Is Ocarina of Time, just a 3D reimagining of A Link To The Past?

[the8thark]

Of cause both games are different but is Ocarina of Time really very similar or the same as A Link To The Past in many aspects?
Lets explore how both games are similar.

1. Collecting 3 items from dungeons to allow Link to pull the master Sword out.
2. Pulling the sword from the stone.
3. A secondary world being much darker in theme than the original one. The Dark World and Adult Link world both share the same darker aesthetic.
4. The Ocarina of Time soundtrack is heavily influenced from the music in Link to the Past. Sure Ocarina of Time has a few totally original tracks, like the Gerudo Valley one but those are few and far between.
5. You fight Ganon at Hyrule Castle in both games.
6. Both games have the light beam tennis as part of a boss mechanic. Agahnim and Gannondorf.
7. Both games feature an instrument that looks the same. Sure one game calls it a flute and the other calls it an Ocarina but both look the same. Even have the same blue colour.

There are probably even more similarities that I can't think of right not as well.

Sure Ocarina of Time was great at the time for many reasons, however it was not as original as people thought. Link to the Past was the more original game as it took Zelda 1 and expanded on it in so many ways. Not all of them good but overall ALTTP is still a good game.

 

[Jirohnagi]

No clue why you moved this post dude.

Also it's kinda obvious in hindsight that OOT is an ALTTP remake

 

[Spirit]

I think with OoT moving into the scary dimension of 3D Nintendo needed inspiration or at least a framework to try and bend into 3D first before the wholly new mechanics kicked in like time travel in MM and the Wolf in TP etc and using ALttP as reference is a good a framework as any.

I cant deny OoT took inspiration from ALttP but i do believe it became its own thing during development.

 

[the8thark]

No clue why you moved this post dude.

Posted it in the wrong section.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

This is an age old debate. There is no denying there are similarites between the games, but at the end of the day OoT is unique enough to not simply be 3D ALttP.

Yes, superficially the games are similar, 8thark pointed out most of the similarites but besides the ones he listed, the similarities end there. At the core of the games though they are not similar. ALttP's overworld is full of enemies. OoT has few enemies populating the overworld and even the dungeons, and battle in OoT is more of an event, even backed with battle music. ALttP is spent trying to figure out how to access other areas of its map. OoT is more streamlined, you aren't going to get lost really. OoT really started enviromental puzzles in dungeons, take the Water Temple for example. You didn't have that in ALttP's dungeons or in the dungeons of any of the games before OoT.

OoT is more impactful to the lore of the series. ALttP did give us a backstory, and that was a first, but OoT wins out on that because there are more characters to interact with and the interaction has more relevancy. Plus, OoT has more diverse races whose cultural backstories are more fleshed out.

In a sense OoT is alot more similar to Link's Awakening because that game actually had an Ocarina and Ocarina songs, granted the Ocarina was red in this game, characters had more of individual roles in the story, and the game was more player friendly.

 

[Caramel H]

I can see the similarities, but they're very different overall in my eyes. I most definitely believe Ocarina took inspiration from Link to the past, but like Spirit said, became it's own thing. Some people think Twilight Princess is a darker version of Ocarina of Time, but I still see them as very different and unique/impactful to the series in their own ways.

 

[the8thark]

Yes, superficially the games are similar, as 8thark pointed out.

Are the games really linked or only superficially linked? That's the debate. I do believe both sides of the debate has their fans and fair share of supporting evidence.
I am on the side that the games are really linked but I think healthy debate like this is great.

At the core of the games though they are not similar. ALttP's overworld is full of enemies. OoT has few enemies populating the overworld and even the dungeons, and battle in OoT is more of an event, even backed with battle music.

On each screen in ALTTP there is not that many enemies. In the larger screens they are quite spaced out also. Actually at times I feel Zelda 1 had more enemies. Especially in some of the dungeon rooms that had a large number of Darknuts and other things. I will say though that ALTTP probably has slightmy more? That's probably due to OOT already stretching what the N64 could do. Also at the time people were not used to 3D games so not overwhelming the player was a good idea too.

The battles being more event focused? That's true. I think again due to the limitation of the N64. But that is a key difference

ALttP is spent trying to figure out how to access other areas of its map. OoT is more streamlined, you aren't going to get lost really. OoT really started enviromental puzzles in dungeons, take the Water Temple for example. You didn't have that in ALttP's dungeons or in the dungeons of any of the games before OoT.

In ALTTP you are told

• Go to the castle
• Escape the castle
• Then the sage next to Zelda once rescued marks on your map Kakariko Village.
• Once there, Sahasrahla’s Grandson marks Sahasrahla’s location on the map.
• Sahasrahla then tells you if you want the speed you have to get the furst pendant
• Once you have the pendant Sahasrahla’s gives you the pegasus boots and marks the other two pendant locations on the map.
• Etc etc.

