Retro Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Congratulate me as I’ve just recently completely the timely N64 masterpiece (hehe, “Time”ly) known as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Released in the later half of the N64’s life time, the game has been critically acclaimed as one of the best videogame of all time by gamers of all genres.

A Work in the Making

Although the game was released in America on November 23, 1998, development originally was going on hand in had with Super Mario 64 – a game released at the launch of the Nintendo 64, production of the game took much longer going through a ton of revisions and rewrites. Packaged into a 32-megabyte cartridge, Ocarina of Time was one of the largest (in terms of data) games ever released for the N64.

Plot Overview

Ganandof - The Antagonist

This incarnation of The Legend of Zelda starts off with the hero of the story, Link, a child of the Kokiri village located deep in the forest. Considered an outcast for not having a fairy like the rest of the children, one day Link is greeted by a fairy named Navi after suffering a terrible nightmare. Turns out Navi was sent by the Great Deku tree who later informs Link that he is destined to save Hyrule from Great King of Evil Ganondorf as well as rescue the kingdom’s princess, Zelda. Link navigates through multiple dungeons while collecting and using various weapons and power ups. Probably the most exciting twist in the story is the use of time travel; switching between young and adult Link in order to solve puzzles and move the game forward.




TV Commercial

Game Play

Young and Older Link

The game sports elements from three genres: Action, Puzzle solving, and Role-playing and each genre is prominantly displayed from the revolutionary fighting style, the time consuming mysterious dungeons and the beautiful story that leads the hero through the quest. The game itself is largely a Roam Free game with Hyrule field acting as the central hub for the game. Most side quests can be done in any order and many tasks can be started and finished later when new abilities become available. The differences between “Old” and “Young” Link makes areas more interesting the second time around as new things can be collected and the changes of scenery.

Link's gear

Battle System

Typical of the The Legend of Zelda series, Link’s trusty weapons are his sword and shield. Attacking foes head on requires both patience and reflexes as they are in real time and open to a 3-D plane of movement. Other weapons and upgrades, including a slingshot and a bow and arrow, as well as magic spells increase the hero’s range and power.

"Z-Targeting"

The most revolutionary aspect of the fighting style is a targeting system referred to as “Z-targeting” (activated by pressing the “Z” button when played on the N64). This ability allows Link to focus on single targets while still moving around. It allows for the player to quickly dodge and jump away from attacks and make more precise and powered up attacks without missing the foe. This type of targeting would later be used in other video games (Such as the  MegaMan Legends series). Whether the player chooses to target or attack head on, the fighting system of the Legend of Zelda is one of the best real time weapon based adventure games available.

A Truly TIME-less Video Game

Gamecube remake
Box art

Although Ocarina of Time quickly gained a direct sequel in “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask”, video games aren’t always about what’s next. The high replay value and average play through time of over 30 hours led Nintendo to port this game…Not once, not twice, but (including the Wii’s Virtual Console port) but FOUR times. A Gamecube re-release including Ocarina of Time and the director’s cut: “Ocarina of Time: Master Quest” and a bundle game “The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition” featuring ports of The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask.

The most recent version is a complete recreation that was released in the early days of the Nintendo 3DS titled “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D”. With real 3-D and enhanced graphics, this verson took Link through the game in smoother and detailed graphics that exceeded the N64 and Gamecube versions.

Also good to know, the original N64 version was released in 3 different cartridges with each subsequent one fixing glitches and sporting minor changes from bugs to censorship. The original cartridge was released in all gold – one of the few games to be released on a non-gray cartridge. Later incarnations would be in the standard format

Recommendation

I totally and completely recommend this game to be a part of any serious gamer’s library. There’s no excuse not to have a copy considering how it’s available on at least 4 systems. I give this game a full 10 out of 10, a five star ranking, 2 thumbs up and MC Hammer Bro. seal of approval. 

The Triforce