Ocarina of Time is generally considered one of the best games of all time, but is it really? I'm not so sure. It's not even my favorite Zelda game. But replaying Majora's Mask changed my opinion of it considerably, so I thought I'd give Ocarina another go as well. But since everyone is so familiar with the game, instead of an in-depth recap like I've done in the past, I'm just going to remark on the things I think are remarkable.
DAY 1:
- The first thing I notice is that the camera follows me when I move around my house. This is good. In the original, several places - mainly small ones like houses and alleyways - were pre-rendered with a fixed camera angle, to save space. But no longer. I definitely noticed even as a kid; it didn't bother me, but I did wonder why it happened for some locations but not others. But in this, every location is fully rendered with a dynamic camera, and I can even get a top down view if I feel like it.
- And I guess that's a nice segue into the interface and controls. Since this is on the 3DS, there are two screens. The only thing on the top screen is the world and the A button prompt. The bottom screen shows the world map (or dungeon map, if applicable) in the center, with your hearts and magic meter above, four open buttons plus your sword on the right, buttons for map, gear, and items on bottom, and to the left, your rupees plus a dedicated ocarina button and a button called View, which switches to first person mode, and is replaced by a Navi button when she wants to speak with you. In first person, you can look around by moving the 3DS, which is really cool.
- The graphics are really great. Everything looks like how your brain interpreted it instead of what it actually looked like. The Kokiri Emerald is a perfect sphere now instead of whatever it was before. Gohma (who's just Gohma now instead of Queen Gohma) seemed smaller than I remember, though.
- Either the Deku Tree and Kaepora Gaebora talk less or the dialogue moves faster. Maybe both, I guess. Either way, it feels like it goes by a lot quicker.
- None of the Kokiri except Saria and Mido have names. I guess I knew that, but it seems weird to me now. I'm used to every character having a name.
- The Forest Medallion symbol has changed from four arms to three arms. I don't know why. The pedestals in front of the Temples also have the Triforce in gold and the medallion symbol in the proper color now instead of being all grey.
- When you go into the Kokiri Shop, someone mentions that everything they sell can be found in the forest for free. I don't remember that happening in the original game, and it's a nice touch.
- Since there are no C buttons, the buttons to play the ocarina have a different configuration, which messes up my mnemonic devices. Luckily, you can see what notes to play as you play them, so mnemonic devices aren't necessary.
DAY 2:
- The new graphics make Kakariko look *way* better. There are posters around town now for things like the windmill and the organ grinder. The fences look more handmade now instead of just being like a grid.
- Inside Impa's house are drawings that provide hints for future weapons and things if you can understand them. Everything from "you can bottle blue fire" to "hookshot the tree at the Forest Temple". I like the idea that Impa knows everything going on on Hyrule.
- ReDeads have been redesigned to actually look like their artwork, which makes them creepier.
- There's a time element now that I don't remember being around before. Soldiers will tell you the time now when you talk to them and at least one event only happens for three hours a day. I dig it. It makes it feel slightly more like Majora's Mask.
- Speaking of which, I hope the team that made this also redoes Majora's Mask. They have the graphics so they're halfway there already.
- I feel absolutely no urgency to go to Hyrule Castle. That's a problem. In Majora's Mask I had three days to save the world, in Skyward Sword I had to find Zelda, and so forth. I would always put off advancing the story as long as possible, but I would always feel bad about it. Not here, though. Everything's just fine in the world as far as I know, so I'll get there when I get there.
- Kaepora Gaebora shows up more frequently and talks less. And when he got tired of me lollygagging, he let me hitch a ride on him to Hyrule Castle Town
- A couple of places (like the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town) are still pre-rendered, one camera angle. I don't like it.
- All the shops also have nice big signs on them and you can see the Temple of Time from the main courtyard. It also seems cleaner than it did originally, which makes it feel more like a capital city than it did previously. It always felt kind of desolate in the original, even before the ReDeads took over.
