The fifth installment in the Zelda series had a titanic task, because not only had to be a game at the height of A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening that had left the bar very high, but also had to be the first game in the franchise in 3D. And everyone already knows how the story ended, this game not only far exceeded what it set out to do, but it was so good that it went down in history as one of the greatest games of all time. It has its well-deserved reputation and is a masterpiece not only for the Zelda series, it transcends entirely to be a game that directly told the entire video game industry how a 3D game should really be made.
FIN.
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Actually... I don't need to explain anything else, the previous paragraph is more than enough, but my reviews are always long and in order not to break the tradition (and for everyone who wants to stay and read more) I'll expand the review, so here I go.
Expanded Review
This game perfectly translates the Zelda formula to 3D, to such a level that it makes you think that this franchise was born from the beginning really to have 3D games. Ocarina of Time was extremely ambitious for its time, Nintendo could have made a more direct translation of the mechanics that characterize the franchise for a 3D game, but the developers decided to go a step ahead and directly reinvented many mechanics to adapt things from the past to the new format, which in essence seem to be the same and the obvious evolution, but from a design perspective such transition is not so evident, and therefore, such change was what allowed an infinitely higher range of expression for the way the mechanics are expanded and the levels of this game are designed. It's not for nothing that franchises like Castlevania or Mega Man on PS2 never really shined in 3D, as they were a literal translation of the formula to 3D without being an adaptation or evolution as such over them.
The dungeons are very well designed, and it's impressive that for a game from the early 3D era it has such well thought out puzzles and great design in general, it has aged excellently.
The overworld map is gigantic, and wisely interconnects different areas of the game the further you go so as not to make exploration a burden. However, as a kid, sometimes traversing the map can be tiring because of how slow Link walks and how far away everything is at first, and it's a shame that pegasus boots weren't added to the game. This has its reason of course, because now to go fast around the map we can ride a horse, which solves the previous problem, but only partially, because riding a horse is only an option when Link is an adult. And later in the game you also unlock fast travel options, however, when you do this you probably won't need to go back to the time where you are a child more than a few times.
The soundtrack in this game is simply magical. Many melodies are too short and simple, but they are extremely catchy and memorable, although this was done on purpose, as the music has a leading role, because simple commands like fast travel to certain places or calling your horse are linked to a melody, and to invoke those commands you must play the melody yourself, and that's why they were made short and easy to memorize. I know it may sound a bit goofy nowadays, and in the long run it's even a bit tedious to have to play a song every time for such basic actions, but I don't know, it's something that makes this game even more magical.
The controls can feel... a bit "clunky" nowadays for a 3D game, but if you compare it to any other game of the time, you realize that the controls and character movement are brilliantly designed and way ahead of their time. Obviously this isn't a platformer, so you don't have the mobility and versatility of Mario, you're still Link from previous games, only now in a 3D environment. Link as such could never jump at will and always had a somewhat slow mobility.
A substantial improvement over previous installments is the combat, this went from only consisting of pressing the A button, to be expanded so that now things like dodging, good timing, blocking with the shield and even the trajectory of your thrusts is determined by the position to which you are moving the analog stick. It may not sound like a big deal, but for a series that used to have a very basic combat system, to see such a significant expansion is to be admired and especially for its time. And all of this was made possible by the brilliant lock-on system, which was a revolution for its time.
Unlike Mario, adapting Zelda to three dimensions was even more complicated, because while Mario could still afford to have levels, models, animations and sound effects a little more "unreal" or "artificial" so to speak, Zelda games have always tried to be set in fantasy worlds, but worlds that should feel natural and "believable". This particular title was given a realistic setting to achieve that goal, which we can tell from the graphical style, the animations and the immense amount of attention to detail in the world. The dungeons now have ambient music instead of traditional video game music, and while I would have liked the normal songs better, I understand the change. Things like the sound of your footsteps changing depending on the ground you're walking on, the voices changing pitch if you're underwater or not, Link shivering from the cold and sneezing if the place is icy, the day and night cycle that was added as a gimmick precisely, all this and among other things serve to increase the realism. The atmosphere of this game is very well achieved thanks to the above and the very good characterization of the places you visit.
