Breath of the Wild and the Power of Silence
32The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is often criticized for its seemingly lackluster soundtrack; the bulk of the game is made up of only some empty-sounding piano chords. However, this choice by Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata and Hajime Wakai - the composers for Breath of the Wild - actually brilliantly reflects the shift in focus of the game from a more linear story to an immense, open-ended world to explore, with a much more fragmented story that the player is free to discover for themselves. With its fifth anniversary and a sequel on the horizon, I decided to take a deeper look at the music - or lack thereof - of Breath of the Wild supports what little narrative there is and immerses the player in the beautiful open world.
0:00 Introduction
2:11 Musical and Narrative Emptiness
6:46 Stories Told Without Words
12:51 The Potency of Ambience
21:29 Quiet Transcendence
Some other neat videos on the topic:
“‘Invisible’ Sound Design in Breath of the Wild” by Scruffy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgev9Gzybk8
"Breath of the Wild's Presentation, Music and Atmosphere" by Arlo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gfQCeX3p50
"Less is More: An Analysis of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Soundtrack” by pixeltea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3wYxjbhqx0
“The Music of Breath of the Wild | GMTK Extra” by Game Maker’s Toolkit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWVKu1gnWs
8-Bit Music Theory's series on Breath of the Wild:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl-6K3zrcr0 (Main Theme)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6YaK8bOvWY (Field Theme)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZBodzjVSjA (Kakariko Village)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUoophDioZA (Hyrule Castle)
Music used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9_twwsWUPk&list=PLwDEuPBgBi4NDcdlZrA-LCU7j-aUXzm_k
Footage used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbhS4OXWNsE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cP7Cym5pyw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rPxiXXxftE
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