Inside The Score - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Ice Cavern

The sound of crystalized notes

One of the less explored concepts in the series which was introduced in Ocarina of Time but for some reason has been sidelined even if it greatly enhances the normal progression of just solving a ton of problems at a town and then being given the metaphorical or literal key to the next temple. We are talking about the concept of a mini-dungeon; they introduce some much needed randomness and unpredictability to the formula of traveling to where a race dwells and then move on to its dungeon and it is also an unexpected change of pace in which some more interesting puzzles and enemies can cohabit for a little while, including a final mini-boss. For Ocarina of Time we got two of such mini-dungeos (or three if we count the Gerudo Training Grounds, making the last three temple paths more interesting and involved). Yet, this is the only one with an exclusive musical theme.

The first one we encounter is the mysterious ice cavern at the back of Zora’s Fountain (where did Lord Jabu Jabu go?) The Ice Cavern has been dubbed a mini-dungeon because it doesn’t have a big boss fight or gigantic layouts, but it still has puzzles, a brand new item, plus the map and the compass for ease of exploration. As said, the mini dungeons are a perfect complement to change the pace and predictability of the game progression, yet, they have not had the same prominent role they did in the N64 era.

Unlike Goron City, Zora’s Domain had a substantial makeover for the adult era, being completely frozen and without any Zora in sight. Their patron deity is gone leaving them without its protection and thus an often used new element in gaming, ice, is able to make its entrance into Ocarina of Time (okay, it technically is still water but from a functional design standpoint it allows for novel environments and gameplay mechanics). Expect blizzards, slippery floors and all kind of annoying pointy icicles; Perfectly cubical blocks of ice are also standard here. Only novel thing is that there is actually a special type of fire that thrives in cold environments.

The influence of Shintoism in Nintendo games means that when things go south the world itself lets you know. It doesn’t necessarily mean destruction or war, just an ecosystem that is corrupted or otherwise affected; Kokiri Forest gets infested with monsters only to get healed when the hero dispels the impurities from the temple, same thing with Death Mountain, which starts to act more volatile and fierce until it is healed back, Nature tells the story without the need for dialogues.

Thus Zora’s Domain, the peaceful cave behind a waterfall has not escaped this corrupted fate and becomes totally frozen; not a single soul appears to be here. The environment has changed negatively toward its inhabitants. Link’s task is to investigate what is causing this disruptiveness (although this is the only area that is not restored right away possibly due to logistical reasons).

Musical Analysis

Structure: Section 0 / Section 1

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 74

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: D Whole Tone (Melody) A Whole Tone; A Lydian (Harmony)

This is not your typical Christmassy-full of bells ice level. However, its music still has to capture the environment. It does it by way of timbre and sound design, with an special synth sound manipulated with effects to end up with a bright, piercing cold texture that is juxtaposed against the sample of a snow blizzard—actually the same wind sound used for the Fire Temple now magically sounds snowy by playing it at a slightly higher register, this time without pitch bending—These delicate glockenspiel-like sonorities have always being identified with ice palaces or similar places where crystal imagery abounds; high pitch with a fast attack and fragile and glass have a strong bond in our minds (the harp sonority would work too if it wasn’t already imbued with different connotations on the Zelda series. Nevertheless, it is in fact heavily featured on the next warp song that we learn at this place).

The harmony consists strictly of minor chords played on first inversion with an added 11th on top played in strum harp-like arpeggios. The chords are trying to move by whole steps but they are doing it in an insecure way, going back and trying again, like they are watching their steps on this slippery terrain; they are also not accurately aligning with the metric. It continues on this path until it manages a fleeting moment of triumph when it reaches a B major chord (with an added 6th) only to lose back its confidence and end at an Eb minor chord.

The harmony could be interpreted as:

Am add11 – Gm add11 – Fm add11 – B6 – Ebm add11

The interplay of the notes down the scales results in an ambiguous harmony that is not happy nor dissonant, just serene and full of curiosity; the piece does not have any kind of resolution or sense of harmonic progression—our ears just tend to perceive perfect fourths and perfect fifths more close to melody than harmony. As a mini-dungeon representative it also has a mini cue, being a shorter piece than what is found in the parent dungeons; since the dungeon is a short one, the cue doesn’t need to be that long, however this one only last 35 seconds (even less when it loops) but since you can almost never predict when the next chord is gonna ring and they move in whole steps, it sounds like an infinite improvisation; coming directly from inside this cavern.

It is accompanied by trickling little notes panned left and right that emphasize the echoey chime effect that would be heard inside this cave, sounding all together like a handbell choir (not an actual choir). The parent temple will make further use of these aural devices.

This track also makes a little cameo appearance at Snowhead Temple in Majora’s Mask right at the end of that dungeon cue.

After arriving at a trippy, mesmerizing room, Sheik appears once again to teach us a new melody whose sounds will echo and resonate alongside this magical site.

Samples used on this track:

Fantasia Chimes= CD 2 – SYN:DIGITAL 1 – SYN:Digital 3 – SYN:Fantasia from the library Best Service Gigapack:

Ding

Wind Moan= 97 Wind Low Eerie Wind Moan Weather from the library Sound ideas Warner Bros SFX:

Apt for either very hot or very cold places. Warning: Prolonged exposure to it can make you sick