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The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time is one of the greatest game of all time, and the crown jewel for video games

U

UsualNoise

Member
Interestingly I'm playing OoT right now as part of my personal quest to 100% all the Zelda games. There's some strong nostalgia that factors into it for me (great memories playing with family and friends in '98) but I have to say it doesn't hold up quite as well as I remember it. As has been mentioned the move set does feel a bit dated. The dungeons, for the most part, are the best part of the game and great fun to replay if you don't remember them. All except the Water Temple. I just finished that one and boy is it convoluted. That's the one part of the game I can say the designers dropped the ball in making it relatively intuitive. It goes beyond regular difficulty and steps over into tediousness. Part of it is the map and the inability to mark locations and the other part is the lack of clear direction starting at the hub; I don't mind exploring but I ended up exploring everything like 3 times to figure it all out. (And that's not including the Iron Boots fiasco [which honestly I got used to pretty quick so I didn't mind it all that much].)

Anyway it is still clearly an all-time classic just for how great they were able to make the first 3D Zelda (Metroid Prime holds a similar place for me for similar reasons but that holds up even better that OoT for me). I'm sure I would have graded it a 98-100 back in the day. Now I'd say it's around a 95. Still a classic all-time great but as gaming experiences improve older experiences suffer a bit as a result of the unavoidable comparisons.
 
TheInfamousKira

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
Was my first Zelda game, my first videogame period, and to this day remains my absolute favorite game ever, barely edging out Majora's Mask, FFVI and VII, and RE4. It's aged, sure, but what it did for 3D gaming in general really can't be understated as far interacting with objects and characters in a 3D space is concerned. Z Targeting was an industry changer, and things like a temporary first person switch up for ranged weapons was pretty innovative, too. So many things have (rightfully) riffed off of it's design principles since then, even and especially in the same franchise, that it kind of diminishes the impact it had upon release, but it did A LOT, all bound by four games worth of pre-existing notions of what a Zelda game was and had to be, which makes it all the more impressive.

Detractors like to give it shit for basically being a 3D tech demo of ALTTP, but some of the best games in storied genres and franchises followed that development. It's not brought up so often that Final Fantasy VII was basically functionally Final Fantasy VI on better hardware. Or that Metal Gear Solid was basically beat for beat Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. It even trickles down to Sweet Home and Resident Evil. I kind of dig that small window of time where developers just did the same thing they did before, but in 3D. It felt like a very creatively liberating period of time for gaming, and OoT was one of the pioneers.
 
GeorgPrime

GeorgPrime

Banned
kingfey said:
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time is undoubtedly one of the influential game of all time. One of the old games, that survived the test of time, and continue to be the best game of all of all times.


The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

As a young boy, Link is tricked by Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudo Thieves. The evil human uses Link to gain access to the Sacred Realm, where he places his tainted hands on Triforce and transforms the beautiful Hyrulean landscape into a barren wasteland. Link is determined to fix the problems...
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time critic reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time user reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com


OCARINA OF TIME - A Masterclass In Subtext​



An Everlasting Legacy | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Retrospective​



The Deeper Meaning Within Zelda: Ocarina of Time [Memory Card]​



Ocarina of Time Retrospective​



Ocarina of Time (dunkview)​



Here is some fan remakes with the current engines.

Ocarina of Time Unreal Engine 4 Remake by Aran Graphics [4K]​

Click to expand...


Still better than Breath of the Wild :)

Love it.
 
IFireflyl

IFireflyl

Gold Member
Just to be clear, Ocarina of Time did not revolutionize the way that people think it did. All it did was build upon a previous game's work. That game was Mega Man Legends.
  • Mega Man Legends was the first game to implement Z-targeting.
  • Mega Man Legends was the first open world game with a fully fledged map, a mini-map, checkpoints, fully 3D environments with NPCs to interact with, and dungeons with multiple levels and puzzles.
  • Mega Man Legends was the first game to utilize voice acting to make a cinematic experience, and it was the first noteworthy localization job in North America.
    • Metal Gear Solid claims they were first, but Mega Man Legends came out three months prior to Metal Gear Solid.
Ocarina of Time definitely improved on some of these items, but they didn't revolutionize Z-targeting, 3D environments and dungeons, or Western voice acting. Mega Man Legends deserves more credit for than Ocarina of Time as it was the game that actually introduced these things, even if Ocarina of Time did improve on that work.
 
DGrayson

DGrayson

Mod Team and Bat Team
Staff Member
I am very excited what's possible with this new version that is being worked on from the source code.

I REALLY want to replay the N64 version with real 60FPS and some modest graphical improvements.
 
nightmare-slain

nightmare-slain

Member
i never played it until the 3DS version. i felt lost a lot of the time but it was my first zelda. i'd love to go back to it if they ever do a new remake of it.
 
Daymos

Daymos

Member
I happened upon the topic of Zelda ocarina once at work, talking to this girl that had been at the office 2-3 years, we had never really talked and I figured she was way out of my league. it turned out she had 3 ocarina save files with zero deaths!

