The most controversial Zelda song

In the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there's one single song that has gone down in gaming history as one of Nintendo's few offensive pieces of music - that being the Fire Temple theme. This song used audio samples of real religious chanting, a move which offended players around the world... except, did it? In this video I'll uncover the truth behind the Legend of Zelda's most infamous, and controversial piece of music.
Thanks to a few of my Muslim viewers for helping with this video, in particular Amina was a massive help - thank you very much!
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SOURCES
Fire Temple:
- shmuplations.com/kojikondo/
- www.zeldaspeedruns.com/oot/ge...
- web.archive.org/web/200503191... Zelda producer Miyamoto’s quote
- • Pop Fiction: Season 1:... Brilliant investigation by Michael Damiani, James Ondrey, Don Casanova, and Brandon Jones for GameTrailers
Shadow Temple:
- sites.google.com/site/deathba... Death Basket has done a lot of research into how OoT’s music works
- I also used tools to extract the MIDI file of the Shadow Temple directly, which I used to figure out how the chanting sound was used in this song. I also used that MIDI to visualise when the sound is playing.
- It’s currently very hard to extract individual elements from the music of N64 games, so I had to do my best to recreate the sounds from the Shadow Temple manually. I think I did an OK job, though it certainly doesn’t sound super similar. Someone with more expertise on N64 sound could do a far better job, but I did my best!

[@ThomasGameDocs]

HEY, LISTEN!! Thanks so much for watching this video, I hope you enjoyed! If you're looking for more Zelda content, maybe check out an older video of mine called "Who are Link's parents" - here's the link (haha): kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWqohZ6ce6qhfK8 I put a lot of work into that video, and not a lot of people ended up watching it, so now's a great opportunity to go back and check it out before TotK releases! - Thomas :)

[@Olly5681]

Hi

[@chickenstuffy]

Noice

[@roesoeproe]

Will do

[@Cliffordlonghead]

Ok

[@Cliffordlonghead]

​@@roesoeproe CRIMINAL BOT

[@thodds68]

i dont think they removed it because they were afraid it would offend someone but nintendo had a strict "no religion" rule especially back in the day. lots of directly religious icons were removed or written out like the original zelda 1 shield and oot mirror shield

[@SamAronow]

This is correct. It was just house rules.

[@nickonerd]

You’re funny, considering that the medallions represents the chakras. There’s a ton of religious concepts in Zelda ocarina of time

[@Robin-jk6wz]

​​​@@nickonerd _concepts_ *not* symbols. Symbols is what Nintendo removes.

[@kingstarscream3807]

@@SamAronow house rules created because they were afraid they might offend somebody.

[@thodds68]

@@nickonerd yeah but there is a difference between implying it and outright using religious imagery.

[@ZipplyZane]

It might be interesting if some male choir would record something with the same melody but with different words, maybe even in a Hylian or some other Zelda fictional language.

[@darrenmacqueen9884]

I imagine time was a big factor then, and the changes Kondo did was probably quicker than trying to bring in a choir to sing something in a fictional language. And in future releases it probably just wasn't considered worth it.

[@ZipplyZane]

@@darrenmacqueen9884 Oh, I know. I was talking about some fans doing it now, and then modding it into the game. I just think it would be fun.

[@darrenmacqueen9884]

@@ZipplyZane Oh I see, yeah that would be cool.

[@VinnytotheK]

Has there ever been spoken Hylian?

[@ghoulchan7525]

​@@VinnytotheK skyward sword with ballad of the goddess has a bit.

[@thatanimeweirdo]

There is a very noticable thing in the list: The music was first changed with the 1.0 PAL version. My theory is that someone at Nintendo responsible for translating the game for European regions must've noticed the chant and reported it back to Nintendo of Japan who quickly switched it out for the 1.0 PAL version and all following ones.

[@TobbyTukaywan]

I can just imagine some French guy going "Zis sounds a lot like zat sound I heaerd my Muzlim neighboor making!"

[@GSandSDS]

I've bought the german version that is a PAL version, and I had the muslim chanting in it. So, I cannot confirm what is said in this video.

