The Armchair Empire - Classic Gaming: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time


	Platform N64 Genre Role-Playing Publisher Nintendo Developer Nintendo ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q4 1998

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time is the fifth installment of the Legend of Zelda series in North America, and is possibly the best N64 game available. Few games have reached the depths of Ocarina.

Anyone familiar with the Zelda mythos will immediately understand the ultimate purpose of playing the game: save princess Zelda. To this end the player will have to fight through multi-layered dungeons, travel through time, explore underwater areas, interact with a variety of good and bad characters, ride a horse, hunt down chickens, reunite the Tri-Force and, of course, conquer the power monger, Ganon. None of this is new but the execution is so good that it’s easy to forget.

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The graphics are excellent for the N64. The environments (all in 3D) vary from the rolling hills of Hyrule field, to the soaking wet Water Temple, to the scorching, lava-filled Fire Temple, to the confines of Ganons castle, plus many others. The greens are green, and the reds are red. Each location is unique enough to make the player learn another set of skills and are detailed in different textures. For the most part, the point of view is in the third person directly behind Link. Some scenes use rendered backgrounds, with only specific paths

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for Link to follow. As with all 3^rd person perspective games, the camera sometimes acts erratically or the screen becomes totally obscured by Link’s head; however, these incidents are few and far between. There is also the option to enter Link’s head to view things in the first person, which comes in handy to find things hidden on ceilings. All vital information is displayed on the playing screen; magic meter, life bar, ammo remaining, are easy to read and don’t get in the way.

Gameplay is fairly intuitive, but it does take practice. The opening quest does a good job of equipping the player with the necessary skills to play the game, without having to read the manual. Link can swim, climb, run, walk, roll, and defend himself. There is the all important Z-targeting, which locks onto the selected enemy and tracks its movements, which works very well to keep the enemy in sight. The character animations are crisp and smooth, with all cutscenes handled by the in-game engine. Any slow down is minimal, occurring only when the area is filled with enemies. (Which is not frequent if the player knows anything about the Zelda games) Usually enemies will attack in pairs but it’s often one-on-one confrontations.

Link can also affect his environment, pushing blocks, lifting rocks and boulders, and lighting torches. The Ocarina is Link’s most powerful tool to affect the environment. With it weather and time of day can be altered, Link can warp to areas instead of spending time hiking across Hyrule field, and open doors. Because time travel plays into the story, locations can be visited twice with different areas open to Link depending on how big he is. Link as a child can crawl through a small hole, but as an adult he can smash apart a boulder in the same location and embark on another quest.

Mini-games and quests are packed into this cartridge. The most powerful weapon is a completely optional item, with the quest to attain it a complex, timed series of tasks. After completing a mini-game the player is typically awarded with a heart section or some other piece of equipment that makes life easier for Link (larger quiver for arrows, etc.). The games run from frustrating to simple, with the more difficult ones offering a more valuable reward. What’s important is that the player chooses to do these puzzles, rather than stonewalled with them, stopping any progression until the player can figure out what solution the designer had in mind. Link can even try his hand at fishing!

Equipment management is handled via four screens of information. They display all the critical information. Equipment and other items can be assigned to three of the A buttons, which makes switching weapons easy as a button push. The controls are easy to get used to. The equipment itself is made up of a slew of unique items, like the Lense of Truth which allows Link to see hidden items, doors and walkways. There are three different kinds of tunics and shoes to wear. There are some spells, too, which will make fans of RPGs happy. The weapons are solid Zelda fare. Swords can be charged with magic and released in a concussive swirl of energy. Some weapons and equipment are age specific. Only Big Link can use the Megton Hammer, while only Kid Link can use the sling shot. Whenever Link takes possession of a new item the game explains how that item is used and how to equip it, which is a very helpful feature.

A few items are powered by magic, like the Lense of Truth, and can only be used when the magic bar has some mana left. Fortunately, potions can be purchased in village kiosks that will replenish the magic supply. The village stores sell everything from fish to Deku nuts, everything Link needs. Going to a store and quickly restocking items is the fastest way to get back into the fray.

The sound is solid. This is important since Ocarina relies on many sound cues. Often monsters will make noise just before they descend from the dark to tap dance on Link’s head. The music matches the mood of the locations. The music for the Temple of Time should have players humming hours later. When Link falls a great distance or gets hit with a fireball he lets out a scream. There is no speech acting to speak of since the dialogue is all text. Ganon laughs but that’s about it. The sound of Link’s horse, Epona, is right on, galloping and trotting, with the occasional whiny.

The most obvious downside to Ocarina is that bosses can only be fought once. The bosses are challenging and fun to fight. And they are all unique; there’s no same boss, bigger gun syndrome here. Attack patterns vary, forcing the player to adopt different strategies for each boss. Some bosses are easy to defeat while others will require multiple attempts. It is satisfying to watch the bosses crumble into dust.

As the fifth Zelda game, Ocarina of Time continues the legacy in grand style. The story line has many levels but it still boils down to save Princess Zelda. Mini-games abound, the graphics and sound are top shelf, the control is good, optional side-quests are interesting, the environments are varied, and the end game is very intense and satisfying. There is also Rumble Pack support, which is used mainly for the fishing game. It will take the average player 40+ hours to complete this game.

- Omni