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It seems so long ago that the first screenshots of this game were released. It was nothing more than Link fighting a very blocky knight. But, time went on and we eagerly awaited as more and more screens trickled out from Nintendo. The game was delayed and delayed and DELAYED. We would count off each day on our calendars until it was released only to hear it was pushed back another three months just as we were getting close. By the time it came out, most of us were saying ''This better be the best damn game ever. You've kept us waiting for over 7 years!'' Well, Nintendo isn't the type to disappoint. Sure enough, this is the greatest game ever.

When you first pop the game in, you will see the stunning opening. It is no more than Link riding across Hyrule on top of a horse, and yet it manages to draw you into the game. What better way to do an opening, then by showing the gigantic over-world with our hero riding through it on horseback accompanied by peaceful music in the background? I sure as hell can't think of any.

If you thought the opening was beautiful, then you can proudly expect more. The graphics were the most amazing graphics ever seen in a game at the time. Finally the N64 could proudly wave this at the PSX and Saturn game and say ''Top this!'' And alas, for many months, nothing could. They were so incredibly detailed it was beyond recognition. For a full 3d game, it was unimaginable.

Looking at the characters, you will notice the amazing polygon counts in each one. Not one of the characters looked even remotely blocky (keeping in perspective what time this was made, folks). Link, Ganondorf, and Zelda are some of the most detailed characters ever to set foot onto the N64. Along with their high polygon counts, the game has extremely detailed textures. Some areas (i.e. Link's house) used pre-rendered backgrounds so everything could look as good as possible.

What I really like about the graphics is the facial features. Every character had many expressions programmed into their database. So, at a happy scene, the characters would have typical closed eye super happy faces on. But, in a dramatic sequence, Link's expression would change from his normal face to a worried face. When hit, his mouth will open to make a shout as he falls back. Ganondorf will switch to a pissed off face instead of his normal evil smirk face when he is it. The expressions allowed players to feel more like they are there. Even though Link never spoke, the expressions let us know what he was thinking, or how he was feeling. I really loved that.

Another one of the great things about the graphics was the special effects. Bosses themselves would usually take up most of Link's eyesight, and every boss had a massive explosion that would occur when they were defeated. Along with those, the magic effects that Link possessed were beautiful. But the best part of the effects is the incredible lighting. In a dark hall, if you pulled out a torch, you could literally see the fire's light crackling on the walls. Hell, some objects even had shadows. The best example of the lightning is the amazing difference in one part of the game. If you come to the fire during the day, it looks ok. But at night, the fire makes it look so much better it's ludicrous. There are even many puzzles dealing with reflecting the light off of objects!

At least until Wind Waker is released, OoT is easily the most cinematic game in the series. Most Zelda games would have a cutscene at the beginning and the end, but kind of fizzle out near the middle. Zelda: Ocarina of Time manages to stay strong in story throughout the entire game. At no point are you really left wondering where to go, or what you are supposed to do next.

I will say that this game is the darkest game Nintendo has ever done. Link eventually comes to a dead wasteland filled with nothing but zombies. And hey, there's even some blood in this! The characters are also vastly changed. Ganondorf is now human for most of the game. Zelda is basically the same, but without spoiling anything, looks can be deceiving. Impa has the biggest change, evolving from a fat maid of Zelda to an angry ninja lesbian bodyguard of Zelda. Now that's progress!

What makes the story so excellent is just how it is done. The game has a more epic feel than ever before, since you literally get to see the chaos of what Ganondorf has done. And the cut-scenes are beautifully executed. From the excellent nightmare of Ganondorf riding after Zelda to the creepiness of seeing the first boss in the shadows, the cut-scenes are great. The special effects in the background really do add a lot to them, and the camera really makes the scenes feel so much more dramatic. Hell, some of these moments rival Square’s best.

