There is much more to music than rhythm, harmony, and melody, and that includes dynamics, accents, timbre, orchestration, etc. 8bit music really only consists of rhythm, melody, and harmony, which is why an 8bit arrangement of something that was not originally written that way is not an accurate representation of the piece. It is missing pieces.
It doesn't make sense to say the 8bit stuff is inherently better because music written for a different medium doesn't translate well to it. Would it make sense to say that EDM translated to a country style is inferior because it sounds worse than actual country that way?
To me, the Guardian Theme is compelling in its own way (in its original state, the way it was meant to be heard). We just have a fundamental disagreement in what makes music "good," which makes sense, since everyone is different. I just chose to counter your opinion since this is a forum and why not. So yeah, I agree with you about our disagreement in opinion.
My original comment didn't imply that the original scores were more compelling than the new ones, I flat out said so, because well, that's just, like, my opinion, man.
Then how did I misread? I countered your opinion with mine.
Your argument is that the older music is better because it relied on melody, harmony, and rhythm. My argument is that there is more to it then that, and the music can be compelling without relying on that type of "complexity."
But if you go that route, "recent" Zelda tunes that can go head to head with the original include:
The Great Sea from The Wind Waker Dragon Roost Island from The Wind Waker Hyrule Field from Twilight Princess Midna's Lament from Twilight Princess Sky Theme from Skyward Sword Koloktos/Moldarach Theme from Skyward Sword Ballad of the Goddess from Skyward Sword Credits music from Skyward Sword (doesn't necessarily count, but still amazing) Yuga-Ganon battle from A Link Between Worlds Final Battle music from A Link Between Worlds Lorule Castle from A Link Between Worlds Hyrule Castle from Breath of the Wild Battle Theme from Breath of the Wild (talk about rhythm, this thing goes full on Short Ride in a Fast Machine in the middle)
and many others. Not sure what Zelda games you have/haven't played, but if you haven't heard these before I'd suggest looking them up anyway because it's good stuff.
And sorry about writing another novel, lol.