New Zelda Symphony Dates Announced

As promised at the previous concerts, new dates have been added for the 2012 stint of the excellent Zelda Symphony Concert. 

So far the dates that have been confirmed are US only, but more are to be expected at a later date. I'm hoping that it'll come back to London, as I wouldn't pass on a chance to see it again!


Here are the US dates so far:

• Vancouver, BC – Wednesday, March 14, 2012
• Phoenix, AZ – Friday, April 20 and Saturday April 21, 2012
• Atlanta, GA – Saturday, May 12, 2012

Zelda Symphony Concert: Review

The third and final date in the 2011 Zelda Symphony concerts hit London on the 25th October, and I was fortunate enough to attend.

Mingling in the Foyer

Myself in the foyer.

Each level of the Hammersmith Apollo was lined with official Zelda artwork for each game in the series. Underneath each framed piece was a copy of respective game, combined with the Nintendo console for which the game played on. 

Playing a bit of the Skyward Sword demo.

Also dotted around was several large television screens in which fans could play a demo of the upcoming Skyward Sword. The graphics were impressive, and the game plays fluidly. It appeared that those fans who tested out the game were rather impressed with what Nintendo had to offer this time around also, which bodes well for the game upon release.

An example of the Zelda display cases.

As with most concerts, the merchandise, comprising of merely posters or a choice of two t-shirts was rather overpriced, therefore I made a beeline for the Skyward Sword and Nintendo time line instead. 

The Symphony Concert Review

The concert spanned 25 years of the popular The Legend of Zelda series, covering familiar tracks from the majority of games in the series. A huge emphasis was put on A Link To The Past, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess in particular.

The concert opened with a brief introduction from Eiji Aonuma, with the help from a Japanese translator. Aonuma mentioned that this is the third and final concert to commemorate the games 25th anniversary, apologised for the absence of Shigeru Miyamoto, and then introduced the composer (Eimear Noone) and The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. 

With pleasantries out of the way, the orchestra opens the evening with the Hyrule Castle Theme, a rousing, majestic song, that while rather short in length, made for a superb opening. The end of this opening track signalled this London shows special guest presenter onto stage-Robin William's daughter, Zelda Williams. Whilst clearly suffering from a bout of nerves, Zelda Williams went on to become a great, cheerful host, who definitely shares the audiences love for the Zelda series (she got rather emotional in her closing speech). 

The music begins once again, first with the ever-so-familiar Princess Zelda's Theme, which brought back a lot of great memories of playing through the Zelda series. The orchestral arrangement was not only note perfect, but performed with so much passion too. For me, the best song of the night has got to be this next track, The Wind Waker Symphonic Movement. This medley combines ten of the songs from Wind Waker into one movement, and, I am not ashamed to say, it actually made me feel rather emotional (Wind Waker was the second Zelda game I played to completion, and it still holds a lot of great memories for myself). This movement is set to clips of Wind Waker in chronological order, and the music told the story of the game from the beginning until the end. The happy, folk-like music really emphasises the passion, love and enjoyment that so many fans have had whilst playing Zelda.

And so it begins...

The Ocarina Melody Suite served as an introduction into the different parts of the orchestra. Each section played a snippet of one of the ocarina songs in the game, and ended with the whole orchestra joining in together in a quick tune full of the ocarina melodies. The Boss Battle Medley followed afterwards, which, accompanied by a compilation of boss battles on the big screen provided one of the most enjoyable moments of the evening. The Kakariko Village theme from Twilight Princess came along next, bringing sweeping but rather tranquil melodies into the Hammersmith Apollo. 

The medleys were definitely some of the highlights of the evening, with The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley helping to prove this. This medley combined five songs from A Link To The Past, Spirit Tracks, Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. Personally, I was pleased to hear that Dragon Roost Island from Wind Waker had made it into this line up (a personal favourite). 

No Zelda celebration would be complete without some focus on Link's long-running nemesis, Ganon/Ganondorf. Ganondorf's Theme makes an entry into the setlist straight after the 25th Anniversary Medley is finished, and highlights Ganondorf's transformation into Ganon, with the help of specially selected game clips. This song is intense and riveting, and definitely is a welcome addition into this evenings ensemble. With Ganondorf's Theme checked off the list, it seems right to include Gerudo Valley, arguably one of the Zelda series most loved themes, into the set list. This version of Gerudo Valley swaps the spanish sounding guitars for a sweeping violin-heavy orchestra, which seems to only heighten the magnificence and boldness of the song.

