The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

"Quite simply the best game ever made."

This is the best game ever created.

Bold words to say, especially in a world where Final Fantasy VII freaks and Halo junkies rule. And yet, ever since that fateful day in 1998 when The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time cartridges were being popped into Nintendo 64 systems all across the world, the Nintendo faithful have gathered in agreement to gaze in wonder at the game that they would call, almost seven years later, the greatest achievement in game development ever to be conceived by mankind. The reason is because Ocarina is truly one of the few games to perfectly translate an already brilliant franchise into the three-dimensional world while at the same time present new ideas and concepts to the gaming world. It is truly the blueprint for all games to come.

The series began in 1987 with The Legend of Zelda on NES. After the catastrophe that was Zelda II: Adventures of Link (I shall say no more) the franchise has been on an incredible winning streak with its fans, especially with the SNES masterpiece A Link to the Past. But after four two-dimensional outings on various Nintendo platforms, Ocarina of Time was the series' first 3D iteration. And oh, how glorious it was – and still is.

Although it's technical the fifth game in the series, many Zelda fans believe that Ocarina is the first in the overall Zelda story. Ocarina takes place in the renowned world of Hyrule, and begins in the Kokiri Forest, where its inhabitants, the green tunic-wearing Kokiri people, never grow up and remain children forever. What's more, all of the children there have a fairy companion of their own, save for one boy who is without a fairy. That boy is, of course, Link. When the game starts up, the Great Deku Tree, ruler of Kokiri Forest, sends Link a fairy of his own (named Navi) and calls upon him to remove a terrible cursed bestowed upon him.

Players enter the inside of the Great Deku Tree and are sent on their first mission, which is to head deep into the tree's roots and destroy Gohma, a monstrous spider holding the curse. It is during this introduction that players are introduced to the game's controls and concepts. In previous, two-dimensional iterations of the franchise, players would travel across the land and enter various dungeons that contained many traps, enemies and puzzles, and ended in large-scale boss battles. Ocarina of Time is no different, and perfectly implements the brilliant ideas and concepts of the series into the third dimension. In this first dungeon in the game, players travel to the top of the tree to find a valuable slingshot that can be aimed in any direction, then venture into the roots to the battle with Gohma, which involves several different strategies combined into one. The dungeon also includes fighting, jumping, swimming, and block-pushing, all through the helpful (if somewhat annoying) instruction of Navi.

Once Gohma is defeated, Link leaves the Deku Tree's insides to discover that he's too late, and that the great tree is going to die no matter what, but not without an important message. Apparently, the curse was placed upon him by an evil man from the western desert by the name of Ganondorf. Link is to, against the rules of the Kokiri people, leave the forest and head to Hyrule Castle, where he will meet the princess of Hyrule, Zelda. Princess Zelda seems to be the only other who knows of Ganondorf's evil intentions, and the two team up to prevent him from ever securing his reign over Hyrule. What follows is a quest of epic proportions that will give the player something to remember for the rest of their life.

Ocarina of Time's story sounds like very typical Zelda fare. You've got a silent but cool and deadly main character, a darling damsel-in-distress princess, an (above all things) evil villain intent on world domination, a huge world filled with dungeons, a sword, and all that jazz. But one of the things that makes this Zelda such a wonderful one is that it manages to take all of the clichés the series has set for itself and turn them into something new anyway. You'd think that because a princess is involved, the plot would revolve around saving her. Save for one specific point in the game, this does not hold true, as most of your adventure lies around finding the means to stop Ganondorf. In fact, thanks to a major twist towards the end of the game, you'll eventually discover that the princess was indeed very safe… and far more capable of taking care of herself than we first thought.

And here's another thing. It's no secret that Link, the series' icon main character, never talks. He never spoke before Ocarina and he never spoke after. However, in previous games, he's simply been this little two-dimensional sprite with absolutely so personality whatsoever. Although Link never actually holds up a conversation in Ocarina, this 3D game has given Nintendo the opportunity to show off a bit of emotion in our otherwise silent main character. When Link whips out his sword and strikes away at his enemies, he'll yell “Yah!” When Link gets hit by an enemy attack, he'll howl in pain. And he'll scream when he falls a long distance. What's more, Link's facial expression will change as well. I'll never forget the opening sequence where, in a dream, Ganondorf approaches Link, and the camera zooms in on Link's frightened face.

