As a massive fan of the music from Crypt of the NecroDancer and throughout the Zelda series, let me tell you: Cadence of Hyrule’s soundtrack is insanely on point. The music from both games blends together seamlessly in Danny Baranowsky’s brilliantly composed mashups (which I never knew how much I wanted), while the remixes from various Zelda games are everything us fans were dreaming of. Simply put, it’s a match made in heaven.
Oh, and just a quick FYI for you Binding of Isaac (vanilla version) and Super Meat Boy fans out there: Danny Baranowsky is the composer for those games too, in case you recognized his flair!
I’ve been delighting in Cadence of Hyrule’s catchy beats ever since it came out. I keep humming my favorite tracks and popping my headphones on at work to get a quick fix of its addictive remixes. It’s gotten to the point where I constantly flick back and forth between my favorites, but even that makes for a long playlist given how many great tracks there are. With that said, I gotta pick the best of the best to share with you all.
So, here are my top 10 picks (in no particular order) from Cadence of Hyrule:
(By the way, the whole soundtrack would be on here if I could fit it all.)
1. “Main Menu”
The game begins where it all began for many of us: with a beautiful rendition of that nostalgic Ocarina of Time opening theme. Except now, that iconic piano tune is backed by some low-key drumming, which perfectly merges the Zelda soundtrack with Crypt of the NecroDancer’s more uptempo vibe. It’s telling you to get ready: The beats are about to begin. As the piece goes on, a “Lullaby” rendition kicks in with some absolutely breathtaking (YOU’RE breathtaking!) vocals performed by Adriana Figueroa (who I’ll talk about properly later). I’d be willing to bet all of you Ocarina of Time fans got goosebumps from this opening.
2. “1-1”
Crypt of the NecroDancer fans will have recognized this piece immediately, but if you’re anything like me, then you no doubt had your socks blown off when it oh-so-seamlessly transitioned into the classic Legend of Zelda theme. It was that very moment when I knew I was in for an absolute treat. With this remix, Danny Baranowsky prepared us for how beautifully he was going to merge these two games’ soundtracks. Meanwhile, the main guitarist of the whole soundtrack, Jules Conroy, absolutely shreds it yet again, bringing back that energy from Crypt of the NecroDancer (which he also did guitars for). It gets you incredibly hyped to delve into what musical magic the game has in store, whether you’re a Crypt of the NecroDancer veteran, a Zelda fan, or both.
3. “Overworld”
Right after you’ve had a taste of what the soundtrack is gonna be like, the “Overworld Theme” breaks down the door and tells you that things have just got real. It’s arguably the most fantastic remix in the entire game, as it contains a perfect blend of multiple pieces from throughout the series. It predominantly features “Tal Tal Heights” from Link’s Awakening, but also includes the iconic Legend of Zelda theme, “Hyrule Field” from Ocarina of Time, and “The Great Sea” from The Wind Waker. I especially love the bit around the 1:40 mark, when we get that more ominous-sounding part from Ocarina of Time’s “Hyrule Field”. That really took me back. It’s all fantastic though — the Zelda nerd in me wants to listen to it forever.
4. “Lost Woods”
Chances are that, not long after the energizing “Overworld Theme” sent your heart rate up to 100, you’ll stumble into the Lost Woods areas of the overworld that brings the tempo down a bit. Having said that, it’s still a boppin’ track. It’s a brilliant remix of the Lost Woods theme from A Link to the Past and is potentially my low-key favorite piece from the whole soundtrack. It’s got some spooky vibes throughout, but generally its focus is on laying down some funky tunes with that Lost Woods theme to keep the energy going. I love it.
