Ocarina of Time Review

Written by Akira

First Impressions: 5/5

This is quite a stretch people, I don't exactly remember how I felt when I first turned on the good ol' N64. I do remember a feeling of amazement, however. Also, the game rushes you right into the action with Link's dream. Absolutely wonderful.

Gameplay: 9.5/10

I still can hardly find a problem with the gameplay in OoT. The only annoying thing is the waste of a perfect opportunity: Epona. They should have used her for actual combat. Luckily for myself and others, this problem will be corrected in TP.

Graphics: 5/5

In this day and age the graphics seem far to pointy and rather...well, ugly. But back in the day OoT pushed the N64 to its limits...and surpassed them. And so it recieves its score based on the time period of its release.

Story: 18.5/20

Why the 92.5% for story? Well, don't look at it as a bad thing. I absolutely love the engaging story of OoT. But, as others before me have pointed out, it is really a more heavily involved, 3D version of LttP. Sorry, all, but I'm honest, fair, and everywhere. (A certain news station around here uses that slogan. ^^" )

Challenge: 5/5

Although I did eventually beat the game, there are many lesser motivated beings who did not. Which makes me happy. Die, non-Zelda fans! As many have said (like my favorite X-Play hosts), lots o' people didn't get past the Water Temple...And I offer a few words of consolence:
Ha, ha, suckers!

Interaction: 13.5/15

I'm not here to be mean people, just telling the truth. There wasn't an amazing amount of interaction with the environment, and talking to folks was rather lackluster...but I've gotten over it, so you should, too.

Side-Quests: 3.5/5

There weren't really many side-quests in OoT, and those that there were felt rather empty and useless. The masks were kind of fun, but that would have to be perfected in MM. (Which it was...sheesh those masks were a blast!) Also, the biggoron sword quest wasn't much fun, but the sword was useful.

Continuity: 5/5

Not to state the obvious, but OoT is the beginning of almost all the timeline theories I've read. That might just be considered advancing the Zelda series. Yeah, no kidding.

Music: 10/10

The Zelda series is the leader when it comes to video game music, and OoT is anything but an exception. I believe that it has some of the best Zelda music ever created. The music in the Forest and Shadow temples made me feel nervous, and the Spirit Temple and Water Temple felt mysterious, the Fire Temple felt energized, etc. Plain amazing.

Overall Feel/Originality: 19/20

This game is the one most people thing of when they hear the word "Zelda". As I mentioned above, there is a minor originality issue, but if any game plays like a Legend of Zelda game, it's this one.

TOTAL: 93.5/100; an A

Wow. That's the score I gave? Shocking. Ocarina of Time was a wonderful game, but when it comes down to it, you have to be honest. Compared to all the trash out there today, this is a wonderful game. Even all these years after its release, OoT still plays excellently. Even I still play it all the time. To remind everyone, an institution with a long name gave it the 1998 Game of the Year Award. And that's a good thing, folks.

Buy It?

Yes!