Ocarina's story also proves that you don't need to go overboard to provide an epic gaming experience. Although it's deep and fun, the plot is still simple and never overdone, unlike the other big hit of the time, Final Fantasy VII, which came out less than a year before. And to make things better (in my humble opinion), Nintendo never uses CG cutscenes to portray its story. In 1997, Square used computer-generated visuals to display the most important scenes of its big blockbuster, FF7. Why? Because they knew that they could never achieve an entirely cinematic feeling with pre-rendered backgrounds and characters that looked like half-melted LEGO people. In Ocarina, the fully three-dimensional environments and characters allow for Nintendo to create intriguing and elaborate cutscenes without the use of Pixar-style programming.

But arguably the greatest new feature in Ocarina is its villain. It's a well known and easy-to-figure-out secret that Ganondorf is the human incarnation of the classic Zelda villain Ganon. However, Ganondorf is a much more compelling villain because he's human. In previous games, Ganon wanted to simply kidnap the princess and destroy Link. Why? Because he was a monster, and that's what monsters do. As a human, Ganondorf talks like a human – or rather, he talks like an evil human. He'll threaten people, discuss his intentions, lay out a plan for world domination, and then do it. And if you try to stop him, he'll tell you off. And he'll go out of his way to do what he wants.

Because of this, Ocarina opens up an interesting play mechanic that feels somewhat similar to the light/dark world aspect of A Link to the Past, and that is time travel. Eventually, Link will be given the ability to travel seven years into the future and back. When Link first travels through this river of time, he comes out fully grown up, which poses the interesting question of “why did Link grow up if he's a Kokiri?” Not only does the time traveling aspect of Ocarina make the story significantly more interesting (you'll see the horrible things Ganondorf has done during the seven years you've been absent), but it adds a new layer to the gameplay. There are certain items that can only be used in your child or adult form. People you talked to as a kid will remember you as an adult. Certain places are only available during certain time periods. It's a wonderful mechanic that completely changes the way Ocarina is played.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The true joy of Ocarina is the game's ability to perfectly capture the feeling of being on an adventure. No, better yet – you're living everyone's dream of being a little boy and becoming a hero to all. You'll travel across the fairly large land of Hyrule, meeting all sorts of people, battling enemies, and doing things you previously could never do in a game. It's the sense of freedom while still maintaining a linear path for the player to follow that makes Ocarina such a compelling experience. When I first stepped out of Kokiri Forest and bounded through the enormous plains of Hyrule Field (the game's overworld), I stopped for a moment to gaze around me. In the distance I could see many things. I saw the outline of a gargantuan castle way out in the distance. I saw a towering volcano with a ring of smoke hovering above it. I saw a large path following a river and leading into a great canyon. Little did I know I would be visiting all of these places throughout the course of my epic journey. And then I took off into the sunset toward my destination, and thought to myself, “This is going to be quite an adventure.” Freedom, indeed.

Take this, for example. At one point in Ocarina, you'll be given the opportunity to befriend and eventually ride a horse named Epona. Although it's certainly nothing new nowadays to ride an animal in a videogame, in 1998 it was simply revolutionary to have the ability to hop onto this horse and ride her around. You could get to places faster, making the feature a fairly convenient little idea, but it's really just about riding around and having a good time. Towards the second half of the game, you'll be asked to gain access into a large desert valley (Gerudo Valley) by crossing a small fjord. The fjord is too big to jump on foot, but there is an item you'll eventually get that allows you to cross it. On the other hand, I used my head and decided to mount Epona and take her for a spin. Riding into the valley, charging at the fjord at full speed and watching the horse leap over the frighteningly high gap in a cinematic wonder is one of the most memorable moments in any game.

Ocarina introduces what's called the action icon. This feature was of great help back in 1998 when it was all so new, and it's used in so many games today that it doesn't seem so impressive. The A button controls most of Link's actions that aren't otherwise performed with another button. Which means that when you want to open a door, talk to a character, pick up an item, read a sign, push a block, or perform a variety of other actions, you've got to press A. This is where the action icon comes in. When there's an action to be performed with the A button, the action will appear on a blue icon at the top of the screen (which is meant to resemble the A button on the N64 controller). So, when you step up close to a sign that can be read, the action “Read” will appear at the top of the screen, and by pressing A, you'll read the sign. This practical system alerts you when something can be done and winds up being incredibly helpful.

