The Lord of the Ringsis one of the most popular fantasy franchises around, and for good reason. With a sprawling cast of memorable characters, some superb world-building, and a classic tale of good triumphing over evil,The Lord of the Ringsbecame an immediate blueprint for the adventure genre upon its original 1954/1955 publication. WhileTales of the Shirekeeps its focus on one small part ofJ.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy world, the game goes out of its way to celebrate the entire franchise.
Tales of the Shireopens with Gandalf the Grey guiding the player-character to the would-be village of Bywater, and from there the Easter eggs never stop. There are tons of references to iconicLord of the Ringsheroes like Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, as well as plenty of nods to locations in Middle-earth like Mirkwood and Fangorn Forest.Tales of the Shirecertainly doesn’t shy away from its license, but it should have gone even further when it came to the game’s soundtrack.
Tales of the Shire Should Have Used The Lord of the Rings' Soundtrack
Tales of the Shire Does a Solid Job of Echoing The Lord of the Rings' Score
Tales of the Shirehas a wholly original score, with none ofTheLord of the Rings' music tracks appearing in the cozy Hobbit life-sim. That said,Tales of the Shire’s score doesn’t abandon the movies' beloved motifs altogether.
Composed by Alessandro Coronas,Tales of the Shire’s soundtrack contains a plethora of tracks that seemingly aim to echoHoward Shore’sLord of the Ringsscore, or at least the Hobbit-related portion of the soundtrack. Tracks like “There Lived a Hobbit,” “Buying from the Burrows,” and “A Second Breakfast Shared” all contain some almost-familiar motifs, and the use of light woodwind instruments capture the same general vibe as Howard Shore’s “The Shire” or “Bag End.”
The only real issue withTales of the Shire’s soundtrack is that it doesn’t play nearly enough during gameplay. There are 18 songs onTales of the Shire’s soundtrack, some of which last almost 10 minutes. ButTales of the Shirerarely lets them play in their entirety, instead choosing to put silence at the forefront of most of its moment-to-moment gameplay. When these tracks do play, however, they do a solid job of evoking the carefree and whimsical nature ofLord of the Rings' Hobbit-folk.
Tales of the Shire’s Score Just Can’t Live Up to The Lord of the Rings
Unfortunately, no matter how solidTales of the Shire’s soundtrack is, it just can’t compete with Howard Shore’sLord of the Ringsscore. Not only didThe Lord of the Ringswin the Academy Award for Best Original Scoretwice for bothFellowship of the RingandThe Return of the King, it’s also been around for over two decades, meaning its themes have become cemented in pop-culture history.
There was no wayTales of the Shire’s soundtrackwas ever going to outshineThe Lord of the Ringstracks like “Concerning Hobbits,” and though it’s commendable to see the cozy game try to imitate the vibe of the movies' score while producing something original, it might have been a better choice to simply include some of Howard Shore’s most iconic Hobbit-related tracks. Doing so would have gone a long way to makingTales of the Shirefeel like an even more authentic licensed product.
While it likely would have cost a pretty penny to use Howard Shore’sLord of the Ringsscore inTales of the Shire, it shouldn’t have been too much of a legal issue, with developer Weta Workshop having worked extensively on the movie trilogy.
