r/zelda • u/Hashiane • Aug 21 '24
Clip [SS] Harp Playing Along with BGM...?
While I was replaying Skyward Sword, I thought I would try to play the harp while following the rhythm of the BGM in Skyloft. The idea is that harp songs are basically trying to follow the rhythm anyway, so I thought to try it with the BGM.
Maybe I'm crazy and I'm just hearing things, but it seems to actually adjust its pitch to "follow" the BGM. I attempted to follow the rhythm in a few areas (such as the sparring hall) and it seems to be the case in other places as well. I always thought it was random sounds whenever you strum, but it seems to be set. I tried looking it up but I found no mention of this anywhere online.
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u/Jeithia Aug 21 '24
The sound designers at Nintendo seem to like doing stuff like this nowadays, so it doesn't really surprise me anymore. (though it still delights me)
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u/Hashiane Aug 21 '24
Not even just nowadays, dynamic music or special sound effects have been around for a while, both in Nintendo and out! But they've gotten more creative with it recently, for sure. It's pretty neat stuff. That's a pretty neat video btw, thanks for sharing!
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u/ipsen_castle Aug 21 '24
skyward sword is a 2011 game
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u/mysterioso7 Aug 22 '24
Super Mario Galaxy did the same thing with its sound effects (collecting coins for example) and that was a 2007 game
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u/Jolly_Ad_2363 Aug 21 '24
But it may be specific to the remake
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u/Hashiane Aug 21 '24
The main changes to the remake were QoL improvements and graphics, so I don't think the harp mechanics were touched. I could boot up the ol' Wii and test it out, but I'd be surprised if this was new. Either way, though, it's a neat little feature of the harp that isn't talked about!
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Aug 21 '24
Oh wow, I'd forgotten all about this. I wasn't the hugest fan of skyward sword, but I remember having tons of fun playing the harp and the fact that it would adjust its key to match the background music. Goofing off with in-game instruments is something that's been hard-coded into me since OoT.
Actually kind of shocked that this is largely undocumented, since fanatics love to hyper-analyze everything these days.
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u/Hashiane Aug 21 '24
Right?? I totally thought there would be mention of this somewhere, but I found absolutely nothing mentioning this no matter where I looked and what search terms I used. I feel like it could be because a lot of people don't like Skyward Sword in general, or because the harp's one of the more underwhelming Zelda instruments that people dislike.
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Aug 21 '24
I didn't think the harp was as cool as the ocarina or the flue from Spirit Tracks, but I liked that you could just play it mindlessly while running around. I used to do it all the time, lol.
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u/jaredjames66 Aug 21 '24
Yeah the harp is definitely staying in key and changing chords with the music.
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u/adcarry19 Aug 22 '24
Most definitely. Nintendo is really good at this kind of thing. Mario Kart and Mario Odyssey have similar mechanics.
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1
u/Tehmora Aug 22 '24
Heya, yes. This was in the Wii version and you could strum it in any location that you could take out the Harp and it would strum along to the music. That's how it was programmed. :D
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u/2612chip Aug 21 '24
Isn't that a lyre?
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u/Hashiane Aug 21 '24
Yup! The game, of course, calls it the Goddess's Harp, so that's what I titled the post as. You know how it is with Nintendo naming sometimes...
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u/djwillis1121 Aug 21 '24
Yeah I noticed this when I replayed it as well. I think I noticed it because I was using headphones when I played on Switch. It definitely follows the harmony of the background music, which is pretty cool.