetop Rock Returns |
| Lift-off Launch | Feather Fiend |
