The Legend of Zelda has been a popular game series for over 30 years now. It is older than I, myself, am. To this day, it still attracts a variety of players, both old, and new.
These 30 years of games have now culminated in a mastery of performance known as ‘The Legend of Zelda – Symphony of the Goddess’, a show I was lucky enough to finally go and see it, having waited since the original season (a celebration of the then 25th anniversary) to do so.
The songs chosen for the concert vary as much as possible in order to include the majority of Zelda’s home console releases, and thus most of the old favourites are covered. There were a number of cries for ‘Song of Storms’, first heard in Ocarina of Time, that sadly never came to fruition. Such is to be expected from a concert having to cover 30 years of music, there were a number of great pieces left out, and it comes down to personal taste.
The concert was also accompanied with grand visual effects. Behind the orchestra, each piece of music was accompanied with videos of whichever game the music corresponded to at the time. This served two purposes: it truly added to the nostalgia, and worked as a good visual cue for those who could not necessarily see the orchestra. Additionally, it helped to highlight what was being played, for those who had not played every single game ever. This was especially prominent for myself during the Boss medley, as the subsequent Bosses were shown, and helped emphasise the movement between pieces within the medley.
Using the same screen, the concert was also interspersed with short videos and musings of the game series’ primary creators: Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, and of course, Koji Kondo. This added that personal touch as each of the three stated something that Zelda had meant to them during the creation process. It also helped to hammer home just the sheer scope of Zelda, and how far the game has come, both in terms of physical distance, from Japan to the US, but also in terms of just development of the game itself.
My only complaints about the concert would be meagre, and more related to the venue itself. The sheer size of the Wembley Arena means that the songs have to be played through speakers, and this I found almost detracted from the ‘live-ness’ of it, despite having our seats being moved (through an inconceivable stroke of luck) to four rows in front of the stage.
Other than that, was the slight lack of merchandise, not something I should complain about as I arguably have too many Zelda-themed items in my possession.
Lastly, I have to give a shout out to everyone else there. Being sat among so many others who were such fans was something amazing. The cosplays people wore, and trying to spot people with matching bags and clothes was fun. Following the crowd of green to the concert hall. It all added to the ambience of the evening.
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