Ocarina of Time The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is It Good or Bad? (Subjective Topic)

[Flagpole]

First off, this topic will only have my opinion on The Legend of Zelda: ocarina of Time, so it'll be a subjective topic, thus it isn't, in any way, a good or bad topic, as it only includes my opinion.


The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a game that has experienced two of the most important moments you can see in most of the videogames considered as 'great': for a long period of time, including the moment in which I'm writing this, it has been overrated and, to many people, has been considered the best videogame ever. Ocarina of Time, though this may not be noticed too much, is now being very underrated, with people criticizing it with no real justification, just saying the story is poor and the graphics are horrible and... well, nothing else, actually: Ocarina of Time has been, in most cases, criticized by it's story and graphcis more than by it's gameplay, which is almost every game's most solid part.

Being similar to A Link To the Past isn't equal to A Link To The Past, just similar, and only in it's story, as the graphics and gameplay would obviously have to be different, as A Link To the Past is a 2D game and Ocarina of Time a 3D game.

I've myself found The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as a great game, and I've personally loved it's soundtrack, graphics, story and gameplay.
What maybe people doesn't like is it's kinda linear gameplay, as exploration was more intense in previous games, like Link's Awakening.

Be it so or not that exploration was shorter than it's precedessors, I'll now continue on my opinion as to why I love Ocarina of Time.

The story started out nice, with the Deku Tree telling Link he has to free him froma curse, or else he would die, which happens instantly after you beat the first dungeon in the game, "Inside The Deku Tree". Then the story continues on, giving the player a few surprises, especially near the final, though I won't tell what it happens because I would be spoiling this part to someone who hasn't finished the game.
After the death of the Deku Tree, you can explore new areas, like the Hyrule Field, which is incorrectly viewed as the game's overworld, though Hyrule Field is only a connector between the places that make the overworld, like the Marketplace, or Lon Lon Ranch, or Zora Domain, Death Mountain, Kakariko Village, etc., the point is that Ocarina of Time's overworld is actually very big, occuping most of the game's areas. Keeping to the opint of the exploration, something I really liked about the game is the access to new areas by completing certain goals, be it a major place of the game or a secret place full of Rupees, or a seemingly impossible-to-reach Gold Skulltula, a heart piece, even a temple... they all contribute to the feeling of exploration which most people just associate with Hyrule Field.
The sidequests, while they don't play the big role they play in The Legend of Zelda: Majora Mask, are nice to accomplish and rewarding in some cases, save for the one hundred Gold Skulltula reward (oops, spoiler...).
Mini-games are repetitive and sometimes dull, but it is almost unarguable that games like the fishing one, or Malon's challenge in Lon Lon Ranch after getting Epona, the horse, aren't funny.
The Day and Night cycle is something that definitely changed the way Zelda games are in actuality, and it also has a very good use at Ocarina of Time, being so that, to play certain mini-games or talk to certain people t has to be day or night.

All in all, Ocarina of Time is as much as an overrated game as an underrated game, but definitely not a bad game, seeing people's justifications are that Ocarina of Time's story is similar to A Link To The Past story.

 

[bbevington90]

I honestly have never heard anyone say they didn't like OoT. There's just the argument of how overrated it is (which it is, and that's coming from someone who has loved it since it came out, and is my favorite in the series).
Anyway, OoT is a spectacular game. It set the bar for the Zelda franchise, and is amazing all-around. The soundtrack is even extremely memorable with great songs. The game is a true 10 out of 10.

(edit): Yeah, I realized after saying it's overrated I went on to gush about it lol

 

[Hanyou]

I'll state my opinion, but first, a short note. Whatever Ocarina is, it is certainly not overrated. Terms like "...for its time" are thrown around when discussing this game far too frequently. Fans almost feel the need to apologize for this game's quality; I believe it was incredible when it was released and it remains incredible, and if modern gamers are unable to see why some of us love it, they need to attempt to judge it more objectively. If I am unable to appreciate the original Legend of Zelda, it is my own shortcoming, not the game's. Unfortunately, whenever a game achieves as much success, there are some who jump to the conclusion that the game is overrated.

I am not including anyone who dislikes the game or genuinely thinks it is overrated into that last paragraph. There are legit complaints. But I do suggest people explore the game more objectively if they want to decry certain elements. Instead of looking at its "graphics," analyze its visual style; instead of smarting at the fact that the music is not orchestrated, listen to the compositions. You will have a much better time, and your assessment of the game will be much better.

Here's my own opinion.

