Happy Monday-after-Valentine’s Day!
We’re now halfway through the month of love. Cupid’s been flying around shooting heart-tipped arrows. Friends and couples have given each other gifts, gone on romantic dates, and leaned into the usual Valentine’s sentimentality.
In Skyward Sword, too, romance is quite literally in the air.
Of all the Legend of Zelda games, Skyward Sword offers us perhaps the clearest romantic relationship between Zelda and Link. Not only are they the incarnation of the Goddess Hylia and her chosen hero, they’re close childhood friends, and much to Groose’s chagrin, they’re virtually inseparable.
Skyward Sword opens with a wake-up call. Zelda’s preparing for the Knight Academy’s upcoming Wing Ceremony and wants Link to stop snoozing and meet with her in front of the massive Goddess Statue in Skyloft. When he eventually arrives, Zelda excitedly shows Link the outfit she made for the occasion. “I got you up early this morning because I wanted you to be the first to see me like this, Link!” she says. “So… how do I look?”
The cue that accompanies this scene is officially titled “A Moment with Zelda,” both in the Japanese soundtrack release and in the Nintendo Music app. Composed by Takeshi Hama, it is among the most overtly romantic tracks in the series. This is reflected in the track’s more common, fan-given name “Romance in the Air.”
It begins quietly, almost timidly. Over a soft drone in the strings, a bassoon plays a tender, slow moving melody. A clarinet then reciprocates, repeating the shy melody in its own mellow timbre. Meanwhile, violas and cellos provide a steady, heartbeat-like pulse. This pulse reads to me as nervous excitement, signaling both the anticipation before the Wing Ceremony and the special sort of tension of talking to your crush first thing in the morning.
The orchestration then builds slowly like a love that grows gradually over the years. The upper strings play a quickly flowing, almost jiglike figure in a lilting 6/8 meter. A flute and oboe enter in with their own heartbeat idea. As the orchestra and suspended cymbal crescendo, the bass drone and pulse drop away, launching into the track’s primary melody, a soaring tune reminiscent of John Powell’s “Romantic Flight” from How to Train Your Dragon.
There isn’t much harmonic complexity in the music, though. Even when the harmonic pace picks up during the climax of the piece, the chords remain rather predictable and diatonic, never leaving the home key of D major or leaning heavily into dissonance.
With its sweet, sometimes shy melodies and simple harmonies, “A Moment with Zelda” is an especially fitting musical representation of a budding romance.
After Link wins the race during the Wing Ceremony, a variation of “A Moment with Zelda” plays as Zelda haphazardly leaps from Skyloft and Link catches her with his Loftwing. This variation, titled “Victory,” heightens the sense of anticipation in a brighter key and more lively tempo. This is compounded by the inclusion of concert percussion instruments like a tambourine, snare drum, and bass drum playing march rhythms. Even though the race is over, Zelda and Link have to return to the Goddess Statue to do the formal ceremony alone. Even the music is starting to get a frog in its stomach.
All of this leads up to “Gliding through the Sky,” a piece of music even more overt in its depiction of romance heard immediately after the Wing Ceremony. Most prominently, Zelda and Link’s Loftwing-flying date and their relationship are mirrored with a flute and trombone duet gliding over a bed of harmony in the strings.
It’s all very lovey-dovey and perfect for the Valentine’s Season. But don’t worry if you’re not festive — a tornado rips Zelda out of the sky soon after and the romantic music leaves with her.