And like the rest of the game, it is the fine little details in the story that make it so good. The main story for the game is not really that good. In fact, looking at what you are supposed to do for the first half of the game, it’s damn stupid. Who honestly thinks that they can control the Sacred Realm? But the more interesting parts of the story are the back-stories. As you play the game, you find out more about the mythology of the land. You are introduced to the three goddesses and how they created the world and how the Triforce came to be. You find out how Ganondorf is the fabled male Geuerodo, who is born once every 100 years out of the females. It’s not the whole picture that is necessary, but the fine details that make it more enjoyable.

In many ways the game is just the old Zelda games in 3d. But, in more important ways, it has added a totally new dimension to the Zelda series. Instead of only two items, you can use up to three at a time. Instead of puzzles being simply ''bomb this'' or stuff like that, they are much more complex. I'm not trying to insult the old Zelda games; I love their puzzles to death. But, by comparison these are just much better.

As always, the main focus of the game is about the dungeons. If you haven't tried Zelda's new dungeons yet you are in for a real treat. They are beyond anything we have ever seen before. I love them because there are some things about them, which simply couldn’t be done in 2d. The best example of this is in the Spirit Temple. At one point, you must do a bunch of puzzles having to do with reflecting light onto different mirrors and onto rocks to open doors. First, you must find the light coming down from the ceiling. Then, using Link’s special shield, he will reflect it onto a mirror, which will reflect onto another mirror until it reaches a sensitive area, which will then open the door.

The deepest part about OoT that I found is just how deep just exploring the world is. You can have blast just wandering Hyrule because they put so much detail into it. There are secret areas here and there which bombs can only open. There are secret forests which you can access just by exploring. Giant robotic machines roam the areas at night, which you can find, and battle. There are even just random wanderers, which you can find and chat with. It's an adventure that doesn't end.

Every area you go to will have tons of miniquests you can do. The villages are in themselves their own experience. Every villager has his or her own story. You can talk to them normally, or check their expressions when you use different masks. Searching through their houses you may find an area you didn't notice before and it may even lead to a heart-piece! The exploration feeling is stronger than ever because nearly everything in the game revolves around it. All of it makes the world feel like it is really alive.

The combat is, arguably, the most revolutionary thing about the game. As Link, you can wander throughout Hyrule fighting passing enemies. If you want to, you can simply just attack them, perform a couple combos, maybe a whirlwind. That's still very fun. But, the best thing about the combat is the Z targeting system. Pressing Z will allow you to lock on to the enemy. It's not like most other games where that simply means your arrow might hit them or something. The targeting system is much deeper than that.

It works, because it allows players to choose how they want to fight. Without the Z targeting, players can perform a bigger variety of combos or use some different attacks. But in targeting mode, the enemy is always locked on. Players can move around the enemy, get tips on it from Navi, figure out his battling tactics, etc. It would seem like just a style for wimps, but really it is much more than that. Without it, players cannot do some fancy techniques required to beat the bosses like immediately dodging then firing an arrow, or controlling where your shield reflects attacks back at.

There is something about the combat which no other action RPG can match. I have tried other games like Starfox Adventures, and thought at first “Wow! I can do combos! This will be better than Zelda.” But, as you play other games like that, you find that it eventually becomes tedious. See enemy, do long combo, do another combo, shoot enemy. Ocarina of Time’s manages to stay good after all these years because it tries not to be too complicated. It stays simple, but gives Link a wide variety of maneuvers, so that fighting one enemy is like fighting all the rest.

The game style itself has also drastically changed. Link is now an adult throughout most of the game! Finally, Link is no longer a kid who continually saves the world. He becomes 17. Once he becomes Adult, he can do a bunch of things kid Link could not. He can use the bigger swords (like the Master Sword), and can actually use the Hylian Shield (unlike kid Link who just used it as a shell). Most of his items evolve as well. The slingshot becomes a bow. The boomerang becomes a hook shot. Deku seeds and sticks become spells, etc. There is the whole Ocarina song concept. To open dungeon areas, Link has to play certain songs taught to him by Zelda or whoever. In the first part of the game, they are only used for dungeons. But, once Link becomes adult, they can be used to teleport to different areas.