Story: The story is simplistic. Link turns into a hero, slays the dragon, frees the princess, rescues the kingdom, and the day is saved. However, one element of the game is not enough to get the whole picture. The story plays off of the gameplay and the music and the atmosphere, and they feed off of the story and each other in a sort of symbiosis. The story is told in every trot over Hyrule field, in every moment you pause to look around and take in the lovingly crafted environments. It's told in the headstones in the Kakariko graveyard and the walls of the Spirit Temple. We learn things, like Hyrule's violent history or the cultures of the very different races therein. Characters like Malon, who does not have many lines but left an impression on many gamers (including myself), deal with their own dramas that are both inextricably linked to larger events and deeply personal. Characters evolve; some for the better, some for the worse. Hyrule plunges into darkness and we learn that Link is not the only hero in this forsaken world, but memorable characters like Nabooru also stand for what is right. And while Zelda games before and since offered their own memorable characters, none quite unified them in as sweeping and as iconic a high fantasy epic as Ocarina of Time did. So yes, the story is simple and it is not original; what makes it great here is its unique and beautiful execution.

Graphics: The graphics balance a fantastical anime style with some degree of gritty realism. Nintendo understood the limitations of the hardware, so while some textures were muddy, the original release of OoT featured a handy blur filter which cast a mysterious shadow over Hyrule. Everything, even compensation for the system's shortcomings, was a brilliant artistic decision, and OoT looks a bit like a classic fantasy film with real, practical effects. Perhaps the best showcase of the game's graphics occurs near the end, when Ganondorf transforms into Ganon. Very conscious lighting decisions were made here; everything was equipped with a perfect dramatic effect. This level of care exists in both the mundane and the grandiose in this rendition of Hyrule.

Music: I need not say very much about this. The music speaks for itself. From the short Ocarina tunes to the longer themes, all of the music in this game fits perfectly. Perhaps most telling, even the dungeon music, rather than simply being atmospheric, really feels epic. Musically, everything carries weight. That is true of few other Zelda games, especially more recent ones, and Ocarina should be commended for it.

Gameplay: And here we come to the most important part, at least for most gamers. Ocarina successfully balances exploration with action and puzzle-solving. All three of these elements are integral to the Zelda experience, and not one of them is lacking. In terms of exploration, almost every single area of the overworld is dense with life and secrets. The one often-mentioned exception is the "empty" field. The point is, even this field is a great gameplay decision; it allows for relaxation between the much tighter areas of the overworld. Travel into a place like the Lost Woods or even Kakariko Village and you encounter nothing but secrets and surprises around every corner, not to mention a good deal of meaty sidequests. Very little feels arbitrarily placed or blocked-off; the level of freedom afforded the gamer, balanced with the secrets that remain hidden until the very end, provided enough variety to keep the cart firmly locked in my system of choice for six months straight when I bought the game. Furthermore, design decisions allow the gamer freedom. It's designed so that one feels like he is shaping his own quest. You're nudged in one direction, but, instead of relenting, the very design of the overworld almost demands that you strike out in search of another way (try snagging the horse instead of the hookshot, or try exploring Death Mountain instead of finishing the Forest Temple...etc). This may be the game's greatest strength, as it complements and shows off the plot, the graphics, and the music.

As for puzzles, Ocarina had devious ones. There was the reviled Water Temple, of course, but even simpler dungeons placed you in bizarre situations where you had to use lateral thinking. The game took full advantage of the 3D perspective with some block-pushing puzzles as early as the Forest Temple that worked sort of the way they would work in the real world: they were organic and deceptively simple. Then the game threw you for a loop by rocketing you down a twisting hallway into a multi-purpose room guarded by Wallmasters.

Action was yet another strength. Hacking and slashing was fun and combat was rewarding, but the game again managed a certain level of simplicity. You'd never have to learn combos; Ocarina made even Super Mario 64 look overly complicated in the execution of its combat. The way items interacted with each other and with enemies ensured that each boss battle was creative and unique, and Z-targeting gave all of the moves at the gamer's disposal precision.

Conclusion: Ocarina is not only good, it's great. Almost nothing in the game feels extraneous; the game manages to be both deeply personal by offering unprecendented freedom, but also very epic in its scope and characters; the environments are fantastic; the music is memorable; the plot is deeply entrenched in everything the gamer chooses to do; the visuals manage just the right balance of cartoonish whimsy and realistic grit. It is complete, it is exciting, and it is arguably the greatest game of all time. I couldn't ask for more from a video game, either as an involved interactive experience or simply as a fun diversion. Ocarina has it all.

