Video Game Review #8- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Well, now? What can I say about Ocarina of Time that hasn?t been said a thousand times before?? Widely renowned as the greatest game of all time, the first 3D Zelda game was definitely a groundbreaking title.? Between it and Super Mario 64, I?d say you have the two games that influenced gaming as we know it today.? So, what do I think about it?? Is it truly the greatest game of all time?? Well, no, not in my opinion.? That doesn?t mean it still isn?t a great game, though!? Read on for some more details.

So, first of all, the story.? It?s all pretty basic stuff.? In the magical land of Hyrule, a young boy named Link has been chosen by the goddesses to be the Hero of Time, the savior of the world.? When an evil king named Ganondorf sets his sights on conquering the kingdom, Princess Zelda entrusts Link with the titular Ocarina of Time, believing that doing so will prevent Ganondorf from gaining access to the Sacred Realm and acquiring incredible power.? But they don?t realize that their actions were exactly what Ganondorf was expecting, and they open the doorway to the Sacred Realm for him anyway.? Link goes to sleep for seven years, and awakens to find that Ganondorf, now known as the King of Evil, has all but destroyed Hyrule, and it?s his job to usurp him from the throne and restore the land to its former glory.? It sounds a bit complicated, but the story, while well told, is less intrusive than other story driven games, such as Final Fantasy.? Basically, it all boils down to ?Gather the magical items, save the princess, beat the bad guy, save the world.?

The most instantly notable aspect of Ocarina of Time back at the time when it was first released was that it was no longer a two-dimensional game.? While the original Zelda game and Link to the Past were overhead adventure games, and Link?s Awakening was a sidescroller, Ocarina of Time was the first game in the franchise to boast 3D graphics.? While not nearly as visually stunning now as it was back then, it?s still awesome to see the characters and scenery you know and love transition from 2D sprites to fully fleshed out 3D models.

Which brings me to the main concept behind the game: time travel.? When Link opens to Door of Time, he awakens seven years later as a full grown man.? After beating the first temple, you are given the ability to freely switch back and forth between the present and past whenever you want.? Young Link?s world is happy and vibrant, while Adult Link?s world is in shambles- it has seen the worst and has adapted to it.? It?s awesome to see how characters you met in the past have changed in the future.? Perhaps the happy horse breeding ranch is now run by a jerk who only wants to make money.? Perhaps a person who used to be happy and very carefree is now solemn and brooding.? Perhaps some characters have even died!? This makes exploring the world a very fun task, because you?ll want to meet everyone you can so that you can see how the story?s events have affected them.? And the ocarina isn?t just used for time travel, you can also learn songs on it that will do various things for you.? Some of them will warp you to important locations, others will change what time of day it is, and others do less important things that will only be used once or twice.? And the way they incorporate playing the songs is unique as well.? While they could have easily just given you a menu to select which song you wish to play, they actually make you press buttons (or move the joystick) to play certain notes, thereby making you play the game yourself!? While this does add an extra element of immersion to the game, though, there were times when I wished that I actually could just select the song I want to play.? Having to manually press the correct buttons each and every time you want to play the song can get tiresome, but it never really becomes a problem.

The gameplay is, for the most part, done exceptionally well.? Something that threw me off the first time I played it was that there was no jump button, which has become a staple of the 3D Zelda games.? I quickly got over this, however, when I learned just how effective Link?s autojump mechanism was.? Simply run at a ledge, and Link will automatically jump when he reaches it.? His jumps are usually accurate, and he?s able to grab the side of the platform and pull himself up if you slightly misjudge the distance.? And the combat works great as well.? Instead of swinging your sword around willy-nilly, the game allows you to Z-Target your enemies, which is better known today as a lock-on function.? The biggest complaint I have with the game is how stiffly Link moves.? When running around a wide open area, this isn?t a problem at all, but when you?re on a narrow ledge, with a deep chasm on both sides, it becomes aggravating.? For one thing, you do not have manual control of the camera.? While you can readjust it to be directly behind Link, you can?t alter it any other way.? Couple this with the fact that oftentimes it?s difficult to get Link lined up exactly how you want him to be, and certain sections of the dungeons that require precise movement can become maddeningly difficult.? I remember one section in the final level that required me to guide Link across a narrow, twisting bridge that was only visible when I used a certain item.? Needless to say, I came to the point of cursing at my television several times while playing this section.

And the final piece of the puzzle is the soundtrack.? While the game lacks any voice acting (all the speech is done in text), the game still boasts some amazing music.? Every location of the game is given a different tune, and they all perfectly portray the mood that is needed.? Kokiri Woods sounds lively and playful.? Zora?s Domain is calm and peaceful.? Goron City has a primitive feel, being played all by drums.? The Shadow Temple theme made my skin crawl when I first heard it!? But nothing can beat the Hyrule Field theme, which is enough to make any couch potato want to leap from his seat and go exploring.

In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has passed the test of time- pun intended.? While it?s graphics aren?t as mind blowing as they once more, and the controls feel a bit lacking at times, there?s no denying that this game is still fun!? While not entirely story driven, the narrative is still very entertaining.? While I can?t say that it lives up to the hype of it being the greatest game of all time, I can still safely say that it is ONE of the greatest.? And it helped spawn 3D video games as we know them!? That?s got to be worth something, right?

I give The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time a 9.5/10!

It should be noted that I played this game on the Wii with a Gamecube controller after downloading it off of the Wii?s Virtual Console.

Source: http://forceoffiction.blogspot.com/2013/04/video-game-review-8-legend-of-zelda.html

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