The “Dungeon Theme” in the original Legend of Zelda was extraordinary for what it was: a song to evoke a feeling of dread and danger in contrast to the exhilarating adventure of the main theme. With such limited instrumentation, it could do little beyond warning the player of the perils they were about to face. In her remix of this track, RebeccaETripp surprised me by not only continuing to highlight the hazards of the dungeons but also by mixing it up in a way that inspires a deep sense of loss not inherent in that original song.
Deep percussion and horns begin this track, warning both Link and the audience of the dangers of this place. A sound of strings adds to this feeling because we are initially met with such a furious flurry of them that it sounds as if we entered the dungeon only for a flock of Keese to swarm past us.
The main melody of the track is played by many different instruments throughout the piece, including a piano, a stringed instrument, a wind instrument, and even a choral sound at times. The element that unifies all of these is the slower pace of the melody. In comparison to the constant, repeating sense of peril from the original arrangement, this slower pace causes the listener to feel a sense of loss. It’s as if instead of fighting hordes of monsters, Link is delving through the ruins of ancient Hylian temples and shrines that now lie dilapidated and abandoned.
Loss is not often associated with the “Dungeon Theme” but that may have been more due to the restrictions placed on Koji Kondo by the original NES hardware than by his own imagination — some text from the instruction booklet definitely leaves room for an implication of loss. As Ganon’s forces invaded the land, Zelda is described to have “split up the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments and hid them throughout the realm” in order to keep them safe.
I always felt like Zelda’s quest to hide all the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom was a really interesting story that got too little attention paid to it. She had essentially visited all the same places that Link did in order to hide the pieces of the holy relic in the first place! It also always seemed weird that Hyrule would have eight, monster-infested dungeons lying around, but it makes more sense if the dungeons were old, Hyrulian ruins and settlements that Zelda had hidden the Triforce pieces in that had been taken over as Ganon’s minions searched for what the princess had hidden. With this mindset, it’s not only danger that Link meets when entering a dungeon, but it’s also a profound sense of loss and defilement. The Stalfos, Goriyas, and Darknuts are tainting these potentially sacred places with their vile presence.
If the original “Dungeon Theme” were to ever be included in a modern Zelda game, Nintendo could do a lot worse than the complex piece arranged by RebeccaETripp. It maintains all the feeling of the original piece while building on it in a way that will forever change the way I experience those old dungeons.
