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[Funyarinpa]

Warning: This thread might contain unmarked Ocarina Of Time spoilers.

I finally bought OOT3D, a game that I was expecting a lot from since it's one of the most revered games I have ever seen. This is my first time playing OoT, in other words.

I just got the second stone and encountered the fairy at the top of Death Mountain. The story isn't very intriguing. I was spoiled by the manual that I was going to be playing as Adult Link as well, so I'm waiting for that to happen for the story to really kick off. It's just a reason to go into dungeons so far.

The gameplay is pretty fun. The lock-on system works pretty well and using the sword is fun and satisfying. However, many things felt very archaic. The camera has issues, I couldn't see where I was walking towards or jumping more than once. It doesn't get too repetitive thanks to new enemies and characters being introduced often. The whole "room refreshes when you go through a door and come back" thing is a bit annoying, but understandable. Bosses were easier than I expected (I only played Link's Awakening from the Zelda games before this and that was more difficult when it came to bosses). It's also kind of annoying how you need to walk through Hyrule Field. It gets tedious very quickly.

I was not impressed by the graphics. The textures and character models all look very archaic and not a single character is really a pleasure to look at. The framerate is quite stable though. It only slowed down when I was in that room full of breakable pots at the entrance of Hyrule Castle Town. I try not to get graphics in the way of my enjoyment, but OOT3D's graphics proved to be a bit detrimental to my experience. Yes, I am aware that this was released on a Nintendo handheld four years ago.

The soundtrack is pretty nice at times, mostly the songs that Link can play with the ocarina. There isn't a song I really hated, but nothing so far was very memorable. Pretty good overall, but not anything special.

Overall, so far I am rather disappointed in OoT 3D. It isn't the charming adventure I expected it to be yet. I'm glad that I got the chance to try it, though. I'll finish it nonetheless, in order to later play MM3D if nothing else (MM's plot seems a lot more eerie and interesting).

 

[Firemind]

Ocarina of Time aged gracefully, like fine wine.

 

[Peltz]

I'm glad you're going to to keep on playing..... It gets good.

To be fair, OP, you're still near the beginning of the game. Avoid spoilers at all costs, but yea, the story isn't the biggest draw of this game. I don't want to say much else though. Zelda games are all about discovery and I'd rather not spoil it.

To be honest, creating a LTTP thread may be harmful to your play through at this point because you only have 2 spiritual stones and are still starting out.

 

[Chris1]

I played OOT first time on 3ds too, loved it. I don't know about best game ever but it definitely ranks very high for me. If you haven't unlocked adult link yet, keep going. It gets much better... You're pretty much still at the beginning of the game lol.

 

[Celine]

Plots are overall quite light in every Zelda game.
Beyond the proclaim of being "the best game ever" and such which is debatable what's impressive about Ocarina of Time (and Super Mario 64 and a few other 3D games from that generation) is that it still hold up well.
Sure there are some flaws like 3d camera could be better (but it is still robust enough) but if you consider how most 3D games from 15-20 years ago aged then OoT is a miracle.

In the context of 3D Zelda games I think that OoT still has an advantage over the successors despite being the first one and that's the brisk pacing.

 

[Madrugador]

Played the N64 version at launch and the 3DS version a few hears ago. Still a masterpiece IMO.

I like Majora's Mask more though.

 

[I'm Spartacus]

You use the word "archaic" several times. You do realize the game is about 18 years old?

 

[Real Hero]

it is as perfect as a game is going to be.

 

[bengraven]

It isn't the charming adventure I expected it to be yet.

It was in 1998.

A lot of games have surpassed it in the time since, at least in charm.

 

[Undubbed]

Just beat this version a few days ago purely so I can open the Master Quest. Played the first dungeon and was very pleased with the rearrangements, not only in the dungeons but it seems the overworld is rearranged too. Should be interesting. But now I'm burnt out and don't feel like playing it right now. Oh, well.

 

[ShadowOwl]

Played the first dungeon and was very pleased with the rearrangements, not only in the dungeons but it seems the overworld is rearranged too.

The whole game world has been mirrored compared to the original Master Quest, including the dungeons. Can't remember any major changes done to the overworld since normal Ocarina of Time.

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

Alright so you've just started the game. Let us know when you get a ways into it, yeah?

