This review contains spoilers
I was pretty nervous going into this one, I mean, it is the 'best game of all time' after all. I kept thinking to myself that there was no way it would live up to all my expectations and all the hype. I am so glad I was wrong. Ocarina of Time is not just a spectacular game, it's one of the best games I've ever played.
From the opening moments in Kokiri Forest to the end credits I was in awe. To think that this game came out in 1998 is ridiculous. There is no game out there, other than Breath of the Wild, that is able to capture the same sense of adventure that this game does. There are so many elements working together to make everything fit and the result is such a complete experience, nothing feels half baked, nothing feels unfinished, and everything feels like it has some purpose to it.
There are gonna be two main things you'll be doing in Ocarina of Time, completing the dungeons, and exploring the overworld, I'll start with the dungeons. I loved almost every single one of these, yes, even the Water Temple. The only one I'd say that I didn't really like would be the Fire Temple, and I do have some complaints with Jabu-Jabu's Belly, but all things considered these still totally work. The Great Deku Tree is an amazing first dungeon and it makes full use of the 3D environment. Dodongo's Cavern feels like a complete change of pace but a welcome one at that. The Forest Temple is so interconnected that by the end you feel like you've just memorized the right path through a maze. I can completely understand why people who first played this on an N64 would hate the Water Temple, but in this version of the game it's great, also the Shadow Link fight is awesome. The Spirit Temple is just fucking cool and so intuitive. The Shadow Temple, well, I think that it's straight up my favorite dungeon in the game. The dungeon ending bosses were also all, with the exception of Morpha, great, I especially loved Bongo Bongo. Speaking of bosses, holy shit that final fight with Ganon is incredible, it feels so tense, not only from a gameplay point of view, but also from a narrative one, it's as if the winner of the fight would actually dictate the future of this fictional world.
As for the overworld exploration, there is just so much to do here. So many secrets to find, so many minigames to play and the dual world format of it all makes for some amazing callbacks and continuity. There are so many memorable locations which not only serve as fun areas to explore and walk around in, but also do wonders towards environmental storytelling, which happens to be another great strength of Ocarina of Time.
The game's story seems very simple on the surface, but the more you look into it the more you'll find. I'm gonna hold off on talking about the whole metaphorical side for just a second because I wanna mention some of the environmental stuff I noticed. There are so many small details littered throughout the game, definitely a bunch that I missed, my favorite example is what you need to do to get into the Shadow Temple. They don't make it explicit, but you have to make a sacrifice of your magic to get into it, which works so well since you rely on it so much during the dungeon. There are so many questions that the world presents to you as well. What is the royal family hiding at the bottom of the well in Kakariko Village? Why did Kokiri Forest remain untouched after Ganon gained power? Why have the Gerudo isolated themselves away from the rest of Hyrule? This is how you establish atmosphere in a video game. And even past all that, there is still an amazing message about what it means to grow up. When I think of the best video game endings ever, I think of NieR: Automata or Metal Gear Solid 2, and now Ocarina of Time has joined that small group. Not only is it one of the most satisfying conclusions to any story I've ever been told, it's also a perfect look back on your entire journey. At the end of your adventure, Link is sent back to the Hyrule of 7 years ago to relive his childhood, no one will ever know what the Hero of Time did, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Before ending this review, I just wanted to talk about one more thing: the music. This really is that masterpiece shit. So many memorable moments were reinforced because of the score, Koji Kondo has really outdone himself with this one. Of course, the Great Fairy Fountain theme returns and it is one of my favorite pieces of music ever, so I made sure to stop by every fountain I found. Gerudo Valley is just fucking amazing, I would walk around this place just to listen to that song. Lon Lon Ranch has become, with the exception of Rosalina's Comet Observatory, my favorite song from a video game ever, I used to stop by there after every dungeon just to listen to Malon sing.
This game was so, so close to being a perfect 10 out of 10, but it just barely didn't make it, mostly because I feel like I like The Wind Waker more, and that game is currently sitting at a 9.9 out of 10, so I've decided to give Ocarina of Time the same score. I cannot stress this enough, this game is a masterpiece, and it is something that everyone who likes video games should experience.
