Fun fact: the reason we associate that descending P4 and ascending P5 with "heroism" is rooted in brass instrument mechanics before they had valves. The notes they played were fixed on the overtone series based on the length of the pipe. For example, a bugle that is 4 feet long will have Bb as a "fundamental." So, early brass instruments that were meant to communicate messages long distances (because they were louder than all other portable instruments) were limited by this overtone series. The most distinct tones were the open notes low in the series, which were based on octaves, 5ths, and 4ths. It also happens that these notes, or "partials," were the most stable frequencies above the tonic aside from octaves. So, historically, in Western music, octaves, 5ths and 4ths have always been associated with heroism and triumph because composers were bound by similar restrictions, but still wanted loud, proud fanfares in their music. Everything else is details.

Fastest click for any 8bit music theory video. Thank you for finally doing this.

As a kid, I was 100% certain that TLoZ, Metroid, and Castlevania were all exceptionally unique. Not merely because of the game design, but because of the MUSIC. Not a single person cared back then. And yet here we are today. It was obvious that Koji Kondo and other composers of these awesome titles were exemplary creators.

Please keep doing more of those deep "super nerdy" insights and dives. A frustration I've found with many game music analysis channels is a fear of going that deep, meaning there's not really anywhere to even get that level of analysis. You frame it well in a way that even if people don't really grasp it, they understand it as you explain the gravity of it, so you're doing great. Keep going that deep, even deeper! Kinda crazy how technical this little piece of music is. I always wondered about the heavy chromatic nature of it, so I learned a ton here.

3:20 Me walking into a grocery store

The origin of the piece is in Kondo's fondness for the band Deep Purple, which he covered in high school since he was an electric organ player and Deep Purple had one of the best organ players in his formative years. You can hear the song 'April' by the band and see that from here he took the dissonant Dungeon theme and, more importantly, the Andalusian cadence that is the core element of the Zelda sound; the main difference is that in The Legend of Zelda that Andalusian cadence from Spanish music is made with the first chord being major as opposed to minor [ I - bVII - bVI - V ] . That is the Zelda sound right there. That Spanish influence is why Kondo decided to use Bolero by Ravel as the Title Theme originally and those Bolero rhythms are also the basis for the noise channel rhythm. (there is a common misconception that the main theme was written in a single night but in truth it was already composed. Only the Title theme had to be changed at the last minute because they could not use Bolero and Kondo simply just rearranged the Overworld theme for this cue)

The theme is so good it transcends the medium in which its played. Whether its on an NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube or even a real life orchestra, it is just so beautiful

The ending here really makes me want a video on Wind Waker's prologue. One of the coolest takes on the main theme and EASILY one of my favorite pieces of videogame music!

The Legend of Zelda theme is honestly one of, if not the best video game melodies of all time

Koji is possibly the most underrated composer of our time. With how well known and influential his music is contrasting how few actually know who he is.

Worth noting that the title screen arrangement was a last-minute replacement for Ravel's Bolero, with would've been used if it weren't ONE YEAR away from entering the Public Domain.
Also, 4:00 because of that brass section heroism trope echoing through the main motif, the theme's appearance on the 25th Anniversary concert CD features exactly that; after the Link to the Past title screen fanfare, the arranger rips right into the trumpets heralding the theme

10 years later, 8 bit goes back to his roots

The two YouTube videos that have a 100% success rate of making me cry are both the Legend of Zelda theme.

The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra: The Legend of Zelda - Suite. They hold out on the main theme for almost fifteen minutes and when they finally hit it, it’s instant ugly cry every time.

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer. Once again, they hold out for three quarters of the video before it hits. It’s their kingdom, but my tears.

Fun fact for those who might not know, the original theme was meant to be the classic piece “Bolero”. Unfortunately, close to release, Nintendo realized the copyright hadn’t expired in time, so Koji Kondo got to work.

He wrote the theme in just one night. One night’s work became one of the most iconic themes in gaming!

It’s really amazing what a competent composer can do. It’s amazing how dead on they can tell a story and it’s all thematically relevant to the overarching piece (which is the video game).

These people are geniuses.

What's driving me nuts is how you've ignored the opening bars from the NES theme, with its slow and dark motif and went straight into the main melody .  I recently stumbled upon it playing an A chord on the first 3 strings (on frets 9 and 10) with a lower note (4th string fret ) taken from the barre E chord below and leaving the 5th string (A) to ring openly to fatten the chord. Arpeggiating the chord creates this dark intro.

I'm mad that YouTube kept this from me for 2 hours.

NGL, I hadn't just heard the original in so long, but it still hits. The first few seconds had me grinning.

You actually didn't use the intro screen song.   You used the overworld version of it.   The actual into/title screen is slower and more melodic and hits harder as a musical piece, evoking more emotion to introduce you to the game than the overworld theme which is the main song that you play throughout the game.   I really do think that's a very important distinction in a video like this.

I could never explain why that diminished arpeggio at the end of the B section gave me the shivers as a kid, thank you 😊