Like the other games in The Legend of Zelda series, Skyward Sword has a phenomenal soundtrack. Its music evokes the ancient world of Hyrule, which Link is exploring for the first time. These environmental themes add a fantastical element to each area, making them feel like ruins of a world long forgotten. But not all of its songs are these gentle and mystical themes. There are epic boss themes and silly character themes that truly make Skyward Sword’ssoundtrack feel unique.
The music of Skyward Sword is ethereal, emotional, and altogether perfect for the story it is trying to tell. Some of its songs are incredibly iconic, while others are hidden gems not commonly talked about.
One of the best things about Skyward Sword is its references to other games in the series or the series as a whole. The beginning of this song should sound familiar to all Zelda fans as it is the main theme. With Link on harp and Fi on the vocals, the legend begins to unfold, inspiring future heroes for generations to come.
It is really cool that the iconic main theme of the Zelda series becomes an important story plot in the game that starts the legend. The story truly comes together at this point in the story as Link assumes the role as the first hero of Hyrule.
Just like how supermarkets play fun music to inspire their customers to buy more products, the Bazaar’s theme in Skyward Sword is just as catchy to inspire Link to spend all his hard-earned rupees on potions and extra shields. Aside from being a memorable tune on its own, the Bazaar’s music has a not-so-hidden detail in its music.
Each shopkeeper has a different variation of the Bazaar’s theme. The Gear Shop is fast-paced to match Rupin’s clearly fake customer service face. The Item Check’s theme is slow and lazy to match the bored Peatrice. The Scrap Shop includes a lot more mechanical sounds to make it seem like a new invention is always being made. Such detail in the music adds a lot more life to the shopkeepers, making the Bazaar a fun place to keep on visiting.
A character with such a striking personality as Scrapper needs a theme song to match. Each time Link calls on Scrapper the Robot, he arrives with a song as big as its attitude. His theme matches both his robotic tendencies and an enormous amount of sass, making all of the interactions with the robot all the more fun to experience.
This theme is also a fun change of pace from the gentle and atmospheric songs that Skyward Sword tends to feature. Scrapper’s theme helps connect both technology and fantasy, a theme that is present in more Zelda games than just Skyward Sword.
Skyward Sword is not shy in showing the audience the close relationship between Zelda and Link. From Groose feeling threatened by Link in his pursuit of Zelda, and the iconic almost kiss on the top of the Goddess Statue, Link and Zelda are hinted at having crushes on each other. So it is only natural that they should get a cute romantic theme.
“Romance in the Air” plays while Link and Zelda fly around Skyloft and “hang out,” as Zelda puts it. This moment is cute and relaxing as the pair fly side by side. Before Zelda is so rudely cut off by a tornado knocking her out of the sky, Zelda goes to admit something to Link. Perhaps it was a confession of love? Regardless of whether Zelink was about to happen in this scene, this theme is perfect for Link and Zelda as a pair.
With an ego as large as his pompadour, Groose struts into every scene with a theme song befitting his personality. His theme begins with a loud exclamation of trumpets, announcing his obviously very important arrival, followed immediately by a low and mischievous tune afterward. The sound designers really nailed Groose’s initial personality with this theme.
As the game progresses, Groose’s theme becomes a little lighter and works its way into his moments of character development, even appearing in the final battle when he helps Link save Zelda. It is always cool to see a character’s development reflected in their music, and Groose is no exception.
While the Silent Realms are some of the most notoriously hard areas in the game, they also have beautiful music. The Silent Realm in Faron Woods may be the most iconic of the four, as it is the first one that players will experience, likely multiple times over since these areas are rather difficult.
The haunting sounds of “Farore’s Courage” echo around the calm Silent Realm as the Guardians sleep. Between the minimalist bells and the ambient sounds, this Silent Realm theme really evokes a dreamlike quality, contrasting heavily with the terrifying Guardians that lie in wait for Link to make a mistake.
Fi’s theme is already a beautiful song, capturing her robotic and mystical presence. However, “Fi’s Gratitude” takes Fi’s theme and makes it more emotional. In this scene, she is expressing her happiness to Link and thanking him for his companionship. This scene is already bittersweet, but hearing our robotic companion’s theme one last time really makes this theme stand out.
The notes of the song slow down as Fi’s words become slower as well and the song fades as Fi fades. It is a beautiful farewell song that will be sure to stick with players after they finish the game — even if Fi is a little annoying when the batteries in the Wii Remote are almost depleted.
One of the most exciting and epic battles in Skyward Sword is the battle to free Levias. As Link mounts his Crimson Loftwing to fly around Levias, a fast yet somber tune plays. Levias is an ancient being, and one of the few creatures who have knowledge of the “Song of the Hero,” so the stakes are high in this battle. His battle theme conveys both his desperation to be free of the monster possessing him and the intensity of the moment for Link as he circles around the massive whale.
This list would not be complete without the main theme of the game. The “Ballad of the Goddess” plays multiple times throughout the game, even being sung by Zelda at the very beginning of the adventure. Sometimes this theme is slow and ethereal, and other times it is this epic adventure music, as heard in the symphony version of the song. Perhaps the coolest part of the “Ballad of the Goddess” is the fact that its melody is “Zelda’s Lullaby” backward. It is such a neat detail that the song used to lull a young Zelda to sleep is also the song used to worship Hylia, the goddess who lives on as Zelda.
Perhaps the saddest song in Skyward Sword, “Impa’s Fate” plays when Impa stays in the past to watch over the Master Sword. The player later learns that the kind old woman in the Sealed Temple is Impa, the Goddess’s servant who kept watch over Zelda since the ancient past when Demise was first sealed away. As her duty is fulfilled, Impa vanishes, with the bracelet Zelda gifted her falling to the floor. The gentle flute and violins swell in a triumphant melody for the heroes’ victory, but they also play a sad song as Impa is finally freed from her divine purpose. This theme is enough to make even Groose sob like a baby.
Percy Mohn
Practically raised on Zelda, Percy spends most of their spare time playing Zelda games over and over and over and- well you get the picture. When they are not playing Zelda games for once, they spend most of their time acting, both onstage and behind a DM screen in D&D. Percy is a columns and features writer.
by Percy Mohn on September 12, 2021
