The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

"Most versions of OoT deserve this score, BUT not all! Confused? Read on!"

Note: all comments relate to the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (version 1.1) unless later noted.

Introduction:

It is a great sign of maturity on Nintendo's part for developing and publishing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is an involving adventure game. I would say, for games developed by Nintendo, this is the most mature game, in terms of story line, style, and gameplay. It is a shame that Nintendo does not seem to think so.

This is the fifth Zelda game, and the first Zelda game for the Nintendo 64.

The first two were on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The first was an adventure game with 2D graphics, enhanced by an overhead view. It was titled The Legend of Zelda, and is often considered by old school gamers, the best in the series. The second one, The Adventure of Link, was an action/RPG. It had a mix of side scrolling and the typical overhead view that the first Zelda game used.

The third game was on the Super Nintendo (SNES) and continued the overhead view. It was titled The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Big SNES fans often consider this game the best in the series. It continued the style of the original but with better graphics, sound, and gameplay.

The fourth is on the Game Boy. It was titled, the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. It continued the story line of the SNES game, and is also a 2D adventure game. However, at some points, side scrolling gameplay does reappear.

In all these games, and Ocarina of Time, you play as Link. You are a left-handed hero, dressed most often in green. Link has pointy ears, much like an elf. He is often characterized as being lazy, but he also has great courage.

Another character is Zelda, the kingdom of Hyrule's princess. You are often trying to save her in the games. The exceptions include Link's Awakening and many of the more recent games in the series, such as Majora's Mask.

The common villain (but not always) in these games, is Ganondorf. In beast form, he is often referred to as just Ganon. He often loves to kidnap Zelda and to take her away, in hopes to gain all three pieces of what is considered the Triforce. If gained, all three pieces would make him ruler of the world. This is bad, since he would only use the powers of the Triforce to destroy all hope in the world and to be a tyrant for all eternity.

This is where Link comes in. He is a common youth, and he is the only one with enough courage to overcome Ganon's plans.

Story:

The setting is a medieval/fantasy type atmosphere. Technology is not advanced like today, but magic does exist!

Much of the story of Ocarina of Time, is similar to the other games mentioned above. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creative mind behind the series, however decided to take what I consider a more mature route. Not only did the game story have the appeal for a young audience, it also had the power to entertain an older audience, not normally accustomed to Nintendo games.

The story starts out with Link, a young boy whom you play as, being awakened from a nightmare. Link is awakened by a fairy named Navi. Being a Kokiri, this is a good thing for Link. It is more common for a Kokiri to have a fairy companion than not.(Kokiri are forest people, very much like elves, in a lot of ways.)

Link is told by the fairy, she is his new companion. She also tells him the Great Deku Tree wishes to speak to him. Link, later must meet up with the Great Deku Tree and learn about a great evil. What this evil is, is unknown, and is only discovered as the story unfolds.

Pretty much, this evil will be discovered to be Ganondorf, the King of Thieves. To defeat him, and to save the Princess and the Triforce, Link must travel between present and future. In the future, Link will be older, in his teens. In the present, Link stays young.

For those that have never played that is what many people mean, when they mention young and adult Link.

I left a lot of the story out, but I found it compelling, and thought provoking, at least for a Nintendo game. You meet different kinds of characters, and many are different species other than what Link is.

When exploring and solving puzzles in dungeons, temples, or whatever, there actually seems to be a reason to do so.

Graphics:

What can I say? Wow! On the N64, the graphics are not only 3D (the first time for a Zelda game), but are actually detailed to give atmosphere that is hard to find on other N64 games. You view most of the game with a third person perspective. The same game engine for Mario 64 was used in this game, but changes were made a bit.

The 3D environments are places to explore. The lighting is excellent. Fires glow and cast shadows on the walls. The shift from day to night is very nice. The darkness of certain dungeons is eerie, but you can see where you are going.

The people, even if a bit blocky sometimes, move well. Link, young and adult, is detailed. His movements are fluid. His horse, Epona, is also well animated. Seeing Link riding the horse at the title screen is nice.

Certain locations, such as temples, were so detailed, that atmospheric heat waves can be seen in the air, and water reflects on the walls. And the boss battles, are wow! I found myself willing to fight again and again the same battles.

Graphically, even the item menu appears nice, and detailed. Plus the game is not overly detailed to where it is confusing.

Sound:

Yes, with a great musical score to top off the graphical atmosphere, some dungeons could be described as spooky for young children. For older players, it's more of a relief that good gameplay does not mean having to play a kiddy game.

The sounds of sword play, fires burning, waters splashing, ocarinas playing, laughing, moaning, bubbling lava, etc. are just some of the many sounds in the game.

The only negative might be Navi, constantly trying to talk to you, when all you want to do is explore. Yet, this is only minor, and I did not find the problem big enough to deduct points.

Gameplay:

Great! The ability to set any three items to 3 c-buttons is nice. This made some controls customary. The sword is used with 'B'. 'A' is the action button. The action button does whatever it says it does at the time, on the screen. For instance, you can stand in front of a door. The action button indicator in the upper portion of the screen may then say 'open.' Press 'A', and the door opens.

The Z-Trigger button is nice. It is effective to help target at enemies during sword play, or to target people to talk to. The Z-trigger being underneath the controller is comfortable, and I find it better than L-triggering, which is used now with the Gamecube games.

You control your character's movements with the N64 controller stick.

The one downside is the camera angle. It does not always wish to be where you want it to be. However, by pressing the upper c-button, you can get a first person view of where you are. People who love to jump in games, may also be disappointed. Link will only jump in the right situations, such as jumping over ledges and jumping up high steps.

My favorite item to use, to illustrate gameplay, is the bow and arrow. You can aim with a first person view. It is very accurate, and can even be used while riding the horse! Only adult Link can use it, but with magic arrows, it can be a real blast. For young Link, he gets to use the boomerang! Both these items are very effective in the game.

Play Time:

For fast learners the game may only take a couple days. However, they will be bound to miss something in the game. For average game players, and slower game players, it will seem very well mixed. For all game players, it will have replayability. There are many secrets to discover, and simply just playing the game is entertaining.

Final Recommendation (based on version number!):

For those that did not know, there were at least 3 different versions of the game! I will rate each version differently.

Version 1.1 of Ocarina of Time is what this review is based on. Version 1.1, easily gets a 10/10. I would buy this game, no doubts about it.

Version 1.0, gets a 9/10. These were the first copies of the game, and most were gold cartridges. Everything is the same except that this version of the game is more buggy. For collectors and 'trick' players, this may also be a must buy. Having more bugs is fun, but it also means the game is prone to freeze more often, or cause other unwanted events.

Version 1.2 is a big disappointment. This is the infamous edited version of Ocarina of Time. To not give too much away, I will just say in the Fire Temple, the chants were taken out of the music. In one battle, what normally would have been red blood, was made green! Shame Nintendo. Editing a game that many have enjoyed unedited is not fair. It takes away the maturity of the game, and forces me to give this version a rating of 8/10!!! I'd say, if you can avoid it, do not buy this. It will be hard however, since there is no way to tell by just the cart alone.

Summary:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
System: Nintendo 64
Story: Excellent, more mature.
Graphics: Great atmosphere, great boss battles.
Sound: Great music, some moments even haunting in nature.
Gameplay: Items such as bow and arrow, are fun and easy to use. Very responsive.
Play time: Balanced, something to play more than once.

version 1.0 9/10
version 1.1 10/10
version 1.2 8/10

overall score based on best version: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/03/03, Updated 06/10/03