- Instead of the portraits of Mario and friends in the Hyrule castle courtyard window, they have a landscape of the Mushroom Kingdom. That's fun.
- Why are the Lost Woods so dang easy to navigate? They're called the Lost Woods for a reason.
- Why did only some of the masks in this game have counterparts in Majora's Mask? Seems a little weird.
DAY 3:
- It's really annoying to start back at my house every time. I know that's a feature of several other games, but they're at least in a more central location.
- Goron City now has cave-like drawings of Gorons dancing on the walls. Nice touch.
- Day 3 and I already have 90% of the map uncovered. That's more open-world than I think it gets credit for. I haven't even gotten the second spiritual stone yet.
- Not enough thought was put into the Goron and Zora areas. Why don't any of them have places to live? Why do they sell things only I can use?
DAY 4:
- Something I just realized: those heart containers you get, are you stealing the life force from the bosses you kill? That doesn't seem very heroic.
- Why are there cows down in holes in the middle of nowhere?
- The Death Mountain Crater is actually a crater now and not just a lava-filled cave.
- To get to the great fairy fountain in Zora's Fountain, there's a giant boulder in front. When you bomb the boulder, the boulder stays where it is but the wall behind it explodes. That's pretty clever.
- The Zoras and great fairies look much better thanks to the new graphics. The same can't be said for Jabu-Jabu.
DAY 5:
- Something I've never noticed before, so it may be new: on the shortcut between Lost Woods and Zora's River, the Lost Zoods side has a fish thing carved into the stone and the Zora's River side has a tree carved into it.
- Deku nuts are pretty pointless. It was true then and it's true now.
- Enemy bubbles are called shaboms, while skulls on fire are called bubbles. What's up with that?
- Ruto now has strategically placed fins/scales to make her look more like she's wearing a strapless dress. Which is good because the nudity was a little strange, especially on child Ruto.
- How does the geography of Jabu-Jabu work?
- Ruto's kind of a jerk.
- I've never considered how boom boom boom Jabu-Jabu's treasures are. Like, you get them all within a minute or two of each other.
- If Ruto didn't write the note in the bottle, who did? That's never explained.
- So far, link has gotten an ocarina from Saria, a sapphire from Ruto, another ocarina from Zelda, and he's going to get a horse from Malon. He knows how to play the game, is what I'm saying. Mystery would be proud.
DAY 6:
- You don't really learn the Song of Time, you just sort of already know it once you get the Ocarina of Time. That's confusing, and poor game design.
- There's no real reason for me to open the Door of Time. I just do it because the game wants me to. Until I do that, I've pretty much won the game. I have the spiritual stones and the Ocarina of Time, there's nothing really Ganondorf can do. I should just be able to tell the king what's up and then retire to the Kokiri Forest in peace.
- Another problem: why can't I use most of the stuff I found as a kid? It doesn't make any sense.
- The fiery ring around Death Mountain in Adult Time is a lot smaller in this version, which makes it a lot less scary.
- There's a picture of Link in Ingo's room. I have no idea why. It looks like it might be from Skyward Sword? He also has a picture of Ganondorf, which makes a lot more sense.
- It's a good thing I saved Epona...but then my daring rescue broke all her legs and I put her down. At least that's what should've happened. That jump is like three stories!
DAY 7:
- You can get the Biggoron's Sword and do the Fire Temple before you ever go to the Forest Temple. I wasn't aware of this.
- This remake puts on your map where you're supposed to go in the trading sequence. I don't like that. It's not like it's super tough or anything.
- It also seems like I can go to the Water Temple before the Forest Temple, if I can find a Zora tunic. I already have the iron boots and know the Serenade of Water.
DAY 8:
- Looks like I've done everything I can do before going to a temple. Boo. But I'm starting the Water Temple with ten hearts and the Biggoron's Sword, so that's not bad.
- Fishing in this game is really realistic, which means it's also really tough.
- Turns out, you can't finish the Water Temple before the Forest Temple. Of course, I didn't realize this until I was practically done. Of course.
