Zelda: Ocarina of Time has perfected everything about the Zelda formula
back in 1998. It was hailed (and still is) as the best videogame ever
created. Even today, this game is admired by many to have shaped 3D
gaming and Zelda gaming alike. Every gamer who played the game back
then can recall one of the best experience he/she ever had in video
gaming or in some cases; in their entire life! This marked a new era
back in 1998, but not every gamer had the chance to experience such a
gem which is why Nintendo re-released this game as a part of a special
pre-order bonus CD for Zelda: Wind Waker which contained both Zelda OOT
and Zelda OOT: Masterquest. Now Nintendo is giving yet another chance
to gamers to experience this game on the Wii’s virtual console.
The gameplay in Zelda games has never lost its touch and Zelda OOT
brings the gameplay found in A Link To The Past perfectly to 3D. If you
play this game now you’d be surprised at how much it resembles the
gameplay of tons of games today since, like I said earlier, it defined
a new standard for 3D gaming. Even after nearly ten years, the gameplay
in Zelda OOT is simply fantastic. The only downside is that we don’t
have a N64 controller which was what the game was designed around, so
this may feel awkward for some people. The 2 control schemes (CIassic
controller and GCN controller) work greatly with this game; the GCN
controller just feels more natural for 3D gaming and the CIassic
controller’s control stick is much more comfortable then the GCN
controller’s. I would honestly recommend both since they both work fine.
You would pretty much have guessed it, this game features the classic
scenario of a young boy named Link who lives in a quiet little village
when he his called to help someone in trouble. Afterwards he finds
himself in a much bigger story and before you know it, you’re set to
save the whole world from Ganondorf’s dark magic. The story has many
memorable twists with a cast of crazy characters who will also get
mimicked in future Zelda games.
The graphics will also look very weird to those who were not used to
N64 gaming. Sure the game looks slightly better then it’s N64
counterpart, but still it’s polygonal look will make you feel somewhat
weird but be aware that this was top-notch N64 graphics. Still this
does not change much so it shouldn’t be much of a big deal. The
framerate of this game also runs much more smoothly then the original
version since you’re running it on a much more powerful hardware. This
is actually a big plus since now I’m not experiencing framerate issues
where I usually did in the N64 version.
Since the VC games lack rumble (not to mention the CIassic controller
too), one particular item called the Stone of Agony has been rendered
completely obsolete since it won’t vibrate when you’re near a treasure
chest. I personally find this very pathetic that we’re restricted from
using an item in the game because of the lack or rumble.
Every Zelda gamer knows how much music plays an important role to help
make any Zelda game more immersive. Zelda OOT’s music is pretty much
the definition of the word immersive. You will always remember such
tracks as Hyrule Field’s, Gerudo Valley’s etc…. Those tracks are so
good that many of them have been remixed in many Zelda games including
the latest hits; Zelda: Twilight Princess and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
Those tracks are a real masterpiece especially when you consider the
N64 era’s limitations.
In overall, Zelda OOT for the Virtual Console hasn’t lost its touch in
most parts, it stood up pretty well to the test of time and still
delivers one of the best videogame experience you could ever get. While
not perfect like in 1998, it still stands up as one of the best games
available on the Wii. This is an absolute recommendation and I really
encourage you to not ignore such a fantastic title if you own a Wii. I
would personally recommend using the CIassic Controller since I’ve used
it to play the game and liked it a lot, but if you don’t own one but
own a GCN Controller, you’re fine. This game is well worth 1000 Wii
points (10$) and I recommend this to any Wii owner out there. If you
haven’t played this game before then you’re in for a good treat.
