"Grab your flute a few bombs and
your slingshot and gear up for one of the best games to ever grace a
console..."
Intro
Sure it was Mario who propelled Nintendo into stardom, but the chubby Italian
plumber could only take them so far. It was the Zelda series that truly uprooted
notions of "novelty gaming", and produced a line of games that
rocketed it into history. Even back in 1987 on the NES, Zelda became an addition
like none other. Never before in console gaming was a game so epic. The next
hyped game, aside from the chip shortages, skyrocketed sales and became more of
a legend than a whimsical fantasy game.
Now that Ocarina of Time is almost four years old, it is still as good as
it ever was. I've spent the last two weeks with my hands wrapped around the
obscure N64 controller, and subjecting myself to now-classic gaming bliss.
The making of a classic...
When you look back in time at RPG's and adventure games in general, the ones
most remembered are those in which the storyline is memorable. Games like
earlier Final Fantasy games and other older Squaresoft games; have
always kept their storyline strong and focused more on events rather than
optimizing a consoles power. The foundation for OOT is the strong
storyline which grasps you by the ears from the start. The storyline is so
complex and immense that to summarize it in a review would easily topple 3,000
words. The story is so good, that it could easily be translated to a nice-sized
novel...
Briefly, you star as the young hero Link; who is called to a meeting by the
Great Deku (protector and provider of the elves). Deko explains how an
overcoming evil is dissolving the powers he produces and his death is
inevitable. Charged with a quest, Link is the sole savior to save Hyrule. Ok, so
you've seen the whole "save the world from uncertain peril"
story a billion times, but to say you have played this one before would
be an insult. Along the way you will encounter a myriad of minitasks,
objectives, quests and puzzles to solve. The story ever changes, and in order to
fulfill your primary goal requires you to complete countless sub-missions.
The world of Hyrule is a huge and dauntless place that spans as far as the eye
can see. Since time is done in a fashion where it changes from dawn to dusk and
so on, the scenery changes dynamically. In classic Zelda fashion, in order to
reach one area of Hyrule it is obligatory to complete and explore other sections
to open up these new areas. Along the way Link will pick up helpful techniques
and tools that are mandatory for moving on to new levels.
For example: To get to Jabu-Jabu you must give him a fish. To get a fish you
must catch one with an empty bottle. To get an empty bottle you must find it at
the bottom of a lake. To reach the bottom of the lake you must compete in order
to get a Zora scale. To get to Zora's Domain you must...
You get the point. For every step there must be something done priory in order
to achieve the current and future goals. While it may seem frustrating for many,
it is a very rewarding process. For the most part enemies are quite easy and
Navi (your personal fairy) gives you pointers on the weaknesses for each
enemy. The hardest obstacle for Link to overcome is himself, and the puzzles
laid out before him. For those who enjoy puzzle solving to the extreme, this is
an ideal game. The puzzles and riddles are scattered throughout the game, and
are never-ending. The puzzles range from childish matching; many of them are
complex and frustrating. The balance between fun and frustrating is perfect.
Many times you'll want to throw the controller across the wall, but in general,
the riddles keep you coming back for more.
Taking the game a step higher to the already complex storyline, halfway
through the game you will see how important time actually is. Without
giving too much away, Link can transport in time to the future where he is an
adult and vice versa. Things Link does as a child will affect events that take
place when he is an adult. Balancing the two, and discovering when to use Link
at what stage of his life, is a crucial part of the complexity of the game
itself. Discovering these on your own is something that you shouldn't read about
in any review or walkthrough and must be discovered by yourself...
Not as good as the reviews claim...
I pre-ordered my copy of OOT before it was release; and actually it was
the first game I know that actually took pre-orders... Nevertheless, I
anticipated the game like the Second Coming. I read anything I could get my
grubby hands on, and every website was bookmarked. Many reviewers claimed the
control was the best thing since Pop Rocks. Four years later, I still disagree.
As good as the game is, the controls are quirky at best. I loved the ingenuity
of using the "C" buttons and assigning them to different tools, and
moving was a breeze. What I do have a problem with is the targeting and
camera angles. The targeting is much like Grand Theft Auto III, in which
the trigger button "locks-on" to the nearest enemy and you face that
direction as long as you hold in the button. The concept is great, but many
times you will find yourself NOT locked on and stuck in a corner getting
the crap beat out of you. Tie this into some obscure camera angles, and the
gameplay can get as frustrating as the puzzles.
