Even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has recently released to critical acclaim, it’s its Nintendo 64 predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that seems to be getting a lot of love lately. The first 3D Zelda game is seeing much in the way of tributes (Its 20th anniversary comes next year), especially when it comes to the game’s soundtrack. (I Know Super Guitar Bros are working on an album as we speak.)
Argued to be one of the best Zelda soundtracks of the franchise, Materia Collective has decided to pull out all the stops with their massive Ocarina of Time orchestral project, Hero of Time.
Beginning as a crowd-funded project on Kickstarter, Hero of Time is directed by Eric Buchholz (POKÉMON: SYMPHONIC EVOLUTIONS) and features recordings from the 64-piece Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. It also features a slew of arrangers and accompanying performers.
With Hero of Time, we sought to create a single, cohesive experience that weaves all of the complex underlying themes of the game, like impermanence and mortality, with Koji Kondo’s timeless melodies that have become as iconic as the game itself. The orchestration takes an ‘east-meets-west’ approach, with the inclusion of taiko ensembles, eastern woodwinds, and harmonies found prevalent in Japanese film and game scores. – Eric Buchholz, Hero of Time Producer/Orchestrator
The album is available on Bandcamp in digital, CD and CD Limited Edition formats and streaming on Spotify. Alongside the release, a 2xLP vinyl release will be made available on iam8bit in the near future for the true LoZ music enthusiast. You can check out the full album track listing and credits on the Materia Collective album page.
Tags: Arrangement Albums, Game Music, Game Soundtracks, Koji Kondo, Legend of Zelda, Materia Collective, News, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