5. “Gerudo Valley”
Okay so, the Gerudo fanatic in me feels betrayed for my previous comment about the Lost Woods, because how can I not immediately place the Gerudo Valley remix at the top? I think the Lost Woods remix surprised me more than this one did and I got hooked on it easier as a result, because of course a Gerudo Valley remix was going to be incredible. It’s catchy as heck no matter what you do with it. What’s cool about this remix though is that, despite the rockin’ guitars, boisterous trumpets, and a forewarning organ lingering in the background, it has a real Sega Genesis vibe running through it. It’s that same sort of sound always used in desert levels in classic Sega Genesis games (like Aladdin), which fits the retro style of this game perfectly.
6. “Frozen Grotto”
All the dungeon music in this game is way better than it has any right to be. I had a hard time picking which ones to include, but “Frozen Grotto” absolutely has to be in my top 10 because of how well it blends so many different instruments together. You’ve got drums, an electric guitar, violin, piano, harpsichord, and then the predominant oboe. Speaking of which, each dungeon and boss is linked to a certain instrument — with this one being the oboe — so they take center stage once you get far enough down in the dungeon. Which brings us onto our next piece:
7. “Gohmaracas Boss”
While this isn’t actually my favorite boss battle music (I’ll get onto that in just a moment), I had to feature it first because we must stop and appreciate the incredible pun: GOHMARACAS. Feel free to google it to confirm it’s exactly what you’re imagining: Gohma shakin’ her maracas (I promise that’s not an innuendo). All the boss names in Cadence of Hyrule are puns on instruments, which draws inspiration from its forebearer Crypt of the NecroDancer — all the enemy names in that game are musical puns of some sort. In any case, the bass in this track is awesome, and the 0:50 mark is a great pay-off for its buildup.
8. “Gleeokenspiel Boss”
Here is my actual favorite boss battle music, and who would have thunk it was the one with a xylophone?! Well, more specifically, a glockenspiel. I thought this boss was quite an obscure pun until I discovered that Gleeoks have recurred in the series more than I thought, just not in many of the 3D installments. But I digress. What’s pretty noteworthy about this boss theme is that it references the “Song of Storms” right at the start and as the electrifying synth absolutely takes over. The glockenspiel occasionally chimes in, giving a sort of playfulness to the otherwise pretty intense tune — though this certainly doesn’t apply to the Gleeok itself.
9. “Temple of Storms”
The “Song of Storms” is an absolute classic, so I’m glad they found a place to use it in one of the dungeon’s upbeat tracks. The glockenspiel is surprisingly perfect for it too, as it makes you think of rain droplets once you’ve got the “Song of Storms” stuck in your head. The only downside is that the “Song of Storms” tune doesn’t come in right away: you hear a hint of it around the 1:05 mark and then properly at two minutes. There is an entire track dedicated to it though for the Windmill Hut if you need a bigger fix (bonus song for this list!). Anyway, the Temple of Storms is hella catchy, and although not as intricate as, say, the “Frozen Grotto”, it’s potentially more creative given how it uses the relatively simple glockenspiel to brilliant effect.
10. “Fairy Fountain”
Let’s all chill from these intense beats for a moment and listen to the most cathartic, elegant, and yet still somehow desk-tapping, foot-bopping remix in the entire game. This rendition of the Fairy Fountain — a normally much more reserved track — has so much boldness with its addition of the drums and those breathtaking, clean vocals by Adriana Figueroa. It reminded me of the Great Fairy Queen’s theme from The Wind Waker, but Adriana’s voice demonstrates so much more power and range than any other backing vocals ever have from throughout the series.
Some people may initially think that these vocals are better suited to Zelda at the opera than a retro-sounding rhythm game, but Danny Baranowsky’s composition and Adriana’s performance expertly prove that it can in fact complement Cadence of Hyrule perfectly. They’ve created a version of the Fairy Fountain that will probably never get topped in future franchises.
So there you have it: my favorite 10 tracks from Cadence of Hyrule. The game is full of a bunch of other tunes that I would have loved to talk about too, but I’ll leave that for all of you to do! Tell us what your favorites are and why they get you ca-dancing to the beat!
