Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Link’s Awakening. The narrative hook of a character struggling to distinguish between a dream and reality has always been interesting to me. (As you might have guessed, Christopher Nolan’s Inception is also a personal favorite.) I also spent a lot of time in graduate school listening to video game soundtracks. Since most of the pieces are instrumental tracks, they’re nice to have on in the background while working on problem sets or waiting for some data to finish collecting. I was always searching for new material to add to my playlist, and at some point, I stumbled across the OverClocked ReMix project Threshold of a Dream.
For those unfamiliar, OCR is an online community committed to championing and celebrating video game music as an art form. To accomplish this, they collaborate with dozens of talented musicians to reimagine the soundtracks of classic games. I first discovered them by way of their Final Fantasy VII project and have been an avid supporter ever since. Their 2010 album entitled Threshold of a Dream presents a sort of “through the looking glass” take on the Link’s Awakening soundtrack; some of the pieces are full orchestral arrangements, adding tons of depth and dimension to these cherished chiptunes, while others veer the other direction by incorporating tons of synths and electronic fuzz. There’s a lot of good stuff to dig into there, but in my humble opinion, “The Vision of the Wind Fish” by Sound Test is far and away the best track in the entire album.
It initially presents as a synth-heavy but nonetheless faithful interpretation of the game’s iconic “Ballad of the Wind Fish”, making the usually gentle melody sound epic and intense. It settles down and smoothes out around the halfway point, as bits and pieces of the “Staff Roll” track are interleaved with the sound of waves gently lapping against a seashore. Just as these begin to fade away, though, we hear a cetacean cry, and an echoing baritone voice begins speaking. Once you get over the initial shock, you quickly realize it is a word-for-word narration of the Wind Fish’s speech at the end of the game.
Including a spoken word track was a bold creative choice for sure, but it is, without a doubt, my favorite moment in the entire compilation. Behind the narration, an arrangement of “Ballad of the Wind Fish” continues to play, gradually building up to a powerful crescendo as the Wind Fish implores Link to play the “Song of Awakening”, finally bringing his quest to a close.
The eight instruments play their respective parts, and then we transition to the closing moments of the song. Here the artist Sound Test deftly weaves together riffs from the end of the “Staff Roll”, a final dominating chant of “Ballad of the Wind Fish” by the same baritone vocalist, and the sounds of softly rolling waves and a seagull crying in the distance.
While “The Vision of the Wind Fish” is certainly an enjoyable experience overall, I think the attention to these small details elevate the track to new heights. Just like the game’s finale, it’s equal parts triumphant and bittersweet, and now whenever I replay the game, I can almost hear the Wind Fish’s voice as he speaks to Link during his final moments on Koholint Island.
Link’s Awakening turns 30 years old on June 6th, 2023! So we’re dedicating an entire week of articles to the Hylian hero’s charming, quirky adventures through Koholint Island!
