WOW! Where to begin! . . . hmmm, how about at the beginning.
The first game I ever remember being truly hooked into as a child was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo (SNES). It was a mammoth game filled with some of the most amazing pieces of story, adventure, mind-bending puzzles and discovery. It was a huge game, spanning environments ranging from forest, to desert, to mountains, and once you had finished adventuring in the world as it seemed, there lurked underneath an alternate Dark World for you to explore which would test your skills to the max! Since then I've greeted every Zelda release with unbridled anticipation and have never been disappointed. This game series, more than any other in history, is the high watermark. It is the game series all others are compared to, and it is adored by millions of fans around the world. The original game in the series was the first one to include a battery save, allowing you to quest without the need for silly passwords to get you back to where you were after a break. This was 25 years ago now!
To celebrate Nintendo has already released the most celebrated game in the series, Ocarina of Time on 3DS, alongside giving away Four Swords Adventures to all 3DS and DSi owners. There is also a brand new game out in the series, Skyward Sword, which features one to one movement control allowing you to feel like Link more than ever, and also has a full orchestral soundtrack for the first time in a Zelda game. Music has always played an integral part of the Zelda series, from stand out catchy tunes, to music making actually being incorporated into the gameplay in the form of an ocarina, a flute, a conductors baton, and now a harp. This made it obvious to Nintendo that the best way of celebrating this more acclaimed of franchises was to throw a series of high quality concerts around the world, bringing fans together to celebrate moments from the past 25 years. Unfortunately for us there were only three concerts initially announced. One in Tokyo, one in L.A., and finally one in Europe. Not just anywhere in Europe mind, but London! I HAD to go and luckily my future housemate managed to get a couple of tickets before they sold out (which they did in a matter of minutes).
We arrived at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo an hour and a half early for the concert and there was already a MASSIVE queue of people snaking around barricades outside the venue. The venue itself was dressed with Zelda posters and a projector played film of Skyward Sword as we waited. There were so many 3DS owners there that it was a brilliant time to make friends in the queue, StreetPass with people and even play some Zelda! When the doors finally opened there was a palpable air of excitement and anticipation. Once inside the lobby I queued up instantly to pick up some merchandise, a Zelda 25th anniversary t-shirt, and a poster featuring each of the major incarnations of link throughout the years. It's so beautiful!!!
In the auditorium, as the orchestra finished tuning and the lights dimmed none other than Eiji Aonuma, producer of the Zelda series, took the stage to introduce the nights proceedings! The crowd went berserk!!
Japanese developers, especially one as popular and well known as Aonuma rarely step outside of Japan, so this was a treat! The orchestra struck up playing a series of absolutely phenomenal arrangements of songs from the series' many games and did an excellent job, if you buy Skyward Sword when it's released you'll also get a recording of the music played tonight.
 |
| Eiji Aonuma |
After a few pieces were performed, one Miss Zelda Williams came on stage and would act as the host for the evening. Her father, the actor Robin Williams, famously named her after the Zelda series of games and even featured in some adverts earlier this year promoting the re-release of Ocarina of Time. She was such a sweetheart on stage and was clearly one of 'us', a geek who escaped real life and LOVED living through Link's adventures to save the Princess Zelda from whatever evil had beset her. She even got a bit emotional at a few points when talking about her own experiences and personal history with the series.
Stand out pieces were the 25th Anniversary Medley, a beautiful arrangement of Great Fairy's Fountain Theme featuring harps, and Princess Zelda'ss theme, which actually made me cry a little! It just hit me with a mix of nostalgia and reminded me of my love for the series.
After the orchestra played their listed set of songs, the audience gave them an epic standing ovation and wouldn't stop clapping, wouldn't stop that is until the conductor, Eimear Noone, spoke and introduced Koji Kondo, the composer of the main Zelda themes in addition to the Mario themes you know for sure. The crowd went even more mental as Kondo looked a tad bit embarrassed, sat at a Yamaha grand piano, triggering the crowd to fall instantly silent, and played Link's Grandma's Theme from the Wind Waker. It was beautiful and I started crying for a second time.
After Kondo received his rapturous applause, Aonuma was back on stage and spoke of his history with the series, how amazing this series of concerts had been, and how the fans really help the developers keep on making better and better games. It was a very sweet little monologue and allowed him to put in a little plug for the new Zelda game, out in a couple of weeks. He then handed over to the conductor for the final time, who then played the sweeping main score for Skyward Sword.
 |
| Koji Kondo |
The night was a massive success and I felt very lucky to have managed to have gone to it. Looking at the tweets after the concert it seemed that everyone either cried, or had wave after wave of goosebumps as the concert progressed! It showed how affecting video games can be, and how we can have emotional ties to the time we spent playing our favourite games. I hope you all enjoy the new game, and enjoy listening to the recorded versions of the music performed tonight ^_^
(Here's a piano version of Grandma's Theme, try not to cry :') )
No comments:
Post a Comment