The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

aka: TLoZ: OoT, Ura Zelda, Zelda no Densetsu: Toki no Ocarina, Zelda64
Moby ID: 3549
Nintendo 64 Specs
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Description official descriptions

A young boy named Link was raised in the village of the elf-like Kokiri people. One day a fairy named Navi introduces him to the village's guardian, the Great Deku Tree. It appears that a mysterious man has cursed the tree, and Link is sent to the Hyrule Castle to find out more. Princess Zelda tells Link that Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudo tribe, seeks to obtain the Triforce, a holy relic that grants immense power to the one who possesses it. Link must do everything in his power to obtain the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and save Hyrule.

Ocarina of Time is the first 3D installment of the Legend of Zelda series. Like most of its predecessors, it is an action game with puzzle-solving and light role-playing elements. Gameplay is similar to the previous games, allowing Link to explore the world and complete dungeons to obtain key items and advance the plot. Sword combat as well as many familiar items such as boomerang, bombs, the series' currency (rupees) of various values, heart containers, and their collectible fragments permanently increasing Link's health, etc., return in this installment. Link can now lock on enemies for melee and ranged combat, actively use a shield to deflect projectiles, as well as use various magic items. Dungeon exploration is somewhat more puzzle-oriented than in earlier games. Link can climb certain surfaces, dive underwater, as well as automatically jump.

The game begins with the player controlling the child Link, but later on, an adult Link becomes a playable character as well. Each of them has certain unique abilities: for example, only adult Link can use a bow and arrows, but only the child Link can crawl through narrow spaces. During the course of the game, the player obtains the Ocarina of Time. Learning and playing melodies on that ocarina is needed to advance the plot, complete certain side quests, or travel in time, switching between the two versions of Link. It is also possible to befriend and ride a horse named Epona to facilitate travel between areas.

Spellings

  • ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Nintendo 64 version)

76 People (66 developers, 10 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 97% (based on 81 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 424 ratings with 17 reviews)

One of the most Overrated games of all.

The Good
OOT is held in high regard by all Zelda fans as the best game is the series. While it certainly one of the better games in the franchise, it's far from the best. The graphics, at least in 1998, were top-notch. The world of Hyrule is colorful and detailed, making exploring the land even more enjoyable. The music is equally phenomenal, with the game having memorable Zelda tunes such as the Song of Storms and Zelda's Lullaby. The gameplay's high note is the playability of the game, having a workable (yet flawed) control scheme, a decent-sized overworld, and fun, yet complex dungeons, featuring somewhat easy puzzles (with a few exceptions) and a pretty cool storyline for the time.

The Bad
While the game is mostly a fantastic game, but it's quite flawed. The biggest issue with the game is the camera. I understand that it really was the first 3D Zelda game, but time has been harsh to OOT, especially with The Wind Waker gracing the GameCube. You will be fighting the camera alot, constantly recentering it and wrestling with it to get it where you want it to go. Another is how the items work. In some dungeons, you are required to switch between alot of your items in your inventory, leading to some tedium. The game is a little on the easy side, I had little trouble completing the game within about a whole day. The puzzles can be hard, but the combat is very simple, involving you blocking, attacking, and then blocking again. Not much strategy involved, of course. Epona, your horse, has little use except for fast travel which is important for certain side-quests, making the stupidly easy race to get her basically a waste of time.

The Bottom Line
Now, I'm not saying that OOT is a bad game, on the contrary, it's a fantastic game that you must play, but it is NOT the best game in the Zelda series, and it certainly isn't the best game ever. It really is a amazing game that you'll absolutely love, but you probably won't call it the best game around, especially when A Link to the Past and The Wind Waker available. A great game? Certainly. Best game ever? I just don't think so.

Nintendo 64 · by JohnLennon224 (13) · 2010

The 2D to 3D transition was a huge success.

The Good
Zelda: Ocarina of Time, gives you your money's worth. There are endless side-quests to complete, such as destroying the "Gold Skulltulas", collecting the heart-pieces, and completing the trading process.

The Bad
There isn't really anything bad about Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It has been as much of a success as its predecessors.

The Bottom Line
Zelda: Ocarina of Time is aimed for all ages, all though it is a little juvenile at times. A must-have game for RPG lovers and Zelda fans.

Nintendo 64 · by What Whut (1) · 2001

The Best of All Times

The Good
First of all, the revolution that this legendary game represents. Second, all the challenges from the very start until the end of this incredible game. Final verdict: Perfection

The Bad
Nothing. The game is just perfect in every meaning.

The Bottom Line
Definitely the most amazing game ever developed. A game that can not be called anything but perfect. Simply the best game ever. Best of all ages and times.

