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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The most memorable video-game instruments do more than make music: they can open paths, turn play into a performance, or reveal something about a character. This editorial selection looks at three different roles—the ocarina in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Guitar Hero’s guitar-shaped controller, and Ellie’s guitar in The Last of Us Part II—along with the real-world ronroco that helps define the sound of The Last of Us. There is no shared measure of recognition or popularity that makes these an objective ranking; their distinction lies in how each connects music to play and identity.
When an instrument becomes a game mechanic
The ocarina in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, the ocarina is more than a memorable image or a musical flourish: it gives the player a way to affect the world. Players learn and memorize short musical themes that can unlock areas and abilities, making the act of playing music part of solving the game. A scholarly discussion of the game describes this musical interaction as central to its identity. Game Studies’ analysis of “Play Along – An Approach to Videogame Music” explores how the game makes music playable rather than merely something to hear.
That dual role is why the instrument stands out: the ocarina is recognizable in its own right, but its significance comes from what the player can do with it. Music becomes an input with consequences.
When the instrument is the controller
The guitar-shaped controller in Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero made its instrument part of the player’s physical performance fantasy. The guitar-shaped controller is not a conventional guitar; it is a purpose-built game controller designed to make music-making feel accessible and engaging. In a developer postmortem, the team described accessible music-making as an animating goal and noted that work on the guitar controller began alongside the game itself. The postmortem at Game Developer shows how closely the controller was tied to the experience the developers wanted to create.
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Here, the instrument is not an object the player’s character uses inside a fictional world. It is what the player holds to perform. That changes the relationship between music and gameplay: the physical controller makes the player’s actions feel like a performance, even though the buttons and notes are mediated by a game.
When playing expresses character
Ellie’s guitar in The Last of Us Part II
In The Last of Us Part II, the guitar is memorable for the expressive control it offers and for the way that interaction fits Ellie. Naughty Dog’s account of the design says the team drew inspiration from music-making apps and aimed to let players shape tempo, time signature, and style while keeping a song recognizable. The developers also rejected quick-time events and a conventional rhythm-game approach because they did not fit Ellie’s characterization.
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That choice makes the guitar different from an instrument mechanic built around unlocking a door or hitting the right note on cue. Its appeal is in giving the player room to shape a musical moment in a way that connects to the person playing it. PlayStation’s account of the interactive guitar explains the design goal, while Naughty Dog’s prototyping account at Game Developer describes the choices behind its implementation.
When a real instrument gives a game its musical voice
Gustavo Santaolalla’s ronroco and The Last of Us
Not every memorable game instrument is one the player controls. The music of The Last of Us is closely associated with composer Gustavo Santaolalla, whose ronroco is identified as a signature instrument in a 2024 Guardian feature. Its role in the score offers a useful contrast to the playable guitars and ocarina: an instrument can shape a game’s identity through the sound the composer brings to it, not only through a mechanic the player operates.
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PlayStation’s feature on the music of The Last of Us discusses Santaolalla and the official digital soundtrack. The Guardian’s 2024 feature discusses the score and Santaolalla’s instruments.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What makes these instruments memorable
These examples stand out for different reasons, not because they can be ranked on a common popularity scale. Consider what role the instrument plays in the experience:
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- Player agency: Does the player actively play or shape the music, or is the instrument heard in the score?
- Gameplay function: Does playing change what happens in the game, as the ocarina’s themes do in Ocarina of Time?
- Distinctive sound: Does the instrument help give a game’s music a recognizable character?
- Connection to identity: Does it express a character, define a performance fantasy, or help make a game feel like itself?
A single instrument can matter in several ways at once. The ocarina joins musical identity to action; Guitar Hero brings the instrument into the player’s hands; Ellie’s guitar makes room for expressive play tied to character; and Santaolalla’s ronroco shows how a real instrument can help anchor a score.
Quick Recap
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