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[Slyfox]

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Modified version is waaaay too late. But it is here now.



The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was one of the first forays into the 3D realm of gaming. It was developed by Nintendo and originally released on the Nintendo 64, though it has been re-released on the Nintendo GameCube, Wii and finally the Nintendo 3DS. The original came out in 1998. The one I will be reviewing is the 3DS version.



Gameplay. You move around in three dimensions, but other than that, it's basically the same Zelda gameplay style, which isn't bad at all. It's still very puzzle oriented, and with the extra dimension, unique and challenging (the puzzles). You run around with your sword and shield, find a ton of hidden stuff, and complete a bunch of dungeons. It's a gameplay style that's been done again many times, but seeing as this was a foundation of said gameplay style, it's pretty good.



Combat is a mixture of real time action and puzzles. Don't expect to fight like they do in movies however. Basically, it's lock onto an enemy, wait, dodge and exploit. Even though you move in the fights, it's boils down to pulling a certain routine off. While it works, and is fun, it doesn't achieve the greatness you expect. It feels somewhat stale, changing for each enemy, but not evolving.


The world. You have a big place to explore, though unlike the 2D entries, you can't go almost everywhere at first. Or at least, it feels more empty. The land doesn't look very natural, but it can be pretty. The overall shape of it however is ugly. Hard to explain.

As far as the "look" of the game goes, it has that distinct Zelda feel, but out of all the games in the series, it feels as if this one is the closest to generic fantasy. Sure, you might have unique races and such, but the castle, the land, houses, etc. are all quite simple. Technology in games weren't as advanced back then, but still, things could have looked different.


Story. Nothing to write home about. The 2D entries didn't have much, but in a 3D game, I feel it is necessary. I couldn't get attached to any characters.


Music. Zelda usually has great music, and while Ocarina of Time certainly has some great themes, I find that overall the music is pretty bland. The dungeons, for a change, only have ambient sounds  . Wait, I'm wrong. Every area, and the characters, have awesome music. The dungeons, have next to no music, the boss fights have forgettable themes, and the basic fighting music is irritating. So yeah, when I say overall, I mean where most of your time is invested, which is the dungeons. Because the rest sounds awesome. The audio quality can be grating though. I find those retro sounds in previous Zelda game, even on the gameboy, sound better and so do the newer ones from the games that came after.




So that's that. I'm really not clear, I'll go over this again tomorrow and see if I can clarify things. I'll tell you if I do. Anyway, the 3DS version looks great, but the terrain itself is still very odd, in a bad way. As if they were testing all they could do with 3D terrain, like my first tries with the BFEditor. I have to say, Ocarina of Time is one of my least favorite Zeldas. Sure, it might have been groundbreaking at the time, and a lot of people consider it the best game in the series, but I find there is nothing compelling. This is the only Zelda where I don't feel like searching every corner for every possible item.



I just read this a third time, I WILL make edits to this in a day or two. I'll make a post when I do. Many elements have not been covered it seems. Ask some questions, that could help me make it better.



Score, what people think: 95%-100%

My score: 68%

[EvilWhiteDragon]

Interesting review. Didn't really have time to read it sooner, so that's why I responded a tad late.

So basically, you're saying that the original was OK-Good, but because this is a remake it just doesn't cut it nowadays? Also, how did you experience the 3D graphics on the 3DS?

[Slyfox]

Still gonna edit this, but not today.

EWD, what I meant is that people loved it (such as when it came out), but as a newcomer, there are better games out there, including the other Zelda ones. The remake is better, but it's still a game that doesn't have the depth it needs.

And the 3D graphics on the 3DS (not Zelda) are good, though usually I turn it off to save battery power. Other 3DS games look great in 3D, but Ocarina of Time hurts my eyes within 15 seconds of me turning it on. It's too jarring.

[Slyfox]

I suppose it's time for me to write another review soon. And I still want to update this one. Sorry for the wait!

(Maybe I should have saved that last part for when I release my next review)

[Slyfox]

Waaaaaaaay behind on writing the next one. So sorry. It's still on mind.

[Slyfox]

I've just made edits to the whole thing, all of them minor. I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought.


In a nutshell, Ocarina was one of the first of it's kind, something different, but it pales in comparison to the other Zelda games. It's fun, but it's pretty low on the list of Zelda games, how much I like them.


I will kick myself if I don't make another review one tomorrow.