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The lead composer for Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Manaka Kataoka (Animal Crossing)
- Thread starter Cerium
- Start date
Banjotanooki
Member
Same here but has it been confirmed that there's no overworld music?!
Crazyorloco
Member
This woman is making some God tier music. Amazing work. Some of the best Zelda music I've heard ever.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Disappointed that it's not Koji.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
I want to see the receipts man. How much overworld gameplay have we actually seen to confirm this? Could it only be situational?
We're going to be spending a LOT of time in this overworld.
Here's some Overworld music https://youtu.be/RGuWpTuZS7Y?t=1m44s
There are many places where the music will be silent or more subtle, but the game won't be devoid of louder melodies in the Overworld. The Great Plateau is very isolated, which is why it has very sparse music. As you branch out and get to livelier areas, there'll probably be louder and more pronounced Overworld themes.
What do you think of the music in the 3 trailers?
Kondo probably won't return being the main composer since he had only composed 1-2 tracks per game since Wind Waker.
dampflokfreund
Banned
She is very talented. Just think about how the Animal Crossing theme and the Trailer music of Zelda comes from the same composer. Very diverse.
If the game's soundtrack is on par with the trailer music we're in for a treat.
Music by Kataoka - When the treat is real
If the game's soundtrack is on par with the trailer music we're in for a treat.
Music by Kataoka - When the treat is real
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I didn't notice any music.
Moon_frogger
Member
Wasted? How so? Animal crossing: new leaf is my favourite 3ds game and the soundtrack is absolutely incredible.
I still cannot believe that the same composer of Animal Crossing is the same of those tracks we can hear in the trailers. Both games are totally different, and she has shown she can make great music for all kind of games.
Congratulations to Manaka for her great career!!
It's about time Nintendo uploaded their games' soundtracks to Spotify. All the world needs to hear masterpieces like these.
Congratulations to Manaka for her great career!!
It's about time Nintendo uploaded their games' soundtracks to Spotify. All the world needs to hear masterpieces like these.
The music of Animal Crossing is not just utterly fantastic but also key part of its success.
moozoom
Member
It's usually better to pass judgment about something you know. Try this maybe.
But the music is obviously better in the context of the game, it's far from the pompous and spectacular orchestral music you can hear in many games.
In a game you play for hundreds of hours like Animal crossing, it's very important to have a great soundtrack and sound design. New Leaf is one of my favorite soundtrack for this very reason, never boring and changing with every hour of the day. Subtle variations depending on the weather and seasons, and great themes for the shops and characters.
I've got more than 600 hours on New Leaf, and I still listen to its music while working without being tired of it. This is very relaxing
One thing the Animal Crossing music has always done well (Especially in New Leaf) is the emotive feelings behind each piece of music. The different tones depending on the time of day, the celebratory events and somber moments all evoke different feelings in the player and also bring the game together. Sure you can get into the regular 'motions' of Animal Crossing and mute the game while watching a movie but the moment you turn that volume slider back up... it comes rushing back. As a note she worked with Atsuko Asahi on New Leaf and Shiho Fujii on City Folk.
Her first foray into Zelda Music was on Spirit Tracks, however there she worked with 3 other composers. In Breath of the Wild I believe she is working on the music with Ryo Nagamatsu (I think?) but her voice is the main musical one coming through. I believe she got this job due to her insanely good work on the Zelda 30th Music which probably gave Nintendo the confidence to allow her to compose and arrange music for a huge title like Breath of the Wild. We don't know how many other musicians may be involves in the composition and arrangement of tracks but I'm assuming people like Ryo Nagamatsu and others will be assisting with a couple of tracks here and there. I'm generally really excited to hear her darker, somber music (some of which we have heard already) especially what ever the theme for Calamity Ganon is. I cant wait.
