Music has always been one of the reasons the Zelda series has had a visceral impact on its audience. On top of the instantly recognizable themes like Zelda’s lullaby or Kokiri Forest, you also had the incredible sleeper picks like Gerudo Valley, Dragon Roost Island, or Midna’s Lament.

And I’m not even hating on the Switch era either. BOTW maybe even had one of the best complete packages of music in the series. Mipha’s theme, Sidon’s theme, a crazy lush Zora’s domain, and the most beautiful and subtle ambient exploration songs.

But I’m about 10-15 hours into TOTK now, just completed my first regional phenomena, and I keep asking myself….where in the world the iconic Zelda soundtrack??

The soundscape feels so empty and sterile. Little to no ambient music, limited sound effects. It's hard to judge TOTK because of the impact on the gaming industry BOTW had. BOTW pioneered and ushered in the era of open world gaming that has dominated the last six years. Part of what made it great was the atmosphere, the loneliness, and the sense of bewildered exploration, all helped greatly in part by the subtle but tactful soundtrack. I think gamers have grown a bit exhausted by open-world games, and the simplicity and novelty of BOTW's world has lost its luster a bit. Therefore, the same serene, casual adventuring throughout the world feels underwhelming in a post-Elden Ring industry.

And that isn’t even beginning to dive into the recycling of BOTW tracks! I can’t help but be immensely let down when I’m constantly hearing identical songs to the previous game. The cooking jingle, the horse stable theme, Talus battle theme, and so so many more. I've listened to literally thousands of hours of the BOTW soundtrack, as I put them on in the background when I work remotely. It constantly creates this subconscious association of the two games in my head, and further cements the feeling that TOTK is just BOTW 2.0.

It wasn’t until I beat the first dungeon boss, and grabbed the heart container, that I heard the very first piece of music [SPOILERS!] that immediately captivated me and matched the celebratory moment perfectly (lol now I'm even realizing this was recycled from BOTW). Additionally, the way they wove the Dragon Roost Island theme into the new Rito Village theme and the Colgera battle was phenomenal! I wish they did more interpolation of previous music from the series.

I know this is probably overly critical for the point in the game I've progressed to. Holding out hope for some of the other regions. Where are all the amazing nuanced horn sounds from the trailer theme?? Thought I'd start a discussion though and see if anyone else shared my concern!