8. Termina Field
The Legend of Majora’s Mask
Easily the superior version of the two “Field” themes from the Nintendo 64 era, Termina Field is also my favourite rendition of the traditional Zelda fanfare too. Why, I hear you ask? Well, that’s all down to the beautiful, beautiful counter-melody that snakes its way through the entire track. It’s reasonably understated at first, sitting discreetly in the horn section, but then at 0.57 it breaks through into a much louder, oboe-esque kind of melody that runs parallel to the main theme right through until it loops back on itself.
There’s just something about it that gives the main theme a new lease of life– it was nearly fifteen years old at this point– but while you may not think that the main theme needs any kind of oboe-esque meddling to make it a better song, another reason why I like this version so much is because it also fits the game right down to a tee. After all, while Termina certainly looks and feels a lot like the Hyrule we know and love, we also know it’s also a rather uncanny and distorted version of it too, so having another melody sneak in halfway is the perfect musical cue to remind players that all is definitely not what it seems in this strange and foreign land. That and I’m also rather partial to the added snare drum!
Super daring to put Fi’s theme as #1! I totally agree though, that song is fantastic in more ways than one! On top of being a great tune, it’s very emotional and really connects you to Fi as a character…. makes me want to play Skyward Sword again!
Also, the lack of Minish Cap songs in this list is criminal! ;)