Maybe I still have a ton to experience and I'm getting ahead of myself but I often think about how few 3D action games I've played that have released over the decades have really made 3D dungeons as good or stimulating as this game's.
Ocarina's dungeons especially the Temples really make use of 3D space and verticality with all sorts of creative or otherwise stimulating puzzles and scenarios of sorts.
I'm sure a lot of specific praise has been said about that already but one thing I feel most people don't appreciate is Ocarina's variety in dungeon layouts. What I mean is most Zelda games 2D or 3D usually have all or most of their dungeons fall into one of three categories (I don't take credit for thinking of these, I'm loosely remembering these from GMTK's Boss Keys series): (1) more complex lock and key find the path dungeons (2) more linear gauntlet style follow the path dungeons and (3) those special puzzle box dungeons where you change a central mechanism of sorts often
Ocarina dungeons have all of these. The Forest Temple is one of the most memorable Lock and Key dungeons in the series. The Shadow Temple is a linear gauntlet. The Water Temple is probably the most infamous puzzle box dungeon as well.
Just between the temples in terms of variety we have:
3 more complex Lock and Key dungeons: Fire Temple, Forest Temple, Water Temple (and Spirit Temple kind of)
1 puzzle box being the Water Temple (Water Temple is kind of a mix of both)
and 2 more linear gauntlets of sorts with the Shadow and Spirit Temple
Most Zelda games have all their dungeons fit into one category with maybe one outlier (most LA/Oracle dungeons are lock and key and I'm pretty sure every Skyward Sword dungeon is a linear gauntlet of more creative puzzles) but Ocarina manages to have this appreciable diversity I feel most of the others don't have (my memory is a bit fuzzy on some like Twilight Princess)
Also wow this game released pretty close to my birthday.
Ocarina's dungeons especially the Temples really make use of 3D space and verticality with all sorts of creative or otherwise stimulating puzzles and scenarios of sorts.
I'm sure a lot of specific praise has been said about that already but one thing I feel most people don't appreciate is Ocarina's variety in dungeon layouts. What I mean is most Zelda games 2D or 3D usually have all or most of their dungeons fall into one of three categories (I don't take credit for thinking of these, I'm loosely remembering these from GMTK's Boss Keys series): (1) more complex lock and key find the path dungeons (2) more linear gauntlet style follow the path dungeons and (3) those special puzzle box dungeons where you change a central mechanism of sorts often
Ocarina dungeons have all of these. The Forest Temple is one of the most memorable Lock and Key dungeons in the series. The Shadow Temple is a linear gauntlet. The Water Temple is probably the most infamous puzzle box dungeon as well.
Just between the temples in terms of variety we have:
3 more complex Lock and Key dungeons: Fire Temple, Forest Temple, Water Temple (and Spirit Temple kind of)
1 puzzle box being the Water Temple (Water Temple is kind of a mix of both)
and 2 more linear gauntlets of sorts with the Shadow and Spirit Temple
Most Zelda games have all their dungeons fit into one category with maybe one outlier (most LA/Oracle dungeons are lock and key and I'm pretty sure every Skyward Sword dungeon is a linear gauntlet of more creative puzzles) but Ocarina manages to have this appreciable diversity I feel most of the others don't have (my memory is a bit fuzzy on some like Twilight Princess)
Also wow this game released pretty close to my birthday.