The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

I really am slipping in my old age. Like, badly, too. Back in August, the wife and I took a trip to Newark, something that we never do, to see the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses show at the Prudential Center. If you're not familiar with the Symphony of the Goddesses, it's a travelling orchestral concert showcasing the music of the Legend of Zelda games. If you're not familiar with the Legend of Zelda games, then I can't help you.

Photo from Lady Geek Girl (glad she was able to get close)

Anyway, the show was really good. I wasn't quite sure what to expect before we got there but it was definitely more than what I thought it was going to be. One of the coolest parts was before the show when the show's arrangers held a small costume contest for the few fans that came in cosplay. While most of the contestants were dressed as Link or Zelda, there were two really awesome costumes on the panel. The first was a Great Fairy, a woman dressed in the wrapping vines of the big-nosed fairy that replenishes your health in Ocarina of Time. The other is the Skull Kid from Majora's Mask. This guy went all out with his costume, even going so far as to pair it with a villainous Moon accessory. I wasn't able to get any pictures myself but luckily I found a blogger who was at the same show as me so you can see the actual costume for yourself.

When the show started, they jumped right into things, giving a short overview of what to expect. A medley of music from across the games, starting with the 8-bit versions and running straight through to Skyward Sword, showed that there was to be a little bit of everything throughout the years. After the interlude, the concert broke down into four movements, each one composed of a specific theme and specific game. Though they could have done something to incorporate all of the games in the Legend of Zelda series, they narrowed it down to Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link to the Past.

This was the only photo that came out good.

Though I'm not overtly familiar with all aspects of the musical score from the Legend of Zelda games, sitting there and listening to each movement unfold gave me goosebumps a couple of times. In addition to the full symphonic music, a large video screen hung over the orchestra, displaying clips and scenes from the different games as the music unfolds. Watching that, especially the older games like The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, and A Link to the Past, I saw my childhood fly right before my eyes. Even the different aspects of Ocarina of Time, one of my favorite Zelda games of ever, made me feel inexplicably happy.

Even though they didn't focus on each of the games, they did manage to touch on all of them, devoting a little bit of time to the major games in the series. And one of the best parts of the show was at the beginning of The Wind Waker movement when the conductor actually led the orchestra with the Wind Waker.

As you can see from the lack of pictures I didn't have a very good angle for photos. Those that I did take came out like crap because the place was dark. But I did take a couple minutes of video so here's a little medley I put together.

If you're a fan of the Zelda games and Symphony of the Goddesses shows up in or near your city, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's definitely worth seeing. I was even able to get half-price tickets because they had a promotion on Groupon. Given the price I paid and that I was able to make a night of it with the wife, Symphony of the Goddesses was a great choice.