This is a subject upon which I have recently become an authority whilst cleaning my basement.
For starters, you’ll want to consult the original.
#10.
Dark World Theme on 7 Ocarinas (Zelda: Link to the Past Cover)
by David Erick Ramos – Ocarina
This wins for concept. A little weird notes here, but it isn’t like I can hit a single good note on an ocarina. The second time through things get inventive and cool.
#9.
Legend of Zelda – Dark World Theme on Marimba
by Mart0zz
You can play the Dark World theme on anything! This is the most playful version. It would be a great theme for playing hide-and-seek with my kids. This one also brings the key changes and effectively taps in some brass.
#8.
Dark World – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past on Guitar
by Isac Saleh
This one conjures up cowpoke imagery with its down tempo and stripped-down strumming. I imagine Link conjuring up a campfire somewhere between Death Mountain and the Pyramid of Power.
#7
Dark World – Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Bonified Music
by ChristoFLUR
The Pyramid of Power looks like it was built out of burnished brass ground down by dust storms. This rough and rounded take evokes that and the hotter parts of that universe.
#6.
Lorule/Dark World | LoZ
by Maddie of the Moon
There are approximately two billion violin covers of the Dark World theme. This is far and away the best. The most adventurous and dynamic, and the most plaintive as well. However that carefully evoked mood is shattered in about the last seven seconds.
#5.
Legend of Zelda – Dark World for Flute Sextet
by Instrument Maniac
The 16-bit original version does an admirable job suggesting a flute, but this all-flute version is surprisingly versatile. It has an airy quality in the second run-through that makes it the airiest version I heard.
#4.
Zelda, A Link to the Past music ? Darkworld cover by @banjoguyollie
by Banjo Guy Ollie
I heard this and then lost it, but I loved it so much I put in too much time tracking it down again. The best of these covers transcend the cliches of their instruments. Here, the banjo, which inevitably puts a pleb like me in mind of bluegrass, is used with a noticeable delay which gives the music this wistful quality. Like looking at time passing before your eyes. It was more poignant than I had expected.
#3.
Link to the Past Epic Orchestral Medley
by RebeccaETripp
This is just lovely, and not just the Dark World portion (which begins at 10:20). Where so many “orchestral” medleys stumble is in just throwing a bunch of songs together. This medley manages to integrate them into a complete suite with natural progression and dynamics, and imaginative use of instruments to boot. It also weaves in a lot of the other, shorter sequences, ending on a poignant note with flute boy. The Dark World theme, itself, is more upbeat and actioney than a lot of other versions, but without defaulting to full-on bombast.
#2.
Dark World (from “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past”) Mariachi Cover
by Mariachi Entertainment System
I don’t really know enough about mariachi music to tell what’s good and what’s great. I just know that of all these different versions of the song, this one is animated by a wistful-yet-bold kick and verve that excels that of most of the versions I linked above. Where most of the covers you’ll find of this song have some sort of a gimmick (and most of them are very clever) this one just kicks ass all over the place. Also, their Megaman cover is equally great.
#1.
(Zelda – A Link to the Past) Orchestral Remix #14 – Dark World- With Download
by Raymusique
This is the one that has it all; it starts with a minor key meditation that feels a musical kindred to the music from Sanctuary. But it gets going into that epic build in the spirit of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and the Pines of the Appian Way by Respighi by way of Conan the Barbarian. And it’s the latter of these three elements that truly surprises. The whole oeuvre of Zelda walks the line between cute and camp (usually erring on the side of cute) but if you look closely at the pathos-laten side quests (flute boy, anybody) its universe might have more in common with those of Robert Howard and Fritz Leiber than with J.R.R. Tolkien.