There are many stories, but only one Legend.

While Mario had introduced the concept of 3D-platforming and user-controlled cameras, Zelda's main contributions to 3D gaming came in the form of "Z-targeting" and context-sensitive controls. Z-targeting, named after the N64 controller's trigger button, was the first use of a lock-on targeting system in a third-person adventure game. With the press of a button, players could focus their attention on a single enemy or object, making interacting with their environment or staying focused during combat much more intuitive. Likewise, context-sensitive controls allowed players to do a variety of different actions with a limited number of button inputs, depending on the situation. Link could open a door or treasure chest, and push, pull, or climb a box using the same button prompt in different circumstances. Both of these advancements in 3D gaming allowed the pastime to become more complex without becoming more complicated. Both of these gameplay breakthroughs, however, are not without issues of their own. In Ocarina of Time, Link would jump from platform to platform when players ran him towards the edge. There are some situations, however, where this would cause Link to jump to his death or into a trap unintentionally, when a player is just trying to cross a bridge or climb a ledge. This problem is exacerbated by the lack of any true camera control. Aside from lock-on targeting, the player is only able to center the camera directly behind Link, which makes examining his surroundings and moving on a narrow path needlessly painful.

 A sense of a vast world waiting to be explored was a common facet of classic Zelda games, and the huge (for its time) overworld hub that was Hyrule Field provided a satisfying sense of wonder and scale for gamers in 1998. Throughout Hyrule, there were cracks that could be bombed, seeds that could be planted, and rocks that could be destroyed to provide access to secret areas, new items and abilities, and in some cases, even miniature dungeons. Players were significantly rewarded for exploring their environment and experimenting with the world around them. Ocarina also introduced the concept of side-quests to the series, where character interactions would often lead to a request that you fetch an item, complete a goal, or defeat an enemy for them in return for some sort of reward. Many times these rewards wound up being a piece of heart to extend the player's life meter, but some more involved quests rewarded Link with magical attacks, more bottles to hold potions and fairies with, and in one case, a more powerful sword. Alongside this sense of freedom, however, Ocarina introduced a more directed and controlled aspect to the franchise. While gamers were still able to tackle some dungeons out of order and explore certain areas earlier than the plot demanded, Ocarina is clearly the first game in the series to start restricting players in their actions, something that has become a major complaint for the series in the games since. The benefit of this is less frustration or confusion on where to go and what to do, but it takes away some of the reward gamers had for discovering and accomplishing things on their own. Ocarina tends to hold the player's hand a bit too much. Nowhere is this more evident than in the characters of Navi the fairy and Kaepora Gaebora the owl. 

While progressing through the game, Navi was designed to be a guide to "navigate" players to their next destination. However, she would give this advice quickly and constantly with a shrill cry of, "Hey!" or, "Listen!" The game would repeat these voice clips fairly regularly if a player decided not to ask for her advice, and Navi would often offer her words of wisdom even if it was clear that you were heading to the correct area, or more egregiously, if you were in the actual location but hadn't yet activated the next plot point. Kaepora Gaebora was similarly irritating in that he would show up at specific points in the plot before giving a long-winded recap of what has previously occurred and explaining in precise detail a new gameplay mechanic that the game was about to introduce. While useful in its own right, these tutorials were long and tedious, and only served to irritate players who had already played through the game or were aware of its basic concepts. He would follow up every tutorial asking if the player would like him to repeat his diatribe, and the cursor was almost always set to "Yes" by default, causing many an impatient gamer to sit through his monologue yet again.

The Zelda series has always been known for its emphasis on collecting and utilizing items, and Ocarina is no different. While series mainstays like the bombs and boomerang returned, Ocarina of Time was also the first game to feature the Hookshot and a mode of speedy transportation--in this case, Link's horse, Epona. Many of the items are useful in a large number of situations and provide Link with multiple ways of taking down enemies or navigating the large environments and complex dungeons. The items are usually fairly deep in their own right. The Ocarina is essential to playing magical songs, but players are also able to extraneously affect the pitch and vibrato of the ocarina's notes by tilting the control stick in any direction. This small detail is completely unnecessary in the course of the game, but such loving attention to detail has always been a Nintendo hallmark. This is further shown when controlling Epona, who feels much different from controlling Link and provides a satisfying sense of speed in addition to being a necessity during some side-quests. Epona suffers from some of the same finicky controls as Link, though, due to her context-sensitive nature. When you lead Epona to a body of water or a set of stairs, she'll stop on a dime and rear up on her hind legs before backing away slowly and returning control to the player. Likewise, certain fences are trouble spots to hop over, and if Epona isn't angled just right, she'll refuse to hurdle it. There are so many items and abilities, however, that many seem simply extraneous. Magic is useless in most cases, and only slightly more convenient in others. The Scarecrow Song goes unnoticed by many players and is only useful in a handful of situations when searching for hidden Skulltula collectibles, as are the magic beans that can be planted as young Link and used to access hidden areas as an adult.