Nintendo 64 · by John Peter (1) · 2012

[ View all 17 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Am I the only one? GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) Jul 15, 2012
Beta screenshots ? GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) Jun 13, 2009

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The N64 version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time started life in development for Nintendo's 64DD add-on for the Nintendo 64 (which was a disk drive that was only released in Japan with little fanfare). The 64DD flopped in Japan and it wasn't even released in the USA. As a result, this game, instead of being released in disks, was crammed into a cartridge (which was the biggest N64 pre-Expansion Pak cartridge released, in terms of space). Even though it was originally developed and planned for the 64DD, it was announced to much surprise that Zelda would release in cartridge form for the N64 first; further indicating that the disk drive platform was not gaining the traction Nintendo had hoped for.

Cartridge

Due to overwhelming fan requests, Nintendo decided to release the original production releases of the game as a gold-colored cartridge, restoring the 'golden cartridge' lineage that had previously been broken by the SNES version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for Game Boy.

Versions

There are at least three different versions of the game: 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2. The golden (limited edition) carts, as well as some gray carts, are all 1.0. The majority of the ordinary gray carts are 1.1, and many of the later produced ones are 1.2.

The only notable change between 1.0 and 1.1 is that the Fire Temple music was changed a little bit. It had a chant from an Islamic prayer looped in the background which offended some members of the Islamic community. 1.1 also fixed some bugs, the most famous of them being the sword-losing bug. In 1.0, if the player saves the game in the end battle after losing the Master Sword, and restart the game, they don't have the sword anymore, but they can use all items while riding Epona. Also the final boss originally had red blood which was changed to green in a later version.

Fan remake

Daniel Barras was making a PC fan remake of the game, titled Ocarina of Time 2D. Basically, this was to be a remake with all of the story, areas, creatures and items from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, using graphics similar to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Regrettably, Nintendo was not very happy about this (or any other Zelda remakes that use The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past sprite rips), so the project is gone now.

Stone of Agony

The Stone of Agony allows players to feel a rumble to find hidden areas. This of course only works if they have a rumble pack accessory attached to their N64 controller (or are playing the Gamecube version). For the Wii Virtual Console version, this feature has been disabled.

Left-handedness

Link has always been left-handed, but it is particularly noticeable starting with this game. In the original title, this wasn't always noticeable due to sprite-flipping techniques. The reason for Link's left-handedness is that his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, is also left-handed.

Voice acting

Voice acting for the adult Link was done by Nobuyuki Hiyama, who also did the voice acting for Link in Super Smash Bros. The person who did the voice of Link as a child, Fujiko Takimoto is a woman. This explains Link's extremely high voice.

Ad controversy

An advertisement for Ocarina of Time shown in British TV proved to be controversial. Using the slogan "Willst thou get the girl? Or play like one?", the ad provoked complaints to the Independent Television Commission from viewers who considered it sexist. ITC however ruled against taking the ad off the air, stating that "such tongue-in-cheek treatments were unlikely to have the widespread negative affect that those who complained feared."

References: Zelda series

  • Many of the character names, such as Rauru, Mido, Ruto, Saria, and Darunia, are actually names of towns in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
  • The characters Malon and Talon are based on Marin and Tarin from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Marin was a Zelda lookalike who also had a beautiful singing voice.Tarin was her father and had a liking for mushrooms (he resembled Mario).

References

  • Both Talon and his assistant Ingo resemble Mario and Luigi, although it's interesting to note that they have an antagonistic relationship. Both Talon and Malon wear medallions that are shaped like Bowser's head.
  • Looking through the windows of Zelda's Castle, players can see pictures of Mario, Bowser and other Super Mario Bros. characters adorning the walls.
  • When using a GameShark, the player can make Arwings appear that will attack Link. The Arwing is the primary spacecraft of the Star Fox series.
  • The horse in the game is named after the Celtic horse goddess, Epona.
  • The lantern-carrying ghosts called Poes are named after the famous horror writer Edgar Allan Poe.
  • In the Forest Temple the player encounters the four Poe sisters: Joelle, Beth, Amy, and Meg. They are named after the four protagonists of the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Awards

  • EGM
    • February 2006 (Issue #200) - #8 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #11 on the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – #43 Top Game of All Time
  • Nintendo Power
    • Issues #196-200 - #1 "Top 200 Nintendo Console Games of All Time"
  • Retro Gamer
    • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #5 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
  • WatchMojo
    • August 2014 - ranked #1 in the Top 10 Video Games of All Time
  • The Strong National Museum of Play
    • 2022 – Introduced into the World Video Game Hall of Fame

Information also contributed by Andrew Shepard, Attila, Big John WV, festershinetop, Guy Chapman, Mark Ennis, Matt Neuteboom, ModestMr.Green, Tiago Jacques, WildKard, and WWWWolf.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. Wii added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, Jeanne, Joshua J. Slone, gamewarrior, Havoc Crow, BobaMa, Cantillon, Arejarn, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, FatherJack, John H., WONDERなパン, SoMuchChaotix.

Game added April 3, 2001. Last modified March 11, 2024.