[@Oceane1803]

@Abdurrahman Syed I'm french, and that's cliche and a bit rude the way you "quoted" that.

[@kylesimone6140]

@@Oceane1803 he was joking. and i can bet you've stereotyped Americans

[@Oceane1803]

@@kylesimone6140 Oh *I* stereotyped Americans ? He's the one who "quoted" french people with a cliche and innacurate way of speaking and I'm the one who stereotypes people ? Right. It's not because he was joking that it makes it funny.

[@shahzadm5]

I was 8 years old when OoT came out. When my brother and I heard this we were so happy. It was muffled and obscured enough to begin with that we didn’t catch what it was at first. Once we heard the very clear call of “La illaha il Allah” I lost it. Imagine the excitement of experiencing this amazing adventure and hearing something you grew up with in the game. For me the Gorons will always be connected to Islam. We were not offended and it honestly is sorely missing from the rereleases. I actually play the original music when I replay on 3DS

[@ClassicBentobox]

That’s the complicated thing about culture. People often pick and choose what things are appropriate to put out culturally even though sometimes that excludes people that would actually benefit from their history being shown.

[@ZeldaTima]

I have a similar experience. I always thought the Gorons were praying for salvation from Volvagia. I always associate Gorons with Muslims and thought it was so cool for our religion to be represented. When we first heard it, we were so excited and surprised. I still play the original Fire Temple theme even when I play the remakes. Thanks for sharing and reminding me of this fond memory. :)

[@noname-bu1ux]

based. Im not muslim but الله أكبر

[@reisudesu]

I disagree. It is offensive as a Muslim myself to hear the Holy Qu'ran used as a background chant and cut up in the way it was. Of course I don't blame Koji Kondo for this (he just wanted some chanting), and I understand your enthusiasm, but remember brother, the words of the Most High are not background noise, they are the guidance in our lives, and the awakening of submission within us. As a Zelda fan myself, I am glad that Nintendo out of respect removed it, but I do appreciate the Islamicate influence on the Gorons, and like you I also think it's cool our culture is represented in some way. Though there is a sanctity to such things, and that should be recognized and respected.

[@hassanwaseem4186]

@@reisudesu fax , i didnt feel offended but i 100% agree its disrespectful

[@CasepbX]

Holy crap hearing that chant took me back to when I was a little kid playing OOT for the first time. I think it's been over 20 years since I've heard it!

[@Nevir202]

I owned the soundtrack on CD and have listened to it a million times. Even now, I occasionally listen to it on YT.

[@JustNicolas2]

I never owned any version of OoT, but I've heard it's good!

[@jakedelmastro]

I never got as far as the fire temple as a kid, but I had heard this story somewhere before. Recently I played the whole game on the original cart and was surprised to find out that mine had the chanting on it!

[@Random_guy690]

Nice

[@AverageGamer574]

It’s not chanting it’s the holy Quran

[@Kriskirby1992]

To me the chanting is what sets it apart from the Shadow temple in the sense that it’s just beats and drums, I’m glad I got to experience the first version of the game as a kid

[@ThePixelated_kris]

Im glad i played the first version as well

[@fullmetalbleachnote]

If it wasn't for emulation my first time would have been censored as well

[@sahaprocks7751]

It’s actually not chanting, they’re reciting quran out loud

[@noabsolutelynot3660]

It's still entirely disrespectful. They could have replaced it with a different, nonreligious chant.

[@HasnaA.]

it's not chanting... :( it's recitation of the quran

[@SugarRush1990]

I remember when Game Trailers did research on this song. It was amazing when they found the sample CD. Not only did they use it for OoT, they found samples used for Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess. The Islamic chant was also used in other games around the time but sadly I’m blanking on them. Great video as always!

[@DemeterAurion]

Yeah I recall another Nintendo game that had the same chant song but it never got removed.