- The Water Temple isn't that much different. It just puts glowy bits around the doors that lead to the water level change places.
-Boss keys and their chests look freaking sweet in this game.
- I've never felt the Fire Temple feels much like an actual temple.
- I also think the Fire Temple is more annoying than the Water Temple, but that's just me.
DAY 9:
- Epona's obstacle course is stupid and I hate it. It's so frustrating that it made me quit playing for a few hours after beating it because I didn't want to look at the game anymore, especially because all I get is a stupid cow. Sure it gives me free milk, but so do any of those random cows underground all over the place.
DAY 10:
- The moblins in this game look WAY better than they did before.
- About to enter the Forest Temple, and I have 11 hearts, the Biggoron's Sword, the longshot, the megaton hammer, all three tunics, the big bomb bag, the golden scale, the iron boots, the shard of agony, the gerudo membership, bombchus, three bottles, Epona, Din's Fire, and Farore's Wind. I've also beaten the Fire Temple and done 75% of the Water Temple. This game is a lot less linear than people give it credit for.
- Unlike the Fire Temple, the Forest Temple actually feels like a temple.
- The puzzle blocks seem to have a different design in each temple, which is a nice touch.
DAY 11:
- There's a place in the Forest Temple where you can play the Scarecrow's Song, but he'll only show up if you're already on the higher platform. That's bullshit.
- It's weird that you have to try to leave the boss area in the Forest Temple for the fight to start.
- The Deku Tree Sprout just informed me that I'm actually a Hylian instead of a Kokiri. This has no bearing on the plot whatsoever. Sounds like Hylian whitewashing to me.
- The blade traps in front of Morpha's room are cheap.
- Getting fire arrows by shooting at the sun doesn't make any sense, even by video game logic.
- The cutscene that shows Kakariko on fire and Bongo Bongo escaping the well is neat, but it has absolutely no impact on Kakariko except opening the well.
DAY 12:
- This game just isn't holding me like the other ones have. You can't tell because I haven't been posting this in parts like usual, but sometimes several days pass in between my play times. And I don't feel the "but just one more thing!" thing I usually do. Even with games where I didn't have any trouble turning it off after an hour or so, my thoughts are usually *consumed* with Zelda while I'm playing one, and that's just not happening here. I think it's because, when you get right down to it, there isn't much story or character. Think about Ganondorf: you see him through the castle window, doing nothing; you see him chasing Zelda; you see him in silhouette in the temple of time, and then you don't see him again until the final battle. Sure, you hear about him every now and then, but you have practically no interaction with him. Compare that to Skyward Sword, where you fight Ghirahim three different times and he shows up elsewhere to affect the plot or just taunt you. Similarly, I always thought of Ocarina as the first time minor characters had names, but only a handful of them actually do. It wouldn't be until Majora's Mask that every character has a name and personality. Anyway, let's get on with the game.
- How does putting the Master Sword back into the pedestal make you go back in time?
- The bombchu bowling alley is a lot easier than I remember.
- Got the biggest bomb bag, the biggest seed satchel, another heart (that's 14 now), and the Lens of Truth. The Lens of Truth now has a pupil on the middle when you use it, so it's actually like you're looking through it.
- Beneath the Well has more atmosphere than most of the temples. And the Dead Hand mini boss is creeeeepy.
DAY 13:
- I've encountered a glitch where the Kokiri pulling up grass in front of Saria's house is doing backflips over and over.
- The ambient noise in some of the towns is really annoying. Incessant chirping.
- The Desert Colossus looks much better in this version.
- You can do the Spirit Temple before the Shadow Temple. The game makes you think you can't, but you can.
- Why can't I mark things on this map? That's what the touch screen is for!
- I should've mentioned this a while ago, but I don't understand how they mapped the ocarina buttons. The Y, X, B, and A buttons are arranged the same way as the C buttons, but Y plays the C-right note instead of C-left, X plays C-left instead of C-up, A plays C-up instead of C-right, B plays nothing instead of C-down, the R button plays C-down, and L plays A. Ridiculous.
