The Legend of Zelda's Iconic Accident

The Legend of Zelda has been one of my favorite series ever since I was a kid. I went on mystical adventures, solved thought-provoking puzzles, and indulged myself with the amazing lore.

The Legend of Zelda is still a behemoth of a game series today, even rivaling other gaming giants like Mario.

The Legend of Zelda Title Screen (Nintendo, Osvanfire)

But to me, one of the most memorable aspects of Zelda is the music. Music helps establish and reinforce the identity of creative works, and Zelda uses music spectacularly. From riveting spectacles like “Song of Storms” to relaxing, somber pieces like “Song of Healing,” the series has it all.

Even among all these masterpieces, there is one song that has left an impact throughout the ages, the Main Theme of The Legend of Zelda.

The Mind behind the Music:

The main theme of Zelda was composed by composer Koji Kondo. Originally being written for the first Zelda game as its opening theme, the theme was composed with a rich harmony and an unforgettable intro.

Koji Kondo at the Legend of Zelda Symphony (famouscomposers)

The song was designed to juxtapose the music of Mario at the time for the sake of contrast, as both games featured different genres. Zelda’s music was designed to be epic for it to capture the adventurous nature of the world; acting like a bridge to a grand adventure.

A Happy Accident:

The most interesting fact about the iconic theme of Zelda is its creation being a complete accident.

Typical Link... (Omocat)

Originally, the game was going to use Bolero for the main theme, but by the time the game was expected to be released, Bolero was still under copyright.

The funny thing is, the copyright only had a month left, but the creators could not risk delaying the release of the Family Computer Disk System.

Composer Kondo pulled out an all-nighter and composed the opening theme in a day! It’s crazy to think that such an iconic theme was created so shortly out of desperation.

We were so close to getting a completely different theme song for the series. It makes me curious of just how many iconic works were due to pure accident!