[@lvlupproductions2480]

I also recall this being a fairly common issue within games, lots of audio sample collections have all kinds of things like this on them, and are put in the game without knowledge, either that it's a religious text, or that music could be seen as haram, especially while reading the Quran. If just used as a sound effect in the game most likely the developers didn't mute the music for the area, and as such got backlash because of it. I can't remember for sure any of the top of my head but I think one of the Street Fighter games had this issue. qualifications: I have none, I am not a muslim and am just going off this vague memory of a documentary, if any thing is found offensive I deeply apologize let, please let me know if it is along with the reason and I will edit it. edit: I found the Street Fighter game in question, it was SF5, originally the Thailand stage with Buddhism iconography all throughout had this very same audio clip in the music. source: www.polygon.com/2017/4/26/15439980/street-fighter-5-thailand-stage-music-islamic-chant

[@MovedBoxMan]

cruis'n world 64 had the chant in its cairo level

[@CommanderWiggins]

Man I miss Pop Fiction. I know they brought back a similar series for a different channel but I don't think they ever made more than a few episodes.

[@forestmanzpedia]

@@MovedBoxMan The theme song you are referring to for the Egypt cruise track is incomprehensible in Arabic. In fact, there is no Arabic at all. No lines in Arabic are said. Looks like they edited the chanting in a way to remove the contents of the spoken Arabic sentences. You can put this islamic chanting used in this video next to the one used in Cruis'n World N64. You don't notice any Arabic sentence at all.

[@Renigaderz]

I always thought this was some kinda Mandela effect at work with me cause i had the version with the chant and a friend of mine did not. When i got the game again for the gamecube i distinctly remember telling my friend that the fire temple music sounded off and they just said it sounded the same. Wasn't till YEARS later when the internet was more prominent that we learned the truth. Shit is wild to remember.

[@HeyyyJude]

What Koji Kondo did was no different than what people who make their own subtitles over Japanese dub for a meme do 😂 glad he was able to get it figured it out 🙏🏽

[@stadbab]

i would politely disagree in that this is sacred text - unless you consider anime sacred, in which case i say you do you

[@popsicIes]

@@stadbab jude's point is the intention behind it, not the actual content itself lmao

[@bigrexy]

When I was a kid, I always thought it was the Gorons chanting for mercy and to be saved from Volvagia. It just doesn't feel the same without the chant.

[@mattkennedy6115]

Not to sound insensitive but I thought the chanting was incessant and was a little annoying after playing over and over and over again. I liked the newer music better because I feel it was less of a distraction

[@mooodood9147]

The chants are cool but adding Islamic prayers aren’t good

[@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000]

@@mattkennedy6115who cares

[@Devin7Eleven]

@@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000The followers of Muhammad care, who will kill you for even just drawing him.

[@Boooo]

He wanted you to smell the dungeon? Was this before or after they added Jabu Jabu's Belly...

[@nicolehafner8616]

Bro def wanted us to smell Jabu Jabu

[@ghoulishgoober3122]

​@@nicolehafner8616 I'm straight up snorting jabu jabu's stomach lining

[@zachmansoor50]

Also worth noting that the original Crest of the Gerudo was nearly identical to the star and crescent moon symbol often associated with Islam.

[@Link_1129]

Yep! Likely went against Nintendo's own rules for not developing or publishing games with religious references at the time, may have been a "better safe than sorry" concession after the Fire Temple's music was changed, or both.

[@ozvoid1245]

@@Link_1129 I still don't understand that rule at all, at least in the sense that Nintendo really did not follow it. I mean, Koume and Kotake literally had halos over their heads when they died and faded away.

[@haruyanto8085]

Technically speaking Islam has no symbol, rather the cresecent moon symbol is more of a ottoman empire thing

[@Link_1129]

@@ozvoid1245 The halo is kind of an outlier as it can be applied to fictional religions, like Hyrule's.

[@spoon7053]

@@ozvoid1245 i think that’s so universal that it’s not really a christian thing, even if halos come from it. angels exist in other religions as well. there was official art of link from a link to the past kneeling in front of a crucifix. that was interesting…

[@LadyZubat]

I genuinely feel that the song for the fire Temple is incomplete without that chanting I don't know why but it kind of makes the entirety of the temple come to life with the chanting

[@mooodood9147]

They could’ve put any chant and that would’ve been fine but Islamic prayers aren’t acceptable

[@Froggycolouring]

Agreed I wish they used a chant in the same language and sound(if I make any sense right now) just not saying offensive words :(

[@coyoteartist]

So, it wasn't backlash, it was preventalash.

