The Legend of Zelda (Theme)

"The Legend of Zelda (Theme)" has appeared in almost every Zelda game to date. It was first introduced in The Legend of Zelda as the overworld theme, and evolved into the theme song for the entire series. Shigeru Miyamoto's inspiration for the music came from watching a pair of schoolchildren looking through garbage for an imaginary stone that would supposedly take the children to another world. Miyamoto sympathized with their desire to leave their uneventful lives and find an adventure, and wrote the theme song as a tribute to the adventurous spirit of childhood.

Appearances
The Legend of Zelda main theme appears in The Legend of Zelda as the overworld theme, and in the credit sequences of A Link to the Past and The Wind Waker. The main theme did not appear in "Ocarina of Time", causing some criticism, but other original compositions made up for it in the eyes of critics.

Elements
The piece is in march tempo. In most versions, it begins with a slower, pensive version of the main theme, accompanied by ascending sets of three tones. This transitions into a faster marching beat and then introduces the full theme by repeating the first measure of the full theme twice. The full theme is composed of three statements, which then transition into a higher-pitched, melodic climax. The climax repeats three times, descending in pitch and changing key each time, until a quick set of beats returns the music to the original full theme. There is often an echo after each statement. With more sophisticated instrumentation, the piece usually uses an extensive brass section.

Other Games
The Legend of Zelda theme song has appeared in all of the Super Smash Bros. games as background music for Zelda-related stages and a victory theme for Link, Princess Zelda and Ganon. In Soul Calibur II, this theme serves as the background music for the Cathedral stage, which is considered to be Link's stage.