With Princess Zelda finally about to take her place by Link’s side as a quest companion, I was more than excited for the release of Spirit Tracks. I had always looked forward to any encounters with Princess Zelda throughout the series, so to have her as an actual partner thrilled me to my very core. Not only would we get more backstory and communication with this fascinating character, but more interactions with Zelda also meant more variations of her theme, “Zelda’s Lullaby.”
Zelda has two main iterations of her theme in this game. The first is interesting in itself, adding some off-key notes with an eerie verse before looping back to the original melody, but the one that I still remember with much fondness is “Zelda’s Spirit.”
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Zelda becomes a spirit in Spirit Tracks, as this game is ten years old by this point, as well as it happening very early on in the game. This being said, “Zelda’s Lullaby” also makes a transition into the spirit realm as well. Being played with mainly synthetic bells and pizzicato strings gives the tune a supernatural vibe. The chords are also not traditional to her iconic theme, wavering up and down the scales in a minor key, yet it still remaining pleasing to the ear.
This gloomy take on this song makes perfect sense, as the track first plays during a point when Zelda is worried for her life and for her kingdom. However, it’s not a complete downer, as that faithful melody we’ve been hearing since A Link to the Past chimes through and lets us know that our princess is still here and ready to fight back for her kingdom — even if it means wearing ugly Phantom armor and staving off some rats.