- Being able to only carry one mask is really frustrating, especially in the forest stage side quest.
- The gold skulltula side quest is poorly designed. For each ten gold skulltula tokens, you get a prize, but only up to fifty. After that, you just get rupees. So there's really no reason to get more than fifty, even though there are a hundred total.
DAY 14:
- Seriously, guys. It's taking all my effort just to finish this game. I never thought I'd say that about Ocarina, but it's true.
- There's a room in the Spirit Temple where you have to light three torches to make a chest appear. But you can't just use Din's Fire to light one and then a Deku stick to light the rest, you have to collect all the silver rupees, which makes a fancy torch light, and then you have to use *that* fire to light all the torches. That's bullshit. At least make the fancy torch fire green or something to make it seem like there's a difference.
- Kaepora Gaebora just appeared to me as I walked out onto the Desert Colossus's hand as a child, and said something about his thinking a boy who could travel through time was just a legend, how a long time didn't mean much to me, and he called me an adult. That...seems like a mistake.
- The thrones the Iron Knuckle sit on have the same symbol as the blocks that appear when you play the Song of Time. I don't know why.
DAY 15:
- Koume and Kotake are fun, no wonder they were brought back for Majora's Mask. I don't understand why they turn into angels after you defeat them, though, and where do their bodies go?
- I don't remember this, but the Shadow Temple is definitely a bunch of catacombs and mausoleums. And at least in this version, the walls are lined with bones. Creepy.
- Just entered a room with two statues of hooded figures twirling giant scythes. Thematically appropriate but doesn't make much sense.
- Lots of meaningless chests in this temple, with just five rupees or arrows or whatever. Waste of time.
- There's one part where you have to ride a ship with a giant zombie figurehead holding two giant bells down a river of what I assume are spirits. This place is weird.
- Bongo Bongo looks a lot better in this version. Kind of reptilian in places.
- Zelda being kidnapped as soon as she reveals herself as Shiek is majorly bogus.
- The bridge the Sages make is much fancier in this game.
- Why are there only three golden gauntlet pillars? Those things should've been all over Hyrule!
- The forest and water rooms in Ganon's castle are wind and ice themed. How does that even happen? Well actually, I already know: Ocarina was a rush job that shipped as a glitchy mess filled with remainders and old plans and dummied out mechanics. That's why there were so many rumors about it, because there's a whole lot of stuff in the game that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
- Is it just me, or has Ganon's castle always seemed really easy?
- I like that there's ominous organ music as you get closer to Ganondorf's room, and then it turns out he's playing it. he may be a warlord, but he's not uncultured.
- This game does a really good job of making you think the game's over after you defeat Ganondorf, which makes Ganon all the more surprising.
- Unfortunately, there's no skill to beating Ganon. He doesn't even have multiple stages of attack or different patterns or anything. He's certainly no Ghirahim or Demise from Skyward Sword, that's for sure. They were frankly *too* tough, but that definitely made me feel accomplished when I did beat them.
- The scene at the end with everyone celebrating in Lon Lon Ranch always makes me happy. It raises some questions, though, like how do king Zora and Mido know each other?
- I wish the credits did some comparisons between the original graphics and the 3DS ones, but oh well.
Final verdict: Ocarina of Time is not the best Zelda game. It's not even in the top five. And that's ok. I can see - for the most part - why it got almost entirely perfect reviews when it came out, and at the time it really was the best Zelda game around, and one of the best games in general. But that was fifteen years ago. There's been twelve Zelda games since then. If Ocarina was still legitimately the best game in the series twelve games later, that would be a major problem. Thankfully it's not. The very next game improved the graphics and severely increased depth of character and story, and the games have continuously improved from there. There's no need for sacred cows. Ocarina of Time was a great game (with a lot of overlooked faults) when it was first released, but it hasn't aged well. It's still a Zelda game, though, and that's a high bar.
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