Jam of the Day: Stalfos (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

I’ve been diving into Skyward Sword a lot lately. The fact that it doesn’t use fully orchestrated music all the time makes it all the more powerful when it does. There is a lot to be said about the game’s clever use of layering elements to the situation, especially in dungeon music.

But one of the songs that really stuck out to me was the music that plays when you encounter Stalfos knights. It sounds downright evil, but a bit playful at the same time thanks to its rhythm. And since it comes practically out of nowhere to interrupt the more ambient location music, it perfectly plays into the surprise of suddenly being trapped in a room with a midboss. I can’t wait to hear what else the game has to offer.

While Hajime Wakai is in charge of the game’s music, series veteran Koji Kondo also contributed. However, I have yet to see any individual song credits.

Jam of the Day: Southern Face Shrine by Kazumi Totaka, Kozue Ishikawa and/or Minako Hamano (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening)

There are very few video game songs that have managed to creep me out as much as the Southern Face Shrine from Link’s Awakening. It always amazed me that the song could evoke such an incredibly effective eerie feeling with the limited sound capabilities of the Game Boy hardware. Even today, the song is still haunting.

Jam of the Day: Middle Boss Battle by MOKA (The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Re-Arranged Album)

Koji Kondo’s score for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is definitely a classic. Song’s like “Gerudo Valley” and “Lost Woods” will live on in the memories of gamers for a long time. But tracks like “Middle Boss Battle” aren’t usually among people’s favorites.

Normally, that wouldn’t be among mine either. That’s where MOKA comes in. One of my favorite kinds of arrangements are those that take the songs I never thought much of and turn them into the highlights of an album. This is exactly what MOKA did with “Middle Boss Battle”. While far from my favorite track on the original soundtrack, MOKA’s remix is, in my opinion, the best on the Re-Arranged Album.