[@bluebaron6858]

Good to see the proper story out there

[@Sarah_H]

Our copy of the game still had the chanting in the Fire Temple (and also the star-and-crescent-moon symbol for the Gerudo and Ganondorf's blood being red). I'd played with that music all through my childhood and didn't hear the "fixed" version until the 3DS remake came out, and I got SO confused on why they'd changed the music so drastically from "the original". The "fixed" version sounds so weird to me 😭

[@cceider]

As soon as i read the title i knew what this would be about. I actually owned a copy of Ocarina of Time with that song in it instead of the new one. I remembered the song quite distinctively because of the chanting, so it's only years later I believe in a DYKG video that I learned about this, and even later truly heard the new song when i bought Ocarina of Time on Wii U to replay it.

[@sixtyforce4688]

its not chanting

[@jontargaryen3168]

Same here- read the title & guessed fire temple. Remember when I first got Zelda on the Wii VC something was different about the fire temple music. Found out after why.

[@islaamSama]

Peace be upon you Thomas. :] I'm always happy whenever I hear about the Fire Temple's original theme. While I AM glad Koji Kondo decided to remove the Athan and Quran out of respect, I'm also happy he thought it was cool and beautiful. As a Muslim, I can confirm its really, REALLY beautiful hehe. Also ever since learning about the Fire Temple I've had a headcanon that the Gorons are Muslims and are praying for salvation, with their prayers being answered in the form of Link :)) Here's hoping Nintendo gets more Islamic Inspiration, but without the controversies. Amen.

[@MEUProductions]

This is an incredibly wholesome interpretation ❤️

[@muzzymikeonthemic9359]

Aameeen. Well put.

[@skibidipop]

Peace be upon you

[@nathaniellambiaso]

Can you please do a video on Stanley, the bug man from donkey Kong three arcade?

[@reisudesu]

Assalamu walaykum akhi! Your words made me happy, may Allah (SWT) bless you and guide us both. Amin.

[@Lexyvil]

I miss the first version of the Fire Temple a lot. The chanting really added to the ominous setting. As a kid I used to believe it was the chanting of Gorons praying for help to be rescued. I find the new version to be kind of bland, and it sounds too close to that of the Shadow Temple's theme but without a memorable melody. It actually makes me wish such a change had to be done.

[@slyar]

Would it sound the same to you if you replaced the Islamic chants in Arabic with Christian verses in English?

[@zkme2734]

@@slyar yes

[@BenDover-zp7bu]

@@slyar Yes. Though rather than english i would prefer catholic chants in Latin

[@slyar]

@@BenDover-zp7bu So it's creepier if it's in a foreign language?

[@BenDover-zp7bu]

@@slyar I dont know if i would call latin foreign since no country speaks pure latin there tongues based in latin like my own, spanish (Also yes not understanding what the letter says makes it creepier if the tone of the song is creepy)

[@Kden21]

If I'm not mistaken, Street Fighter V's soundtrack came under the exact same fire for using the * exact same samples * for the Thailand stage, Temple Hideout, and then immediately fixed it the day after the stage was released. It's interesting seeing how both Kondo and SFV's composers probably used the same library. edit: yeah, they did LOL, this uploader thankfully preserved it before it got taken down. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4LOeWN3bdiajJI

[@yarh79]

And they are tons of franchises that actually utilized the same Islamic chant from the same CD sample disc. Dead or Alive, Parasite Eve, Cruise n' World, Monster Hunter. Recently King of Fighters omitted one classic song from their most recent game KOFXV's jukebox, because it contained the Islamic chant.

[@bitter-bit]

So happy I got mine right after it came out! Red blood, chanting, original mirror shield and all! 1998 was a good time.

