Regardless of whether you have played Legend of Zelda before, this game is a must for any gamer.

User Rating: 10 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64
Go back in time to 1987 remember that game called ‘Legend of Zelda’ that was released? I know I do. Legend of Zelda was completely different from every other Role-playing game out there; it combined an intriguing storyline, which kept you guessing until the last second, aswell as gameplay that mixed puzzle solving with fast, and furious, combat. Almost 10 years on Nintendo or ‘the big N’ as they’re more commonly known, have released another addition to the Legend of Zelda franchise – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game starts out by playing out a cutscene, which sets the scene…if you will, you are then put in immediate control a young boy living in the Kokiri forest, this boy is Link – the main character of the game. Once you’re in control of young Link, the rest is up to you. If you’re the kind of player who explores every nook and cranny, then you can do just that, but if you’re the kind of player who likes to get on with the game…that’s available for you aswell.
One of the key features of Ocarina of Time (OoT) are the dungeons. There are around 7-8 dungeons in OoT, once of which you’ll face almost immediately after you have begun controlling Link, these dungeons gradually increase in difficulty throughout the course of the game…which, to be honest, makes sense. These dungeons can be anything from 2-3 floors, up to anything around 8! Some of them are just overwhelming and require a lot of patience, and thought, put into them…especially to solve the mass amount of puzzles in the dungeons, which brings me onto my next point. OoT’s dungeons aren’t just about fighting your way through hordes of enemies; puzzles are littered throughout every dungeon that you’ll encounter in OoT, whether it is something as simple as pushing a block onto a switch, or switching between your two forms to complete one dungeon. No matter what OoT will keep you guessing from the word go.
The graphics in OoT were, for time that it was released, jaw dropping. Bare in mind that the game was released back in 1998, which is almost 10 years ago, so bare that in mind while you’re reading this. Ocarina of Time was the first Legend of Zelda game to be 3Dimensional – opening a new window of opportunities for Ocarina of Time. OoT’s graphics took full advantage of this step forward, and incorporated this into the game to make a much more pleasurable experience…for instance, could y ride a horse anywhere that you desired almost 10 years ago? I very much doubt it. No matter where you go in OoT, you’ll recognise, somewhere, where OoT has took advantage of its 3D gameplay. An important part of any game is the quality of the sound that it gives off, it’s disappointing when your sword makes contact with an enemy…only to here a faint sound of what you’ve done. Though Ocarina of Time doesn’t fail in giving the gamer quality sound, the sound OoT gives off is rich and clear – and cannot, really, be faulted. Perhaps the only fault of the sound is that, thought this is very rare, it can sometimes get a bit rusty in place – but this is so minor and, more often than not, oblivious to the gamer….it doesn’t affect the gamer at all.
To finish, OoT’s gameplay is top quality and cannot be faulted. It never faults in any way, and always provides a rich and pleasurable experience time after time. It also never holds up in keeping you engaged in the game, not once will you sit back, bored out of your mind wondering what to do next – there’s always something to keep you going.
Ocarina of Time is, simply, the greatest Legend of Zelda game to date and, more than likely will still hold that titles in 5…maybe 10 years. Dark_Master515 (Jonathan Charles – 15 years of age).