There have always been conspiracy theories about playing music backward and hearing secrets within the recording, and in some cases with Nintendo, this is found to be true. Now most of us know the secret of the “Ballad of the Goddess” from Skyward Sword being “Zelda’s Lullaby” in reverse, but did you know that’s not their only hidden melody? If you listen closely inside the chambers of Lorule Castle, you might hear a very familiar song.
The “Lorule Castle Theme” is an entirely new song and not just a theme played in reverse, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t incorporate music from its Light World counterpart. In the lower sanctums of the dungeon, a light string accompanies the main melody. When this portion is played in reverse, it is revealed to be none other than the “Hyrule Castle Theme.” In the video placed below, skip to 3:05 to hear it.
The reason I stumbled upon this secret (though I know others had way before me) was actually due to the secret in the “Ballad of the Goddess.” A Link Between Worlds came out a few years after Skyward Sword, featuring a world with parallel characters and locations, and so I got to researching. I pulled several tracks onto Audacity and played them in reverse in hopes of finding a secret. I thought I might find hints of “Zelda’s Lullaby” in “Hilda’s Theme,” or pieces of the “Overworld Theme” carefully placed in “Ravio’s Theme,” but though there was nothing of significance to be found there (as far as I could hear). I was pleasantly surprised that I was at least able to find this subtle melody within one of my favorite Zelda soundtracks of all time.
It astounds me how masterfully the composers at Nintendo work to incorporate such details into their tracks. Placing Easter eggs into the visual portions of the game is one thing, but to have hidden melodies within their music scores, never to be heard unless you go digging around outside of the game, is above and beyond. What else would I expect from a company that is just that?