 

[maxcriden]

The whole game world has been mirrored compared to the original Master Quest, including the dungeons. Can't remember any major changes done to the overworld since normal Ocarina of Time.

Are the dungeons only mirrored or do they include the original Master Quest changes as wel

 

[Lights and Waves]

Still the greatest game of all time. I think you had to be there to get the full effect.

 

[UncleSporky]

OoT3D was my first time putting in serious effort, too. I'd done the first two dungeons a couple times before, once on the Cube bonus disc, that sort of thing. Never really tried to get further than that. I always found it difficult to play with its frame rate and kinda unrefined controls/physics, mostly because Wind Waker was my first 3D Zelda.

Playing the whole game didn't really change my perception of it. I will say that if nothing else it is a nice long game with a lot to do, better than Wind Waker in that department (the dungeon department). But it just doesn't have the same magic for me that I'm sure it does for those who are nostalgic about it.

 

[SolarMystic]

I was a bit disappointed as well, as a first time player. Keep meaning to give it another shot though.

 

[Übermatik]

I'm extremely biased when it comes to Ocarina... It's my favourite game of all time, and I find it hard to pick holes in it.You're quite early on in the game, and there's some real surprises and challenges ahead for you, so don't give up!


I think the graphics of the original hold up really well (nostalgia glasses?), so I can't see how you're disappointed by the 3DS visuals... although not stunning, they're not offensive in any way.

 

[Banjotanooki]

I was spoiled by the manual that I was going to be playing as Adult Link as well, so I'm waiting for that to happen for the story to really kick off

Errr...doesn't the cover of the game already spoil that?

 

[Robin64]

Are the dungeons only mirrored or do they include the original Master Quest changes as wel

Yeah, both mirrored and with the new layouts from the original Master Quest.

 

[Greddleok]

You're focusing on tiny details to the level that I feel you're missing the point...


I played this recently (well a year ago) and it had aged fantastically. The mechanics are still enjoyable, the narrative is sparse so that it's not intrusive but enjoyable enough to keep you going and want to find out what happens next.


Getting spoiled about adult link cracked me up. I hope you're joking about that.

 

[M.D]

I started playing A Link Between Worlds after taking a long break from it, currently at

Spoiler

Lorule

.

OOT3D is next and will be my first time playing a 3D Zelda game properly, so I'm really looking forward to it

 

[Mr-Joker]

I feel that you're being a tad harsh on the game, I mean I can't think of thing that the game does wrong.

Well other than Navi being fricking annoying when trying to lock on. ¬_¬;

Are the dungeons only mirrored or do they include the original Master Quest changes as wel

Mirrored, includes the master quest changes and double damage.

 

[psychotron]

After playing Ocarina on N64, it took the spot as my favorite game of all time. That and FFVII still fight for that spot. Anyway, I did everything in that game, and by the time I was set to face the final fight, my ass was ready.

Going back years lady on the 3DS, I can't imagine them treating the game with more respect, while at the same time giving it a facelift in graphics and frame rate. It's smoother, more colorful, clearer...it's glorious.

 

[myco666]

My first time with OOT was also with 3DS and I pretty much agree with you. It is by no means a bad game but it definetily isn't the holy grail of gaming most people make it out to be. It feels rather mediocre to be honest. Sure when it was released it might have been really good and impressive game but IMO it hasn't aged that well.

 

[king picollo]

When it was released it felt amazing. Yes it's going to age compared to modern games so maybe it won't stand up.

I respect your opinion but you're wrong best game ever.

 

[KHlover]

Wait OP so you haven't beaten the 3rd dungeon yet? Bit early for creating a thread, isn't it? You barely beat a fifth of the game so far.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

The fact that it can be looked at with a pair of 2015 eyes and think it's "pretty good" says everything about this game. If a game from 1998 can be pretty good by 2015 standards, it's a great fucking game.

If you played this game on release, it's almost impossible to not consider it one of the best games of all time.

 

[Jamix012]

As much as the game feels like its universally loved, as time has gone on its critics have come out. You're entitled to the opinion that it's not very good. It's one of my favourites of all time, but I can see people not enjoying it today in light of better Zelda's and other games released since.

 

[Macka]

I can forgive criticism of the gameplay and graphics considering you're playing an 18 year old game for the first time, but you don't like the music either? That's surprising. One of the best game soundtracks ever imo.

