Introduction

This game has been reviewed by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide but I feel I need to as well simply because I feel I need to, each time I play this game I still feel the joy and excitement as it is one of the best games ever made.  

This game follows a young kokori boy named Link, the only boy in his small village without a fairy, until now.  The game starts with a fairy (Navi) travelling from the Great Deku Tree all the way to Link’s village which is tucked away behind the Hidden forest.  Upon arrival, Link is sleeping in his tree house, Navi wakes the boy and explains to him the devastation that is happening inside the Deku tree.  This is where you take control of Link for the first time in the game, you exit Link’s tree house and begin your adventure.  Unbeknownst to the player, you already have a quest to complete; you must gather a sword and shield from somewhere.  Upon arrival at the Great Deku Tree, he confirms the gut feeling link has about the evils that are waiting to unfold.  

Game play 9/10

Ocarina of time will eventually turn into a rescue mission for Princess Zelda, without giving too much away, OOT will send you inside of a massive tree, inside of an active volcano, across a haunted desert, across beautiful villages, to the bottom of a lake and inside the belly of a monster.  

Ocarina of Time will have you explore vast landscapes which you can freely move around in, you will find yourself travelling back and forth looking for things you have forgotten or need.  OOT also uses day/night cycle system, you could be travelling from Kokori Forest to Lon Lon ranch during daylight and by the time you get there it will be night time.  Whilst exploring townships, villages and more local areas you have the option to interact with just about anyone or anything.  

Graphics 9/10

Nintendo did a beautiful job on the graphics, keeping in mind the time that this title came out.  You don’t notice at first but once you get yourself out in the open, you can really appreciate the graphics.  The modelling of characters and enemies is quite advanced given the limited performance capabilities of the N64 with or without expansion.  Nintendo have cleverly used 2D textures where needed to provide maximum performance, instead of modelling absolutely everything in 3D.  The animations throughout the game, whilst they seem quite simple, were quite advanced for the time and I commend Nintendo for what I'm sure was their best efforts in this category.  The overall textures applied to the 3D modelling is quite smooth and works well with the shading system N64 offers.  I give the graphics a 9/10 only because of there are a few common and over-used prefabricated models with the same applied textures.  

Sound 9/10

OOT has a beautiful soundtrack which really suits the surroundings of game play, for example if you are in a township the music will blend into a festive tune but as soon as you leave the township it gradually gets darker and “scary” as you travel into the wild.  The gradual change of tune is quite smooth and it gives the player a perspective of what kind of situation he or she is in whilst playing.  I give this a 9 for sound because there are certain times when Link’s moans and yells as he is in battle can get repetitive and annoying (kind of like watching the 3 Ninjas)

Controls 8/10

The default controls given in this game work very well with the game play, it makes melee combat quite fun and enjoyable.  The thing I like about moving around in this game is when you run off a ledge or high surface, Link will automatically jump for you.  The locking on feature comes in handy but when you are trying to manually lock onto something it can become rather annoying, this is why I give an 8 for controls.  
Addictiveness 9/10

Out of all of the N64 titles I have played I would say this is the most addictive game Ive played.  Sure fatigue sets in after 5+ hours of game play but the sheer excitement of finding new items and taking another chapter in Link’s quest makes you want to play on, but there comes a time when you must go to bed and sleep and if you weren't thinking about what you should do next as you fall asleep, it would most probably be in your dreams.  The only reason Addictiveness didn’t get a perfect score is because sometimes (very rarely) the game can get frustrating but at the same time I believe every good game entices frustration to a certain extent.  

Story 9/10

The story which was written for this game can only described by Goldie Locks (not too hot, not too cold but just right)  I thought Nintendo did an amazing job of polishing a common “woman and world in distress”, not only did they turn it into an amazing story but they made it into an amazing interactive story.  Pity the N64 cartridge and capabilities did not permit full voice acting, because whilst the translation to English was good, it was not great.  I give the story a 9, had it have been a truly original plot, it would have been perfect.  

Depth 9/10

As mentioned earlier, some of the places this game has to offer are exceptionally well designed and presented.  There are hundreds of hidden items, gems and heart containers.  In saying that, only about 50% of the items are required to finish the game, which gives you multiple levels of depth (“Do I need to get those last 5 heart containers?  Or will I be okay with what I have?”)  I give depth a 9.  

Difficulty 8/10

You don’t have to defeat every single enemy you come across, you can avoid a heck of a lot of them but in saying that isn’t it harder to avoid them than take them all on?  Not really.. It comes down to skill I say.  As I mentioned before you don’t need to collect all of the items in this game, collecting 100% of them will definitely make it harder, but more rewarding. 

jlh : Thanks man, Pc joysticks + N64 Emu = so much easier lol.  Heres a bargain... Also Vibrates lol  I got a Logetch one for $20 but those look just as good. 

Time to trash since its a copy paste...


Haha, joking, gotcha (i hope =p )
But honestly, good review, you covered all the factors for one thing when most dont bother, good length too. I tried this because of the hype but it failed to draw me in sadly.
Its probably the single most popular game on vizzed.

thenumberone : Haha yeah you did get me, Thanks.  I know exactly what you mean, Ive tried Final Fantasy games so many times just because the hype but I can never get into them.. Im sure theyre very well made games. 

I love Ocarina of Time quite a bit, its that one game that makes you go, "This defines the fun of sidestories, and how fun a Zelda game can be." I'm happy to play this game anytime. Really enjoy it.

Good job reviewing gtwalq. Good job.

Wow, I saw this earlier... nice review!

I have played Ocarina only a few times before, but a friend and I used to have all sorts of trivia competitions where we would ask each other questions over minute details and see who could get the most right.

i agree with these people, i think this review was well.. worth my time