In the latest edition of Iwata Asks, Satoru Iwata sits down with video game composers Koji Kondo and Mahito Yokota and talks about the soundtrack for the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake for the Nintendo 3DS. As usual for Iwata Asks it is a very interesting read, but one part managed to grab my attention:
Yokota: I’ve been steeped in The Legend of Zelda this past year.Iwata: Steeped in Zelda?Yokota: I only worked on The Legend of Zelda. Two games at the same time!Iwata: Huh? Two at the same time? I didn’t know that!Yokota: One was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and the other is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.Iwata: After development of Super Mario Galaxy 2 ended?Yokota: Yes. That’s about the time. At the E3 last year, when we were going to exhibit The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the first time, we talked about using orchestral music. But (Shigeru) Miyamoto-san said it wasn’t necessary.Iwata: We were going to have attendees of last year’s E3 try out the new game’s operability, so he said orchestral music wasn’t necessary right away.Yokota: Right. Then, toward the end of summer break, they finally decided to put in orchestral music and I joined the development team.Iwata: You’re sort of the orchestration director for the Legend of Zelda music, aren’t you?Yokota: Yes. I was in charge of the orchestral songs for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as well.Iwata: Now pour out your love for Ocarina of Time! (laughs)
I am a big proponent of orchestral music in video games. The Smash Bros. Brawl opening is one of my favorite themes in gaming. I absolutely cannot wait to hear what Yokota and Nintendo have in store for us with Skyward Sword. Yokota even hinted that an all new orchestral theme would be in Ocarina of Time 3D, but said we would have to find it for ourselves. Color me curious!
Everyone should read the interview for themselves, it really is a fantastic read. How do you feel about music in gaming? Is it important to you?