Me holding the excellent concert booklet.

Next up was another fan favourite, Hyrule Field, a grand and cheerful song which definitely was one of the best songs in the concert. Another stand out moment for myself came when Great Fairy's Fountain Theme played. This is definitely a memorable Zelda track, and I am sure many Zelda fans agree with me that it is also one of the best. This performance mainly focused on two harps, leaving this feeling a little more personal and relaxing than the previous intense Ganondorf theme. I closed my eyes throughout a lot of this track, as it seemed to heighten the magical feel that was being conveyed. Brilliant stuff.

The concert closed with two grand movements, the Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement and The Legend of Zelda Main Theme Medley. The former, with help from the video clips, moved the audience through the entire Twilight Princess story. The Title Screen section at the very beginning of this song actually gave me goosebumps-especially when Wolf Link is howling at the moon in the video above the orchestra. The latter highlights the original Zelda theme which so many of us know and love by now. It made for a fitting end to the set-list.

The complete set-list.

Or so we thought. As soon as this "final" track ended, the composer introduces us to the one and only Koji Kondo, the man behind so much of the Zelda music over the past twenty-five years. Koji Kondo then performs "Grandma's Song" from Wind Waker, a beautifully played piece on the piano. After finishing this, Koji briefly thanks all of the fans for their support, before leaving the stage. Before the end is signalled, Aonuma walks back on stage to offer his appreciation, and to provide some information on the latest Zelda game, Skyward Sword. It was a shame that the concert did not include some tracks from my all-time favourite Zelda game, Link's Awakening, but there was so much on offer here that I did not leave the venue disappointed.

Aonuma highlights the importance of music in the Zelda games, and states that the "songs link with memories" which plays an crucial part in the new Skyward Sword gameplay. This upcoming game will see players moving their bodies to control the game, with Aonuma adding that different songs will hold different body movements. Aonuma says that "songs resonate with  the movement of the body, so when you hear it, you'll remember the moves."

One of the great pieces of art in the concert booklet. 

Aonuma then plugs the special edition release of Skyward Sword, and announces to a rather excited crowd that the CD packaged in with this special edition will be the recording of the London Symphony concert. With Skyward Sword plugged, and thank you's shared, there is only one more thing left that Aonuma has to announce-the final secret track-the Skyward Sword theme. Aonuma exits with his translator at this point, leaving the audience to experience the latest theme, and to view the Skyward Sword clips on show.

After an impressive standing ovation, the concert is over, and what a good experience it has been too. With a four-symphony world tour announced for next year, there is no doubt that I will be attending once again. I cannot wait. 

A Retrospective Look at Zelda

With the 25th anniversary celebrations already underway, the Zelda Symphony Concert approaching in October (of which I am pleased to say I am attending), it appears that the popularity of the The Legend of Zelda series is not diminishing yet.

From The Beginning

The Legend of Zelda was the brainchild of Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. The first game, simply titled The Legend of Zelda was released in 1986. A side scrolling adventure game, The Legend of Zelda went on to become a best seller on the Nes, and from this, the Zelda series was born.

Since then, fans have been treated to Zelda games on each Nintendo console, and Ocarina of Time and A Link To The Past are widely noted as two of the best games not only in the series, but from Nintendo as a whole. 

The most recent Zelda game has been a revamped edition of Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 3DS. The next addition will be Skyward Sword, which is gaining a release on the Wii hopefully before Christmas 2011. 

Nintendo have released 15 Zelda games to date, although our favourite green-capped hero has starred in several spin-offs, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, and the GameCube version of SoulCalibur 2. The series spawned an American animated series which originally aired in 1989, a series of manga books based on the games, and much more. 

One of the irritating moments of the Zelda TV series.

The gameplay in each Zelda game consists of a mixture of action, adventure and puzzle solving. Like other RPG's, the Zelda games provide enjoyable side quests that can be completed during the course of the main game. In this article I look back at the Zelda series, and find out the reasons why fans are still enjoying this series after so many years. 

