The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Game Review
I know this game has already been out for a long time, but bear with me. I have opinions that must be shared!
PRODUCTION INFO
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally released for the Nintendo 64 system in 1998. In 2003, in North America, a Gamecube remake was released for people who preordered The Wind Waker. The N64 version was released on virtual console for Wii in 2007, and finally, the 3DS revamp (this game) was released in 2011.
STORY
You play as Link, and the story begins in Kokiri Forest where every person has the body of a child, even through adulthood, and everyone obtains a fairy. Link is the only Kokiri who does not have a fairy, and he is bullied until finally the fairy known as Navi comes to him for his aid. Apparently the sacred Great Deku Tree is in great peril, and it's up to Link to save him. He soon discovers that the problem was caused by Ganondorf, an evil man who possesses the Triforce of Power. But what is the Triforce and how can Link stop him? You must venture outside of Kokiri Forest to find the answers and defeat Ganondorf!
GOAL
Just like in the original, the object of the game is to take on the duties of Link, the Hero of Time, and save the land of Hyrule from the evil Ganondorf.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Expect a lot of action and puzzles. There is no experience in this game so there aren't really any grindy parts. Nothing has changed since the original except for visual content and controls; when you're using a weapon such as the slingshot or bow, you can aim by moving the actual 3DS system. I really liked that feature and used it every time I needed to use a ranged weapon. It can sound like it's hard to control, but it honestly never is. Still, you can choose to use the directional stick if you need to. The game in general is still as easy to control as ever, maybe even more so now with options like this. As for the battles, they are not turn-based, but rather, you can attack monsters as you see them in the area.
GAMEPLAY
Like I just mentioned, this isn't a turn-based RPG. You can attack the monsters in real time. I don't have anything against turn-based RPG's, but I really enjoy this type of battle system as well, and I find it very engaging. The puzzles as well are all laid out on your screen; there's never any time when the game switches to a 2D scene for ease of displaying the puzzles, yet when they do appear, they are easy enough to see. Their level of challenge, however, depends on your skills and experience with this type of game. They made it a bit easier to handle certain things in the 3DS game, such as the ranged weapons, but also the iron boots became an item that is easy to take on and off. This is especially useful in the water temple where you have to switch your boots often. The map appearing on the bottom screen also helps a lot with accessibility that the original game didn't have.
CHARACTERS
Link starts off as a pitiful boy who is made fun of for not having a fairy like the rest of the Kokiri population, but once he is summoned by the fairy Navi to help the Great Deku Tree, he soon discovers that he is far more important to his world than he could ever have imagined. He is the Hero of Time and the wielder of the Triforce of Courage! He teams up with the Princess Zelda, who possesses the Triforce of Wisdom, and together they strive to overthrow Ganondorf's evil reign in the future. Along the way, many different characters are introduced, such as Link's childhood friend Saria, and Princess Ruto of the Zora race.
EXTRA FEATURES
Do you remember when Ocarina of Time got a revamp for Nintendo Gamecube? They added an extra mode called "Master Quest" which was basically the same game with different challenges. Ocarina of Time 3D has this, but there's a strange catch; the entire game is backwards! It's a little bit disorienting for someone like me who's played through every version of Ocarina of Time and knows the world almost by heart... I always go in the wrong direction! But I suppose that is the entire point, to make the game more challenging and give it more replay value. I personally got annoyed and quit after the Great Deku Tree, though.
OPINIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Okay, there's no doubt about it; The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a treasure. It doesn't matter how many times I play this game. It's always amazing, and it's always going to be amazing. The updated graphics in the 3DS version are positively beautiful. The added new controls and accessibility of the map/iron boots are useful and make the game more fun. Overall, I'd say the experience was improved greatly, except there were a few very big problems I had with this remake.
The first thing I noticed that bugged me was a recurring glitch involving bats. If you walked into a room that had bats in it, the bats would come flying towards you and attack you, right? Wrong. They would freeze in midair. Then they'd flap their wings and move a centimetre towards you. Then they would freeze again. Sure, it gives a nice opportunity to take out those nuisances, but where's the fun in that? It irritated me how they acted like a lagging computer program!
Next up is a personal problem. Do you remember how creepy the Bottom of the Well and the Shadow Temple levels were? I bet most kids who played even got nightmares! Nintendo did an excellent job portraying a terrifying environment for these levels which added a lot of flavour for the game. Ocarina of Time, is in fact, a scary game at times. One of the elements in these two levels that made them so creepy was blood. There were puddles of blood lying around here and there. It made you feel like you were alone, that others have been here, that they've met with a terrible fate... that you're not going to get out of here alive. So what does Nintendo do in the 3DS port? Erase all that, of course! Because they are a family company that can't be displaying such mature themes. Now, before anyone notes that it's a valid reason to take out those elements, remember that there is a holiday every year which involves children dressing up like bloody monsters to get free candy. There are headless horsemen, corpses, ghosts, zombies, and who knows what else, sometimes having gaping holes open in their head exposing their brain, or limbs falling off. And kids are used to this. Furthermore, Nintendo did not take out all the blood in Ocarina of Time 3D. There were a couple points in the game where if you got hit, you would see animated blood come out of Link. The Water Temple for example, with those clam-like enemies, and the scythes in the Shadow Temple. So why would they take out something that serves a valid use as atmosphere and still leave blood, still resulting in an E10+ rating? It just doesn't make any sense.
Finally, this isn't exactly a game-ending glitch, but it is still bad. During the final battle against Ganondorf, he knocks you off a ledge and you have to climb back up to fight him. For me, however, he knocked me off the ledge and through the floor. After that, the game resumed from the previous cutscene, just before the battle began. I can imagine this to get really annoying for players who've nearly beaten him.
*Phew* It has been a long time since I've ranted like this, and it felt good! But please don't get me wrong! I love Ocarina of Time and I still think the 3DS remake is great, what with the improved graphics and all. There were just a few points that really got on my nerves! Overall, I say it's worth buying, though! And if you like this game, please check out Okami. It is my favourite game of all time and is very similar to Ocarina of Time in gameplay.
RATING
★8/10★