[@Keosystem511]

As a Muslim myself, most Muslim nowadays listens to musics, and some even made songs about Islam itself. And stopping in between chapters isn't forbidden, actually. The one thing that is PROBABLY going to be offensive is the fire temple itself, since in Islam, Satans and Demons are made of fire, and the Fire Temple itself DOES look like hell, with the heat and burn everywhere. Yeah but this is just a mistake and they did fix it so there's no need for conflict and stuffs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@nickonerd]

Wouldn’t many Muslims just find that flattering tho?? I suppose they just wanted to be careful to not be insensitive. But is not Djinni considered a spirit of fire, and referenced by flame on an oil lamp? Are Djinn considered demonic or satanic? I thought that Djinn could be considered holy the same way the holy flame is referenced, so the prayer in a temple of fire seems appropriate to summon a Holy Spirit from the flames as a protector yes?

[@HasnaA.]

@@nickonerd Hello! I'll try my best to answer you. Djinns aren't considered as either bad or good, they're simply creature that cannot be seen by humans yet live among us. But Sheitan (satan)'s "subordinates" are djinns, so demons in islam are basically considered to be evil people among djinns. They are indeed made of fire, just like Sheitan , but that doesn't make them inherently evil. I don't think most muslims would find that flattering tho because in our religion, music is prohibited/looked down upon, so mixing sacred recitation of God's words with music, which is considered as a "bad" distraction in our religion, is disrespectful. I think that it is better to leave prayers and sacred recitation alone and to use instead maybe arabic music ? And finally, in islam there is no such thing as a "holy spirit" or a "protector", muslims believe in the true unicity of Allah and his attributes and thinking that anything else than God can protect you from your destiny is considered a sin. I hope I was helpful!! But just in general, I think touching religion is always a no-no. As a North African person I would've been really happy if nintendo used chants or songs from my culture (Arab/Berber) like they did in other soundtracks, especially anything related to gerudos, but using religious prayers... I just feel like this is something sacred that shouldn't be touched :/ even muslims shouldn't play around with it

[@fatskipper1358]

That’s why they would take it out because they wouldn’t want to remove a whole temple because of a Muslim chant

[@wiscounter]

As a child, I thought the chanting was the Gorons crying out to be rescued by Link.

[@SoupyDaze]

Just gotta say, I love your content. Honestly, and forgive me if I sound weird, but your voice is just so relaxing to listen to, as you narrate the interesting topics you talk about. Your vids are great to listen to while I’m cleaning, making art, etc!

[@Killerkarpfen1990]

I thought I knew all about the story but you added quite some interesting things. I only heared about the original version through KZbin and, being from Europe, it makes sense as we got the PAL version. Also I didn't know about the chants being in the Shadow Temple music as well.

[@Galdr]

This is super interesting. My stepbrother apparently has the 1.0 version with the Islamic chanting (I can remember it pretty well). But the GCN port have the other version of the Fire Temple theme it seems like.

[@SoniXperias]

Thomas Game Docs teaches me genuinely interesting stories about Nintendo that I can tell to my friends and family

[@nickonerd]

Well this is surprisingly well researched considering you even brought up that last bit of info about the rom data midi documentation, that documentation is a niche in the Zelda modding community.

[@ArzePoetic]

Wow this is incredibly interesting! I only ever heard the 1.2 version growing up. Didn't even know the blood was changed either.

[@HelpTheWretched]

I remember reading about the game's revisions when it was fairly new. This info wasn't widely available and a lot of the sources were only familiar with two versions, which turned out to be 1.0 and 1.2. So imagine my surprise when my copy had the major swordless glitches patched, but the chanting was still in it! I thought I had some special regional variant or something. But nope, just 1.1.

[@hdbricks9492]

Your videos are very interesting! I am glad you have been making Zelda-themed videos ahead of Tears of the Kingdom!

[@itsloonatic]

thank you for being so respectful abt this vid! i enjoyed watching this

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

Should've had no respect for such a retarded complaint

[@Stegma]

My first time hearing this ost was when i was watching a KZbinr play the game, i wasn’t offended as much as i was creeped the fuck out by the fact that i understood what was being said in the background while the KZbinr and his friend were non the wiser, i can’t describe how it felt but it was a very unique way to be scared for life i’d say

[@josecontreras2258]

Hey, I've watched a lot of your videos but never left a comment so I just wanted to say I love your content and I have learn a bunch of interesting stuff with them, it is such good content!! keep on going!