 In recent years, Zelda has been accused of being formulaic, in the sense that Link often finds an object in a dungeon that he uses mainly for that level's puzzles and boss. While this conceit has some roots in Ocarina of Time, it also benefits the dungeons in the game, in that each level feels completely different from the one before it. The tone, the style, and the types of puzzles encountered differ greatly from dungeon to dungeon in part because they revolve around newly introduced mechanics each time. This was also a bit of an irritant in Ocarina, however, as certain dungeons emphasized the somewhat clunky inventory system, particularly the Shadow Temple and most famously, the dreaded Water Temple, which required players to constantly pause, navigate to the equipment menu, and switch out which boots they were wearing multiple times before the dungeon was complete.
   
One of the most surprising things about going back to play Ocarina of Time over ten years later is how cinematic the game is. For the most part, Nintendo seems intent on having story and cutscenes take a backseat to gameplay, but this game is full of memorable real-time cutscenes that move the story forward and give depth to the characters. A major highlight takes place in the final dungeon of the game. Link starts at the bottom of a tower hearing a muted organ playing in the distance, and as he climbs the tower the organ gets louder and more dramatic until finally, upon reaching the top floor, it's revealed that Ganondorf has been playing the music that has lead Link to him before he turns around and gives the hero his evil monologue. 

 Other scenes manage to inject Link with more character than we've seen before or since--Miyamoto often talks about how Link was named such because he was meant to be an avatar for the player: a "link" to the game world that players could project themselves onto. However, in Ocarina we see hesitation and sense the awkwardness of the situation when Link says goodbye to his best friend Saria and leaves his forest village for the first time, showcasing his youthful inability to deal with an emotional moment. Likewise, when young Link confronts King Dodongo at the base of Death Mountain, we see the child from the Dodongo's eyes, emphasizing how small he really is compared to his enemies.  Even the way young Link scrambles up a waist-high barrier has more personality to it than the protagonist has had in entire games in the Zelda series. The game has a decent amount of family-friendly humor in it too, like when the Gorons try to hug Link for saving their food source and he runs off screaming in fear. Ocarina goes to show that it is possible to have a defined and likable personality in a voiceless protagonist and that an emphasis on gameplay over plot doesn't need to come at the detriment of story and character. Ocarina was one of the first games to emphasize showing the story over telling it, alongside the original Half-Life which coincidentally released the same month as Ocarina of Time.

This presentation has begun to show its age, however, as a decade of advancements have made Ocarina of Time seem a bit basic. For one, like most games from the first generation of 3D consoles, the graphics don't hold up well at all. At the time Ocarina was considered one of the more visually appealing games on the N64, but time has not been kind to the game, with blocky polygons, muddy textures, and barren landscapes giving the game a very primitive feeling. The MIDI music also serves to date the game. Nintendo has long preferred MIDI music since it allows the music to change and adapt based on the actions of the player, giving the audio a sense of fluidity, however the quality of the music doesn't match that of an orchestral soundtrack, which would particularly benefit the Zelda series and its sweeping scores and epic encounters. The dialog also becomes an issue, since it can't be sped up or skipped which ruins the pacing of some of the plot points. Ocarina also falls into the conceit of many JRPGs of the era in that characters will often ask "yes-or-no" questions, and the game will not continue unless given the "right" answer as dictated by the plot, shattering any illusion of choice and making the option completely superfluous. 

In the end, Ocarina is still an amazing game. There's a reason why it's widely considering the greatest game ever made and that it continues to influence game design to this day. Ocarina of Time hit such a perfect pitch of old-school game design with new-age sensibilities that the series has struggled to hit that balance ever since. While some aspects of the gameplay are dated and the graphics and audio quality can hamper the experience somewhat, the epic tone and scale of the adventure, the sense of wonder and excitement, and the quality of the dungeons and puzzles ensure that Ocarina of Time is still the best that gaming has to offer.