Game Review: "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
When I got my N3DSXL close to a month ago, I decided to grab The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for it - it is definitely one of my favourite Zelda titles, I never played / completed the Master's Quest, and it seemed(seems?) that physical copies of the game were getting quite scarce, so I wanted to get it while I could.
It feels like I played the game for the very first time again, despite me recognizing parts of the game, or recalling them fondly. [I think it had been about.....close to 15 years since I'd played / beaten it last.]
for one thing, the game has never looked better. The graphics are vastly improved over the 64 version - not so 'jaggy', and there's some added effects here and there. And - small detail I'm thankful for - they gave Link his 'missing' sword-sheath (the diagonal brown one across his chest.)
I just beat it (100%) the other night, so I haven't had a chance yet to explore the Master's Quest version that got unlocked, but I noticed some differences in the game:
- more Sheikah Stones
- The Iron & Hover Boots are now 'items' like how the Iron boots were in Wind Waker. This makes getting in and out of them much quicker as you don't have to stop the game like before to equip / unequip them. So: they're items now, not 'gear'.
for one thing, the game has never looked better. The graphics are vastly improved over the 64 version - not so 'jaggy', and there's some added effects here and there. And - small detail I'm thankful for - they gave Link his 'missing' sword-sheath (the diagonal brown one across his chest.)
I just beat it (100%) the other night, so I haven't had a chance yet to explore the Master's Quest version that got unlocked, but I noticed some differences in the game:
- more Sheikah Stones
- The Iron & Hover Boots are now 'items' like how the Iron boots were in Wind Waker. This makes getting in and out of them much quicker as you don't have to stop the game like before to equip / unequip them. So: they're items now, not 'gear'.
- you have one more 'item slot', thanks to button layout.
- the music of the Fire Temple has been changed (no more chanting, which as it turned out, were Muslims originally).
- the design of the Mirror Shield is a little different.
- less (red) blood. moments in the original where you see red blood has been re-colored to green. This includes Ganondorf's 'cough' (much less effective, looks like had a bad loogie) and...well...the 'final blows' by the Master Sword in the ending cinematic.
- Stone of Truth is now Shard of Truth (makes a noise and 'appears' on your screen, rather than rumble)
There may be other things, but those were the most notable to me.
All in all, a great game. Whether you're playing for the first time, or re-visiting it, there's tons to see and do. This is how a video game remake should be done. Well, it's more of a 'remaster' as they took what was there already and made it better.
Parting thoughts: I think this game (the original in '98 but you get the idea) was the first time I thought "hey...maybe video games can be an art form, too..." and it's true - this is a classic masterpiece which has re-defined the Zelda series. Next up: Master's Quest version as well as Majora's Mask...
- the music of the Fire Temple has been changed (no more chanting, which as it turned out, were Muslims originally).
- the design of the Mirror Shield is a little different.
- less (red) blood. moments in the original where you see red blood has been re-colored to green. This includes Ganondorf's 'cough' (much less effective, looks like had a bad loogie) and...well...the 'final blows' by the Master Sword in the ending cinematic.
- Stone of Truth is now Shard of Truth (makes a noise and 'appears' on your screen, rather than rumble)
There may be other things, but those were the most notable to me.
All in all, a great game. Whether you're playing for the first time, or re-visiting it, there's tons to see and do. This is how a video game remake should be done. Well, it's more of a 'remaster' as they took what was there already and made it better.
Parting thoughts: I think this game (the original in '98 but you get the idea) was the first time I thought "hey...maybe video games can be an art form, too..." and it's true - this is a classic masterpiece which has re-defined the Zelda series. Next up: Master's Quest version as well as Majora's Mask...
10 / 10
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