One key reason The Legend of Zelda is my favorite video game series is its rich history of fantastic music. Whether it’s listening to official soundtracks on the Nintendo Music app, discovering inspired fan remixes online (my favorite is the Zelda & Chill trilogy of albums by Mikel), or learning to play them myself on piano, themes from Hyrule are a constant part of my life.
I gravitate most towards soundtracks from classic 3D Zeldas like Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, but have also always had a soft spot for the piano-forward, post-apocalyptic tones of Breath of the Wild’s score. Like so many elements of Breath of the Wild, its soundtrack upended longstanding series conventions, largely abandoning bombastic, distinct overworld themes in favor of soft, ambient, minimalistic keystrokes that lay a lonely foundation for Link’s adventure.
Because of this shift, Breath of the Wild’s soundtrack has become slightly underrated in a way. Even though much of its music is subdued (which I really like on its own), there are still plenty of fully orchestrated, sweeping themes that play during boss battles, town visits, and key moments with the four Champions. There’s enough music to fill eight double-sided LPs, which is exactly what Nintendo has done.
Nintendo partnered with video game record label Laced Records on two different versions of Breath of the Wild’s soundtrack on vinyl: a 2LP set with 34 tracks, and an 8LP box set that includes 130 tracks. Notably, this is the first-ever Nintendo soundtrack released on vinyl outside of Japan. Nintendo sent IGN a copy of the 8LP box set, and I’ve spent the last week listening to each disc and poring over the included artwork. I’m very impressed with how closely the quality and attention to detail in this collection match that of its source material.
I’m not an audiophile by any stretch, but I love the physicality of listening to records and have amassed a small collection over the last several years. That includes the Ace Attorney box set also released by Laced Records a few years ago, and soundtracks from some of my favorite games like Celeste, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, and several others. Compared to all of those, this Breath of the Wild box set is likely my favorite already. It stands out with its inner cardboard slipcase that slides out to reveal all eight LPs nestled in a triangular sleeve featuring my favorite Breath of the Wild art: Link climbing a mountain as the sun sets over Hyrule behind him.
Each disc is inside its own sleeve featuring a different piece of key art. These depictions are nothing new if you’ve followed Breath of the Wild merchandise for the last nine years, but their painterly style still looks very nice. The discs are white with alternating blue and gold splatter effects, but to be honest, I’ve always just preferred standard black vinyl (which is an option on another edition).
Of course, music is made to be listened to, and I love the way Nintendo curated each disc in this collection. All eight LPs revolve around a different theme: Disc 2’s A-side is dedicated to several overworld themes you hear while exploring on foot or horseback, while its B-side is all about combat, with the battle themes heard when facing minibosses or battles within Shrines. There’s a disc dedicated to each Divine Beast questline, with a selection of themes from the region’s respective Champion, town, and dungeon. Disc 1’s B-side is dedicated to Kass, featuring accordion-heavy melodies the traveling bard performs throughout Hyrule.
Another cool detail is that the art on the sleeve matches that disc’s theme: the overworld disc’s sleeve depicts Link standing with his horse about to set off, while the Rito Village disc features Link fighting Windblight Ganon high above the Divine Beast Vah Medoh. There was clearly a lot of thought put into how to arrange all of this music – that you can technically experience in any order in the game – into one coherent collection. Having thematically organized discs has made me even more attached to this soundtrack, and I’ve loved throwing each one on and reliving my time in Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule in this way. They sounded great, too: none of the discs were warped, and I only noticed surface noise on one or two sides out of 16 total.
The highest compliment I can give this box set is that I already preordered a copy for myself (the provided copy will head to the IGN office in Los Angeles to live alongside other Zelda memorabilia gathered over the last 30 years). It’s truly an enthusiast item only – all of this music is available on Nintendo’s own streaming app, and it’s not cheap at $194.99 – but I’m thrilled to add it to my Zelda collection, alongside coffee table books, figures, and games. I can’t speak to the cheaper double vinyl release that’s selling for $49.99, but if this box set’s quality is any indication, I imagine that one is great, too. My only hope now is that Nintendo and Laced Records will team up again for a Tears of the Kingdom version, which has a soundtrack I’ve always liked even more than Breath of the Wild’s.
Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN’s Senior Editor, Playlist and DB. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find new episodes of NVC every Friday on the IGN Games YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
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