Introduction
I have played the Nintendo64 version of this game for the review.
This game is voted by many people as one of the best games ever, with all the games that around know I don’t know if it is one of the best games ever. I do know that when Ocarina of Time was released in 1998 it was a giant leap of technology in 3D gaming. The game is really amazing and will always be, it has received multiple remasters and will continue to get remastered in the future. The story is well known and all the Legend of Zelda fans will continue to play this game.
This game takes place in Hyrule and involves time travel, time travel was a very rare concept in 1998. You can equip up to three items to use with the C buttons. There are many items to collect like the gold Skulltula tokens.
I like the story with adult Link more than the story with young Link. I really like the fishing mini-game! No one likes the water temple though!
I won’t add the what did I think of Legend of Zelda before playing, it has been way too long for me to remember since I played this when I was seven or eight years old. I did play it over ten times or more spread over the years!
The story
The game starts out with a young boy named Link who lives in the Kokori forest, he is the only one without a fairy. Hey, listen! (I really have heard that way to many times). Navi a fairy finds Link and he guides him to the Deku tree to help him.
Link gains the spiritual stone from the Deku Tree and he is going to seek out the princess in Hyrule castle. He finds Princess Zelda and sees Ganondorf the Gerudo King looking for the Triforce. It is Link’s mission to gather the other two spiritual stones before Ganondorf to get the Triforce. With the three stones gathered Link can open the sacred realm and gain the Triforce. Ganondorf chases Princess Zelda who is on horseback with her caretaker Impa. Ganondorf chases her but sees an opportunity when Link tries to stop him. He waits for Link to use the stones and the ocarina of time to open the sacred realm. Link does not know he needs to be older and unknowingly opens the way for Ganondorf as he pulls out the master sword.
Seven years later an older Link awakens in the sacred realm unknown what has happened to him. He is met by one of the seven sages who explain to him his spirit had been sealed away for seven years. Ganondorf has taken the Triforce and taken control over Hyrule, it is up to Link to save everyone and defeat Ganondorf. Link will need to find the other sages to help him imprison Ganondorf in the sacred realm. He has already met them when he was younger but now he needs to find all their respectful temples. He first finds sheik which starts his quest to gather all the sages together and find out what happened to the Triforce. Link starts rescuing the sages and slowly finds out what had happened to the Triforce, Ganondorf’s heart was to impure to wield the complete Triforce and is split into three pieces. Link has gotten the Triforce of courage and Zelda the Triforce of wisdom. Ganondorf has retained the triforce of power. Link has found all the sages and is ready to seal Ganondorf but then Ganondorf kidnaps Princess Zelda
Link quickly sets chase but Ganondorf has sealed the bridge to Hyrule castle, the six remaining sages help Link get into Hyrule castle to save Princess Zelda, Ganondorf has set many traps but Link manages to get past them and fight his way through to the throne room where Ganondorf is waiting for him. After a lengthy battle Link manages to defeat Ganondorf by using the master sword and saving princess Zelda. Together they escape as the castle is crumbling into pieces. When Link and Zelda get over the bridge and see the castle crumble Ganondorf reveals himself and he turns into Ganon, a dangerous beast. Ganon manages to smash away the master sword and seal Link in a magic circle. Zelda manages to help Link to retrieve the master sword. Link uses the master sword to finish of Ganon and seal him in the dark realm. Ganon vows he will take revenge on his descendants and that he will escape one day. Princess Zelda uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link back to his childhood. I believe it is mentioned that he retains knowledge of Hyrule’s demise in a different timeline. This also means the timeline splits and goes into different games, this one leads into the events of Majora’s mask.
The gameplay
When the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time released it was an amazing upgrade from what people had seen before! A large world to explore (twice!) that was made twice as big with time travel. Technically it is not time travel but you go seven years into the future but I guess that depends on how you look at it. The new combat that was introduced was spectacular and still holds up to this day as good combat. I would prefer it any time over the combat in Skyrim. Hey you, they caught you when you tried to cross the border, didn’t they?
You will start your adventure without a shield or sword and no equipment. You will need to find this around the village before you go find your first dungeon and fight some enemies. I believe it was one of the first games to use the lock-on mechanic that you would keep facing your target and could shoot projectiles without having to aim. You have three buttons on C that you can use to quickly use the item of your choosing. You will find many items to use in your adventure. There are also different items that you can as adult link but only as young link. An example of an item that can be used by both is the ocarina but you do get an upgraded version later on in the game. You can learn a lot of new songs to play with the ocarina that will aid you in your quest.
You will have to complete many dungeons to gather the items you need to continue throughout the story, there will be hidden Skulltula’s. These are golden and give you a token that can be used to gain a bigger wallet in the game. Gold in this game is called Rupees.
You only start with three small hearts in Legend of Zelda Ocarina of time but you can find many more scattered throughout Hyrule. You will also gain more hearts when you have completed a dungeon and have defeated the boss that lives in the dungeon. When you are adult link you can find many great fairies that will give you the ability to use magic. There are few great fairies that you can find as young link. Finding different great fairies will result in gaining new spells. Throughout the game, you can find optional side quests that will reward you with new items, one of the best examples is a bottle. You can put many items in the bottle, including small fairies that will heal you when you are injured. You can also get a horse in the game to travel faster through Hyrule. There is a lot to do in Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and each time I play the game anew it is a blast to the past. One of the side quests also involves being a ghostbuster! Even though I am now much older those re-dead still freak me out, including their shrieks. That must be some childhood trauma! I had nightmares about those guys when I played as a kid. The most awesome thing I can think of that this is actually two games put into one, the gameplay is different between adult and young link. A smart thing that you probably should never do is attack chickens in this game.
Sound and Graphics
The sounds are still good in this game and the best music I have heard from games in a long time but I think we can all agree that playing the ocarina is one of the most amazing things ever.
The graphics from the old N64 edition still hold up really nice, I have no trouble watching the graphics, and considering this was done in 1998 it is mind-blowing how well they crafted Hyrule.
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was one of the biggest worlds at the time this game was released. There is a lot to do and all the music fits perfectly.
What did I think after playing the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time?
I really loved the game, once again I completed this epic journey with my trusty master sword. I always enjoy playing this game.
This is a game that I always keep coming back too, it still holds up after all these years. I would recommend this game to everyone who loves an epic journey.
I am and always will be a fan of Legend of Zelda! The game is perfect, there is barely any flaw to find in this game. My dream would be to see a Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 2!
I love the Zelda games so much I even name one of my cats Link.
My personal rating of this game is 9.7
The pros and cons
Pros
– An epic journey involving young and adult Link.
– Many items to collect to find new treasures and paths.
– The graphics hold up even after so many years.
– The combat is still good after all those years.
– There is a great variety of enemies, which is really cool for an old game.
– The boss battles feel like a good fight and usually involve some puzzle or a special item you found earlier.
– There is a lot of optional content.
– The re-dead still looks scary.
Cons
– Why would there be a con in a game like this?
The poll for the Legend of Zelda poll was requested by Athena the moderator of the Legend of Zelda group https://www.facebook.com/groups/lozgamevault
Thank you for requesting this themed poll!
I give this game a …drumroll…
9.7!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!
Leave your thoughts in the comment section or leave your own rating!
I hope to see you in the next review!