Her first foray into Zelda Music was on Spirit Tracks, however there she worked with 3 other composers. In Breath of the Wild I believe she is working on the music with Ryo Nagamatsu (I think?) but her voice is the main musical one coming through. I believe she got this job due to her insanely good work on the Zelda 30th Music which probably gave Nintendo the confidence to allow her to compose and arrange music for a huge title like Breath of the Wild. We don't know how many other musicians may be involves in the composition and arrangement of tracks but I'm assuming people like Ryo Nagamatsu and others will be assisting with a couple of tracks here and there. I'm generally really excited to hear her darker, somber music (some of which we have heard already) especially what ever the theme for Calamity Ganon is. I cant wait.
Vital Tundra
Member
Glad they gave her such a high profile game like Zelda. Her AC stuff is great and I hope she will still be handling the next game for that.
Honestly shes a great fit because of her AC stuff. In that game each hour has different music to fit the tone for that hour. When it's raining there is change in the music, during holidays there are changes. Each individual track evokes feelings incredibly well, and I think she'll use that talent greatly for Zelda.
Honestly shes a great fit because of her AC stuff. In that game each hour has different music to fit the tone for that hour. When it's raining there is change in the music, during holidays there are changes. Each individual track evokes feelings incredibly well, and I think she'll use that talent greatly for Zelda.
That is some strange stuff for Zelda overworld music. It reminds of Flower's soundtrack to a certain point, except it's not any good.
I honestly haven't really liked what actual in-game music I've heard in this game. A bit too minimal and unobtrusive for Zelda. It's like the music doesn't want to be there.
That's not specifically overworld music. This only plays when you are riding the horse.
Aonuma already said there is no looping musical track while walking around in the overworld.
ElzarTheBam
Member
Do we know if that track is even from the game?
FloweryMarston
Member
It's not the first time an AC composer worked on zelda either, kenta nagata and toru minegishi worked on animal crossing and were part of the music composition team for wind waker, for example
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Uh, no.
New Leaf's soundtrack has helped me in so many stressful situations because of the beautiful and calm melodies. She wasn't "wasted" in the least.
Kondo hasn't done a full soundtrack since OoT. He's more of a sound staff supervisor since.
Not yet. I'm sure there will be some kind of version of that in the game and definitely in the soundtrack though.
Objection. Did he not do all or at least nearly all the music for Super Mario Maker?
What an amazingly ignorant thing to say.
Great post.
Zelda's music is sounding really good so far. Looking forward to it.
forknknife
Banned
Zelda's trailer music must be the most emotional piece I've ever heard in a videogame. A great part of my hype for BOTW is definitely because of the music. I'll be playing this with headphones all the way through if possible.
The Hermit
Member
People don't appreciate enough the absolute genius work Nintendo delivers with its music. Even the 3DS/Wii U system music is second to none.
We still don't have official word she's the lead composer though, do we? According to her Nintendo wiki page she composed the main theme, the battle theme and the Temple of Time theme. Ryo Nagamatsu is apparently also working on the game, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's the lead composer, seeing as he did the last big Zelda game in ALBW.
Edit: Although according to his profile on Nintendo Wiki he's only credited for arranging the Stable theme so far.
Edit: Although according to his profile on Nintendo Wiki he's only credited for arranging the Stable theme so far.
Why are you guys freaking out about overworld music? It has always been location based and if I remember correctly, none of the play testers have even set foot in hyrule field which is where the music normally happens. Not surprised if they keep the great plateau mostly silent so they can really wow us when we finally get to hyrule field.
This current composer might very well become my favorite female composer next to Shimomura by the sounds of the trailers. I'm sure she'll deliver.
This current composer might very well become my favorite female composer next to Shimomura by the sounds of the trailers. I'm sure she'll deliver.
SkywardBeam
Member
I hope Nagamatsu does at least the boss battle themes for BotW. The first Yuga battle theme as well as Yuga's theme itself are some of the best Zelda tracks ever composed.