Anyways that was our 1 subject and I let her borrow my 3ds and link between worlds, she had a Wii u and was in to the HD remasters. One thing led to another and by the time Breath of the wild came out we were living together and playing it on Wii u + switch.

So basically I'm married due to a mutual love of ocarina of time.. she got into it because it has a horse and she had to ride it. As a kid her neighbors were the gamers and it wasn't until Zelda ocarina that she finally got a video game system.
 
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yurinka

yurinka

Member
Fredrik said:
Yeah. I looked at the 100/100 review scores like everyone else and insta-bought the game, laughed at the framerate (17fps in PAL land) and started questioning if critics were bought, unwillingly played it for a few hours simply because I had payed for it, but no it was unplayable so I dropped it and never touched it again.

Then I played through it on N3DS where it was 30fps. It’s a okay Zelda game but not in any way the masterpiece it was, and still is, hyped up to be. The hype around it continues to be one of the biggest mysteries in gaming history. 🤷‍♂️
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Yes, in 3DS at least isn't a blurry mess as it was the original Ocarina back in the day in a CRT tv. It looks good and is playable in 3DS.
 
T

Teslerum

Member
Rean no Kiseki said:
Played it first on 3DS AFTER Wind Waker/Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword and found it......decent? No doubt it was influencial but it's long been surpassed not only by games in it's own franchise but by others as well.

This by no means a critique of the game but basic reality, Super Mario Bros was the shit back in the day and a truly revolution in video games but it's not fun to go back to like SMB3 for example.
Click to expand...
eS5naWY.gif


People go back to SMB 1, 3 and World all the time.
 
anthony2690

anthony2690

Banned
Back in 1998, sure.
In 2021? It's aged pretty badly tbh.

But this applies to quite a lot of games tbh, including stuff like Goldeneye what are near unplayable now.
 
Ogbert

Ogbert

Member
Yup. Greatest game ever. Nothing comes close.

Nintendo boil my piss with their rehashing of old titles but I really would love a full on remake.
 
S

SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
IFireflyl said:
Ocarina of Time definitely improved on some of these items, but they didn't revolutionize Z-targeting, 3D environments and dungeons, or Western voice acting. Mega Man Legends deserves more credit for than Ocarina of Time as it was the game that actually introduced these things, even if Ocarina of Time did improve on that work.
Click to expand...
It's not always about who did it first.
Halo wasn't the first console shooter with two stick aiming, but the one with the biggest impact and influence on the industry. Super Mario Bros wasn't the first side scrolling platforming game, but arguably the most important one and therefore the one that revolutionized.
 
TwiztidElf

TwiztidElf

Member
What really pisses me off is that it gets compared to modern classics that use and have refined the same Goddamn fucking design and mechanics that OOT standardized.
YOU HAD TO BE THERE IN 1998 TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE.
It was so far ahead of everything else in 1998 (and the majority of games released in 2021 tbh) it's not funny.
 
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Romulus

Romulus

Member
What set it apart was it was an incredible 3d adventure game during a time when 3d was rarely done well at all. Most everything about was innovative if not revolutionary. It was so good even alot of first timers still enjoy it today. There was nothing remotely close to it. As a Saturn and Playstation fan, I couldn't believe how far ahead it was. For me, it felt like playing something from the future.

Now, the best you can hope for is a baby step forward. BOTW, while a better game overall(It should be) it's nothing more than a small stair step and combination of various games in a nice zelda-ified package. That's not a bad thing or Nintendo's fault, but more of a testament to the lack of innovation in gaming. OoT was very different than that. I have BotW on PC and cant even finish it at 60fps and over 2x the switch's resolution. Maybe its open world fatigue.
 
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Y

Yselacrey00

Banned
Imagine a remake, but like a proper
triple AAA remake ith hardware like the Xbox series X or PS5.

OUr Best comparison is FFVIIR which was amazing but the tech definitely seemed to not be there yet. I hope with the PS5 they can do better and hope for it to be exclusive for next gen.
 
RoboFu

RoboFu

One of the green rats
It was great for sure but it always felt cut down. Like they wanted to do more but just didn’t have the space in the cart.
 
Genx3

Genx3

Member
Game of that Gen.

I owned an N64 since day 1 and Ocarina of Time was probably the best game that gen. Mario 64 and Wave Race were right there with it as the Trifecta.
 
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Eddie-Griffin

Eddie-Griffin

Banned
IFireflyl said:
Just to be clear, Ocarina of Time did not revolutionize the way that people think it did. All it did was build upon a previous game's work. That game was Mega Man Legends.
  • Mega Man Legends was the first game to implement Z-targeting.
  • Mega Man Legends was the first open world game with a fully fledged map, a mini-map, checkpoints, fully 3D environments with NPCs to interact with, and dungeons with multiple levels and puzzles.
  • Mega Man Legends was the first game to utilize voice acting to make a cinematic experience, and it was the first noteworthy localization job in North America.
    • Metal Gear Solid claims they were first, but Mega Man Legends came out three months prior to Metal Gear Solid.
Ocarina of Time definitely improved on some of these items, but they didn't revolutionize Z-targeting, 3D environments and dungeons, or Western voice acting. Mega Man Legends deserves more credit for than Ocarina of Time as it was the game that actually introduced these things, even if Ocarina of Time did improve on that work.
Click to expand...
None of this is true unless you are talking specifically about consoles. In that case yes, except targeting which was on psx flight games in 96. Also a shoddy version of it was in Fade to Black.

