You wander into the foothills of Death Mountain, sure to bring your Flamebreaker armor or a few Fireproof Elixirs with you. If you take the direct path, dodging Fire Chuchus and Fire-Breath Lizalfos, it may take some time before the melody reaches your ears. When the dust settles, or you’ve gone the indirect route and scaled the rocky bluffs, take a moment and listen.
Subtle piano notes begin to play between the tribal-like calls and rolling drums. Those who are new to Link’s adventures may not recognize the tune that plays in the background. Watch Link, though, and you’ll begin to notice that the sweat rolling down his face isn’t from the heat of Death Mountain but from a primordial dread tugging at the recesses of his consciousness.
For those that have played through The Legend of Zelda, Link’s original adventure, and endured to the end, you will recognize the general tune of the Level-9 Labyrinth.
As it has been noted many times elsewhere, the developers of Breath of the Wild created the game to be a callback to The Legend of Zelda in tone and design. Of all the songs from the soundtrack (which are numerous, if you ever listen to the five-disc OST), nothing else pulls so directly from the original tracks than this. Have a listen.
Depending on what age you were when you first trekked through Ganon’s home, the music was at best unnerving. If you ventured in under the age of 10, I would say it was terrifying. As I recall from my younger days, the music from Bowser’s levels in Super Mario Bros. created a sense of anxiety and urgency as I made my way to his fiery bridge with (hopefully) multiple lives or a Fire Flower to clear the level.
In Level-9, if you venture in by accident, you see the Old Man and don’t even have to check your inventory screen to know that you are not ready for this. When you enter with the completed Triforce of Wisdom, you are confronted with the largest and most complicated Labyrinth in the entire game. It is filled with countless rooms teeming with the most difficult sub-enemies, mini-bosses, and a few surprises for good measure. Even if that wasn’t enough, you have this soundtrack speaking to you throughout your exploration, daring you to keep pressing forward.
Yet, when the music plays in Breath of the Wild, it is almost wistful in nature. A call from a distant past that beckons, unbidden, images of struggles from the murky realm of music and memory.
