The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) Classic Review

The Legend of Zelda needs no introduction, and is one of the games that most of us grew up on. It's highly unlikely that Shigeru Miyamoto and the rest of the Nintendo crew knew what they were getting themselves into when they created this franchise. If you ask any gamer what their list of top video games of all time are, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 is likely to be near the top of the list.

All Legend of Zelda games themselves are action-adventure games with a mixture of role playing elements. Little has changed about the games storyline over the years, and the fact is, The Legend of Zelda is the game that every other action-adventure game wants to be. This particular Zelda game was the first fully 3D game of the franchise, but it wouldn't be the last.

Game Play

As mentioned above The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Also known as Zelda 64.) is an action-adventure game. This particular Zelda game has the main character, Link, leave his home in order to save Princess Zelda from Ganondorf. In the beginning scene Link is having a nightmare about Ganondorf kidnapping the princess, and then is awoken by Navi, a fairy.

Long story short, Link has to go around the land of Hyrule rescuing innocent people from evil forces. Ganondorf himself only kidnapped Princess Zelda to gain the TriForce, a holy item that gives the holder godly powers. At first, Link has to collect three Spiritual Stones to enter the Sacred Realm and take the TriForce before Ganondorf can.

After collecting the stones another plot twist happens, Links nightmare comes true and Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time to Link, and teaches him how to play "The Song of Time." Link then has to use the song and the stones to open the door to the sacred realm. There Link finds the Master Sword, which has been, placed King Arthur style.

Link then pulls the sword out of the pedestal not knowing that Ganondorf followed him, and both are transported into the future where Link is grown up, and the land of Hyrule has changed. From there Link has to collect many more objects, defeat numerous bosses, and gain new abilities all in the name of defeating Ganondorf.

Let's not go anymore to the storyline, after all what would be the point of spoiling every plot twist possible. Instead, consider the fact that Link's journey reveals tons of previously unknown facts about the land of Hyrule, which held some very mysterious secrets that fans always wanted to know. One of the greatest things about this game aside from the mass collection of new abilities is the interaction available.

Players of Zelda 64 were able to talk to every single villager, pick up random chickens, and even gain another partner besides Navi, a horse. Interestingly enough, several quests can only be done by either the young version of Link, or the future one. That feature makes it so players have to think more carefully about puzzles and weapon use.

Another interesting game play feature of The Legend of Zelda is the Ocarina of Time itself. The Ocarina can be used to create storms, call upon Links horse, open passageways, and numerous other things.

Controls & Sound

The controls of The Legend of Zelda were perfect for that time, it seemed almost as if the Nintendo 64's controller was created just for this game. Players moved Link around with the joystick on the controller, rolled with the A button, swung Links sword with the B button, and so on. Aside from perfect controls, the graphics and sound of Zelda 64 were also perfect for their time.

Although there were no voice actors for games at that time, The Legend of Zelda didn't need them to tell the story correctly. Everything was done by easy to read text, and if you got confused on where to go Navi would tell you. Every swing of the sword and other action movement had its own great sound effect, and every enemy in the game sounded believable.

Conclusion

Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gets a five out of five. The game itself changed numerous gaming genres forever, and every gamer should be thankful for this franchise. Another version of this game was released on the GameCube, iQue Player (China only), and Wii's Virtual Console. Also, many portable and console versions of new Zelda games have been released; a new one is rumored to be ready for release in late 2009 or early 2010.

Looking to purchase one of the newest Legend of Zelda games? Here's some links that may interest you!

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) (GameCube)

Final Score

5/5 - Perfect - (5 Being Perfect, 1 Being Horrible.)