Retrospect: Ocarina Of Time

Everyone seems to be neck deep in Breath Of The Wild, while I am discovering this classic for the first time.

I did not own an N64, nor did I know anyone who did, since Playstation dominated the local market to the point that most people didn’t really know Nintendo existed. So, I missed the bus completely the first time around.

Ocarina of Time is one of the first games I bought for 3DS – I had been eyeing it in the pre-played section for weeks before I bought my 3DS, knowing I would need something to play.

In the wake of all the BotW posts, I decided to play me some Zelda. Since BotW isn’t an option, I dusted off OoT and slotted it into my 3DS.

Impressions:

• The game looks and sounds great, having received a facelift graphically, with no alterations to the music necessary.
• Link’s voice is annoying
• The world feels pretty big for a game of it’s age, filled with secrets and puzzles to solve
• Playing the ocarina is oddly satisfying.
• Aside from cryptic hints through Sheikah stones and dialogue, players are left to figure things out for themselves. Solutions to puzzles are not always obvious, and I have spent a good deal of time wandering around unsure of what to do next. Not faulting the game for this, it’s usually a facepalm moment when I eventually figure out how to progress.
• Controls are wonderfully responsive, although the camera can be a bit of a pain. Using the gyroscope to aim feels intuitive but may not be ideal in every situation.
• Did I mention the game sounds great? The menu theme, the chime when you select a menu option, the in-game music especially (Gerudo Valley is a standout for me, mostly because it was used as a level with the awesome music in SSB4)
• DAMMIT NAVI I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!
• The second screen is used to great effect, allowing you to manage and assign items to buttons on the touch screen as well as providing a map.

Overall, the game has aged gracefully and I would like to finish it sometime soon, although it is a little challenging when compared to most modern games IMHO.

Would I recommend playing Ocarina of Time in 2017? this depends how you feel about puzzles, it’s definitely a great game that is worth playing but I feel it might be frustrating to someone who doesn’t enjoy this type of thing. It might be, though, that my tolerance for puzzles is low after years of handholdy tutorials and quest markers.

What do you think? Am I being a big crybaby about the puzzles? If Gorons eat rocks, does that make them cannibals? Feel free to comment and share your experiences!