The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

Video game symphonies and orchestral concerts are a really cool thing. They bring together people who are fans of video games, and appreciators of music, people who might not even play the video games whose soundtracks are showcased. I've been to a few concerts in my time, and I love them all.

A few weeks ago I went to see The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. It was a fantastic show, that was well organized, and all of the arrangements of the classic music from days of 16-bit graphics blew me away.I love The Legend of Zelda games, and talk about them often on this blog. Seeing, and hearing the music live was an amazing experience that I'm glad I was able to attend.

There was an enormous projector screen that showed Zelda game footage. There was a tidal wave of nostalgia and awe that washed over me as I heard the symphony and was entranced by the visuals of the classic franchise. I've seen other video game concerts before, but they didn't have quite the same resonance that this one did. The other concerts were either solely Final Fantasy music, or a smattering of games that I enjoyed, but never had the same kind of attachment that I have with Zelda. Suddenly, I got it, and it made the concert so much better. Every time a clip from a Zelda game that I played, which was most of them that were shown, came on the screen I remembered exactly where I was when I was playing it. It was an incredible feeling that made the concert ten times better.

The concert itself was great, I managed to get seats that were only two rows back from the stage. I could look at an instrument, and single out its sound, and hear it directly from the instrument itself. It was really cool. The compositions of Koji Kondo were rearranged to fit the orchestra stage, and it was amazing. The show felt more genuine than the last video game orchestra that I attended. The hosts, and the conductor were actual fans of the Zelda franchise, having grown up with them and appreciating them the same way that we did in the audience. It felt good to be among my fellow gamers, and go to something classy like an orchestra.

The really cool part of the concert, was that it was an actual symphony. Symphonies are a way of telling a story with the music and compositions of their composers. Zelda is all about the classic story of Hyrule, a story that we've heard time and time again. the feeling of seeing the video and hearing the live music was overwhelmingly wonderful. That night, I truly did go on adventure through the land of Hyrule. I was right there with Link as he fought Ganon, and saved the world, just as he always does.

I think that video game concerts are a good way to get video games out there and more widely appreciated. I know that that's making the argument for "video games need to be taken seriously", and while that's kind of true. I think that what I want to achieve is to have a mass appreciation for video games. Video games combine a multitude of different components from different mediums to create something of their own. Writing, orchestrating, art, gameplay, animation, and pretty much everything in between. The composed music of these video games, is something that sticks with us when we play video games. Music can be appreciated by anyone, regardless of whether or not they've played the video game, or games, that is being showcased.

And while video game can be appreciated by everyone, it can be recognized by the people who played the video games. Those people who play video games are those who spend most of their time doing just that. I may be a social recluse myself, but I know that when to be respectful of others and toward those who are performing a symphony. Here's where it must be said that in order for video games to be taken seriously, acknowledged as an art form, or at the very least appreciated, we, as gamers, need to grow up. We have grown up with these games, we have matured with these games. We should also be growing up as people. Growing up to be adults, or at the very least, be respectful individuals. Here's why I bring this up: during the concert, several people played the "last clap game". That is something that, even when you played it in grade school, was immature and just plain stupid. These people were at the orchestra, and they played the last clap game. This is upsetting and disturbing. I'm sure that a majority of the people that were playing this game were above the age of 7, and that makes it all the more worse. I'm not okay with this, and for good reason. However, the concert itself was amazing enough to wash away my disdain for this act of immaturity.

Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses is an amazing concert, that I recommend to everyone to go see. If I could, I would go see it again. Though, maybe I would see it a few rows back, my neck was kind of sore from staring up at the screen. Video game concerts of all kinds are a great thing, that can bring more people into this wonderful world of video games that we gamers inhabit. Plus, it gives me an excuse to dress up all fancy and sport a bowtie.