While I loved the latest trailer's music, the E3 trailer (https://www.nintendo.co.jp/zelda/sound/movie.mp3) has a really jarring cut-off point. It sounded as if the next piece of music was inserted in halfway. The trailer reflected this with a black screen cut. What was up with that? I thought it was bad trailer editing but it seems deliberate if Nintendo are releasing the mp3 as-is.
More than any other game since MM indeed, but still not many pieces while duty was shared with Naoto Kubo and Asuka Hayazaki. OoT still is his last solo work.
tiebreaker
Member
Music has been on point from what I've heard from trailer/footages.
My worry is that it'll end up being similar to FFXV, where outside of battles, the music is largely muted and dull, if it's there at all.
I'd say Kondo's work in Super Mario Maker seems to influence how they implement the BotW overworld music.
In Super Mario Maker, the music is also the editing sound effects and the music adapts by the user's actions.
In BotW, the overworld music seems part of the ambient background sound design. This ambient music (related to the user's actions) fades in/out seamlessly for the different situations (horse riding, small enemies, big enemies, etc). It's not like in the old Zelda games, where a piece of music suddenly appears/changes and all you hear is the music and occasional sound effects.
I actually think it would destroy the exploration side of BotW, if the music became dominant during the normal exploration tasks. I'm pretty sure there will be more dramatic music for more dramatic events.
I agree, but Mario Maker by far wasn't the first Nintendo game to use adaptive music. In a way adaptive music has been part of Nintendo games since when SMB1 had the music speeding up when time runs low, and Zelda started using it to great effect with the Hyrule field in OoT.
The traditional approach just wouldn't work for this game. Bombastic, clearly delineated music works when you're traveling between clearly delineated highly themed areas. But with a seamless overworld it would become overbearing. Plus, it would be antithetical to the game's focus on nature and solitude, and paying attention to what's happening in the world around you. The focus is on the sounds the creatures and environments naturally make.
That said, we've clearly heard that there are some more dramatic themes in the game, and I'm really looking forward to hearing what the boss music will be like.
FWIW, the Steppe Talus (I think they renamed that enemy since E3, don't remember the new name) encounter from the E3 streams is an example of a bit more dramatic/bombastic music in BotW. Sounds "Zelda-like" to me?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIWn-zFqWBw
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Yeah it fits here. You fighting some overworld boss
Mass Effect
Member
Today I learned that Koji Kondo has had little involvement in Zelda's music since OoT. This whole time I didn't know...
As far as BotW's music goes, I've loved what I've heard so far. No complaints.
As far as BotW's music goes, I've loved what I've heard so far. No complaints.
I'm not a huge fan of the "ambient" music that plays throughout the overworld - it's all too sparse and unengaging and just doesn't sound very good, imo. But the trailer music is some of the best in any Zelda, period. Absolutely incredible stuff.
As much as I'd like to see Kondo contribute a song or two the way he has in the past, I'm sure the important tracks at the very least are in good hands.
As much as I'd like to see Kondo contribute a song or two the way he has in the past, I'm sure the important tracks at the very least are in good hands.
othersteve
Member
The less intrusive, more randomized, more dynamic snippets of piano and other subtle melodic themes while exploring are welcomed by me.
I'm all for it, because it's far less likely to become grating and repetitive after long hours of play... and lord knows this game will very likely require that from what we have seen. Just imagine hearing 100 hours of the same 5 minute theme in the overworld and you'll have an idea of where I'm coming from.
After all, provided that conventional songs still exist elsewhere throughout the game (dungeons, towns, etc) -- and that certainly seems to be the case -- we won't be missing anything.
I'm all for it, because it's far less likely to become grating and repetitive after long hours of play... and lord knows this game will very likely require that from what we have seen. Just imagine hearing 100 hours of the same 5 minute theme in the overworld and you'll have an idea of where I'm coming from.
After all, provided that conventional songs still exist elsewhere throughout the game (dungeons, towns, etc) -- and that certainly seems to be the case -- we won't be missing anything.