Videogame My favorite Zelda game
For full disclosure, I played this back when it first came out on the Nintendo 64, back when it was hailed as one of the best games of all time. I was quite fond of it back then, and still am, years later, enough to consider it my favorite Zelda game.
The plot is standard fare. Link, hearing of the threat that Ganon (now known as Ganondorf the thief) presents to the world, sets out on a journey to stop him by collecting two sets of MacGuffins and various weapons and tools. It's not particularly original, even for Zelda, but the story has a talent for showing emotional moments without all that much dialogue, from saying goodbye to your childhood friend to meeting your former bully now that he's come to regret his actions.
The various areas of the game make good use of the jump to 3D. The dungeons are, with some exceptions(Water Temple) well designed, and have a good variety of puzzles that force you to use the items at your disposal.
There's a lot to do in this game. In addition to the main quest and the search for various powerups and treasure troves across Hyrule, you can do various sidequests, from selling masks to people to a series of deliveries that will eventually get you a better sword.
The combat is a simple yet effective system that allows you a few options for attacking, defending or evading. It's somewhat bare-bones compared to the newer Zelda games, but it works quite well. There's a good variety of enemies, from weak enemies you can kill in one or two hits to stronger enemies that serve as minibosses to the bosses themselves, ,who require special tactics to defeat. Combat, like the puzzles, is challenging without being frustrating, and the game does well at providing a reasonable level of difficulty.
The music nicely sets the mood for the game, from riding through Hyrule Field to fighting a boss monster. As for the graphics, while they're fairly dated (even on the 3DS), they do a serviceable job of showing the game's environments, and never quite come off as ugly.
Perhaps Ocarina of Time may not be as groundbreaking as it was back when it was first released, but it's also quite well-made in its own right. I can't promise that you'll see it as the greatest game ever made, but if you don't set your expectations impossibly high, you should have a good time with this one.
Videogame Still the best? Not really. Still great? Absolutely.
I won't deny it, I despised Ocarina of Time the first time I played it. I never owned an N64 growing up so I didn't play it until it was released on Wii Virtual Console years later, at which point it's reputation as the greatest game ever made had spread to me. I jumped into it excited for what I was expecting to be a revolutionary life-changing experience that would set a new standard for video games in my eyes. It did not. This has become an increasingly common reaction from newcomers to Ocarina of Time unfortunately. Guess it's kind of hard to live up to an 11 out of 10.
Years have passed since then and after revisiting it every now and again along the way I can now safely say that although I may personally prefer The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time still actually holds up very well and is an incredibly enjoyable adventure.
Now, let's make it clear that the game still has flaws. Text scrolls incredibly slowly, half of the time there's no way to speed it up and the other half of the time speeding it up results in the text going by so fast that you won't get a chance to read it. Speaking of text, the story's pretty underwhelming too as it mainly follows the same formula of Link to the Past which was already a touch cliched for the time, but it doesn't spice it up with the personality and more fleshed-out characters of future Zelda games. Most characters in Ocarina of Time appear once or twice and then completely vanish to never be heard of again, usually not giving you time to warm up to them. I would of liked to see more of Saria, her friendship with Link was cute, but the second you leave the first area of the game it feels like everyone has moved on. Also, a minor detail, but Hyrule Field really hasn't aged amazingly. It's size was impressive for the time but nowadays that wonder has faded with bigger games available and what we're left with is a pretty empty overworld without much to do.
So, what's good? Well, the story may be weak, but Ocarina of Time still has some of the most solid gameplay in the series. It's the Journey That Counts and Zelda gives you a real sense of adventure that no other series can nail quite as well. It's a game about exploring, fighting for your life, solving puzzles and overcoming great trials that will test your power, wisdom and courage. Perhaps the biggest strength of Zelda is how smoothly it can blend all these elements together. Weapons are as useful for puzzles as they are for fighting with, and it never needs to completely change the core gameplay for this kind of variety thanks to the versatile and intuitive controls. And if you love finding secrets? This is the game for you, hidden rooms are everywhere and are generally incredibly rewarding and satisfying to track down.
Is it worth playing today? For sure, it's a classic for a reason. Just take it for what it is, don't expect to be blown away.
Videogame Not as good as everyone says.