Although the game in structure and story is broadly almost the same as A Link to the Past, so if you expect something new in that sense this game does not offer it, but I really do not blame them, ALttP game is the GOAT. Back to the point, perhaps due to memory limitations and also because it would be too large in scale to develop, the concept of two parallel worlds had to be discarded, but not completely, as this was integrated in the form of a time skip that changes the world design a bit, but not only that, but also Link's abilities by turning him from a child to an adult. And this game separates the two characters so that even as an adult, you have to resort to your child form for its peculiarities, such as being small in size or being located in a different time.
This game adds a new collectible to complement the exploration of the world, similar to Dragon Quest IV's mini medals, the infamous golden skulltulas, and I must say that the challenge of finding them all is a bit absurd. Some are hidden brilliantly, but others are hidden wickedly and are nearly impossible to find, as some appear exclusively at night and in very specific locations. It's a completely optional quest, but it could have been handled better, you can tell that many are only there so that the game can have that amount of "100", besides only 50 being necessary to get the rewards that are really worth it.
The heart pieces on the other hand yes they are hidden in a better way, similar to how they were in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, only 2 or 3 will be very well hidden, but the rest are enjoyable to search and discover. And overall, this game has A Link to the Past type moments, where it's hard to figure out where you need to go next, but the addition of Navi was vital to mitigate this and better guide the player's progression.
The graphics in this version are great, it's like the exact same game, but with PS2 graphics, and that somehow looks really good on the 240p screen of the 3DS, it still looks great even to this day (and Princess Zelda looks gorgeous in this version). And I'm glad that for this remake they went for a realistic style instead of an animated one, as the original Ocarina of Time was made to be a realistic game from the start, as I said above. It also comes with a lot of small tweaks to make the experience smoother. The original Ocarina of Time is still a great experience, but if you want a more modern experience that is still completely faithful to the original, this version is the way to go.
Conclusion
Plot twist! The conclusion was always the very first paragraph of this review, so go read that. Thanks for reading and goodbye.
FIN.
...
...
Actually... I don't need to explain anything else, the previous paragraph is more than enough, but my reviews are always long and in order not to break the tradition (and for everyone who wants to stay and read more) I'll expand the review, so here I go.
Expanded Review
This game perfectly translates the Zelda formula to 3D, to such a level that it makes you think that this franchise was born from the beginning really to have 3D games. Ocarina of Time was extremely ambitious for its time, Nintendo could have made a more direct translation of the mechanics that characterize the franchise for a 3D game, but the developers decided to go a step ahead and directly reinvented many mechanics to adapt things from the past to the new format, which in essence seem to be the same and the obvious evolution, but from a design perspective such transition is not so evident, and therefore, such change was what allowed an infinitely higher range of expression for the way the mechanics are expanded and the levels of this game are designed. It's not for nothing that franchises like Castlevania or Mega Man on PS2 never really shined in 3D, as they were a literal translation of the formula to 3D without being an adaptation or evolution as such over them.
The dungeons are very well designed, and it's impressive that for a game from the early 3D era it has such well thought out puzzles and great design in general, it has aged excellently.
The overworld map is gigantic, and wisely interconnects different areas of the game the further you go so as not to make exploration a burden. However, as a kid, sometimes traversing the map can be tiring because of how slow Link walks and how far away everything is at first, and it's a shame that pegasus boots weren't added to the game. This has its reason of course, because now to go fast around the map we can ride a horse, which solves the previous problem, but only partially, because riding a horse is only an option when Link is an adult. And later in the game you also unlock fast travel options, however, when you do this you probably won't need to go back to the time where you are a child more than a few times.
The soundtrack in this game is simply magical. Many melodies are too short and simple, but they are extremely catchy and memorable, although this was done on purpose, as the music has a leading role, because simple commands like fast travel to certain places or calling your horse are linked to a melody, and to invoke those commands you must play the melody yourself, and that's why they were made short and easy to memorize. I know it may sound a bit goofy nowadays, and in the long run it's even a bit tedious to have to play a song every time for such basic actions, but I don't know, it's something that makes this game even more magical.