[@SoniXperias]

My favourite Thomas Game Docs videos are the Zelda ones. Especially the Ocarina of time ones.

[@Sir_Fart_The_First]

Cool, i never played any zelda games so i’m mor hyped for mario in my opinion

[@SoniXperias]

@@Sir_Fart_The_First why reply then?

[@paula.cosplay]

​@@SoniXperias they were just telling their opinion like you did?

[@Myriapod774]

@@Sir_Fart_The_First you should totally check zelda out! Theres a new one coming out in may for the switch, if youve got the time and the money you should play it!

[@Sir_Fart_The_First]

@@SoniXperias to share my opinion

[@jordanekl5383]

One of the reasons i love owning the v1.0 gold cart of OoT. So much history in one little bit of music.

[@reifanwinter-sun8672]

I picked up a copy of OoT from a vintage game store a while ago, and was excited to find that I had grabbed a version with the original Fire Temple music, Gerudo symbol, and Ganon's red blood. It was a golden cartridge as well, along with the copy of Majora's Mask I got with it. I feel very lucky!

[@mysticthehorselover5979]

I hadn't even known anything about there being 2 different musics until my brother told me while I was playing in the Fire Temple. He said it's the original music. My dad was the one who bought it so apparently he got it early enough that it has the original music which is really cool. I think the chanting is a little creepy but it's also cool. It fits the temple. It doesn't bother me. I'm not sure if it's the very first or second version with the music still in it though. But still really cool.

[@kiddketathereal]

i love how every time i recognise a topic here, thinking i know the real story, i leave with a completely different one just great videos to find here

[@sledgen.]

I actually like the chanting for that dungeon. It's really atmospheric!

[@sledgen.]

@Sunky the Hedgy YT 🇳🇴 I'm sorry If I offended you, I can delete the comment if you want

[@haruyanto8085]

It's not offensive, it's more like a recitation than a "chant", either way using Quran recitation is pretty normal, just that it was used in a fire temple is pretty unsavoury lol, anyways you should go listen to Quran recitiations if you like the atmosphericness of it

[@Sunzen44]

​@@sledgen. I kinda can understand how people can have different understandings of it, the thing is that "chant" is one a popular use of word in Islam, not just random Arabic words, it feels like hearing the Merry Christmas song in a torture dungeon song, sure the song on its own is a bop everyone enjoy it but for people who know what kind of "song" is used in a super unexpected place will have a hard time understand what it supposed to mean at all

[@baibac6065]

@@sledgen. He's not offended, it was just weird hearing it in the game xD

[@thebristolbruiser]

@Sunky the Hedgy YT 🇳🇴 Muhammad was a genocidal warlord and does not deserve to be venerated.

[@Amina_Sync]

Awesome video! Thanks for the great documentary on this

[@littlebird8515]

I always referred to that strange sound in the shadow temple as "the door opening" sound. Every time I heard it, I imagined a large door opening and a heavy gust of wind blowing through. Never would have thought that sound was chanting slowed down. I also had a copy of the original chanting. I remember being a bit confused as a kid getting the game cube Oot and wondering if I imagined the chanting from the original N64. especially because my friends, who also had an N64 copy, didn't have the chanting in their copys.

[@zakuraiyadesu]

Love the videos, man. Keep it up!!!

[@GrunGrunLeCat]

It’s interesting because duel of fate (Star Wars) actually did the same thing or something quite similar to except obviously people weren’t mad but same very similar on how it was made.

[@almas4663]

Because it was a made up language and made up chanting.

[@TobbyTukaywan]

I never heard of that. Can you explain?

[@surfacedfox]

​@@TobbyTukaywan It's an Irish poem, translated to Sanskrit. That's what the whole vocal part of it is.

[@RmationYT]

@@surfacedfox that isn’t very offensive as it isn’t religious

[@metaldragmire8539]

11:55 You can still hear a distorted longer version of the chant in this long section.

[@thebitterstep]

I love TGD soo much, i played one of your vids for my mom and even she enjoyed it

[@danceitbreakit]

i love Thomas's videos. they are always so informational

[@Lucky_Number113]

Agreed 100%!