No, I did not have this game growing up, I didn't even play an N64 until about 3 years ago. But I decided to go into Oo T, wondering what was so fantastic about it that it beats every game ever made ever, in the eyes of most. The answer? Not a damn thing. The story is just like A Link To The Past (except with Time Travel), characters very rarely show emotion, except for a shocked face every once in a while, very few of the characters are memorable in any way, mostly through lack of Characterization which Majora's Mask does so much better. The Z-Targeting is cool, yes, but that means what exactly? A game can be revolutionary and still be extremely overrated. It might have been great in '98, but it's just OK now. There is no way it's still the best game ever made
Videogame Still the Gold Standard
Ocarina of Time may no longer be "the greatest game ever made," but it's still the high point of the Zelda series. All Zelda games have their pros and cons, and more recent games have made huge improvements to the graphics and controls, but for some reason, the scope and emotional depth of Ocarina are still untouched after all these years. (Though I'll admit The Wind Waker comes close.)
Structurally speaking, Ocarina is a pretty typical Hero's Journey, but it isn't just that. It's a heartfelt story about growing up. First you're a child, and life seems inviting and fun; then you're a teen, and life seems hopeless and dangerous. But through it all, you mature, and you realize that life may not be as wonderful as it seemed when you were a kid, but it also isn't as terrible as it seemed when you were a teen. Most importantly, it's a reminder that childhood ideals are worth hanging on to. Even in a dangerous adult world, hope can persevere. I think I needed to grow up a little myself before I could appreciate that side of the game, not just the "run around stabbing monsters, pushing blocks, and headbutting trees" side.
I'm actually fresh off my latest playthrough (the first in several years), and I don't think most of the criticism this game has gotten recently holds up at all. Sure, the dialogue is a little hokey at times, but the story is neither too bloated nor too shallow, and it adds enough of its own touches to the Hero's Journey framework to prevent it from being "generic." There was a lot of care put into the many relationships Link forms throughout his adventure, and I loved seeing the characters (and Link's perspective on them) change and evolve over time.
The dialogue may feel too reliant on exposition, but only if you don't take the time to talk to the NPC's. Most of them have at least one charming personality trait, and the stuff you learn from them really makes Hyrule feel like a living, breathing place with a history—not just the big Monopoly board of older Zeldas. The dungeon design is excellent, too; the music, color palette, architecture, and decorative touches all hint at a deeper history. The Forest, Shadow, and Spirit Temples are my favorites.
VideoGame Time withers all things, stripping away sepia-toned veneer.
While credit must of course be given for flawlessly reinventing the Zelda formula for three-dimensional gameplay (and in the process changing the series as we know it), as a title viewed on its own merits, Ocarina of Time hasn't exactly aged all that gracefully. When stripped of its dialogue and backstory, the story that remains is really just basic NES level fluff just to motivate you to do something. The characters are rather one-dimensional, making it hard to really care about 'em.
Surprisingly, the graphics are one of the things that have indeed aged well. Indeed, this can be said for Nintendo 64 games as a whole when compared to the PSX's library (of which, rather ironically, another undeserved "best game ever," namely Final Fantasy VII, is one of the all-time worst offenders). The textures are varied and colourful, the character models have still held up well... even the object sprites that are sometimes used look pretty good. The pre-rendered backgrounds for most in-door houses (as well as that still-epic-and-bustling Hyrule marketplace) are pretty much the only sticking point here.
The music is, of course, utterly legendary and I will utter nary a single word of criticism about it. That end credits music WILL choke up even the most jaded gamer with its The World Is Just Awesome montage. Mr. Kondo, you're the f'in man. That synthesized voice evokes more emotion than the last decade's new music combined.
Indeed, apart from its pioneering gameplay aspects, Ocarina of Time as a whole is rendered almost entirely inconsequential by Majora's Mask, which in my estimation does Ocarina one better in 'most any category. Oh, and don't think, like, "Aah, this must be one of those newfag gamers that have no respect for old school games"... I first played it within two years of its release. And while I have returned to its charms time and time again, I have watched those charms grow ever more faint and fading while other aging games have only grown brighter and brighter. In the end, it's good, but not great. I can't really imagine why, with subsequent titles improving upon every aspect of the game, people still view this as game's be-all-end-all. But like the dude in Kakariko Village says, "oh well."
Videogame 15 Years and still got the magic!