PC had all of these. Especially open world maps.
 
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Eddie-Griffin

Eddie-Griffin

Banned
SpongebobSquaredance said:
It's not always about who did it first.
Click to expand...
In this case yes it is. The N64s whole historical status was about lies it games or the system itsepf did things first, that persisted through the 90's and late 2000's with heavy resistance to those who said otherwise.

People like to pretend that didn't happen but there were years where people said Mario was the first 3D game, Zelda was the first open rpg, Goldeneye was the first fps with a sniper or to allow you to shoot limbs, or Mario was the first game with a camera, or the N64 had the first analog stick(which it wasn't even), first console with 4 ports, first console 4 person multiplayer with Mario kart 64, etc.

There are people that still believe this including some of the press, primarily American since it was N64s biggest market. That had boosted the consoles status for years. The online video sites were filled with personalities spreading the same fud and kept it going longer

It was only in the last 15 years with information sharing, expanded internet and mobile, and personalities in video sites with broader gaming chops uploading, that it's no longer as strongly pushed.

There is no doubt the N64 would not be as fondly remembered if not for that 10-12 years of giving it credit for things it did not do from press to online.
 
6502

6502

Member
Eddie-Griffin said:
In this case yes it is. The N64s whole historical status was about lies it games or the system itsepf did things first, that persisted through the 90's and late 2000's with heavy resistance to those who said otherwise.

People like to pretend that didn't happen but there were years where people said Mario was the first 3D game, Zelda was the first open rpg, Goldeneye was the first fps with a sniper or to allow you to shoot limbs, or Mario was the first game with a camera, or the N64 had the first analog stick(which it wasn't even), first console with 4 ports, first console 4 person multiplayer with Mario kart 64, etc.

There are people that still believe this including some of the press, primarily American since it was N64s biggest market. That had boosted the consoles status for years. The online video sites were filled with personalities spreading the same fud and kept it going longer

It was only in the last 15 years with information sharing, expanded internet and mobile, and personalities in video sites with broader gaming chops uploading, that it's no longer as strongly pushed.

There is no doubt the N64 would not be as fondly remembered if not for that 10-12 years of giving it credit for things it did not do from press to online.
Click to expand...

Sounds like usa gaming history was being derived from magazines for kids ... People said Mario 64 was first 3d game ? Very odd (especially as 3d games were on their prior consoles too).

Either way, N64 will be fondly remembered for the joy and awe it brought at the time. And how surprisingly good the games still are.
 
6502

6502

Member
Eddie-Griffin said:
None of this is true unless you are talking specifically about consoles. In that case yes, except targeting which was on psx flight games in 96. Also a shoddy version of it was in Fade to Black.

PC had all of these. Especially open world maps.
Click to expand...
The targeting on Zelda was a huge step up. It was not the first - Castlevania had it... but it was the implementation that counted.

Lots of games targeted, but how many also focused your character to face target, altered the context of buttons and adjusted the camera to give a cinematic dual? Bringing all this together was the stroke of genius.
 
IFireflyl

IFireflyl

Gold Member
Eddie-Griffin said:
None of this is true unless you are talking specifically about consoles. In that case yes, except targeting which was on psx flight games in 96. Also a shoddy version of it was in Fade to Black.

PC had all of these. Especially open world maps.
Click to expand...

I should have specified. I was referring only to consoles. I just assumed that everyone knew that anything great on a console started out with a PC. I'm a part of that master race. :D
 
NeoIkaruGAF

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Technical issues apart, it went places few other games ever dared to go, and with one of Nintendo’s most treasured IPs too. It’s without a doubt a masterclass in design, balance and subtext. OoT doesn’t want to send a message other than the developer’s will to make the best game they could.

True, today it may be clunky (no free camera even in the 3DS version was necessary, but painful). But if you were there to see the whole industry taking notes after OoT released, you’ll have a better appreciation of how many things this game did just right, paving the way for the future. Metal Gear Solid released the same year, and there’s nothing in its gameplay that even remotely dreams of going the distance OoT went.

One of the greatest things in OoT is how cohesive everything is. There’s nothing in the game that feels out of place. All the minigames, all the subquests feel part of the game’s world, rather than stuff added at the last minute to pad out the game’s length.
 
MasterDerico

MasterDerico

Member
Not being a troll, but that will never be a fact, just taste/opinion. And i don't think the game aged well, like Mario 64, IMO...
 
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