The controls can feel... a bit "clunky" nowadays for a 3D game, but if you compare it to any other game of the time, you realize that the controls and character movement are brilliantly designed and way ahead of their time. Obviously this isn't a platformer, so you don't have the mobility and versatility of Mario, you're still Link from previous games, only now in a 3D environment. Link as such could never jump at will and always had a somewhat slow mobility.
A substantial improvement over previous installments is the combat, this went from only consisting of pressing the A button, to be expanded so that now things like dodging, good timing, blocking with the shield and even the trajectory of your thrusts is determined by the position to which you are moving the analog stick. It may not sound like a big deal, but for a series that used to have a very basic combat system, to see such a significant expansion is to be admired and especially for its time. And all of this was made possible by the brilliant lock-on system, which was a revolution for its time.
Unlike Mario, adapting Zelda to three dimensions was even more complicated, because while Mario could still afford to have levels, models, animations and sound effects a little more "unreal" or "artificial" so to speak, Zelda games have always tried to be set in fantasy worlds, but worlds that should feel natural and "believable". This particular title was given a realistic setting to achieve that goal, which we can tell from the graphical style, the animations and the immense amount of attention to detail in the world. The dungeons now have ambient music instead of traditional video game music, and while I would have liked the normal songs better, I understand the change. Things like the sound of your footsteps changing depending on the ground you're walking on, the voices changing pitch if you're underwater or not, Link shivering from the cold and sneezing if the place is icy, the day and night cycle that was added as a gimmick precisely, all this and among other things serve to increase the realism. The atmosphere of this game is very well achieved thanks to the above and the very good characterization of the places you visit.
Although the game in structure and story is broadly almost the same as A Link to the Past, so if you expect something new in that sense this game does not offer it, but I really do not blame them, ALttP game is the GOAT. Back to the point, perhaps due to memory limitations and also because it would be too large in scale to develop, the concept of two parallel worlds had to be discarded, but not completely, as this was integrated in the form of a time skip that changes the world design a bit, but not only that, but also Link's abilities by turning him from a child to an adult. And this game separates the two characters so that even as an adult, you have to resort to your child form for its peculiarities, such as being small in size or being located in a different time.
This game adds a new collectible to complement the exploration of the world, similar to Dragon Quest IV's mini medals, the infamous golden skulltulas, and I must say that the challenge of finding them all is a bit absurd. Some are hidden brilliantly, but others are hidden wickedly and are nearly impossible to find, as some appear exclusively at night and in very specific locations. It's a completely optional quest, but it could have been handled better, you can tell that many are only there so that the game can have that amount of "100", besides only 50 being necessary to get the rewards that are really worth it.
The heart pieces on the other hand yes they are hidden in a better way, similar to how they were in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, only 2 or 3 will be very well hidden, but the rest are enjoyable to search and discover. And overall, this game has A Link to the Past type moments, where it's hard to figure out where you need to go next, but the addition of Navi was vital to mitigate this and better guide the player's progression.
The graphics in this version are great, it's like the exact same game, but with PS2 graphics, and that somehow looks really good on the 240p screen of the 3DS, it still looks great even to this day (and Princess Zelda looks gorgeous in this version). And I'm glad that for this remake they went for a realistic style instead of an animated one, as the original Ocarina of Time was made to be a realistic game from the start, as I said above. It also comes with a lot of small tweaks to make the experience smoother. The original Ocarina of Time is still a great experience, but if you want a more modern experience that is still completely faithful to the original, this version is the way to go.
Conclusion
Plot twist! The conclusion was always the very first paragraph of this review, so go read that. Thanks for reading and goodbye.
4 Comments
Thank you, @NOWITSREYNTIME17. No, I have never played Majora's Mask, but it's something I want to change very soon. One of the reasons I replayed Ocarina is to prepare for Majora's Mask and the games I have left to play. I wanted to play it in its original version on a CRT TV, but due to certain circumstances I won't be able to, so I'll go for the 3DS version with the mod you recommended before
Oh righttt, hope you enjoy it! I was thinking about replaying oot since its been so long but it and Majora were always my favorite zelda games
It's the best version to play Ocarina of Time
NOWITSREYNTIME17
3 months ago