 

[ShadowOwl]

Are the dungeons only mirrored or do they include the original Master Quest changes as wel

Master Quest wouldn't be Master Quest without the changed to the dungeons, would it?

 

[maxcriden]

Yeah, both mirrored and with the new layouts from the original Master Quest.

Mirrored, includes the master quest changes and double damage.

Excellent, thanks gents!

Master Quest wouldn't be Master Quest without the changed to the dungeons, would it?

Heck, you'd hope not, but you never know!

 

[Funyarinpa]

You use the word "archaic" several times. You do realize the game is about 18 years old?

It was in 1998.

A lot of games have surpassed it in the time since, at least in charm.

With all the praise about the 3DS remake being great and OoT aging amazingly well according to general reception, I was expecting I would not have to excuse the flaws I found to be due to the game's age.

I'm extremely biased when it comes to Ocarina... It's my favourite game of all time, and I find it hard to pick holes in it.You're quite early on in the game, and there's some real surprises and challenges ahead for you, so don't give up!


I think the graphics of the original hold up really well (nostalgia glasses?), so I can't see how you're disappointed by the 3DS visuals... although not stunning, they're not offensive in any way.

I hate N64-era graphics, so I do think that OOT3D is WAY better compared to the original when it comes to graphics. It's just that the textures still feel incredibly low-res. I guess that I should just attribute that to the 3DS' specs which were low-grade hardware even in 2011, but I have a hard time doing that since the game is still on a current gen platform.

Errr...doesn't the cover of the game already spoil that?

You're focusing on tiny details to the level that I feel you're missing the point...


I played this recently (well a year ago) and it had aged fantastically. The mechanics are still enjoyable, the narrative is sparse so that it's not intrusive but enjoyable enough to keep you going and want to find out what happens next.


Getting spoiled about adult link cracked me up. I hope you're joking about that.

I wasn't joking, but it indeed is kind of silly that the cover and the opening video didn't spoil me on that before I read the manual, hahaha! Anyway, I'm not really pissed or angry about it or something. It was just an offhand remark lol.

I don't feel that I'm focusing on details but rather things that persist throughout the game.

I feel that you're being a tad harsh on the game, I mean I can't think of thing that the game does wrong.

Well other than Navi being fricking annoying when trying to lock on. ¬_¬;

Rather than doing things badly, it just doesn't feel good enough for me since I went in expecting something exceptional. Objectively viewed, maybe it's a very good game but I just don't like it as much as most people do.



I'll be playing some more and see if my opinions change. I didn't know I was that early in the game. Anyway, once my opinion on the game changes significantly or I make some significant progress, I'll update with another post. Cheers!

 

[peace]

OOT must surely have aged better than most games?

Do you know when I used to babysit my neace and nephew they used to BEG me to play OTT so they could just watch and commentate? No childs TV or movie ever got them so engrossed and interested...No other game has had that effect on me.
Even my old girlfriend used to sit and watch me play this game!

 

[Yarbskoo]

Ocarina of Time isn't really revered for its story. Ocarina of Time's strengths mostly come from its dungeon design and pacing.

As for the graphics, I didn't think they were that bad. You have to realize that this isn't just a handheld game from four years ago, but it's also an enhanced port of a game that's not too far off from its 20th birthday.

Also, the soundtrack is right up there with A Link to the Past as the best in the series. Windmill Hut and Gerudo Valley are exceptionally good, some of my favorite pieces of music from any video game.

 

[Oracle Dragon]

Op, I must admit I was just like you. I'm a Zelda fan, and I never played the original on N64. I finally got it for 3DS and I would say the first 1/3 of the game was underwhelming. Not bad by any stretch, but I found it dull and it certainly didn't grab me to play more. However after that initial hump I found it got a lot better and suddenly I couldn't stop playing it, with especially the last 1/4 of the game being excellent. If you like 3D Zeldas and can get through that first chunk, it does pay off... at least in my experience.

 

[Benzychenz]

With all the praise about the 3DS remake being great and OoT aging amazingly well according to general reception, I was expecting I would not have to excuse the flaws I found to be due to the game's age.

Well that's the thing, it's not a remake. It's a port with touched up models/textures and a few tweaks.

