A good musician-for-hire always has a good setlist up their sleeve. Whether it’s a performance up on stage or playing in the background to give a party some atmosphere, a musician must practice a handful of songs to be able to play at any spontaneous moment. The bards of A Link Between World’s Milk Bar have a slew of recognizable tunes from both your journey and legends past.
The bards have 16 songs you can request for 10 rupees each, though every request is randomized and you can not pick one specifically — can you really complain at that price, though? The duo will perform the song of their choice with a guitar and flute. Listening to these songs does not grant any temporary effects or initiate a quest, but sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and listen to those classic Zelda tunes.
So what songs can they play? Well, of course, you have both your classic and obvious choice of the “Hyrule Theme.” Many other locations (aside from the overworld) are included in their playlist, including Hyrule Castle, Kakariko Village, and Death Mountain. Interestingly enough, it’s possible for them to play a somewhat botched-up version of the Death Mountain theme where the flute parts will get absolutely insane!
Of course, those were just the Hyrule themes. Lorule is featured just as much in their setlist, if not more. “Lorule Field,” the “Thieves’ Hideout,” and “Lorule Castle” are also picks that may show up when you ask for a song, which leads to the question: How do bards of Hyrule know the music played in Lorule? How do they know the theme song to the villages in general? Is that music evident to the citizens of Hyrule? Do they just accept that this is part of their daily life? Do they ever tire of the music that never ceases in their world? I’ve gone down the rabbit hole, haven’t I?
Location themes aren’t the only theme songs these bards know how to play. Many characters have their signature themes recreated by the bards just as well. These include “Zelda’s Theme” (or “Zelda’s Lullaby” for you Ocarina fans), “Ravio’s Theme,” “Yuga’s Theme,” “Hilda’s Theme,” and “Ganon’s Theme.”
Then there are just those themes that Zelda fans can recognize just about anywhere! There’s the “Great Fairy Theme” (or Select Screen for most games as well) and “Ballad of the Goddess” from Skyward Sword! Even the “Get Item” and “Get Small Item” music stings are included in their set, so sorry if you got these short ditties after paying full price. You can’t get a refund. I’ve tried.
Lastly, there’s the theme for the final battle between Link and Yuga. Of course we had to have a good boss battle theme in there to balance things out!
If you love the music of Zelda, it’s worth the virtual price of 10 measly rupees. Or if you’re cheap, even in-game (like me), you can check out this video below to hear them all!
They are absolutely worth a listen. These songs may be played with only two instruments, but they are so stylized and make these songs we know all too well sound brand new and fresh! It makes the world more immersive as well, bringing the Milk Bar to life and allowing yourself to get lost in this detail that didn’t need to be included in the game at all, but boy am I glad we got this feature!