EDIT: SOMEHOW, I accidentally closed this thread with my post. >_< Sorry.

 

[PhantomTriforce]

I think OoT is an excellent game, as a regular game and as a Zelda game. I do think OoT is a bit overrated, but it deserves all that attention.

 

[Ventus]

OoT is a game to be remembered through the ages. What I mean is that it is superb. While it IS outdated, it set the standards for many games, even shooters. I can't cite the shooters that were influenced by OoT, but they DO exist. The graphics are great, the music is great, everything about the game is great. Hanyou makes a great point about the "for it's time" thing, but honestly, the game WILL be compared with modern-day games, as it was with Super Mario Galaxy 2. While OoT seems short right now, back then it was a really long game, and still is for some gamers. If you haven't tried it, I definitely recommend picking it up for GC or downloading it for Wii.

 

[DuckNoises]

Expanding on what Hanyou said, here is something I said in another thread about appreciating older games:

Great games are great, no matter when you play them. Something that every gamer should do is think retrospectively and appreciate what results have come from the past's innovations and see how they were be built upon. The same can also be said for the opposite; every gamer should also look into new games and see spots where things weren't built upon when they clearly should have been. A great game transcends time, and what a great game is made of can be very different things for different people. Nonetheless, there are universal gems, and people can spot them and see their brilliance regardless of how old they are. The same can be said of any person, place, or thing. An understanding of the past provides an uncanny understanding of the present, and that is something that should be embraced.

This is something that I think is essential to bring to the table concerning the "overrated" or "for its time" arguments.

 

[Hanyou]

I think one of the funniest things when it comes to criticism about the graphics is that gamers now seem only to look at "graphics."

"Graphics" has been a buzzword since I started gaming in 1992, but the goals were entirely different. Back then, games had good "graphics" because they had a good style; even when I was very little I could look back on the 8-bit era with fondness because I thought the "graphics" of games like the original Mario Bros. were charming. 16 "bits" allowed us to see some more impressive graphical feats like parallax scrolling, larger sprites, etc., but the quality of newer graphics never degraded the quality of older games.

In other words, even a stupid 6-year-old Sega fanboy was more objective than a lot of the Xbots are today.

It seems that style is no longer the objective: for Western gamers, it comes down to realism. We assume games always try to emulate this, when in fact a number of console games (especially those from Japan) have always attempted to cultivate a distinct style. More powerful hardware allows them leeway to add more effects, but it does not guarantee a more resonant style.

Objectively, Ocarina of Time's visual style has some problems. I recognized them when I first bought the game. I think character models could be better and again, up close the textures are less than perfect. But on the Nintendo 64, Nintendo compensated for graphical shortcomings by covering limitations and working around them; much as the original Silent Hill incorporated a dense fog, Nintendo incorporated a blur filter and some awesome lighting effects. As such, in spite of some problem areas (especially the awful-looking Death Mountain), I actually think Ocarina of Time is a damn beautiful game to look at, not just "for its time," but for any time. Any game that properly utilizes its hardware to generate good visuals has "good graphics." While Ocarina is not the best-looking game on the N64 (I still believe the original Banjo-Kazooie and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron hold that title from what I've seen), let's stop tossing out words like "outdated" to describe it. Observe the tarrying bugs in Kokiri Forest, the densely-packed, worn-out headstones in Graveyard, or the light refracted from the water in Zora's Domain; at every turn, the developers have created a self-contained and fully-realized world, and the graphics help contribute to this development, to the underlying atmosphere which is so integral to Ocarina of Time. It is only partly realistic; more importantly, it is fantastical, beautiful, and engrossing.

I don't see movie fanatics argue that The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was once a good movie, but is now "outdated" because CGI is better. No, they judge it on its own merits and rightly praise it not just as a highly influential silent film, but as a riveting experience in its own right. Why do gamers have such a short attention span, such an inability to recognize inherent quality? I know I've spoken extensively on graphics here, but the fact is that a similar argument could be made about any aspect of Ocarina which supposedly was once good, but is now somehow bad.

Again, I don't intend to straw man everyone who dislikes this game. Feel free to make legitimate complaints. But don't try and convince anyone that the "graphics suck" or "the game is outdated;" these statements are empty and are not legitimate criticisms. I don't expect anyone here at ZD to forward such arguments, but they are so often made that they are worth addressing.

