Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

And why YOU should play it!

Introduction

Ocarina of Time is now 26 years old. That is older than all of us, older than any game we play, but yet it still maintains cultural relevancy despite its age. But why does it do this? Despite OoT's age I, and many others, genuinely believe it is one of the greatest adventure games of all time. Here is why I think you should play it.

Story - Spoiler Free

Arguably the most important part of an adventure game is its story for which OoT does not disappoint. Without going into too much detail, the story follows Link, a young boy from the forest on his adventure to take down Ganondorf, long time villain of the series. This leads Link through dungeons, towns, lakes, etc. all in his quest to gain the strength he needs to defeat Ganon. The story is beautifully written and has some really touching moments, both in the main story, and in the subtle world building things on the side.
I will say I think OoT's sequel Majora's Mask probably does have the better story, but that doesn't mean OoT's isn't fantastic in its on right.

World

Ocarina of Time was one of the first 3D open world adventure games, and it set the expectation of what a good open world adventure should be like. The world of OoT, Hyrule, is probably its greatest strength. Locations like Hyrule Field, The Lost Woods, Zora's Domain, Gerudo Desert, and so many more are not only fantastic locations in the game, but so big that most people are familiar with the name, without having ever touched the game. Few other games have such legendary worlds.

Not only is the world itself notable, but the things that make up the world are notable too. OoT is full of interesting characters, cool towns and locations, and tons of small world secrets. Characters have interesting dialogue that makes them feel like real people. I'm a big fan of Darunia and Malon, as well as the dude that sells you beans, all fantastic characters that are actually interesting to talk to. The world is full of interiors to explore, secret rooms to find, side quests to do, and so much more.

Graphics

Yeah, they're not too great, the game is 26 years old...

At the time they were ahead of their time!

Gameplay

This is another aspect OoT shines in. Zelda games have always had fantastic puzzles, fun quests and all that stuff. Dungeons in OoT are awesome to play through. Each have their own unique style, interesting puzzles, while all being paced out enough that the game isn't just "go from one dungeon to the next".

Pacing is something OoT does really well. There is enough side content and interesting places to explore, giving you this sense of freedom to do whatever in the huge open world. Really my biggest complaint with pacing is the water temple, that dungeon gets a little tedious.

Quests are another things that OoT does really well. The main quest line is a lot of fun, while still providing a fair amount of side content to explore to keep things interesting. My personal favorite is the trading side quest to get the super cracked sword. The quests tie well into the story, and it makes for a really great adventure.

Music - If you haven't unmuted the music at the top you should!

This is what Ocarina of Time is famous for. Not only is the soundtrack one of the greatest of all time, but music ties into the gameplay through the Ocarina, which I think is a really cool mechanic. Being able to play little melodies to make things in the world happen feels awesome, and memorizing the notes to make those things happen feels awesome too. This concept recently appeared in Animal Well, another great game.

My favorite tracks are:

1. Lost Woods Theme
2. Gerudo Valley Theme
3. Song of Storms
4. Kakariko Village Theme
5. Fairy Fountain Theme

Final Thoughts

While dated Ocarina of Time still is a fantastic game that I think even if you don't complete, should at least be played at some point in your life, just so you can see for yourself if it really deserves to be the highest rated game of all time. If nothing else at least give the soundtrack a listen.

As for my review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This has been the first review on homomilk.org
Hoped you liked both the review and the site!

How To Play - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This is the end of the review where I show you where to play the game in question.

Method 1 [Nintendo 64 Emulation]

* Grab yourself a ROM of OoT from archive.org (or elsewhere), archive.org is legal, so I'm linking to it here.
* Grab yourself an emulator of your choice, I recommend Retroarch, but I've used Project64 in the past just fine.
* Open your ROM of OoT in your emulator of choice and enjoy.

Method 2 [3DS Port]

Through a physical copy or a ROM if you have a modded 3DS you can play the 3DS port with lots of QOL improvements and better looking graphics.
This is how I played on my full play through.

Method 3 [Switch Online]

If you've got a Nintendo Switch and already pay for online you can use their emulator to play the game. I think it's easier to just emulate the game on PC, but it's a matter of preference.

Method 4 [Other]

There's some other options out there for playing the game with better graphics if you're interested, they're just a bit more involved, and I'm not super familiar with them so I'm not including them here. That being said I'd be happy to look into them if anyone is interested!

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