The Legend of Zelda

Intro theme from the original Legend of Zelda on the NES.

(NES) Legend of Zelda - Intro

Overworld theme from the original Legend of Zelda on the NES.

(NES) Legend of Zelda - Overworld

Dungeon theme music from the original Legend of Zelda on the NES. 

(NES) Legend of Zelda - Dungeon

The Death Mountain theme song from the original Legend of Zelda on the NES. 

(NES) Legend of Zelda - Death Mountain

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/2015 - Used new sample library for woodwinds.

Leave it to Link to disrupt their business with his pot smashing. I went with an instrumentation fit for chamber music, as this track takes place only indoors. The original version is extremely soft, and for people in a hurry, they might miss the nice melodic resolution in the second half. I took it another step further and added another section based on an inversion of the main piece. It took me some effort to get the harmony unique enough because it was sounding too much like "Kids Run Around the City Corner" from Final Fantasy VI, which as one of my favorite tracks in my favorite video game soundtrack, is permanently burned in my head. Anyway, I still need to work on balancing the instruments as they sound too blurred together no matter how I adjust them.

Peaceful Villagers - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/2015 - Reworked the finale portion. Adjusted the trumpet levels, added some counter-phrasing in the horns.

I felt Kanalet Castle deserved a more romantic and grand theme than just four repeating arpeggios. You have this king Richard who was ousted from his castle and forced to hid in his villa. Did the moblins just show up and push him out? No, it was much worse! All his soldiers fell in battle, his family and friends were massacred, and the grand history of his kingdom was destroyed. I imagined Link roaming through the hallways while glancing at the paintings and statues, imagining what was once a proud legacy. I haven't given the brass section much love in recent tracks, so I tried to use them here in grand fashion. I pulled phrases from various tracks from the soundtrack of "For the Frog the Bell Tolls" and used them in constructing the noble melody. The theme swells in a crescendo until the very end, where it hangs unresolved. Link's eyes snap back into reality as he realizes the past glory is over.

Of course, this is just a dream island, so probably none of that happened.

Kanalet Castle - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Re EQ'ed

The original version features a juxtaposition of loud ominous phrases and light staccato bells. I interpreted that to be the atmospheric "cavern" part contrasted with the jingling "key" sounds. In my version, I basically stuck to the same format, using heavy brass for the cavern, and a variety of metal percussion instruments for the key. In addition, I experimented with a lot of changing articulations in each section. This, along with the tense chord progressions, makes the song altogether unpredictable and creepy.

Key Cavern - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - used new sample library for the woodwinds, readjusted the levels of the instruments to sound more balanced and for the secondary rhythms to be clearer

The Animal Village is a cheerful, innocent village along the edge of the island. The resident animals are like children that only concern themselves with fun and the angelic voice of Marin. In adapting the original version, I wanted to keep my arrangement playful and optimistic. I treated it like each animal played an instrument, and would have jam sessions in the open field when Marin comes to visit. The various woodwind, strings and percussion instruments would all do their own thing, and hopefully still sound harmonious.

Animal Village - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Re EQ'ed

I had to control myself here lengthwise, as the dream shrine in the game is only four screens large, and the player only needs to come here once. In keeping with the tone of the original, I kept the instruments mostly in the higher registers. I also experimented with various reverbs and panning automations to move the instruments around in the physical space of the chamber. This leaves the listener a bit disoriented. For maximum effect, listen to this piece with headphones!

Dream Shrine - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Re EQ'ed

I placed this track right after the 4th dungeon to mark the halfway point of the game, and going back to the select screen makes a good break point leading up to the second half. I gave myself a quick crash course on salsa music for this track. Luckily I had most of the typical salsa instruments used in my sample libraries, and I faked what I didn't have.

Zelda Select Screen - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Fixed the drums in the end from becoming overblown

One of my favorite tracks from the soundtrack. I was always disappointed you could only listen to it one time only in a single playthrough. I noticed the tune that Link plays on the ocarina isn't even in Manbo's original performance. Yet the magic still works. My interpretation is that Manbo was teaching the beat and the spirit of the music, and as improvisation is a big part of Jazz, Link's unique melody also works. In my arrangement, I have a middle section where Manbo essentially instructs Link to solo and "try it out." I am not too familiar with Jazz orchestra, so this is my humble attempt at spicing up the track. The end portion gets a little hectic, so I'll try to clean it up in the future. 

Ocarina Song 2 - Manbo's Mambo - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Adjusted piano level, changed notes on some background ostinatos so it sounds more harmonic

Merry Christmas! I used a similar set of instrumentation as Kanalet Castle because just like the castle, the Eagle's Tower is one of the few dungeons that exists above ground. I imagine the interior of the tower has high ceilings and long corridors, which is why I increased the reverb a whole lot. I also used a lot of wind sound to really sell the echo-y elevated atmosphere. This dungeon is my favorite in the game, with the fantastic multi-tiered, dynamically changing level design. The penultimate locations seem to always be better than the final ones. I added a soaring romantic melody in the middle just to provide an extreme contrast to the creepy tone of the rest of the song. When the harmonies don't resolve at the end, it makes the listener feel even more unease. The long notes are reminiscent of Jeremy Soule's style in his Guild Wars 2 soundtrack, which I am a fan of.

Eagle's Tower - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

Spyro Reignited Trilogy (Soundtrack Mashup) - Mushroom Speedway

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Original Soundtrack

Boss Battle #2

Hyrule Castle

I am a developer as well as a self-taught composer. My style is creating narratives in music through the use of strong melodies and unique instrumentation.

Primary DAW used: Presonus Studio One

I play Nintendo, so I only have playlists of Nintendo games, got it?

Dream Shrine - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

The Second Narrator

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