back to article The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I didn't play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when it was first released in the late 1990s because I was too busy on my SEGA playing Sonic. However, I do remember that I always used to think the name Zelda referred to the main character. It wasn't until I watched The Legend of Neil that I realised the hero's name was Link …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Best version?

    Disagree, although I know it's a subjective thing. I think the best version was Zelda: A link to the past on the Snes. That said I did buy an N64 just to be able to play this game as the series is one of my favourites.

    1. KCM
      Happy

      Re: Best version?

      Gotta agree. I'm still enjoying Link to the Past even today. Classic Zelda gameplay, the introduction of two worlds.

      Even through multiple gameplays, I'm still missing one piece of heart to totally complete the game (but I have whooped Gannon's backside more than once.... )

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's on the Wii as well?

  3. gort
    Windows

    Just play it on an emulator, it's just as much fun. I remember playing it on one of the earliest N64 PC emulators, using a 3DFX pass-through graphics card.

    1. Si 1

      Controller

      I would argue that unless you have an N64 USB adaptor it's tricky to enjoy Ocarina of Time with an emulator. The N64 had six face buttons on its controller, while most joypads only have four. This means the C-buttons cannot easily be mapped to the face of a controller.

      On the Wii Virtual Console version, Nintendo have mapped the C-buttons to the analogue stick, which I found to be usable but not ideal. Often I would try to select one item and accidentally nudge the stick too far along another axis and end up using something else entirely. It's also pretty fiddly when you want to rapidly fire arrows or the slingshot.

      Also, I find most emulators can't use the rumble on modern joypads which means the Stone of Agony doesn't work either.

      I think the best options are to get an N64 pad and USB adapter for the emulator or play it on the original hardware or get the 3DS version.

    2. Daniel Barnes
      Happy

      UltraHLE!

      It just turned up out of the blue one day with emulation way ahead of competing emulators then was discontinued hours later. Even though I had an N64 at the time I remember being amazed at playing mario64 on my computer, even though using keyboard controls sucked!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Yeah, I tried Mario64 on an emulator, found it impossible to swing Bowser off his hill since it required the player to smoothly describe circles with the joystick.

  4. Piro Silver badge

    Emulator definitely

    Is the way to go, you can crank the resolution right up to get crisp visuals.

    There are even re-texturing projects out there that work with a plugin.

  5. Thomas 4

    Hey

    Listen!

  6. squilookle
    Thumb Up

    Got a warm fuzzy feeling just from the screenshots there. I spent far too much of my time playing this over and over when it came out. The world it created was huge, vivid and dying to be explored - a trait shared by all the best games in this genre IMHO). The amazing (at the time) graphics and the puzzles which, as the author states, were never too hard, but were always fun didn't hurt.

    Happy times.

    @A/C 07:39 The author did say the game was *debatably* the best, but I happen to agree with her. Link to the past certainly laid the groundwork and is a great game, but it didn't have anywhere near the atmosphere of Ocarina of Time.

    1. d0ubs

      Also it has been much criticized (and praised), the atmosphere of The Wind Waker was unforgettable imo...

      1. David Given
        Happy

        Oh, I loved Wind Waker --- I used to spend hours sailing around that huge open ocean, exploring the little islands and strange things that popped up in the open sea. The way it seamlessly managed to merge all the islands into one huge zone was great.

        Twilight Princess, by comparison, felt tiny and claustrophobic: the world was chopped up into discrete zones, all quite small, and too many of them involved running around in what amounted to tunnels. And of Skyward Sword, the less said the better --- this is less Zelda and more Banjo & Kazooie. Which was a shame, as the Wii hardware can do so much better. Go play Xenoblade Chronicles if you want to see how to handle wipe-open outdoor areas *properly*...

    2. Sir Runcible Spoon

      Sir

      "I spent far too much of my time playing this over and over when it came out."

      I still dig it out and play it now. I must have completed it about 10 times by now, and it was only on the last time (about a year ago) that I actually discovered the elusive 'deep lure' - I always thought it was a myth!

      It was also the game that my wife would happily watch me play as it was like a movie. She was always amazed at how I could immediately work out a puzzle as soon as I walked into a room, not knowing it's all part of the 'Zelda' way :)

  7. DiskJunky
    Facepalm

    Release date

    The release date was 19*9*8, dumbass. The GamBoy wasn't even out in 1988

  8. Mephesto
    WTF?

    This game is so broken ...

    Played this game in my youth, but until I watch the gents at http://speedrunslive.com/ racing this against each other, I never quite knew how badly this game can be broken (completable in just 25mins with major glitches).

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon
      Happy

      Re: This game is so broken ...

      "SpeedRunsLive does not support Internet Explorer.

      Please view the site in one of the below browsers."

      You gotta be fucking kidding me right?

      1. Mephesto
        Unhappy

        Re: This game is so broken ...

        didn't see that coming, using chrome ... had no idea

      2. A J Stiles

        Re: This game is so broken ...

        More people should do that!

        You *can* run Firefox. I, and many others, *can't* run IE.