I also enjoyed the increased focus on magic in the game. LttP would have several spells you could find, and some items which take up a little magic, but rarely did you ever use it too often. Once Link becomes Adult, everything revolves around it. His own whirlwind attack uses up magic, as do every spell and major item you will need to complete the game. So, you find that it is less expendable than it once was.

A real accomplishment that the game managed to have was its incredible atmosphere. The castle village has folk music in the background with tons of people clapping and dancing. Death Mountain is filled with the goron creatures, and you can go inside and see their interesting culture and celebrations. There is the Zora waterfall, and you get to see the society of Zoras (before they all turn evil and decide to attack Link in future games, that is). Every area of the world has its own little theme, and yet they manage to all stay connected. The creatures in the game all had new character designs, and they look great. The Zoras went from weird sea monsters to more human like valiant swimmers. And some of the bosses are freaky.

The control is flawless. The awesome Z targeting system makes any fight a blast. The controls are responsive and don't delay. The C buttons allow you to junction certain items to them, so you can pull them out quickly. Playing the Ocarina is easy, and fun. Finally, riding your horse shows how good the control is. You would think shooting arrows on horseback would be hard as hell, but it is so smooth you wonder how they did it.

Sound is great. The creatures all emit realistic roars or sounds. Most of the villagers had voices for whenever they would make a sound here and there. Link has a voice actor for both of his versions. Kid Link sounds like a kid whenever he grunts or attacks. They also were nice enough to get a different voice actor for Adult Link, so he actually sounds like an adult (those of you who watch the original DBZ will know what the joy of this is).

Music is very hard to critique. On the plus side, the music is great. That's all one can say. The ocarina tunes are original and good. The background music in all the different places is great, ranging from town music to interesting forest tunes, to even an Islamic chant in the Fire Temple (although they decided to take it out in the newer version). But, the complaint that most people have is that, despite being beautifully orchestrated music, it's not Zelda music. And, I am inclined to agree. Zelda has always been about exploring dungeons, and thus it has always had a very weird or creepy soundtrack. Ocarina of Time doesn't have that. Its themes are normal medieval themes. There's no classic Zelda tune, which is a bit annoying.

I really do hate people who say this has no replay value, because it does. There are tons of heart pieces to collect to give you more life. There are so many miniquests that even I never managed to finish them all. You can find Gold Skullutas all around the dungeons and world to exchange for prizes. Some dungeons even have special areas you can't unlock until you get better items. So, if you thought you were done with the dungeon once you beat it, you're wrong.

The minigames are fantastic. Ranging from simple archery contests to a contest while riding on horseback, to strange bomb minigames to even a neat fishing minigame. The boss battles are some of the most epic fights ever in videogaming. One which comes to mind is the fight with Shadow Link, where he will mimic every attack you do if you target him, so you have to find other ways to fight him. If you want to play these amazing fights, unfortunately you have to play it again. So, all the more reason!

Overall, this is the closest to gaming perfection that real games can come. The only game, which has ever been perfect, has been Tetris. This is a close second, and even better since it takes more liberties. New gamers shun this game because of its less than pleasing graphics, and because newer gamers are too lazy to explore the damn game. If you're not given a bazooka and blood spurting at you whenever something dies, gamers will shun it. It takes a real gamer to appreciate this masterpiece. You can thank this for the targeting system for almost all future games. You can thank this for living, breathing worlds and for facial expressions. You owe it to yourself to play this game. If not on the N64, then on the Gamecube, so you can get a bit sharper graphics. Either way, you will find that this is among the greatest games of all time. I personally think it is the greatest, but not all others tend to agree.


Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/03, Updated 03/09/03

The game also won the Edge Game of the Year award in 1998.