The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Revamp Edition - 10/10

Ever since it was first released on the NES, The Legend of Zelda series has had a very strong fan base. It began with the Legend of Zelda, then onto The Adventure of Link both for NES and while it was a wait before the next instalment was introduced, A Link to the Past was released for the SNES. Zelda also made the jump to Nintendo Gameboy with Link’s Awakening and proved to be as interesting as the console counterparts. Not too long, the Nintendo 64 was here and stepped into the bright, vivid world of the 3D realm. With Super Mario 64 showing the way for 2D to 3D transitions, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time not only succeeded in that transition, but set the standard of what a Zelda game should be.

It begins with the recurring nightmare of a young boy. He sees himself in front of a drawbridge, out bursting a white stallion carrying a girl with an expression of fear. The boy turns once again and before him, a dark man on a black stallion looks down at him and this is where the dream ends. The Great Deku Tree, guardian of the Kokiri people and forest calls upon Navi the fairy to find the boy and bring him forth. It’s not long before Link (name is different depending on file name) is awoken by a persistent fairy ordering him to go meet the Deku Tree which after gathering a few necessary items does so.

The meeting is grim as the Deku Tree informs the hero that he is cursed and needs Link to break it. Brave and determined Link completes the task only to find out that it is too late. Before passing away, he tells the story of the man from the desert that placed the curse upon him and what this evil man’s intention is, to gain the power of the Triforce, a powerful treasure left behind by three goddesses who gave birth to world of Hyrule and its life forms. Not wasting time, he hands Link what that man wanted and that he is to meet with the Princess of Destiny to help save Hyrule.


The quest is now under way and you scurry around the lands of Hyrule saving those who have been crossed by the desert man. You play as Link, the young Kokiri boy who has been thrust into the role of the hero and as mentioned must save Hyrule from evil. Like in all Zelda games, you find your sword and shield, bombs and arrows and the occasional monster that comes at an inappropriate time. You will meet people of all kinds along the way, giving you advice, needed or not. And it would not be Zelda without clever, strategic puzzle-solving dungeons that boggle the mind and have you reaching for the nearest guide book.

Keeping the key ingredients that are needed for Zelda, they have adjusted it to fit in with today’s standards in gaming and have done so spectacularly. All characters, monsters and the whole of Hyrule alike have undergone their 3rd dimensions basically redesigning what Zelda will resemble in the future. Dungeons are even puzzle filled than before, not only do you have to deal with the monsters around but crack the code to move onto the next room. Of course not EVERY room will something there. In some cases, it is a simple as beating the monsters but it is always safe to take a look around to see if there are any hidden extras.


Speaking of monsters, those old and new to Ocarina are just as bad as they have been. Most of them are pretty simple to beat once you find their weakness while some take time or there are a lot of them. While the foot soldiers aren’t that tough to beat, the boss battles are in their own league. They all resemble the theme of their dungeon and can take a while to defeat. One of them finds you taking on a Phantom Gannondorf which is just a small taste on taking down the real deal. All in all, there’s a mix of simple and strong enemies out there to give you the time of day to crush you.

The Nintendo 64 controls also work extremely well with Ocarina of Time. Joystick to move, B is your sword, A is your action button, left, right and down C buttons use your inventory items, R is shield and up C button is your view screen. The action icon is basically when things need to be activated such as switches, climbing and doors. Also with the three C buttons, the B button and R button, all act as an item to be used making a total of 5 items that can be used without switching. It’s very handy when dealing with enemies that need a specific item to kill them with.


Another new aspect is the lock-on system which helps immensely against tougher opponents. Simply hit the Z button (or hold depending on settings) and you’ll be able to strafe and dodge enemy attacks by pressing A and a direction or attack in a different way. It also makes targeting airborne enemies much easier if you are within range. The Z button also allows you to reset any camera angles to its default position which is handy when moving forwards.

Ocarina of Time is a leap forward in terms of graphical capabilities and its efforts have not been wasted. The characters both good and evil look amazing; they are all well detailed artistically, vivid colour schemes and although they have lost some of their resemblance from the past Zelda games, they are still easily recognised. The world of Hyrule also looks phenomenal and is larger than ever before. Looking into the distance of Hyrule Field seems it goes on forever, dungeons look darker and more complex and no surprise bigger in size.

The soundtrack fits perfectly with the new look of Zelda. It sounds nice, clean and fitting to the situation which only heightens the experience when playing. A new item, the Ocarina allows you to play songs which have special effects when played and like background music, is rather charming.


In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time stands far and beyond any game that has been released in the past decade. It has taken Zelda into a new direction for the better, introducing the world of the third dimension and pushing the boundaries of expectations to new heights. It is a definite to have this game in your library as it is one of the only few games to be placed on the pedestal of the greatest game of all time.

NOTE: I have decided to review in past tense to give readers a better idea on why it was very popular. I will quickly describe it as a VC game. It is basically the same game that it was back when it was first released. You can use either the Classic Controller or GameCube Controller to play the game and both are pretty comfortable to use although if you have played The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker then the GC controls are pretty similar so it might be easier using that than the Classic controller. The graphics are fairly outdated by today’s standards but the enjoyable game play, storyline and puzzle-solving elements will keep you entertained. Price: 1000 Nintendo Points VC score: 9/10

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