  9. Captain Underpants

    Buy an old N64 just for this? Naah

    It's a decent game (though I prefer Majora's Mask of the N64 ones myself - Yeah I know, what a deviant etc etc)

    If you want to play them today, your best bet IMO is to buy a copy of the Zelda retrospective disc for the Gamecube and play it on a Wii with a gamecube controller. I've read suggestions that the Virtual Console version also works with Gamecube controllers but as I've not tested that I'm wary of saying it'll definitely work - certainly the VC download is easier and probably cheaper than the retrospective disc, so if you've got a GC controller it's probably the way to go.

    I have to say, though - if you've never played it before it'll look like ass (much like Super Mario 64 does by contemporary standards if you don't have any recollection of it from back in the day) so you're probably better off with Wind Waker, Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword.

    1. LinkOfHyrule
      Happy

      Re: Buy an old N64 just for this? Naah

      I've got that disk and a Wii and a Gamcube controller which aint been used for over a year, maybe I should go have a play later - then again I still aint finished Windwaker or Twilight princess - lol and you'd think from my user name I'd be more into it! hahaha

      1. Captain Underpants
        Happy

        Re: Buy an old N64 just for this? Naah

        Heh, playing through Majora's Mask on the Wii was what got me to go and revisit Wind Waker :) As I discovered from trying to jump back into my WW save game, I'd somehow made a complete pigs ear of the normal progression through the game so was easier to just start over. A lot of fun once it gets going :)

        Haven't gotten stuck into TP yet, but that's because I've not had the spare time to get into a longish game over the last couple of months...

    2. Andrew James

      Re: Buy an old N64 just for this? Naah

      I'd buy an N64 just for Goldeneye, so if i can grab this game for 15 quid too, massive bonus.

      1. Captain Underpants

        Re: Buy an old N64 just for this? Naah

        Ah, Goldeneye. I bought an N64 second hand a few years back for that and Wipeout64, but it turns out that nostalgia's a bitch and Goldeneye single player has not aged well. And in the absence of easily-available folk with whom to engage in multiplayer, it quickly ended up relegated to the charity shop heap...

      2. Bit Brain
        Trollface

        Re: Buy an old N64 just for this? Naah

        “I’d buy an N64 just for Goldeneye, so if i can grab this game for 15 quid too, massive bonus.”

        You spelled “Perfect Dark” incorrectly. ;-)

  10. Ryan 7

    The best version is the 3DS remake (with 3D turned off, of course)

    Improved textures and models, far easier inventory management (Iron Boots, anyone?), additional areas/puzzles, and to top it all off, the gyro controls when free-aiming the slingshot/arrows are pure perfection.

  11. spencer

    agree with 3ds version

    I honestly think that the 3DS version is the best. All the content, better controls and gfx

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Emulator yes... gamepad no.

    Yes, I emulated it on a UltraHLE variation, but with a neat plugin and a... joystick. A full-blown PC designed flight joystick.

    Explanation: The targeting system for the bow sucked, even in the original N64 original analog thumb-stick. Cue the life-size analog-stick 1024 bit-position full-hand-grip of a decent flight stick and finally I nailed *something* on the horseback archery. The flight-stick POV worked great as a C-button, and finally I could remap the Z-button to some more sensible place, like... the base of the joystick, to be used on the left hand. And walking on those narrow ledges on Mario finally became, pun intended, child's play.

    Worked without a hitch, sans rumble pad, sadly.

    PS, I may be wrong about the 1024 bit position, but it was definitely better than the N64 hands down. Well, Thrustmaster knows the answer to that.

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon

      Re: Emulator yes... gamepad no.

      To this day I am still one bullseye from hitting the maximum on the horse-back archery. I know it's possible, so it will always give me a reason to go back and have another go. Which is no bad thing.

  13. Pirate Dave Silver badge
    Pirate

    Buy a second-hand N64?

    Why? Is my original N64 not working anymore? It was working OK when I played it last month.

    RoadRash64 is the only reason I keep it around as it's one of the few video games I've ever been able to master.

  14. john 103
    Happy

    Epona

    Spoiler Alert - but you knew that.

    Best Bit was when you make friends with the Horsey as a boy then come back and he/she? remembers you when you play the tune.

    Fantastic - then you get to jump the broken bridge (after about 50 goes).

    Probably one of the best games ever.

  15. veti Silver badge
    Happy

    Memories, like the corners of my console...

    You are aware the game was re-released for the 3DS, right? No need to get an antique console for it.

    I think it's a mistake to characterise Zelda titles as either 'roleplaying' or 'adventure'. They're basically puzzle-solving games. At every point, you have to identify the right tool (eight times out of ten, the newest toy you've acquired) and work out how to apply it - and then you can't really go wrong. The big selling point is that the puzzles are tied together with a strong central storyline.

    My personal favourite was 'Twilight Princess' (stronger story than most), but I know I'm in a minority on that. 'Ocarina' was also a fine game.

    And what I like most of all is the voice acting. It's amazing how much meaning you can convey with no distinguishable words. I just wish more modern games (Bethesda, I'm looking at you) would try it.

  16. monkeyfish
    Coat

    3DS owners on the reg?!

    My goodness, from the way the comments seem to go on any other game articles I thought I as the only one. Dare we go the whole hog and share friend codes? There's no icon for a nintendo fanboi, so I'll get my coat.

    FWIW I too preferred Wind Waker, the freedom to sail wherever you wanted never tired for me, also I loved the grayed-out hyrule. I did however play WW before OOT, both on the cube, so maybe that has something to do with it.

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