A game’s main theme can tell you a lot about it. Well-crafted ones reflect the world, characters, and story of the games they represent. Skyward Sword’s “Ballad of the Goddess” and The Wind Waker’s title theme are great examples, giving players an idea of what makes their worlds special through music alone. Rivalled by the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, one of my favorite main themes in all of gaming is the one from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
A piano motif sets the scene, solemn yet hopeful. This hope quickly fades as the orchestra comes in with a deep E minor chord and the piano repeatedly cascades down with melancholic despair. The violin melody is an altered version of the opening motif played much more slowly, giving us the chance to feel each individual note’s emotional impact. It peaks at the beginning, full of determination, before falling into doubt and succumbing to regret. A low brass countermelody comes in for support, as if to tell the violin that it’s not alone. It then takes over the reins, leading us into an adamant C major chord. The chord shows its unwavering resolve when it shifts to C minor, the bass refusing to back down in the face of dissonance. The piano’s teardrops slow down, and the time for grieving ends.
The next section (starting at 0:51) introduces percussion, powerful toms that invoke a fighting spirit. The brass plays a new melody that drives forward with tenacious force. A choir joins the strings to provide a steady harmony with heroic rhythm. All of this energy rallies up a plethora of instruments together, building the piece stronger for every second that goes by. Soon enough, the intro motif becomes the melody once again. This time it’s far more energized not only due to the full instrumentation, but also by the harmonic changes. The first section held a stagnant E minor, but the chords in this section are eager to move around and find new ways to frame the familiar melody. The entire orchestra then climbs up to a peak, a magnificent Eb major, before an upward leap and a fierce downward resolution to D major. Piano cascades make their return with a newfound brilliance, converting its despair into strength and bringing us full circle. Everything builds to one final statement, the musical hook played in orchestral unison and a powerful low chord to leave us off.
The two sides of Age of Calamity’s main theme perfectly embody the effects of the great calamity on Hyrule, filling its inhabitants with both sorrow and courage. Knowing how tragically things could end makes the theme even more motivating to me, and seeing the heroes overcome the unnatural disaster of Calamity Ganon is incredibly satisfying, even if it’s in another timeline. I’m greatly intrigued by Age of Imprisonment’s potential story, and I’m beyond excited to hear (and meticulously analyze) its soundtrack.
