Ocarina of Time Part I

The Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite games of all time. I played that game from start to finish many times and loved the way the game had the perfect amount of choice and freedom to let me do whatever I wanted to. I ended up playing the other Zelda's on other consoles, but I skipped the N64.

Ocarina of Time is often considered the best Zelda game (by those that don't know any better). It was the first 3D Zelda, and it was ambitious for the time, but it also seems like the game is missing something... So it feels like a mixed experience to me. All of this is hindsight though, so I don't know if I'll ever be able to appreciate the game for what it was at the time. I've never really played the game, and I'll reserve final judgement for my entire experience with the game. But I have it. It has sat on my shelf for a long time taunting me. Its evil twin Majora's Mask also jeers at me. The only modern Zeldas I've really played were Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass- both of which are different than Ocarina in ways.

Time to dive in. All the cables are hooked up. 
I've ritualistically blown the dust from the cartridge. 
The power light is on! 

Starting the game I'm beset with a barrage of unskippable text. Wow. Just give me a sword! I ramble through the little forest town in search of a sword and 40 rupees for a shield. Every NPC has a thing to say. So far so good. But by this time I look down and suspect that my poor N64 controller isn't going to make it.

I had to find a way to fix the joystick

I took apart my controller and after looking around the internet, suspected that the wear and tear on the plastic parts has made my joystick tough to control. I cleaned up the plastic dust and debris and added some tape to the end of the joystick. That instantly made the controller a little stiffer, but the joystick definitely requires more force to move Link around than the average modern thumbstick. Oh well. The difference is slight, but tolerable for the time being.

After putting the controller back together I finally managed to talk to the big mustached Deku Tree. The first dungeon is entirely designed to help the player navigate through the controls and typical puzzles found in Zelda games.

There are doors, switches, swimming parts, leaps of faith, enemies that require special timing, items, chests and everything that makes a Zelda game freaking awesome!! 

I was tweeting this stuff as I went along:

Gohma was cool looking. A nice tough boss to start the game makes you feel weak and vulnerable at the beginning of the game. Feels good to defeat him. But once you do, you're sent free to explore the world... with an ocarina!

And that's where I thought the game finally got away from the structured beginning. Hyrule Field is wide open and blank. You can run around where ever you want. But it feels empty. Is this the tell-tale sign of the N64's technology limits at the time? Maybe. As you run toward the castle day turns to night and the legion of undead attack Link relentlessly. Feels like I have the Belmont curse.

This game just got started.

After Thoughts: I'm amazed what the cartridge is producing with little noticeable load times. Everything is near instantaneous. Moving around and running is similar to Mario 64, and in a way it is better than a simple 3D platformer. Is this the best Zelda? I don't know. I can't fault the game for what it isn't. I just have to believe in it. There's a long way to go.

Is the 3DS version worth trying? Hmmm....

Buy Something will ya? Zelda

Part I of an ongoing series.