As a diehard Legend of Zelda fan, the release of Tears of the Kingdom has been a major event for me. I’ve been waiting for this one game for four years, and the fact that it somehow doesn’t disappoint is a freaking miracle. In fact, in so many ways, TotK manages to go above and beyond. There are a lot of tiny details that spark pure joy. And as a diehard Zelda series fan, especially one who’s in love with the series’ music, an easter egg has been added to cooking which made me explode.
Now, every time Link cooks, he hums a little tune. Sure, he hummed a little tune in Breath of the Wild—that melody is actually still one of his options. But now he hums several different tunes. And outside of that one BotW callback, his repertoire has expanded to songs from throughout The Legend of Zelda series.
It’s the cutest, loveliest easter egg imaginable. Forty hours into my gameplay, I still “squee” a little bit when Link hums “Lost Woods.” As with all the other details gently placed in this game, this particular easter egg really belies a sense of love and care from the development team. Perhaps one of the many reasons this game feels so cozy and incredible is because there’s so much evidence that the people who made it love The Legend of Zelda, just like we do.
What songs does Link hum?
First, let’s go from this tweet, which isolated four of the songs on the day of the game’s release. If you click on the top left and peruse, the songs are: “The Legend of Zelda Theme Song,” “Epona’s Song,” “Zelda’s Lullaby,” and (one of my all-time favorites) “Lost Woods.” The latter three songs all first appeared in Ocarina of Time. “Zelda’s Lullaby” in particular went on to become series staple—you could hear the same hint of melody at the end of trailer three.
The theme song is, of course, one of the most iconic pieces of music in all of gaming. It feels like the game’s inner workings make it so the theme song comes up less frequently than the others. The first time I heard Link sing it, I screamed.
Side note, if you want to get picky and talk shop with me: I’ve seen a fair amount of people mis-identifying “Epona’s Song” as the “Song of Storms.” All of these are one-to-one with their original melodies, and the melody of “Song of Storms” ascends its opening appreggio. Link’s humming and “Epona’s Song” descend.
This video has all of them (why is Link to the Past on that thumbnail?), but they’re unmarked and happen in quick succession. Luckily, most of the ones not covered above are first. So let me identify them for you: “Kass’s Theme,” “Ballad of the Goddess,” “Ballad of the Wind Fish,” “Zelda’s Lullaby” (as previously discussed), and “Champion’s Ballad.”
“Kass’ Theme” and “Champion’s Ballad” are both from Breath of the Wild, and both are provided to us by way of the de facto bard of Hyrule, the accordion virtuoso Kass. Who I have not yet seen in Tears of the Kingdom. If you see him, tell him I miss him.
“Ballad of the Goddess” is arguably one of the most beautiful melodies in all of Zelda. It comes to us by way of Skyward Sword. “Ballad of the Wind Fish,” also a gorgeous banger, is from Link’s Awakening. Coincidentally, both of these games recently got re-releases on the Switch. Well, Link’s Awakening is a remake. But still.
Finally, we have one more Ocarina of Time callback: that game’s theme for “Hyrule Field.” This one was tricky, because Link’s rhythm makes the melody zip by significantly faster than the original. But oh, the memories of riding around on Epona! I time-marked this one below.
So next time you’re cooking one thousand roasted mushrooms, when Link hums one of his little ditties, you can hum along. What an incredible time to be a Zelda fan.
(Featured image: Nintendo)
