On the morning of April 13th, 2023 (at least, it was morning where I live), Zelda fans across the world waited not-so-patiently at their computers to hear from Eiji Aonuma and witness the final official trailer for Tears of the Kingdom. The trailer, coming in at almost four full minutes, blew the minds of everyone who saw it, even people who thought they weren’t excited for the game. There was plenty of new information revealed that clearly raised the hype level, but I’ll leave it to the theorists to discuss all that. What I’m far more interested in is the element that turned this already amazing trailer into the absolute jaw-dropper that will be remembered for years to come: the music.
Go ahead and watch the trailer again, in case you still haven’t reached 30+ viewings:
Much like the legendary Breath of the Wild trailer that stunned audiences in January of 2017, the score for the Tears of the Kingdom trailer is a completely unique composition with snippets of important Zelda themes stitched into it. There’s a short, gentle woodwind introduction, after which a soaring symphony and glorious choir erupt into a melody containing the main Legend of Zelda motif, immediately letting us know that Tears of the Kingdom will be an unprecedented Zelda experience. We also hear a unique instrument that the Zelda team has incorporated as a distinct feature of Tears of the Kingdom’s music, found in multiple marketing sources now. It’s a two-stringed instrument from China called an erhu; you may remember its ethereal timbre from the elemental dragons’ theme in Breath of the Wild, and you’ll be hearing much more of it in this game, I’m sure.
As we see shots of returning locations with new features, we hear an adaptation of Breath of the Wild’s main theme on piano. Things then turn sour as we hear reversed notes like those in trailers past, along with a brief, dismal allusion to the “Hyrule Castle Theme”. (Also, it may be a coincidence, but the three powerful notes played at timestamp 1:21 are the same notes at the beginning of “Midna’s Lament”. Food for thought.) Following along with more dark, sinister shots, Ganondorf’s iconic crescendo plays, a sign of nothing good to come for the people of Hyrule. At this point, I must stress how hyped I am hearing all of this incredible music, new and old, in such resplendent fashion. The voices of Zeldas past are roaring in full force.
Thus concludes the first movement of the piece. In a moment of reprieve, a gentle symphony scores a scene of dialogue between Zelda and a new, unknown character. But the quiet doesn’t linger long before building into an absolutely mind-blowing original section, spearheaded by… the saxophone? Who would’ve thought? The powerful overhead sax melody is punctuated perfectly by tantalizing gameplay moments and a vigorous rhythm section, working together with every other hallmark of an orchestra to create the pure, musical distillation of heroism. I can’t even listen to this movement of the trailer without getting up and grooving along.
But of course, balance must be achieved, and to rival that heroic power ballad, the King of Evil’s theme kicks in with more force than ever. It builds up to a stunning shot of Ganondorf’s rage-filled face, the first time we’ve seen a new Ganondorf since Twilight Princess. After that, there’s a reprise of the classic Zelda theme blended with Tears of the Kingdom’s fresh sensibilities, including more saxophone (naturally). It descends into a powerful logo splash, accented with a sprinkle of notes from the piano and what may be a koto or sanshin, both Japanese stringed instruments. Finally, the trailer ends with a plea from Zelda and the princess’s three-note lullaby.
I can hardly say everything I want to say about the trailer and its music. Truly, words escape me. I just know that everything that this trailer did has left me dying to play the game on May 12th.
To celebrate the upcoming launch of Tears of the Kingdom, we are dedicating two weeks of columns articles to its groundbreaking predecessor, Breath of the Wild! Check out our Countdown to TOTK page.
