The Legend of Zelda: 25th Anniversary Symphony 

Nintendo has managed to pull off one of the best celebrations of a video game series with the mark of the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. With Ocarina of Time 3D and Four Swords: Anniversary Edition already giving fans some great treats, what could be better than ending the year with Skyward Sword released for the Wii? Well, Nintendo have set three symphonies in three different countries from around the world, starting in Japan before moving to LA and ending in London, with the orchestra playing classic and iconic music from every game in the series. I attended the London symphony on Tuesday 25th of October 2011and never have I been in one location where there were so many passionate and loving fans for one of Nintendo’s most loved video game series!

As I was walking to the HMV Apollo where the musical event was taking place, the first thing that I immediately noticed was the massive queue which was easily going around the corner from the building and down the street, seeing people wearing costumes on some of the characters, Legend of Zelda t-shirts and a lot of people playing Ocarina of Time 3D on their 3DS’.

The queue eventually moved (granted, it was quite slow) and by the time I got inside the building, the first thing you notice is seeing the waves of people. It was amazing to see people trying to buy all of the exclusive t-shirts and posters, as well as people trying to get a chance to play the demos of Skyward Sword that they had available on the top floor. However, it was a bit annoying as everyone wanted to try and play the game and get their merchandise, but then I was really there for the music and went to my seat with most of the other people there. 

Taking my seat and waiting in anticipation, the lights finally came up and the first thing I saw was series producer Eiji Aonuma, talking a bit about the symphonies that has happened from around the world and introducing conductor Eimear Noone. She tells us about her excitement about conducting such great pieces of music for the evening and plays introduction music from The Wind Waker before introducing surprise guest Zelda Williams, who had specially attended for this evening and makes a couple of more appearances during the evening and it was great to see her on stage, considering the fact that she has advertised Ocarina of Time 3D and is trying to get Majora’s Mask remade for the 3DS as well.

But obviously the true highlight of the evening was hearing the music that everyone all loves played live and on top form from a talented and professional group of musicians. There were cameras pointing at different musicians and seeing them perform on the big screen placed behind them, seeing their full focus to attention and skill for their part of the melodies and themes. Each of the performances were done by different instruments and singers, making the collection that was played different and unique compared to the last performance. It was great to see that they played music from nearly every game within the series and it really gave me an emotional feeling as the entire evening brought up memories from playing my first Legend of Zelda game (The Wind Waker) to using the Wii remote for the first time when playing Twilight Princess. 

The evening ended with two great additional surprises that made everyone in the audience scream in anticipation. Firstly, music supervisor Koji Kondo played a small performance on the piano and the second surprise was when Eiji Aonuma came back on stage and told audiences that Skyward Sword would be released in the UK next month and would come in a limited edition, which would include a golden Wii remote and the soundtrack from the symphony. The orchestra then played the main theme from the up-coming game that was accompanied with some footage from the game and even though I already love the theme from the trailers Nintendo has released for it so far, it was cool to hear it with such care and attention like the previous songs that they have played. 

The evening overall was one of the best and most exciting events that I have ever been to for video game fanatics and has made me want to pick up my favorite Legend of Zelda games and re-live my childhood moments. I will without a doubt pick up my copy of the limited edition of Skyward Sword so that I can play a game that has made me more excited than ever and to listen to those great musical pieces again!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be released on the 18th November 2011.