'Cadence of Hyrule' grooved its way into my Zelda-loving heart
Whoever decided to imbue The Legend of Zelda with rhythm-based combat is an absolute genius.
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer is the catchiest game I've ever played. A unique thing to say about a video game, but it's true. The game's tunes and grooves have anchored themselves into my soul, and even after stepping away for a few hours, I'm still nodding my head to the beat of one of the overworld songs.
From the creators behind Crypt of the Necrodancer, Cadence of Hyrule is one of the most inventive Zelda games to date, working kind of like a classic 2D Zelda game but with a persistent soundtrack that guides the way players move and fight. The key is staying on beat.
At the start of Cadence of Hyrule, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the entire gist of the game. I understood that I was supposed to move with the beat of the music, it just took me a minute to get used to this different way of approaching a Zelda game.
This is probably because I never played Crypt of the Necrodancer, but after playing Cadence of Hyrule, I'm determined to give it a shot. Because once I got the hang of everything, I didn't want to stop playing.
Composer Danny Baranowsky, who did the soundtracks for indie darlings Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, and Crypt of the Necrodancer, deftly remixed and retooled some of the Zelda series' most iconic tracks into what we hear in Cadence of Hyrule.
The new takes on well-known songs like the overworld theme, the Lost Woods theme, and various dungeon themes take Zelda's sound into directions that previous games never dared, injecting genres like jazz, metal, and electronica into songs fans have hummed for decades.
Not only is the world filled with these great tracks that keep the action moving forward, the Hyrule of Cadence of Hyrule has caught the music bug itself as the villain Octavo has brought instruments of power to a handful of classic Zelda bosses, with creative results.
The whole game is kind of like a rhythm puzzle as players control Zelda, Link, and the original character Cadence around Hyrule, figuring out enemies' timed patterns to take them out to the beat of the music. Plus there are actual musical puzzles that reward special items and pieces of heart containers.
Despite it being a unique approach to a Zelda adventure, Cadence of Hyrule doesn't feel out of place at all. Zelda has always had a special relationship with music.
Games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and The Wind Waker have Link playing various songs all the time to affect the world and interact with certain objects and characters. Link's Awakening sees Link running around Hyrule collecting instruments to advance the story forward. And you can't ignore the fact that every Zelda game has amazing scene-setting music.
The pairing of The Legend of Zelda and Crypt of the Necrodancer was a mash-up I never expected, but it's a compelling experience that manages to succeed in every possible way.
Topics Gaming Nintendo Nintendo Switch
