Arzette is the love letter to CD-i Zelda games that nobody expected to actually be good. The 2024 soundtrack by Jake Butineau leans hard into that early-90s FMV adventure aesthetic but with genuinely strong compositions underneath the kitsch.
Read more
"Faramore Town" has this bright, bouncy energy that immediately sells the storybook world, while "Durridin Forest" layers woodwind-style melodies over warm pads that feel like wandering through an illustrated map. Every area gets a B-Side variant, which is a fantastic touch.
The B-Side versions flip the mood just enough to keep backtracking from feeling stale. "Chillinax Peaks (B-Side)" takes the icy theme and warms it up, "Boanjale Crypts (B-Side)" turns the creep factor sideways. Even "Badonc Beach" and its B-Side play off each other like two sides of the same sunny afternoon.
The Boss theme carries real weight for a game built on nostalgia, and "Daimur's Lair" into "Final Boss" delivers a proper climactic arc. For a game that could have coasted entirely on its CD-i homage gimmick, Arzette's soundtrack stands on its own as a charming, well-crafted adventure score.