Zelda Talk - Breath of the Wild Soundtrack and Voice Acting

Possibly a super vague spoiler? Okay so I'm CRAWLING through this game but something just dawned on me that I have to share. What if they kept the voice acting strictly to those not human or human-esque? There's one character (in an attempt to avoid spoilers, I'll just mention that he's the character looking over the item that requires hearts to acquire) that works wonderfully with a proper VO, to my mind. The human-esque characters fall flat but this one actually aided the story for me. Would that be a weird rule? Only the wildly profound and borderline supernatural have voices while the rest have the short bursts ala traditional Zelda fashion. I don't know. Dumb comment but I had to throw it in here. Love the show by the way, guys! Zelda is big enough to be a topic on its own. Thanks for not trying to cram it in with the Nintendo themed show :) Love you guys.

Matt McCarthy

Something that has confused me is how a lot of discussion has taken place regarding the Legend of Zelda series being stuck in a rut for so long and needing a big change...and then there is more discussion lamenting the fact that certain staples people were used to in previous games weren't present in Breath of the Wild. This thought came to mind when the lack of musical instrument item was being discussed. That thought didn't even cross my mind during the 100+ hours I spent in the game on my first playthrough. The way music, or the lack thereof, was utilized in this game was very calculated on Nintendos part and it resonated with me in a very successful way. One of my favorite parts about the game is how intense and dynamic the music in Hyrule Castle feels; it really hammers home the fact that being there is a big deal.

Matt Bollenbach

Awesome Discussion! BOTW has my favourite soundtrack from the series. I'm really glad it distances itself from other Zelda games as it helps to give the game it's own identity and the music helps create an amazing atmosphere in the way it feels very natural and organic.

Great episode, guys. When you do a spoiler episode of Zelda, will it be a Zelda Talk or a Spoiler Mode?

Andrew Chalmers

I absolutely hated how they handled the music in Breath of the Wild. Coming off of Nier: Automata (which has easily the best OST i've heard in the past several years) it was a letdown. The tracks are decent enough (not amazing), but they're so few and far inbetween.

Where do I get that shirt blood is wearing?

Disagree about the divine beast music, I think the bird/lizard dungeons have tremendous background tracks. (and the dynamic shifts as you make progress was a great touch)

just something to point out for your thoughts Damiani since it wasnt brought up- Nintendo has said in a few interviews that Breath of the Wild was heavily influenced by japanese animation, and after completing the game it feels very specifically to be influenced by studio Ghibli. Everything from the themes of the game to the designs to even the musical score being primarily piano is directly lifted from Ghibli's work, as is the emphasis on nature and forested / grown in environments. Specifically, the game draws huge influence from Nausiacaa, Princess Mononoke, and Castle in the sky for the bulk of its world. Things like Ganon being a boar made of black wormlike energy, or the guardians being dead robotic sentries from a lost and forgotten technological kingdom are direct from Mononoke and Castle, and a lot of the games visual design even down to links hooded blue outfit with glider are heavily from Nausicaa. I think the music and the choice for piano definitely plays to that deliberate Ghibli vibe as well. Anyways, just something fun to consider. Great episode!

Ooh good topic. The stone talus music, the way the music changes depending on where you are in the Castle... really good use of music cues in that game that really stick with you, especially because music isn't over-used.

Bradley Spies