You are spoon fed with how to access new areas of the map. The game walks to to the items you need to progress. Before you get the master sword, you're spoon fed where to go. Just like in OOT. After the Master Sword though you get a rough indication of where to go but you have to work out how on your own. Same again in both games.

Also the Swamp palace did have a similar water draining mechanic. Sure it was a more basic in nature. And not that puzzle oriented.
The Water Temple though is unique as it's the only dungeon in all of OOT that had puzzles that required the player to think outside the current room they were in. Similar in a way to the Kakariko dungeon in ALTTP where you had to realise how that light was used in the dungeon. But of cause the Water Temple took it up many notches and made ot require a lot more thinking.

OoT is more impactful to the lore of the series. ALttP did give us a backstory, and that was a first, but OoT wins out on that because there are more characters to interact with and the interaction has more relevancy. Plus, OoT has more diverse races whose cultural backstories are more fleshed out.

That is correct but it's just a similar progression. ALTTP gave us more story than Zelda 1. OOT gave us more story than ALTTP. Actually ALTTP was not the first Zelda game to have a back story. Zelda 1 had a decent back story also. It was all in the instruction booklet that came with the game. Mind you a summarized version of that did appear if you let the title screen linger for a while.

You are correct that OOT took this all to a new level and fleshed out things much more.

In a sense OoT is alot more similar to Link's Awakening because that game actually had an Ocarina and Ocarina songs, granted the Ocarina was red in this game, characters had more of individual roles in the story, and the game was more player friendly.

LA actually feels more like a side story because of it being all a dream and the many Mario series references. Sure it is canon but you get what I mean.

Overall I think the answer on this is sonewhere inbetween your opinion and my opinion. I think it's more than superficially linked but it's probably not as hard linked as some think.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

In ALTTP you are told

• Go to the castle
• Escape the castle
• Then the sage next to Zelda once rescued marks on your map Kakariko Village.
• Once there, Sahasrahla’s Grandson marks Sahasrahla’s location on the map.
• Sahasrahla then tells you if you want the speed you have to get the furst pendant
• Once you have the pendant Sahasrahla’s gives you the pegasus boots and marks the other two pendant locations on the map.
• Etc etc.

You are spoon fed with how to access new areas of the map. The game walks to to the items you need to progress. Before you get the master sword, you're spoon fed where to go. Just like in OOT. After the Master Sword though you get a rough indication of where to go but you have to work out how on your own. Same again in both games.

True, except in the other half of the game you are set free, and my point was once that does happen you are going to be spending your time trying to figure out how to move foward in the overworld. In OoT once you are out in the overworld you already gain an idea of where everything is. You can clearly see the Castle, Death Mountain, you know if you follow the river you'll find something, it turns out to be Zora's Domain. Go all the way south and you'll find Lake Hylia. And in the west there is the Gerudo Desert. If you explore Hyrule Feild with Link as a child, Keapora Geabora is near the entrance to each region and tells you where you are heading.

So there is never a point where you are just stumped on where to go while out in Hyrule Feild. On the game map throughout the entire game there will be flashing dots indicating where you need to go. You are pretty much spoon fed where to go throughout the game, and in a way it is kind of unnecessary. Anyway, emphasis isn't on trying to figure out how to access the other half of the map, it is really more of how to get to the next room or rooms in this dungeon.

 

[DarkestLink]

aLttP does have several instances of "find the needle in the haystack" exploration, which OoT (thank God) removed. An example is seeing a symbol in the ground and not being able to progress until you find the proper talisman. No hints on what you need. No hints on where to go. No indication that you can't pass with the equipment you have. It was terrible design from an outdated era where developers intentionally wasted player's time to artificially lengthen the game. It was carried over from LoZ (although at least then there was a method to the madness) and it's why exploration has been so consistently weak in the series. Even Aonuma admitted this when discussing BOTW's development.

 

[YIGAhim]

Of cause both games are different but is Ocarina of Time really very similar or the same as A Link To The Past in many aspects?
Lets explore how both games are similar.

1. Collecting 3 items from dungeons to allow Link to pull the master Sword out.
2. Pulling the sword from the stone.
3. A secondary world being much darker in theme than the original one. The Dark World and Adult Link world both share the same darker aesthetic.
4. The Ocarina of Time soundtrack is heavily influenced from the music in Link to the Past. Sure Ocarina of Time has a few totally original tracks, like the Gerudo Valley one but those are few and far between.
5. You fight Ganon at Hyrule Castle in both games.
6. Both games have the light beam tennis as part of a boss mechanic. Agahnim and Gannondorf.
7. Both games feature an instrument that looks the same. Sure one game calls it a flute and the other calls it an Ocarina but both look the same. Even have the same blue colour.

There are probably even more similarities that I can't think of right not as well.

Sure Ocarina of Time was great at the time for many reasons, however it was not as original as people thought. Link to the Past was the more original game as it took Zelda 1 and expanded on it in so many ways. Not all of them good but overall ALTTP is still a good game.

Well, that is just the formula. You can't say it's a copy if it's the recipe