Put together with Nintendo by Monolith Soft, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds feels like a fan remake in the best possible way; a slick, pacy and contemporary re-imagining of A Link to the Past on the SNES – probably my favourite Zelda, and therefore one of my favourite videogames.
Koji Kondo’s legendary score has been granted a similarly tasteful treatment by Ryo Nagamatsu, who sensitively re-scores the (brilliant) original SNES/Super Famicom (and in some cases NES/Famicom) synth tunes with realistic sounding instruments.
Nagamatsu’s work is perhaps best demonstrated by two separate arrangements of the sinister yet purposeful Lorule Overworld theme (formerly the Dark Overworld in the 16-bit original).
First a gentler, folksy mix with the melody picked out in violin with trumpets providing counterpoint:
And latterly this more bombastic orchestral incarnation:
It’s hard to imagine a more inspirational accompaniment to exploring the wonderful world Link finds himself charged yet again with saving from the forces of evil.