[@Hylianguy38]

As a kid, I used to own the original version of the game with the fire temple chanting. When I got to the fire temple years later and heard the creepy and unsettling chanting, a part of me wanted to mute the sound.

[@bitter-bit]

I still remember muttering "tibet-nee-ah ferangi ferangi aa-aa-aaah" along with the chanting

[@donkarasu-9644]

I knew exactly what this video will be about, but I still stayed. One of the few lucky people nowadays to have a physical copy of the old version, which has the original song and a couple other things that got censored with it.

[@bitter-bit]

Fantastic video and very informative!!!

[@tastyfiddle]

i knew the whole story about the chanting being removed from the fire temple music and why, and that it was a sample from a sample library, but i had no idea it was used in the shadow temple theme. i noticed that sound in the background of the shadow temple theme and spent ages playing with the track in audacity to try and figure out what it was, and now i find out it's the same chant from the removed fire temple theme. that's awesome.

[@Pure_Random]

12:22 I've never even noticed how creepy that sound is😱

[@isaac3000]

I like this version more than what we got later on! Since I never played OoT on N64 and I am in Germany, I only ever got to hear rhe second version

[@7YearsSinceSilksongTrailer]

Man, your like nintendo theory. Its like the fifth arc. I really like your channel, keep up the good work

[@pault9544]

When I heard the sound sample used for the forest temple i got goosebumps! This was an iconic memory of my childhood. Who wouldve known it came from folksinging which has problem been around for 1000s of years.

[@rtyuik7]

the same Chanting sample is also in Cruis'n World (in the Cairo level, i believe)

[@CommanderNam]

Yeah I got so creeped out when I was playing ocarina for the first time 2 years ago. For people that don't recognize it, it may be immersive and better than the 2nd version but for me and anyone else that recognized it, it took us out of the immersion and was the only thing we could focus on.

[@fallenpillow110]

I have an NTSC 1.1 cartridge, which I’m quite happy with. I honestly never knew until I saw a video about it that the chanting was actually saying something, and even now I think it sounds a lot better than the synth choir.

[@BiggieCheeseJr.]

I've always heard that weird sound that happened to be a remains of the chanting, just never knew that lol, it sounds much creepier when by itself

[@Psyche__]

another legendary vid from my man

[@hunterjulian98]

I think chanting fits the temple setting as a temple is place to pray Maybe they could've made up a prayer in the fictional Hylian language to use?

[@Scytropic]

Awesome video Thomas!

[@danytalksmusic]

I love learning trivia about Ocariner of Time!

[@emoyosh1565]

Im currently playing the OoT master quest for the first time and this is pretty interesting At the end, there was the part about the shadow temple, and i remember freaking out about that sound because i thought it was the ceiling hands lol

[@fatyoshi9993]

I knew about this story before but never knew the Shadow Temple also sampled it

[@unexplained_entity7514]

I'd love to know roughly what kind of Window/timeframe the first prints would have had with the original music. It's always been super cool and fascinating to me knowing there are limited copies with the chanting and the blood. I love the chanting so much, it really lends itself well.

[@wilddemur9796]

As someone who grew up playing OoT with the original chanting in it, it sounds very strange hearing the version with it removed and in my opinion the original sounded much better despite the controversy. I associate the old music with my childhood.

[@Syiepherze]

As a Muslim, I also just wanna point out that the spliced verse in question comes from Al-Ikhlas; which is not only one of the last three chapters (Surahs) of the Qur'an; but it is also a very important chapter because it exclusively focuses on the concept of Monotheism (Tawheed), the main tenet of Islam. Not to mention it's been said that the chapter's worth is equal to one third of the entire Qur'an, it's a pretty big deal

[@shhdjdjdud]

I think it's a sufi chant

[@skyeguy7914]

Holy cow, I just realized that part of the samples in question were used in the NEO Ark portion of parasite Eve 2

[@Dremag_Gaming]

What gets me is why they changed it in this game. Crusin' World has it on their Egypt stage (and not many "complained about it"). Theres also a fighting game with it as well. (but I think some did mention about that one)

[@Krukmeister]

Okay people keep claiming the PAL region never had a version with the chanting and I wish I didn't lose my original cartridge because it had the chanting on it. I'm still looking for it, or a similar cartridge. I got the day one version. There must be other cartridges like mine out there.