Also, bravo, DuckNoises--you nailed it. Good is good. And FierceDiety, I agree with your sentiments, although again I do think many people have legitimate complaints. :3

 

[Indridcold85]

I have been replaying LTTP lately. Incredibly enough I thought there were minibosses, but my memory didn't serve me as well as i thought...I agree that OoT and LTTP are two different games. I do enjoy the mini bosses and the easily accessible entrances to the dungeon bosses in Oot. I absolutely hate having to run all the way back to the to the boss and probably getting my butt handed to me by the random monsters on the way in LTTP. All in all I really have no complaints about Oot except the dang owl trying to trick you with his crafty words to have to listen to the hour long stories he has to tell.

 

[Link-182]

The game is friggin 12 years old! And an early day polygon game, of course it looks rough compared to recent games!
The story was very solid back in the day. But I think it could use a little extra here and there, to make more current generation worthy.
Ocarina of Time should be remembered as a ground breaking game for its time. No denying it helped shape the video game world.

There are things that the newer generation of gamers complain about in OoT; but updated graphics and overall updates throughout the game plus new 3D technology, it could be an incredible game for new generations to enjoy to its fullest in 2010/2011.

 

[Mr.Verto]

I believe that Ocarina of Time is just good as it is, remember it is a very very old game and it was one of the first 3Dimmensional Games (First was Super Mario 64)
The graphics for that time were just awesome remember that now they look bad with the new designs.

 

[AlaskaAce1996]

Personally I think graphics are the least important part of a game. When people criticize Ocarina of Time it is usally someone who is just trying to get attention and doesn't have any legitimate complaints with the game, the only thing they usually say is that the graphics are horrible. Doing that is like comparing Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy 2 as if they were released at the same time. I think Ocarina of Time is the best Zelda game, but I've enjoyed playing every other one I can get my hands on. I think in the end it all comes down to personal opinion and preferance.

 

[Supershadow125]

I like OOT but it is so overrated that it makes me mad. I prefer if I had to play OOT or MM I go with MM but OOT is a good game I like. that’s all I never say I loved how when Link go Epona,or I loved it when Link stabbed Ganon in the face...I'm filled with likes-like...In my honest opinion I would say OOT is a good game by my standards and my standards are very very high... so high that you need to stack Death Mountain over Snowhead!
9.5 out of 10 (it's not a 10 out of 10 for me because of the main fact that I like...where are the side quest that are interesting and not useless? Only one was useful and I think that one was required!)

 

[skysword]

although i love Oot, i believe that it was a little overated, but you cant really blame people, it was a revolutionary game, and it was still really good

 

[Majora's Cat]

Let me get this out there - Ocarina of Time is the greatest game of all time in my opinion. I've said that many times before, but it's not because of OoT's legacy itself that makes it a great game. Like all Zelda games, OoT was a game that was unaffected by aging - no matter how many years passed, no matter how much graphics improved, Ocarina of Time still stood out and proved itself to be just as good a game as any other in the present.

It's not just how innovative OoT was or how perfect it was in the N64 days - it's OoT's ability to stand the test of time and still emerge victorious as one of the greatest games of all time. Even with technology advancing at an astonishing rate, even with sales juggernauts like Halo: Reach and Modern Warfare 2, Ocarina of Time is still being purchased and played by gamers 12 years after its initial release. The same goes for all Zelda games - LoZ, AoL, ALttP, OoT, MM... all of these games are still played and enjoyed by today's generation of gamers. Even with the graphically stunning cutscenes in games like StarCraft II, OoT can still compete with the rest of today's games.

It's not always the production value in games that make them special - it's how the game is designed - how the money is put to work for the game to make it the best it can be. Ocarina of Time had soul, Majora's Mask had soul, A Link to the Past had soul, Twilight Princess had soul. With stunning game design and ideas that will last for more generations to come, the Ocarina of Time and the Zelda series' other classics will still be enjoyed by new gamers in the future - that's a fact.

Like Hanyou once stated: "How can a game get worse with time? It's not like perishable food". This quote speaks for itself. If a game is truly great, it will not become worse over time. Instead it will stand gainst new technology and remain as great as it was when it was first on the market. Ocarina of Time is the very definition of great. We still play it today, along with all other Zelda games. Age is not a factor for the Legend of Zelda, for no matter what winds of change may blow and erode other games, I believe Oot will stand strong and continue to be as entertaining as ever.

 

[Wolfang31]

I first though that OOT was overrated but when I made my playthrough without a FAQ or walkthrough on the hand... I sure had a different experience, a better one and I've ENJOYED it! It instantly became one of my fav. games... but I still prefer Twilight Princess : it's my first Zelda.