Other small issues include "moving-pushing-pulling-climbing".
Throughout the game, many puzzles include blocks that need to be moved.
Depending on where you stand and how close you are, pulls up a menu of options.
You will see the buttons change depending on your stance, and what you can do.
Here is an example. You want to pull a block towards you. It doesn't work the
first time, and you end up climbing up the fricker. You try again, but this time
you push it. The process was a great concept, but can become a real
hair-puller.
Once you get past the enigmatic controls, you will find yourself in gaming
nirvana. Link has dozens of tools he can discover throughout the huge world.
Starting off with a sword, his arsenal soon builds dramatically. Weapons range
from a must-have slingshot (which is not only a weapon, but can trigger
puzzles) to the classic boomerang (which can also double as a goodie
retrieval). Weapons really are secondary when it comes to gadgets. The ocarina
is a flute like tool, in which you can learn various melodies within the game.
These melodies can do a variety of tasks. It can do anything from change the
night-to-day, to open areas that you though were impossible. The core of the
game centers on this magical flute, and the tunes are not only effective; but
also quite catchy. Once a tune is learned, it will be recorded in your menu
screen, and until you know it by heart you will often refer to it.
Later on in the game, you will acquire other things like a grappling hook and
bombs. Every tool, weapon and object you acquire is important in someway within
the game. Interaction also plays a huge role within the game. Talking to people
will point you in the right direction, or give new missions in which you can
participate in or forgo. Many times the words are riddled with vagueness, but
through exploration and discovery you will soon find out these events.
While you might be able to zoom through the game in about 12 hours, if you do,
you are really doing more harm than good. Ocarina of Time is a game where
you should mosey as slow as you can, and enjoy every moment of it. Blazing from
level to level simply beating the given objections, is still enjoyable; but
there is so much to do that you really need to take your time. With
scores of mini-games and puzzles the main objectives should be secondary. Aside
from the puzzles, there are dozens of objects to collect and secrets to find.
Everything from collecting "Skulltallas" to deciphering the "One
Eyed Statues". You will go on through you life as Link, you will learn many
skills. You will learn how to fish, be a mask salesman to become a professional
jockey. The games rewarding aspects are below skin deep. If you do choose to
simply run through the game as fast as possible, I feel sorry for you; for you
are missing what the game is truly about.
Multimedia: Vintage Style
Unfortunately, video games are not like wine and many will overlook a game
simply because of visuals. Like the old saying "you can't judge a book
by it's cover", the same runs true with timeless games. At the time,
this was on the forefront of every game magazine in the world. The graphics were
3D (a la Mario 64) and the hugeness was simply overwhelming. Looking
back, and as my N64 sits parallel with my XBOX; I still find the graphics to be
entertaining, colorful and cheery. The environments are still respectable and
are dauntingly... daunting.
The performance, since it is a cart based games, runs smooth as silk and never
chokes up. With no load times, I still get warm tinglies because of all the long
load times with current games. Overall, the graphics are still
respectable, and aside from some questionable camera angles it still looks
great.
While the graphics may not be on par with the GameCube and XBOX, the audio
however, really is on par with current consoles. The vocal and sound effects
(thus changed for Xeno) are top notch and catchy. The music consists of
remixes from past games, along with the groovy tunes provided from the Ocarina.
I do admit, about three hours into the game you are going to want to de-wing
Navi, aside from that the audio is totally thumbs up. Still at the beginnings of
dynamically changing events within video games, the audio shows the genesis and
evolution of current systems. Underwater, the sound effects are blurred and
muffled. In caves, the effects echo off the walls. These little effects many
take for granted now, then were really revolutionary.
66 Says:
The N64 was one of those systems where we hated to love it. We can't forget the
games that really made history. OOT is a game that gamers will still be
talking about 10 years from now. We'll reminisce about the cheesy 3D graphics
and crazy camera angles; but we will gloat about storylines and gameplay that
"new" games could never duplicate.
I really hope to encourage those who forgot about this now classic, to dust off
the gold cover and pop in old school cart goodness. You'll be glad you did...
For those who don't have the game, I really encourage you to give this a
peep. You can find the game for around 20 bucks on Ebay, but I've seen them
laying around yard sales for under five clams.
Glad you good sat back and remembered this game with me. It's been a blast.
9.5