In 1998, one of the greatest games of not only its time, but also one of the best games ever made to this very day debuted on the Nintendo 64 in an era where 3d gaming was relatively new and game designers were still getting used to what games made this way could do! They call it Ocarina of Time, the fifth game in the series and quite the pioneer for both the Zelda franchise and the 3D world of gaming. Namely, it invented the camera lock on, a technique found in just about every video game since then! How does it hold up in the year 2014 though?
Story 8/10: To put it simply, Oo T's story is a bit like the oldest story in existence Beowulf very simple in it's story telling, a typical good vs evil tale, but a good story nonetheless as you will want to play it time and again just to relive favorite moments whether it's sneaking past some guards just to talk to princess Zelda, hanging out in the woods just to listen to the catchy tune that is saria's song, exploring a creepy well that would scare the pants off of any little kid, or the epic showdown with the main villain as you use everything you've got as lightning strikes in the background and your main weapon is knocked out of your reach! Oot's story is really about the journey and the experiences you have during your quest more than any meaningful character development or shocking story revelations that we as gamers have come to expect from games in the last few years and sometimes a simple yet good story like Oot's is all you need!
Gameplay: 9.5/10: If you aren't playing the 3ds version, the old school graphics can be a bit off putting, but graphics don't really matter that much as long as the gameplay is great to which oot succeeds on that front! Fighting enemies using the targeting system is just plain fun, the puzzles can really mess with your mind sometimes, but are fair for the most part, Hyrule is full of secrets and uncovering those secrets using your items you collect along the way is what Legend of Zelda is at its best!
Overall, any gamer worth his/her salt should at least play Ocarina of Time once. There's a reason why despite its age, many still occasionally do a new playthrough and why the game still shows up in many top # lists of best games of all time!
Videogame Classic, but there have been better since
Playing Ocarina of Time today is not the same as playing it when it first came out, which I did not. The revolution of the lock-on camera would be lost on any who are not aware of it to begin with. And Zelda games in subsequent generations have improved on the combat and the level design significantly.
However, what makes this game number one on so many all time lists is still apparent. The bosses are as amazing as ever. The puzzles can be truly mind bending. Collecting is not only fun, but each item matters. And the music is even better than you'd expect from a game with an instrument in the title.
Ocarina of Time heralded the end of the 3d hurdle games had been in since they first began to use polygons. That alone will keep it in the history books forever. And though the formula was improved upon in Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword, Ocarina holds up surprisingly well when compared to more modern games.
On the Wii virtual console or on the 3DS rerelease with bonus content and better graphics, pick it up. You won't regret it.
Videogame Timeless and Ageless
It’s a rare game that still feels great to fire up a decade after playing it for the first time. It’s a singular, legendary one that feels great to fire up nearly a quarter-century on. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of those games. Released in 1998, during Nintendo’s great leap forward into 3D visual presentation, with a vast and vibrant world hitherto unseen in console adventure games, advances in gameplay, including the now-proverbial lock-on system without which any action-adventure game feels incomplete, and a melding of storytelling and atmosphere which make for a singularly fulfilling narrative experience, Ocarina of Time is a triumph for video games as a medium.
But it’s also fun to play. The combat and puzzles rarely feel repetitive or dull, and the dungeons are filled with interesting visuals and atmosphere to keep the experience of exploring them interesting. The game is accessible and easy to just jump into, without the plodding, extended narrative intro that future Zelda games would indulge in, or an Early Game Hell slow start of future titles like Majora’s Mask or Breath of the Wild, wherein gameplay gimmicks and/or the weight of a true open world experience make it hard to just pick up and play. The story, once thought of as vast at the time of its release, now feels breezy and tightly-plotted, without a bloated diet of side quests or exploration sandwiched between an interesting beginning and a climactic end. An average person can pick this game up and briskly complete it, feeling as though they’ve gotten the full experience, in maybe 25 hours, max.
The graphics of the original N64 version are admittedly dated, but the concern over this is largely irrelevant, in my opinion. Graphics can be easily remastered – but a bad game stays a bad game even if it’s made to look nicer. Whether the N64 version’s moodier color palette is better than the 3DS version’s brighter presentation is a matter of opinion, but the 3DS version may be a better choice for newcomers to the game because of its better resolution and improvements to the UI.
The soundtrack, even now, and especially for its time, is one of the best Nintendo ever made.
One final note: This is also one of the easiest N64 games to find through legitimate means, being rereleased in some form on every console since the N64.