The battle system is also handled very well, thanks to the brilliant targeting system that Nintendo has implemented. Although the option to simply whip out your sword and start slicing up foes is here, you have the ability to, at any time, hit the Z trigger to target the nearest enemy, making it very easy to strike it down in whatever manner you see fit. By targeting an enemy, the camera stays focused on that enemy, and all of Link's attacks are directed towards it. For instance, if you wanted to shoot an enemy with your slingshot and didn't use Z-targeting (as it's called), you'd have to switch to first-person vision and manually aim and shoot with the analog stick. By targeting, Link would automatically aim the slingshot at his foe, at which point you'd simply have to fire away. The Z trigger is also used to straighten the camera when the burden of battle isn't upon you.

Visually, Ocarina is a masterpiece. Not just technically, mind you, but artistically as well. Although the game certainly looks dated from the modern gamer's perspective, you have to consider that this game was made in 1998. Things were, of course, different back then. The character models are detailed and well animated. Environments are all beautifully crafted (considering N64's hardware), and each area of the game has its own distinct look and feel. Lighting and particle effects are put to good use, and the game balances 3D architecture with 2D objects just often enough to make it work without being ugly. Pickup items such as hearts and rupees are actually two-dimensional sprites, and some occasional small areas are actually made up of pre-rendered backdrops. Ocarina perfectly creates a harmony between artistic wonder and technologic awe that really did set the bar for games of its time, even if it was seven years ago.

Sound is also very well done, though there are a few areas that, while good, aren't quite as perfect as the rest of the game. Music is a big one. Ocarina's soundtrack is very above-average, as all of the environments have a very appropriate theme to them. Hyrule Field, for instance, has a very upbeat and enjoyable song to go along with it. The primitive Goron City is accompanied by a nice bongo beat. And Gerudo Valley has a now-classic guitar theme that fits the mood oh-so-perfectly. It's wonderful adventuresome music that never drops below the game's serious but lighthearted motif. So what's the problem? Well, for one thing, the classic Zelda theme song is missing – a major downside in the sound department. Also, although the effects are mostly superb, some might complain that the game recycles the old Zelda sound chimes a bit too often. There's also no voice acting, but there's no way that could have been done… Even on a cart this big.

So where does Ocarina stand today? Well, it's certainly inferior to the games of this generation, but what did you expect? Ocarina was the best of its kind for its time, and today, it stands as the blueprint for all action/adventure games, and possibly all games in general. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single recent game of this generation that didn't somehow draw influence from Ocarina, whether it be the brilliance of its controls, the diversity of its design, the beauty of its visuals, or simply how well the franchise was translated from a 2D plane to the marvelous 3D world. Whatever the reason, Ocarina is a game that more than deserves your utmost respect.

Pros

+ A brilliantly realized 3D adventure – the greatest game of all time.
+ Perfectly translated the Zelda gameplay into the third dimension.
+ The constant theme of lighthearted heroism rings true.
+ Brilliant control scheme sends the genre in new directions.
+ Intense battles perfectly by an ingenious targeting system.
+ Amazing dungeon designs have players using their heads like never before.
+ Gorgeous graphics for an N64 game – Ocarina jumps off the screen.
+ An incredibly well-balanced design.
+ A huge adventure with tons to do.
+ A benchmark in the way videogames are made.

Cons

- Some will complain that the plot is too simple.
- The boss battles are a tad easy and aren't terribly original (though still fun).
- The music isn't quite as perfect as the rest of the game.

Overall: 10/10

No jokes, no exceptions – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time really is that good. Not only does it serve as an example for all to follow, but it sends the genre – no, the industry altogether – in new directions it's never been in before. It is the greatest game of all time, and one that stands out in an already exquisite set of classic, benchmark titles. Even if you don't think it's the greatest, you can't help but appreciate the sheer number of ways in which Ocarina set the industry straight and propelled it forward – anyone who says otherwise has no business talking about videogames as far as I'm concerned. Ocarina is a truly brilliant title that sets the standards, and one that should be played by anyone and everyone.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/04, Updated 07/25/05