 

[TheOnlyStig]

What OoT lacks in graphic fidelity and deep story, it makes up for it with the devilishly good dungeon design, fantastic boss battles, charming music and overall dense atmosphere.

While the game has aged quite a bit, some parts more than others, it's quite outstanding for a (3D) game of this age to be as playable to this day. A lot of mid- to late 90s games have aged so horribly they verge on the unplayable today

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

 

[Yarbskoo]

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

Ehh... While later games do specific things better than OoT, they also generally add a ton of padding and hand holding that really breaks the pacing, and have their own unique flaws. Ocarina may not be the best at any one thing, but in my opinion it's still one of the strongest overall packages in the series because of the way it's constructed.

 

[Shuggananas]

If you're having issues with the camera, abuse Z locking, it forces the camera behind you.

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

If it was less filled with bullshit I'd agree with you. OoT is straight to the point and my only concern with it is non skippable cutscenes, I'd like to skip them in replays.

As for bosses OP, the first two are a joke, the rest are really good

 

[SerTapTap]

I can't imagine thinking TP is better than OoT. Sure it basically tries to be OoT 2.0 and there's graphical and control refinements (partially undone by waggle to sword), but with a few exceptions the overworld is crappy (only the lake really stood out and to a lesser extent the very short desert) and the dungeons are still inferior IMO, and it loses all of the cool time stuff. Wolf Songs were also crap compared to the ocarina. Awful final battle too, I swear OoT iron knuckles are more of a challenge than that final duel.

And stick with it OP, you've basically played through the tutorial and one early dungeon--I rather like Dodongo's cavern but until you get adult link you're just playing around.

 

[Magicpaint]

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

I strongly disagree with this, and I love Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess' pacing is really uneven and the game is full of unnecessary padding. OoT's approach to game flow, balance and content design is superior in my opinion.

I have no idea what people mean when they say OoT is dated - outside of visuals, of course. I guess the camera is slightly less than ideal but I can't remember a scenario where they were actively detrimental to my experience. OoT to me is still a masterclass of game design. Very few modern game comes close to it in my view.

 

[doofy102]

The only 3D game where anything vertical is never there for no reason (aside from Mario 64).

Taught players to think with verticality. That's how smart it was as an early 3D game from a series which previously didn't have that plane.

 

[Spieler Eins]

I've just seen Citizen Kane and man this is overhyped. So archaic, what's with the black and white? The story is also boring, what was up with that lame twist.

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

True, there's many cases of people going to OoT after TP and understandably not feeling it, though the OP would probably complain about that too. The graphics in TP are older than a year after all.

 

[Myggen]

I've been thinking about buying a 3DS for this game for some time now. I've always been scared about going back to OOT on the N64 because almost every game on that platform that I liked runs like absolute shit with horrible framerate, and N64 games in general don't hold up very well visually. So I was afraid that my memories of that game would get destroyed. But this remaster seems solid enough that I might just have to give it a go, OOT is easily one of my all time favourite games.

 

[thecouncil]

You use the word "archaic" several times. You do realize the game is about 18 years old?

Was Game & Watch archaic when Ocarina first came out? People probably thought so. That was an 18 year difference too.

 

[SweetJohnnyCage]

I can forgive criticism of the gameplay and graphics considering you're playing an 18 year old game for the first time, but you don't like the music either? That's surprising. One of the best game soundtracks ever imo.

He hasn't been to the

Spoiler

Forest Temple

yet. Hopefully that changes.

 

[Real Hero]

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

Ocarina is alot more fun to go back than TP. TP adds more tutorials, unnecessary story, cutscenes and limited gameplay additions like the wolf. Ocarina is still much better especially on 3ds.

 

[Nickle]

You've played like 5 hours, get through at least 6 dungeons before you start making your opinions of the game.

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

Ocarina is a bit outdated these days - it didn't age badly, in the sense it still works and is playable without feeling frustrating, but on the other hand pretty much everything it did has now been done better by another Zelda title. Ocarina fans don't like to admit it, but Twilight Princess is essentially just a better Ocarina of Time - does exactly the same things but better. I wouldn't recommend Ocarina to someone new to the series.

Twilight Princess is inferior to OoT in most every way, actually. And OoT isn't even in my top 3 of the series.