The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Still to this day, no other game has been talked about as if it were, in fact, a real legend nearly as much as this Nintendo 64 classic. Marking the series' first foray into the realm of the third dimension, Ocarina of Time will take you on a journey just as it's predecessors have that will leave you breathless- Whether breathless means awe-inspired, or simply frustrated at a specific task is entirely up to you to decide.

   The game which released in 1998 features more updates than it's sleek new polygonal upgrade; From a newly implemented z-targeting system to mounted horse combat, OoT made for a gaming experience that felt wholesome and ground breaking even in an era in which the ground was constantly being broken by new technology already.

GRAPHICS
   As previously mentioned, Ocarina marks Legend of Zelda's first adventure in the three dimensional space, and as such the graphic quality was of course far superior to any previous entry in the franchise. For the first time, everyone was able to experience the green-clad Champion of Hyrule in a way that would make many almost uncomfortable in how real it seemed. However, when you take a step back and look at many of the games that came out around the time- well, nothing changes. The game was still beautiful and was surprisingly not held back in visual quality despite it's immense size.

   The art assets used combined with the level design implemented mixed together perfectly well and made for a great adventure for pro gamers of the time as well as new blood to the scene. No hand holding was entirely necessary, as long as you looked for obvious visual queues in the environment such as a wall with vines that just FEELS like you were able to climb it like a ladder to get to that ledge that holds the door to the next room or that chest with a shiny new item.

   The only real nitpick one might have for the graphics in the game is that in certain areas (Castle Town and almost every small Interior) the game switches to use pre-rendered backdrops, which can be jarring when you switch from the depth that the world models and terrain offer. However, this is very easy to overlook since it was somewhat of a trend around the time the game came out, and made room for more art assets that make the game even more beautiful.

ADDICTIVENESS
   The addictiveness in the game can be disputed. It all really depends on what kind of gamer you are at heart. A player who likes to have a reason to explore the world for more than just the exploration itself will find themselves pleased with the many collectible items scattered throughout the game in the form of Gold Skulltulas, heart containers, bottles, and a few other things.

   Some players, especially newer ones, might find themselves the trek from the Kokiri Woods to the final showdown at Ganon's castle quite daunting, especially with the difficulty present randomly in certain areas of the game. But, if you're here for story, lore, and adventure then you're in luck as this game will definitely eat up hours of your time as trek through the game's many dungeons and locales. 

STORY
   The story, as one might expect in a Zelda title, is where this game truly shines. It starts out nice and cozy, and somewhat familiar to some younger gamers, as link is awoken by a fairy sent by the Kokiri's gaurdian- the Great Deku Tree- to summon him to a meeting. As the player makes his way to the ancient pillar of the world they find themselves talking to their best friend and coming face to face with the local bully. Soon, things take a dark turn as you're forced to save the life of the very entity which was supposed to have been protecting you and every other child of the forest which would understandably be a very hard pill for someone of such a young age to swallow.

   And just like that you're out in the world and on your own, young and vulnerable. You have to make decisions for yourself on where to go, though you've been given good directions on where to start at least. Soon enough, you're thrust into a rich story familiar to many as you are tasked in saving the damsel who holds a key that a great evil requires in order to fulfill his wish of ruling over not just Hyrule but the rest of the world as well.

DEPTH
   This game is long. There really is no other way to go about it- It's going to eat up your free time like it was dots in front of Pac-man. Whether or not that is a good thing... Well, that's up to you. There are multiple ways to go about beating this game, and it supports a multitude of play-styles and warrants multiple play-through's to really get every little juicy detail out of the way. Simply going through the game is one adventure, but trying to find all the game's secrets is almost an entire game in it's own.

DIFFICULTY
   Just like the addictiveness, the difficulty of this game can be debated. While the game does throw a lot of curve-balls at you, the main point of frustration tends to lie on the game's highly advertised Z-targeting system and camera controls. It's a nice change of pace to be able to lock on to enemies, especially those that fly around like Keese, but when an enemy moves around sporadically it has the tendency to jolt the camera around making it likewise hard for the player themselves to move around and avoid any would-be environmental hazards such as a small pit of lava during Volvagia's boss-fight, or an edge leading to a pit during a fight with a Stalfos. 

siksiksikki :  This is a really good review for this game. You did a good job by summarizing each category but it feels like there was something missing. When reading the first few sentences of each category, I was intrigued by your wording and nodded after each statement in agreement. But by the time I finished the 'Difficulty' category, it felt as if you ended on a good note but there was no overall conclusion to your input. Also, you should try adding your own experiences that you had with the game if you have played the game in the past. You were so close to that 1000 word count and something small like a side note or conclusion would have put you over that mark. Still, it is a great and well organized review.

Kruzer : Yeah, I won't lie I was trying not to fall asleep face first on my keyboard when I was writing this which was a very bad idea. I do my best to write my reviews as if trying to describing it to someone who has never played the game (which is how all reviews should be done, of course). I generally have the OVERALL section at the bottom now that I've gotten into the  swing of writing reviews here, but I was just too bushed to continue so I wasn't able to give it the attention it deserved.