My Own Experience of Zelda

I was first introduced to the Zelda series when Link's Awakening was first released on the Gameboy. My parents had just bought a Gameboy, and I remember being 6 years old and watching my Dad play through the game. It soon became a family experience when he connected the Gameboy up to a device on the SNes, and we watched him complete the entire game on the TV screen. There was no doubt that I was hooked from that moment. I played it through myself not long after this, and have since completed it twice. 

I went on to purchase The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition for the Gamecube which had a variety of the Zelda games on there. I played through them all, and fell in love with the series completely. Ever since then, I have got immersed in this fantasy adventure world throughout the series, and I am now looking forward to attending the Legend of Zelda Symphony Concert in October, and purchasing Skyward Sword. Link's Awakening still remains my favourite Zelda game, due to the memories contained within it. 

Chatting With The Fans

Since the release of the original game in 1986, the Zelda series has shifted over 59 million copies, and, rather impressively, these sales are still continuing worldwide. So, why, even 25 years on, is the Zelda series so popular? I chatted to a variety of fans to find out some of the reasons why.

Nina-Rose-Mangaka: "I have played The Legend of Zelda only since last December, and already I have completely 100% fallen in love with it. The story, the game play, graphics...everything! It is amazing!"

Lewis Terry: "My first Zelda experience was A Link To The Past on the SNes. I think it was one of the first games to really capture me and the first game I ever saw through to the end. I loved it to pieces, and completed it through four times. I used to draw loads of pictures of the monsters from it and generally obsess over the game. From that time onwards, I was not only a devout Nintendo fan, but Zelda always had a space reserved in my heart."

Jessica Bradley: "I'm actually guilty of liking the Final Fantasy series a wee bit more because I played them first, but Minish Cap is my favourite Zelda game, just because it is so cute! The music is awesome and it just looks stunning. Of all the Zelda games, this is the one I'd want to live in!"

(On a related note, I interviewed Jessica previously. Read it here!)

Epic-Frazz: "I like The Legend of Zelda games because the music and the scenery gives me a nice feeling, especially Wind Waker. Man, that game was EPIC. I'm really looking forward to the release of Four Swords on DSiWare in the Autumn/Fall. Bonus: It's free! Yeah, I've always had a special place in my heart for The Legend of Zelda games. 

Hyrule-man: "I've loved the Zelda games ever since I played it on my first Nes back in 1987. I'm torn between A Link To The Past and Ocarina of Time for the greatest Zelda game ever. They have an awesome storyline that has driven every  Zelda fan crazy for 20+ years trying to put the games in some kind of coherent order. But, you've gotta love Link. People can't resist the timeless tale of the hero rescuing the fair damsel from the evil villain."  

XxKid-kunxX: "I grew up with them. My family got our first Gamecube when I was around six, and one of the very first games we had was The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition, with numerous different Zelda games on it. I remember my whole family sitting around playing Ocarina of Time, or trying to figure out what we were supposed to be doing in Majora's Mask..." 

ieatbrainsforbreakfast: I like the Zelda games because of it's childish naivety. It's one of the few games that take me back to the childhood concept of White Knight. Link doesn't save Zelda for money, or sex or love, he saves her because that's what heroes do. They help those who need it. Also, the Zelda games have the uncanny ability to make their characters look badass without much effort. My favourite Zelda is A Link To The Past with Ocarina of Time as a close second, and Majora's Mask third."  

surrenderIndependent: "Link is such a charming character. Each character has it's own charm, but I adore the simplicity of our hero."  

PaxiPeanut: "I love the Zelda series because each game I've played, I had my own life-changing experience." 

domomaniac: "It would have to be the story/time line. Definitely not Navi or the Moon-Face Guy (Majoras' Mask)."  

Bloodlust-Carman: "Even though they're all similar, the classic "rescue the Princess" theme is taken to totally new levels in each game, and it's so fun to figure out the puzzles and learn new moves. The weapons, though usually similar as well, are so exciting to find, and I don't know about you, but I STILL get more excited tham little kids at a candy store when I get the Master Sword!" 

XxFoxTailxX: "I love the Zelda series for it's classic gameplay and for the hero saving the Princess. No game series will ever compare to it." 

More comments can be found via NintyFans. 

Zelda Fans Get Artistic

So conclude this article, here are some great examples of Zelda fan art that is available to view on the web:

By Lewis Terry

By ReevolveR

By nayruchan

By jstyle05

By Artsammich

By Riluna

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed their opinions and fan-art to this article.