The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of the best games I have ever finished. My tenuous excuse is that I used to get very trapped and it takes a while to discover the dungeons. As a child raised in the rural jungle with no internet in West Wales, with sports and school taking up my time, my progress at Ocarina of Time was icy.
As I progressed in this game to N64 in a fragmented way, the original PC and Xbox games started to get my attention. So I left my childhood home, leaving my N64 behind, with Link waiting to face the boss at Spirit Temple. I was so close to the end, but so far. Until the relative freedom of university life, I have always played games in a row. However, despite my bizarre approach, Ocarina of Time is etched in my memory.
And rightly so. At the time, Ocarina was an impressive game. Even today, it offers a different experience than so many modern games that were inspired by it.
I remember, probably with a heady dose of nostalgia, leaving the Kokiri Forest and entering Hyrule Field. That green space with pure blue skies and multiple routes to explore seemed vast to my young mind – a mind untouched by the open worlds of The Witcher 3 and Skyrim.
The sheer volume of things to watch, explore, slice and hook with hookshot seemed incredible at the time. And, without a doubt, they still look amazing.
I remember jumping on the roofs of the houses in Vila Kakariko, more than a decade before flashing on the roofs of Dunwall’s terraced houses in Dishonored.
Ocarina of Time is full of memorable moments up to the gills of Zora. From taking your horse, Epona, to the zombie horror that Hyrule Castle Town becomes after you draw the Master Sword from Temple of Time, to the incredibly captivating melody of Gerudo Valley.
But more than that, Ocarina of Time looked like a properly advanced game. Not only did you have to apply a whole load of items to solve the dungeon puzzles, but you could also use various tools, or even songs played in the title Ocarina of Time, to dispatch enemies. A shot from the hook can stun a particularly mobile enemy, allowing you to slice it.
Ocarina of Time’s tone was also fantastically varied, but in a way that made sense instead of seeming disconnected. The refreshing glow of Hyrule Field during the day attuned to a menacing stretch at night, with skeletal enemies emerging from the ground at every turn.
Hyrule Castle Town is a cluster of joy and joy like the young Link. But for adult Link, it’s a ghost town full of ReDead zombies that still give goosebumps to this 34-year-old writer. (And I just remembered the Master of the Wall. This is even more frightening.)
A bunch of exciting and clever boss battles, as well as a set of challenges, such as getting the Sword of Biggoron, sprinkle even more magic in Ocarina of Time.
Although the Legend of Zelda games have a rich history and heritage for the latest titles to be based on – looking at you, Breath of the Wild 2 – I would say that Ocarina of Time is one of the most influential Zelda games. There is a clear line from Ocarina to Breath of the Wild, which is another easy candidate for the best game of all time.
Thanks to the Super 64 unit from Eon Gaming, I can now run my N64 on my 4K TV. And since we are now celebrating 35 years of Zelda, I think it’s time to try Ocarina of Time again. Now, I can finally finish.