The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

"Not even close to greatest game on the N64, never mind of all time"

I don't know what it is about Ocarina of Time (OoT) that makes people love it so much. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game and it defined the Legend of Zelda series, but why do people think this game is so awesome? This is a good game and a fairly strong point in the Nintendo 64 lineup, but it's nowhere near the greatest game of all time. This is still a good game and anyone who has an N64 (and still uses it) would probably be satisfied, but it's not exactly mind-blowing to a huge extent. Why? Keep reading.

STORY

Normally, I only focus on the story and give it attention when I'm reviewing RPGs, but I thought I should throw this in because I've heard others say that the story in this game is superb. In all honesty, it's pretty good for a Nintendo 64, but it's far from great. You play as Link (big surprise) as he races the King of Evil, Ganondorf, to find three powerful stones that can open the Door of Time. Once the Door of Time is opened, Ganondorf would be able to get the Ocarina of Time and have control over time itself. I really didn't find the story that great, but there IS that plot-changing event that happens around the middle of the game. (actually, it's more like the first quarter of the game...or the first third) Things get interesting from that moment and it really demonstrates a solid story. Sadly, it's after that moment when things become repetitive and predictable. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say this: the story starts off awesome, it peaks about 30% to 40% of the way through, and then it just drops. It's sad that the story could have had so much potential but hardly anything was done with.

GAMEPLAY

There is pretty solid game play here, but like the story, it gets repetitive after a while. You start off learning the combat basics, and there is a unique combat system in the game. To fight, you lock on to an enemy, approach the enemy, and you'll be guaranteed to land a successful blow if you're close enough. Link also has other weapons, like Deku Nuts for range. They work the same way as the sword, but you don't have to be close up to use them. If the game was just swinging a sword at enemies, the game would be boring, so a few puzzles were thrown in.

There is a surprisingly large amount of puzzles in this game, and most of them are challenging in their own way. Most of the puzzles, though, just include Link taking a giant block and pushing it onto a switch or somewhere that would help him reach a greater height. Some puzzles are easy, while some will make you want to rip your hair out because of how frustrating they can get. (the water temple comes to mind)

Of course, there are a lot of boss battles thrown in, as well as a (for once!) good final boss battle. Sadly, most of the bosses are fairly easy and it won't take you long at all to figure out. And just in case you can't figure out how to hurt them, a little fairy named Navi will give you some hints if you ask her. (did I forget to mention? Navi is a fairy who tries to give you advice throughout the game. She's more annoying than a stubborn telemarketer and you'll learn to hate her. Trust me)

The game play lost points because of the mostly simple boss battles, as well as annoying puzzles and simply because of how repetitive the game gets. When you find a stone or visit a temple, you'll know that your next objective will simply be to find the next and do the exact same thing. What's worse is that the game doesn't give you very many hints of where exactly you're supposed to go to complete your next task, so you could spend a while wandering around the massive world of Hyrule looking for the next temple or stone. Oh yes, and the game doesn't have a lot of replay value either. There are a few sidequests, but they don't cancel out the repetitive game play and the annoying puzzles.

GRAPHICS

There's no denying it, the graphics in this game are simply superb. While they may look a little blocky when compared to today's games, these graphics at the time were just about the best you could do. Link looks very well done, as does all the other characters you meet on your journey. The enemies aren't a pain to look at, including all the bosses you have to battle. Of course, the best part is the scenery. Inside towns and buildings, everything looks realistic for N64 quality and, at times, I even forgot I was playing a Nintendo 64 game and not a Gamecube game. And when you're outside towns and in the overworld, the areas around you look beautiful. You want to save this world because of how great it looks. When thinking of everything other than the overworld, I'm amazed they could fit all of it onto a Nintendo 64 cartridge. Some items and NPCs look pretty blocky, but that's unimportant and not worth raising a stink about. Simply put, this game looks stunning. If I had to play a Nintendo 64 game just for the graphics, this game would be my first choice.

SOUND

This is where the game starts to lose it a little more. There really isn't a lot of great sound in this game. I'll start off with the background music. I can't remember much of the music that played during the game for the life of me. The music was pretty quiet sometimes and repetitive, like during fights. When an enemy was near and the fast paced music starts playing, you'll enjoy it at first, but it later gets drowned out in the sound of Link grunting and the sword clashing. That brings me to my next point: the sound effects. Sure, the sound effects in this game aren't so awful, but they're further from great. I'll start off with the good sound effects, which mostly come from the characters. Each character has their own sound effect or voice clip (Link has a grunt, Ganondorf has an evil laugh, etc.) and the sounds of enemies attacking and being attacked in fights sounds pretty cool. There are also some classic LoZ sound effects, such as when Link picks up a plot critical item or when he pulls something out of a chest. In other words, sound effects are good; background music is bad. The boss battle music is okay, but it's nothing to get excited about. Some places like Gerudo fortress and the Overworld have great music that you'll enjoy listening to, but most of them are forgettable and you'll ignore them after a while.

LENGTH

This game is pretty short; it shouldn't keep you occupied for very long. My guess is that it would take the average person 15-20 hours to finish. It may even get longer if you get stuck doing some puzzles (even though the only one that gave me trouble was the previously mentioned Water Temple), and if you just fight the same enemies over and over, then the game could get repetitive, which would make it almost feel longer.

CLOSING NOTES

I don't want to make it sound like I don't like the game, because I really don't. I just think it was way too repetitive and predictable, and some of the puzzles were annoying, even if they weren't hard to solve. If the bosses were slightly harder and more complex, then the game might have gotten a better score. The game isn't too long and the sound isn't great, but the graphics make this game nothing to scoff at.

Bear in mind, I'm not trying to tell you this is a bad game, because it isn't. The gameplay is pretty solid but has its flaws, the story is predictable about half way through (I mean, REALLY predictable) and the sound isn't exactly memorable. I don't know how this game managed to be so popular, because to me it is the most over-hyped game I can remember. Maybe it's just because I'm not a huge Legend of Zelda fan, but I don't see how this game could have earned the "Best Game Ever" title that so many others have given it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/05, Updated 01/06/08

Game Release: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (US, 11/23/98)