AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before I begin, I would like to say that I understand that this review is a bit overdue due to the fact that the game that I am reviewing, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, came out quite some time ago. However, I felt that this review must be written and posted nonetheless. Thank you for your patience.
The Legend of Zelda franchise has had many installments, most of which went on to due quite well. However, to many fans, one game seems to stand above the rest: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
This game happened to be the first one in the franchise that used a three-dimensional graphics system which, at first, caused most fans to be both skeptical and cautious of this new innovation. However, at the time of the game's initial release, the game delivered the classic wonderful feeling of adventure. In this review, I will discuss the fans' reactions, the new and/or succesful innovations, the basic premise of the story, and then, finally, I will give a rating using the the "ten-star system".
Many fans were skeptical when they heard news of the three-dimensional Zelda game Ocarina of Time. They believed that Zelda was formatted specifically for the classic overhead look, and that Nintendo, inc. was "messing with their childhood", so to speak. However, when the players plugged in the cartridge and pressed the power button of their Nintendo 64, the large world full of sidequests, memorable characters, collectable masks, and treasure completely blew the doubts out of the water. Fans almost immediately fell in love with the game. They hurried to their Nintendo Power catalogs to order a replica of the ocarina that the main protagonist used. Adults were overcome by the nostalgia the game brought them. Kids talked excitedly with each other at thir schools. It seemed that everyone had caught Zelda fever.
Not only had Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time succeeded in the area of delivering nostalgia, it also gained victory in another area: originality. The game managed to innovate new items into the game, such as new items. These new items included the hookshot, three new spells, multi-colored tunics, as well as others. Not only did the game include new items, they also tweaked the idea of sidequests. Although sidequests were not entirely new to the game, they still managed to take it to the next level. Some of these optional jobs were retrieving chickens for a farmer, collecting masks, and saving a friendly horse from Lon-Lon ranch (the last of which was probably the one most favored among fans). Oftentimes, these sidequests allowed the players to gain valuable rewards, and although many of these rewards were pieces of a heart container, others gave even more useful tools. For example, at the end of one sidequest, when you give a reciept to a giant goron, he makes a two-handed sword for you, which deals large amounts of damage. Another useful reward is a mask that allows you to speak to statues to gain tips and other secret information. However, an extremely popular reward was the ability to ride a horse named Epona, who you saved from a ranch.
All in all, these innovations, both new and old, managed to bring hours upon hours of joy to the players.
Some say that Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time had a bit of a cookie-cutter Zelda storyline, but in actuality, the story was a deeper variation of that. Before the kingdom of Hyrule (or Earth, for that matter) was created, three goddesses decided to work together to create a new world. The goddess of fire used her burning flames to create large mountain areas, the goddess of water used her forceful waves to carve the lakes and the rivers, and the goddess of earth used her nature energy to create forests. Many centuries later, a young boy meets a young princess, who tells him that he must enter the Temple of Time and use the magic of the Master Sword (which is hidden within the temple) to stop an evil man named Ganondorf from using the power of the three goddesses to rule the world. When the young boy enters the temple, he is treansported seven years into the future, where he meets a young rogue his age who tells him to rescue the seven sages (who hold the power of the goddesses) and bring them back to the Temple of Light. The young boy must journey through dark dungeons, face malicious monsters, and search for the princess who met seven years ago.
GAME RATING: 8/10 stars.
