The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Experience

Three awesome moments and three missed opportunities from Nintendo’s new concert series.

By: Bob Mackey
October 25, 2011

The Legend of Zelda series is almost synonymous with music; from Link’s Awakening onward, each Zelda game centers around an instrument of some sort, each equipped with its own set of magical melodies. So it’s only natural that Nintendo celebrate Zelda’s 25th anniversary with a tribute to the music that’s been firmly lodged in our skulls since 1986. While Mario celebrated his 25th alone, with a glorified Virtual Console game serving as the only reward for decades of dependable service, Link’s proud parents decided to rectify this transgression by sending a full orchestra on a nationwide tour to pay respect to the many memorable Zelda songs penned by Koji Kondo and others.

I had the chance to attend this series’ second concert in Los Angeles this past Friday, and walked away mostly satisfied — hey, I’ve been with Link since the very beginning, so my standards might be a bit lofty. What follows is an account of the performance’s high and low points, though keep in mind we are extremely lucky to live in a world where something like the Zelda Symphony can actually exist.