Ocarina of Time N64 review | Culture of Gaming

Going back in time has never felt more satisfying.

I was born the same year as Ocarina of Time’s release, and honestly, it has always been a special place in my heart. With my birthday being quite recent, I thought to revisit the classic Zelda game. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released on the 21st of November, 1998. So being the sentimental kind of person I am, I dusted off my old N64, blew on the cartridge a bit, and dived into the world of Hyrule to relive my childhood.

Developed by Nintendo, Ocarina of Time was one of their more revolutionary games, introducing a world of storytelling into a 3D open world. It was one of, if not the first of its kind to be introduced into the gaming world, ushering the new generation of games to come. It later received a remake on the Nintendo 3Ds, improving the graphics, but honestly, the N64 classic is where the real magic happens.

Ocarina Of Time isn’t a particularly difficult game but it’s one that demands and rewards exploration and experimentation. A minimal amount of effort will get you through the basic plot but there’s a whole other world of secret characters, locations and items waiting to be discovered. But with relatively little signposting, and limited fast travel, you’ll often stumble on them simply while wandering about, which only adds to the game’s mystique and the world’s authenticity.

In terms of this remake specifically, Nintendo has resisted the temptation to cram in pointless new mini-games or motion/touchscreen controls. Although the last two do exist as optional extras, with the former proving to be a perfectly reliable means of looking and aiming in the (static) first person view and the latter speeding up the use of the inventory considerably.

The graphics are obviously improved from the Nintendo 64, with all new models and textures for important objects such as Link himself, but compared to something like Resident Evil: Revelations they’re clearly not pushing the 3DS’s capabilities. But there’s a difficult balancing act that has to be maintained here given that the construction of the world and its puzzles, particularly the dungeons, is based on the rudimentary geometry possible on the Nintendo 64.

If this was changed too much the whole game would have to be redesigned and so instead we get the compromise of a game that looks better but is still identifiably retro. The vivid colours and iconic art design is more than enough to compensate though and that’s before you even consider the 3D effects.

Obviously the game was never designed to be played in 3D but you’d never it. The floating pollen and fairies of the opening sections now seem as if they were specifically designed with 3D in mind and the effect even in more mundane settings is often quietly stunning.

The only disappointment in terms of presentation is that the MIDI music seems largely unchanged, and although an orchestral soundtrack might have seemed out of place next to the semi-retro graphics we can’t help wishing that had been the direction Nintendo had taken.

In terms of genuine complaints the only real one we’d make is that the game isn’t especially well suited to a portable, with occasionally harsh checkpoints and a save system that will throw you back to the start of an area no matter where you actually saved. To compensate there are new ‘Shiekah Stones’ that give you a quick reminder of what you were doing, or were supposed to be doing, which is a very welcome feature for the inexperienced or terminally forgetful.

As a remake then this is near flawless and that’s only fitting for a game that is itself as close to perfect as seems physically possible. In a sense it’s all the more impressive to play it now, when so many of its mechanical concepts are no longer ground-breaking, and to find it still just as engrossing as it ever was.

This is not just one of the best video games ever made it’s one of the greatest achievements in any entertainment medium.