[@vedantpatel5985]

Thanks TGD!

[@_Guardian]

Man and I really like the OG version way more than the new one

[@JoelTesfay-nu9fj]

It’s nice on how he gets gives us information about mysterious in Nintendo

[@lightnature15]

11:41 Wait, that weird noise I was hearing the whole time was an edited religious chanting and not some kind of noise of a rollercoaster noise being cut off and playing on repeat? Huh, that's interesting. I think I'm going to hear that noise a little bit different now.

[@naseraltaee]

5:30, Thomas going into Ace Attorney mode. This might be the best way to grasp someone’s attention.

[@Shrock568]

First commentator besides Thomas!

[@shybandit521]

I think it would be super cool if they brought back the fire temple theme but with a new original chant sung in the Hylian language for worship of the goddess Din

[@redstonecommander5190]

5:38 of course, in the CDS version it was replaced by synthesize choir, but if you listen to the 3DS speakers, it wasn’t so very noticeable

[@gabrielladavidson2938]

I actually prefer the synth voices. I think its creepier that theyre not actually saying anytthing tbh.

[@rudra1830]

Allah is now confirmed to be Canon in the Zelda universe.

[@palsyr4307]

Favorite game, I was 9 when it came out and hearing the Fire Temple Chant as a Palestinian Syrian blew my mind since I understood it (very out of place but somehow works so well and gives the Fire Temple soul, I can visualize the chanters praying), then the Spirit Temple took me to another dimension, also oddly there was a crescent moon on the mirror shield and stone movable blocks in earlier versions of OoT and originally the Triforce was the Trinity and there was a cross on Link's shield of course. That experience will live with me forever.

[@eaglescout1984]

Wait, that scream during the Forest Temple isn't a remixed version of Link's audio effects? That's crazy how much it sounds like the VA for Link.

[@Vinnehpooh]

REAAL it sounds like adult link landing into hard ground or climbing idkkk 😭

[@azukavolkova]

I have a copy of zelda ocarina of time with this music at the fire temple. My brother and I used to emulate this chant while playing when we where kids LOL.

[@Shrock568]

When I put my comment, there was no one else except Thomas. and now I’m seeing comments from 6 minutes before mine?!

[@OverEmotionalGamer]

Maybe the noise is supposed to be Bongo Bongo moaning/roaring in the distance of the temple.

[@Mcbuzzerr]

I went into this thinking I was going to watch a video about trivia I already knew, but you went so much more in depth and found the whole story!

[@blanekaboom]

I *think* i remember this video from before, is this a re-upload?

[@amandaoakhart8081]

Thank you for adding the rom change. So many people just say it was from backlash. It’s annoying misinformation and I appreciate you telling the real story

[@icaliver]

A decade or so later Little Big Planet’s sound track had a similar incident as well.

[@fermaniscool]

I am a Muslim, and I can say that this completely impressed me when I first heard it.

[@Uathe]

WOW SO you mean when I was a kid it wasn’t just my fear that made me think the synth choir sometimes sounded like actually words but like in a ghostly thing way

[@om3g4z3r0]

I really like that song as it was, it made me feel outside my confort zone, i had no idea what was about to happen even though dungeons are formulaic.

[@evancoffland19]

6:41 The same reason why anyone valuing their safety changes anything.

[@crapcentral]

I find this similar to wood fall temple in major as mask

[@Shinzou1411]

Wow thats crazy never heard anything about this story

[@redstonecommander5190]

12:31 of course it does sound clear without everything else in the background but when you hear that within the game audio that’s just doesn’t sound like anything that has something to do with chanting it just sounds like unnerving hums that just appears out of nowhere

[@redstonecommander5190]

Monstrous even

[@QueenEspeon96]

I've felt connected to the og fire temple theme since I've first heard it. I was a kid and I guess I had an earlier version; as I've heard the chanting in the fire temple. Instead of hurrying the temple, I took my time, and appreciated it just like the forest temple. I dislike the change, as it felt empty and dull.