Breath of the Wild's music soundtrack, oh my goodness is it bad.

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

After the phenomenal orchestral soundtrack in Skyward Sword I was wondering how were they gonna top it with Breath of the Wild, the answer they didn't, they went the opposite end.

I mean Hyrule Field's soundtrack in perticular, they decided to go for this increadibly minimalistic stlye.

We went from Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess' Hyrule Field music to this:


This does not make me excited to go off on an adventure to see the world, this makes me think I am just looking at a beautiful grassland from a Window.

And so far most of the music is just servicable synthetic tracks.

I have not played the game I don't own a Wii-U or Switch but so far I am utterly dissipointed in this game's soundtrack, its shameful to the Legacy of Zelda music. But I will say at least its the gameplay that appears to be given the most attention towards.

Here's the soundtrack playlist I found that contains most of the music so far:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwObPlg7Y1pnZVEKHOE6QW66XZacCFxY

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

That was pretty dull. It's not even good ambient music.

If they wanted to have ambient music they should have taken notes from World of Warcraft:

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

You know...I actually really trust your opinion in OST. So damn, that's such a shame!

 

[Casual Shinji]

Yeah, try again.

A game's soundtrack is supposed to add to the tone the game is trying to set. This game is about you being alone in the wilderness, with the vast open plains showing small signs of a world that once was, but has long gone silent. The soundtrack illustrates this perfectly.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

You know...I actually really trust your opinion in OST. So damn, that's such a shame!

Did you listen to a couple from the playlist I linked?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Yeah, try again.

A game's soundtrack is supposed to add to the tone the game is trying to set. This game is about you being alone in the wilderness, with the vast open plains showing small signs of a world that once was, but has long gone silent. The soundtrack illustrates this perfectly.

Well this is a point where I completely disapprove of the theming of the soundtrack.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

I think context is important. I agree that it's not the most interesting music to just sit down and listen to (well I might listen to it, but a lot of people wouldn't). But when you play the game it fits perfectly. I like Ocarina of Time's Hyrule Field, but having that on loop while spending hours exploring in Breath of the Wild would start to get annoying. Even that WoW music you posted feels a bit too grandiose to fit in.

I really think you need to play the game to "get it". Not saying you'd instantly like the music if you played the game. You might still hate it. But you'd have a different perspective on it.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

It's not "bad."

Bad would be if the music didn't fit the game at all, and was distracting and detracted from your enjoyment of it. Like if say you were running around in an open field and bad industrial metal was blaring the whole time.

In the case of this soundtrack, it's definitely not the most interesting music. You could even call if dull and uninspired if you want, but the fact of the matter is that it fits the setting and doesn't distract you while you're playing, so at worst the music is "fine."

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

That was pretty dull. It's not even good ambient music.

If they wanted to have ambient music they should have taken notes from World of Warcraft:

Or just pay Brian Eno for his ambient music.

Or get my man Florian Fricke.

 

[xaszatm]

I have not played the game I don't own a Wii-U or Switch but so far I am utterly dissipointed in this game's soundtrack, its shameful to the Legacy of Zelda music. But I will say at least its the gameplay that appears to be given the most attention towards.

And this is why you think that. The overworld music is far more subtle than previous Legend of Zelda games but when you're actually playing the games it goes really well. If you are looking for "true" Zelda music those are found in the villages, dungeons, important events, or special mini-bosses. Since you haven't touched the game I cannot say what specific tracks I like because they're rather spoilery but I can say this has some of my favorite Zelda music yet.

 

[Kajin]

The music fits this game perfectly fine. Dunno about it being good listening music by itself, but whenever it pops up in game it perfectly accentuates what's going on. I like the approach they made with the music for this one, even if none of it is immediately memorable.

Not every game has to have bigger, better, more orchestral music than was in previous installments.

 

[Rangaman]

The music fits the tone of the game and the exploration. Personally I like the more ambient and atmospheric approach. It's not as grand as previous Zeldas, but that's because it just would fit the tone and pacing of the exploration.

If this game included "typical" Zelda music, it wouldn't fit the mood at all. For example, Donkey Kong Country 3. That game has a dark and mysterious soundtrack that's good, but it does not match the bright and cheery tone of everything else in that game.

 

[Silvanus]

It's pretty minimalist, and I'm a bit wary if much of the music is like that. I generally prefer less minimalism.

...That said, you're not going to get a good impression if you take it in isolation from the game. It's not meant to be listened to on its own; it's supposed to compliment a whole visual and interactive effect.

 

[Nazulu]

Yeah, try again.

A game's soundtrack is supposed to add to the tone the game is trying to set. This game is about you being alone in the wilderness, with the vast open plains showing small signs of a world that once was, but has long gone silent. The soundtrack illustrates this perfectly.

That's how I felt when playing BotW. Those classic memorable tracks wouldn't suit this new style, though they could've made it like Lineage 2's soundtrack, just short bursts of music to depict new area's and certain moments. I reckon it works just fine though.

 

[Cowabungaa]

this makes me think I am just looking at a beautiful grassland from a Window.

Isn't that what you do a lot in the game, though? It seems to fit the "vast empty quiet land" vibe BotW has going for it pretty well I'd say, and isn't the goal of an OST to increase the specific mood a game wants to set?

Also, the OST is a lot less synthetic as you might think. It has digital effects thrown in, yes, but there's a lot of orchestration going on there.

Well this is a point where I completely disapprove of the theming of the soundtrack.

But it's the same theming as the game. You need those to match when you create an OST, or else you get tonal dissonance. And unless your goal to create a comedy or parody piece, you don't exactly want that.

 

[09philj]

They were clearly going for a more relaxed Minecraft type OST, but it's a little too disjointed to hit the mark. There's too much silent dead space and it doesn't start and stop in a way that feels natural. If they wanted to include silence in the soundtrack, it would have been better to just have a large set of tracks that fade in and out at intervals like Minecraft does. A relaxed, understated soundtrack is right for the game, but the way they did it isn't quite right.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Man, it would feel weird to hear a traditional Zelda track while slowly climbing a mountain.

I do really enjoy the previous Zeldas music but it would feel pretty off in this game.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Yup, everyone else pretty much said it best. I will agree it's not something that excites me very much, I am craving something like what we heard in the most recent trailer. But, I fought this giant rock monster thing (and got 1 shot by it, damn), and the soundtrack ramped up quite a bit. The field themes will probably be pretty basic, but the rest has potential to be the classic style you're expecting.

Granted, I'm not very far. But there's hints here or there that it'll get more traditional