From the opening moments in Kokiri Forest to the end credits I was in awe. To think that this game came out in 1998 is ridiculous. There is no game out there, other than Breath of the Wild, that is able to capture the same sense of adventure that this game does. There are so many elements working together to make everything fit and the result is such a complete experience, nothing feels half baked, nothing feels unfinished, and everything feels like it has some purpose to it.
There are gonna be two main things you'll be doing in Ocarina of Time, completing the dungeons, and exploring the overworld, I'll start with the dungeons. I loved almost every single one of these, yes, even the Water Temple. The only one I'd say that I didn't really like would be the Fire Temple, and I do have some complaints with Jabu-Jabu's Belly, but all things considered these still totally work. The Great Deku Tree is an amazing first dungeon and it makes full use of the 3D environment. Dodongo's Cavern feels like a complete change of pace but a welcome one at that. The Forest Temple is so interconnected that by the end you feel like you've just memorized the right path through a maze. I can completely understand why people who first played this on an N64 would hate the Water Temple, but in this version of the game it's great, also the Shadow Link fight is awesome. The Spirit Temple is just fucking cool and so intuitive. The Shadow Temple, well, I think that it's straight up my favorite dungeon in the game. The dungeon ending bosses were also all, with the exception of Morpha, great, I especially loved Bongo Bongo. Speaking of bosses, holy shit that final fight with Ganon is incredible, it feels so tense, not only from a gameplay point of view, but also from a narrative one, it's as if the winner of the fight would actually dictate the future of this fictional world.
As for the overworld exploration, there is just so much to do here. So many secrets to find, so many minigames to play and the dual world format of it all makes for some amazing callbacks and continuity. There are so many memorable locations which not only serve as fun areas to explore and walk around in, but also do wonders towards environmental storytelling, which happens to be another great strength of Ocarina of Time.
The game's story seems very simple on the surface, but the more you look into it the more you'll find. I'm gonna hold off on talking about the whole metaphorical side for just a second because I wanna mention some of the environmental stuff I noticed. There are so many small details littered throughout the game, definitely a bunch that I missed, my favorite example is what you need to do to get into the Shadow Temple. They don't make it explicit, but you have to make a sacrifice of your magic to get into it, which works so well since you rely on it so much during the dungeon. There are so many questions that the world presents to you as well. What is the royal family hiding at the bottom of the well in Kakariko Village? Why did Kokiri Forest remain untouched after Ganon gained power? Why have the Gerudo isolated themselves away from the rest of Hyrule? This is how you establish atmosphere in a video game. And even past all that, there is still an amazing message about what it means to grow up. When I think of the best video game endings ever, I think of NieR: Automata or Metal Gear Solid 2, and now Ocarina of Time has joined that small group. Not only is it one of the most satisfying conclusions to any story I've ever been told, it's also a perfect look back on your entire journey. At the end of your adventure, Link is sent back to the Hyrule of 7 years ago to relive his childhood, no one will ever know what the Hero of Time did, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Before ending this review, I just wanted to talk about one more thing: the music. This really is that masterpiece shit. So many memorable moments were reinforced because of the score, Koji Kondo has really outdone himself with this one. Of course, the Great Fairy Fountain theme returns and it is one of my favorite pieces of music ever, so I made sure to stop by every fountain I found. Gerudo Valley is just fucking amazing, I would walk around this place just to listen to that song. Lon Lon Ranch has become, with the exception of Rosalina's Comet Observatory, my favorite song from a video game ever, I used to stop by there after every dungeon just to listen to Malon sing.
This game was so, so close to being a perfect 10 out of 10, but it just barely didn't make it, mostly because I feel like I like The Wind Waker more, and that game is currently sitting at a 9.9 out of 10, so I've decided to give Ocarina of Time the same score. I cannot stress this enough, this game is a masterpiece, and it is something that everyone who likes video games should experience.
thealexmott
1 year ago