Episode 181 - Tier-Ranking Every Zelda Original Soundtrack

Welcome to the Zelda Cast, where this week, we're not really talking about Zelda! Well, that's not entirely true, but this week's show is all about the sequel to one of the best new franchises we've played in recent years: Horizon: Forbidden West! Listen as we explore our thoughts on what this sequel did differently than Tears of the Kingdom, being an open world sequel itself, and what areas Forbidden West did better, and what areas Zelda came out on top. Plus, we talk about the new machines, the character acting, the music, performance and accessibility, and much more, and then end it off with a SPOILER heavy dive into the story, the characters, and setting up for what comes next! Forbidden West and Tears of the Kingdom are two sides of the same coin, so consider grabbing it if you haven't already! PLUS - come listen to Andy's new podcast, The Spiteri's Review! Join the Discord and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

18 Maalis 20241h 35min

Another year, another chance to vote for your favorite song in Zelda Dungeon's sixth annual Musical March Madness!! The 64-song single elimination tournament returns yet again, and we're going through and picking out what songs we think are going to end up winning this year! Joined by Omega Metroid's Doominal Crossing, the gang go through match-by-match, song-by-song until there's only one champion left! With music from Tears of the Kingdom entering the fray this year, the field is wide open, so come and follow along with us! Make sure that you follow along with the ongoing tournament on this post here and check back daily for new matchups!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

10 Maalis 20241h 29min

In a followup to last weeks episode ranking all of the amazing bosses of Twilight Princess, we thought we would keep the good times rolling by judging all of the different mini-bosses of Link's Twilight Realm adventure! Luckily for us, the mini-bosses in this game are as good if not better than a bunch of the main bosses, so come hang out as we determine where personal fights against good characters like Ook and Dangoro stack up against menacing monsters like Death Sword or Darkhammer, and hear our thoughts on some of the wild card fights against old foes like Skull Kid and King Bulbin! All this, PLUS major announcements about a new podcast and a Patreon surprise for anyone looking to hear our thoughts on the Zelda animated cartoon! Come hang out with us!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

4 Maalis 20241h 9min

We're kicking it old school this week, as we're dialing it back to 2006 to talk about Twilight Princess, and specifically, the bosses! We're conducting a good ol' fashioned boss ranking this week, and no Zelda game has a stronger selection of baddies than Link's adventure through the Twilight Realm! From the fun-incarnate race against Stallord and the emotional confrontation with Blizzeta all the way to the epic sky battle versus Argorok to the amazing final confrontation again the Dark Lord Ganondorf, we're going through each fight to determine which one comes out on top as the absolute best! As a bonus - we're going to be covering the similarly-awesome mini-bosses in a future ep too! All this, PLUS we give some thoughts on the Nintendo Partner Direct and talk about the games we're looking forward to! Come hang out with us!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

26 Helmi 20241h 12min

The future of the smaller, quainter 2D Zelda games seems to be in question now that there's no dedicated handheld-only console, but never fear! We're keeping the hope alive by detailing things we would want to see from a new top-down 2D adventure! Everything is on the table as we look at things that games like A Link Between Worlds, Tunic, and Blossom Tales did well to get an idea of what we want. A new art style? Must have! An original setting outside of Hyrule? Yes please! Improved combat that utilizes lock-on and quasi-3D targeting? Where do we sign!? A cap on the number of dungeons in the game? That's debatable, but hear us out! We have a ton of different ideas on what the next 2D game could look like, so come and hang out with us and chime in with your own ideas! All this, PLUS some Nintendo Direct, Switch 2, and Xbox talk to get us started! Come spend your holiday Monday with us!   Download!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

19 Helmi 20241h 5min

What's up everybody? It seems that the announcement of the Switch 2 is imminent, so this week, the gang get together to talk about what we'd like to see from Nintendo's next console! Things like an upgraded dock, "transformer" controllers, official battery packs, revamped eShop, and Discord support are all discussed, PLUS we predict some of the games we envision the Switch 2 having in it's first year on the shelf (spoiler: unfortunately, neither of us are sure a new Zelda game is gonna be on that list)! We also talk about all of the rumors swirling around Xbox and Microsoft's future as a console publisher, the predicament of Game Pass, and the state of Microsoft's first party franchises. All this, PLUS a little Taylor Swift/Super Bowl talk, the differences between the NFL and the CFL, and the new Tears of the Kingdom sales figures released! Come hang out with us!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

12 Helmi 20241h 14min

While any news or announcements on the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie may not be forthcoming for a while, that didn't our Zelda Dungeon writing staff from putting together an amazing feature called Dreams for the Silver Screen: Our Zelda Movie Pitches where, as the title suggests, they laid out their best ideas and scenarios for the upcoming flick, so this week, we're reacting and analyzing all the great thoughts found in the article! We debate things like how much, if at all, should the Zelda flick stick to official game lore, if we would be interested in seeing Link's parents, if Zelda and Link should have a romantic, platonic, or something in between kind of relationship, and why comparing this movie to Lords of the Rings or a Studio Ghibli film will be setting oneself up for disappointment. This is just a fraction of the topics discussed, so come listen and weigh in on what you think works and what doesn't!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

5 Helmi 20241h 22min

We're back for another action packed episode as we take to answering some of our incredible Zelda Dungeon Writing Team's Daily Debate questions! We're talking a lot about Tears of the Kingdom specifically, giving our answers to questions like: would a new map have increased our enjoyment of the game? Could the Master Cycle Zero have worked in this version of Hyrule? Where would we have added an extra dungeon on the map? Is Tears the most replayable Zelda game of all time? What story plot holes stick in our craw? All this, plus a ton of questions about Zelda in general, including speedrunning, 3-heart challenges, the upcoming movie, and so much more! Come and enjoy the ride with us!   Support The Zelda Cast on Patreon! Subscribe to receive the monthly bonus show ‘The Zelda Cast Top Tens! Follow The Zelda Cast! The Zelda Cast (@TheZeldaCast) Andy Spiteri (@Spiteri316) Alasyn Eletha (@AlasynEletha) Twitch x Facebook x Discord x Tik-Tok x BlueSky Advertise on The Zelda Cast! See Options Here! Subscribe to The Zelda Cast! Apple Podcasts x Podbean x Spotify x iTunes x Google Podcasts x iHeart Radio x PlayerFM Grab The Zelda Cast Merch! Official Zelda Dungeon Merch store

29 Tammi 20241h 3min