The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest

"A free classic. Yay."

Adventure games usually have me quitting about half way (or sooner) through the game. But this game surprised me. On the N64, Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game I'd ever played. I didn't lose interest for a second. I kept playing through until I completed it, then I went in search of all the heart pieces and tried all the side quests. Now, in 2003 (nearly 2004) I can say I'm a Zelda fan. I've played every Zelda game there is to play. And when I pre-ordered The Wind Waker and got this little bonus disk, well, I guess it was a little tempting to just burst through. I did, but after that burst (and getting to be an Adult Link) I found myself bored with it - I've already been there, and done that. I got the same feeling as I did while playing Majora's Mask, with that stupid time travel idea, you know, a lot of 'been here, done that'. Regardless, this is a great game. Now set a spell, I'll unfold all a good review would cover, plus a little bit on Master Quest.

Graphics, put simply, are crap. They are not enhanced to take advantage of the Gamecube, they are not spiffed up, and you don't even notice the higher resolution Nintendo brags oh-so-much about. This game came out in 1999, on a near dead Nintendo 64, without the use of the expansion pack to take advantage. The graphics were OK back then, but that was back then - right now, I am no fan of the graphics. Something's look nice, like the shining on the shield and sword, and some areas look pretty neat, but nothing that would make you say 'wow' like in Wind Waker. Even Majora's Mask had that 'blur effect' that upped the ante in terms of graphics. Nintendo didn't add that or anything else to this. So, basically, you remember the OOT (Ocarina of Time) graphics on the N64? Prepare to welcome them again. 6/10.

Here's an area where OOT really shines - the music. All of the music is the kind of stuff where you hear it, and you start humming it - for the whole day. I loved all the temple music (the Forest and Shadow temple were the best, I think) and all the tunes you can play on your ocarina are so... compelling. I just loved it. The Geridue Valley, the Hylian Lake, all of the spots in OOT are enhanced with excellent music that makes you think Nintendo may have powers that read your mind and figure out what rocks. Sure, it isn't hip-hip or rock (like one may enjoy) but for some odd reason, in it's own cheesy style, it pulls off amazing music. I'm sure that you too will be astounded with this. 10/10.

Oh my, the gameplay! First of all, The Legend of Zelda games are all adventure games. Of coarse, Ocarina of time is no different. You control both Young Link and Link, and you're on a quest to rid Hyrule of Ganon (or Ganondorf, whoever you want to refer to him as). There are 8 temples, all of which are long and enjoyable. They are what present any actual challenge here, and it's where quite a bit of the game takes place. In these temples there lays a mini-boss, followed by a boss. These particular bad guys are really hard to defeat, and usually require something specific to destroy them. You collect little medallions from each of the temples. The game contains many, many side quests, and collecting all of the heart pieces is a difficult task as well. Here's an easy way to put this game - Think Lord of the Rings - The Return of King, with more adventure than action, and that one game counts for one of the 8 temples. Yes, Ocarina of Time is that big, and that doesn't include all the exploring out of temples you'll be doing. This game is long. This game is a bit difficult. This game is fun. I really can't find any gameplay faults that'd lower the score a point. I hate giving 10s away because it means it's perfect, and nothing's perfect for me. But Ocarina of Time's gameplay is as close to perfect as it gets. 10/10.

Well, playing the game a second time through is tiring, and can be a bit boring (I can say that, having played the N64 version through as well as this one). You probably won't be doing much playing again after you finish it once. But hey, there's a real cool bonus here. You also get Master Quest, a slightly different and more challenging version of Ocarina of Time. So imagine that long and hard game OOT, but harder and longer. Then you have the picture of Master Quest. So the replay value is there. Just not the kind you'd expect. 8/10.

Closing comments - It's a great game, filled with adventure and action. It's long, hard, challenging, and overall, fun. This is probably Nintendo's best game. Period. I'm serious. As a matter of fact, were I reviewing the N64 version, and had I done it way back when this was released, I would have given it a 10, easy. This game is a classic. Oh yeah, and it happens to be free!!! Well, at least if you pre-ordered Wind Waker. You may be able to find a used copy.

Verdict - Fun. Long. Challenging. The many things that make a great game. They're all here. And you know what? If this game had spiffed up visuals, I would give it s 10. I am indeed sorry I never reviewed this brilliant piece of work when it was released. But I can give it a lucky 9. And now, one more section - A small little review for Master Quest.

OK, almost nothing new here but the temples. An easy way to think of the difference is like so - harder, longer, and only for vets. It's something great, and a nice reward for playing Ocarina of time through (you don't actually have to play Ocarina of Time through, but you should. It's nearly impossible if you don't). Anyway, it's a nice addition.

And farewell!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/03