Hero of Time Brings You a Musical Re-imagining of Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time contains some of the most memorable and recognizable pieces of music in gaming history. Now, with their album Hero of Time, video game record label and publisher Materia Collective aim to bring fans’ most-loved moments from the game to life all over again with a full 64-piece orchestra performing Ocarina of Time‘s soundtrack.

Arranger and Project Director Eric Buchholz describes the music style of Hero of Time as something of an “east-meets-west” fusion, with the orchestra providing “taiko ensembles, eastern woodwinds, and harmonies found prevalent in Japanese film and game scores.”

With Hero of Time, we sought to create a single, cohesive experience that weaves all of the complex underlying themes of the game… with Koji Kondo’s timeless melodies that have become as iconic as the game itself.

— Buchholz

The team behind the project found success through a Kickstarter campaign, which was backed by more than 1,000 people, who contributing a total of more than $50,000 to the project. As a result, Materia Collective are able to offer fans three different versions of the album:

• A purely digital release containing all 21 tracks for $14, which will be downloadable on release day; 
• A digital and physical CD album for $30; and
• A digital and Gold Limited Edition CD album for $50, of which only 500 are available worldwide

Those that decide to get the physical copy will be treated to a six-panel digipack album case, featuring panoramic artwork by Lekso, along with a full color 16-page booklet. The Gold Edition boasts a gold foil-stamped outer slipcase, with the CD itself having a 24 karat gold reflective layer.

Additionally, there will be a vinyl edition of the album available this summer. This will feature a live recording of a performance of the entire Hero of Time soundtrack by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, which took place in Bratislava back in January. This can also be pre-ordered now for $40 at iam8bit.

If you’d like to hear a sample of what Hero of Time has to offer, Materia Collective have a free full-preview up on SoundCloud for your listening pleasure.

Hero of Time is available now for pre-order, and will be released digitally around the world on March 27, with physical copies shipping from April 24.