Power Button Podcast
Tip JarThe Listen Of Zelda: Master Quest
August 08, 2016
Back in 2012 I happily attended a performance of The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses when it toured through Florida, so when I heard that it would be passing through the state again this year with its revised Master Quest program, I eagerly bought tickets. My girlfriend and I sat in the center of the front row balcony last Saturday evening at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando to enjoy the Orlando Philharmonic perform selections from thirty years of Nintendo's beloved The Legend of Zelda franchise. Hearing favorite musical selections played loud and with intense energy from Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess while dramatic moments from the games were projected onscreen behind the orchestra and choir gave me chills and sent me back in time to memories of exploring those games for the first time, making me want to replay them all over again (if I only had the time!). Just about all of the major Zelda titles were represented in some form: Ocarina, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword were all present.
Tonight's agenda is Zelda symphony! We have front balcony row seats! pic.twitter.com/bhA5SFn9ip
— Matthew Green (@PressTheButtons) August 6, 2016
The Master Quest program updates the show with new medleys and material from recently released Zelda games including A Link Between Worlds and Triforce Heroes, while the gameplay segments from Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are updated with their HD Wii U re-release counterparts. Unfortunately, adding new material means that older segments had to go which means that three of my favorite games in the series have been unceremoniously dumped from the show since I last attended several years ago. Both the original The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link from the Nintendo Entertainment System era were not represented at Saturday's performance which, considering that the entire franchise sprang from those titles, is just sacrilege. Link's Awakening was also cut. In fact, no Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance games were represented at all. There's only so much that can fit into the two and a half hour running time, of course, but I felt that the program leaned too heavily on Ocarina and Skyward with multiple appearances from both games populating the program at the expense of other titles worth the spotlight.
My other feelings about the 2012 performance that I attended largely carry over here including my belief that similar symphonies based on music from Kirby or Mega Man would be just as entertaining and delightful (no StreetPassing for me this time; my Nintendo 3DS battery is aged and too weak to last for more than thirty minutes at a full charge). If you've never attended a Symphony of the Goddesses performance, I highly recommend that you go. Enjoy a fun evening out with friends or someone you love.