Ocarina of Time/ Favorite Zelda Game

[OrpheusTelos]

I have never played Ocarina of Time. *braces himself*

Now that I've pissed off a great deal of Zelda fans, I have a question. Is it worth playing today? I've been a big fan of the more recent Zelda games (my first was Twilight Princess when I was 12, and I still regard that game as one of my all-time favorites), and I'm not sure if Ill get much originality from Ocarina, because so much of it has been referenced in the later games. Still, I also have a fondness for classic games, and these are games I enjoy. So, I'm wondering, should I pick it up now thats its on 3DS and I'm able to get a 3DS?

Also, to add additional discusion value; feel free to talk about your favorite Zelda game and why its your favorite. For me, it's Twilight Princess, for numerous reasons. It was my first Zelda game, and the game that opened my eyes to the potential of videogames as a storytelling medium. I absolutely love the wide-open world, the art design, and the atmosphere, and of all the Zelda games I've played, the Goron Mines are still one of my favorite dungeons.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Wind Waker is the most charming Zelda game I've ever played.
The game more than 10 years old and it still looks great to this day.

Stylised aesthetics age brilliantly.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

Stylised aesthetics age brilliantly.

I wholeheartedly agree there.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Awakening is my personal favorite. That game does atmosphere right. Incidentally, it's also my first Zelda game and one of the first games I played, period, so clearly my opinion is 100% objective and 0% nostalgia goggles.

 

[wintercoat]

It's a tie for me between Majora's Mask and Link to the Past. Both are, in my opinion, better than OoT.

That's not to say that OoT is bad, but, being the first of the 3D Zelda titles, it suffered a bit from inexperience. The Master Quest redesign was much better in many places than the original.

The dungeons are well varied, in both appearance and puzzles, that the game doesn't get stale, however, with very few optional dungeons, and few side quests, to fill in the rest of the game, there is little "directed" content past the core game. Still plenty of heart pieces to hunt down, however.

The NPCs are rather stale, with only a couple having anything resembling an actual personality.

OoT has some of the most memorable music for me from throughout the franchise. I still remember all of the Ocarina songs, and several of the area themes, and it's been years since I've actually played the game. The Gerudo Valley theme ranks as one of my favorite songs from a video game.

I'll make the same recommendation about OoT I always make. It's considered a classic for a reason. If you're a Zelda fan, get it.

 

[Hazy992]

I personally think it's overrated. Sure it's a good game but I really don't think it's the Citizen Kane of gaming like so many people say it is. Wind Waker's still my favourite.

Guess I'll be needing this;

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I personally think it's overrated. Sure it's a good game but I really don't think it's the Citizen Kane of gaming like so many people say it is. Wind Waker's still my favourite.

Guess I'll be needing this;

I sort of agree.

I never played OoT when it was first released, I first got my hands on it at the same time as Wind Waker (it was bundled with the game).

And compared to Wind Waker, it just felt really...

Weak.

 

[sextus the crazy]

I personally think it's overrated. Sure it's a good game but I really don't think it's the Citizen Kane of gaming like so many people say it is. Wind Waker's still my favourite.

I agree. It's a fine game, but it looks like shit and the camera needs control outside of "center behind character". Wind Waker looks and plays a lot better and Its open world is just as fun to explore as any Bethesda game.

But Personally, I think that one's favorite is generally the one that they liked first. No amount of criticism can sway this opinion.

 

[Hazy992]

I personally think it's overrated. Sure it's a good game but I really don't think it's the Citizen Kane of gaming like so many people say it is. Wind Waker's still my favourite.

Guess I'll be needing this;

Spoiler: Flame-shield

I sort of agree.

I never played OoT when it was first released, I first got my hands on it at the same time as Wind Waker (it was bundled with the game).

And compared to Wind Waker, it just felt really...

Weak.

Yeah that was the first time I played it. I grew bored of it after a while, just didn't interest me anywhere near as much as Wind Waker.

 

[VincentR]

I grew up with Ocarina of Time - although I got Majora's Mask, and I remember getting farther in that than I ever did in OoT; at least, legitimately. Too young to give a crap about getting through the story the right way, and just old enough to figure out how the gameshark worked. Man, does anyone else remember the VHS that came with that thing?

Anyhow, I have too many memories of playing that game all day and night, and then being woken up at like 0600 the next morning by my friend prying open my eye-lids to tell me he had figured out how to kill those dangling.. tongue.. things in Lord Jabu-Jabu. So it has to hold the place as my favorite Zelda.

 

[scorptatious]

I'd definitely recommend playing OOT on the 3DS, best version of the game in my opinion AND it comes with the Master Quest version for when you beat the game.

My personal favorite Zelda game is sort of a toss-up between Majora's Mask and Skyward Sword.

Majora's Mask was the most unique entry in the series in my opinion. It had a large yet very interesting cast of characters, you can use various masks for various effects, plus it had an awesome villain in the form of Skull Kid. Dat laugh.

Skyward Sword on the other hand probably has the best fighting controls. It pretty much showed me what motion controls were capable of and they actually CAN be really good. Plus it has Groose. Hard to beat that.

As for some of the other games, I have yet to finish Twilight Princess and I've never played Wind Waker. So I don't really have an opinion on them.

 

[Zhadramekel]

Overall: Wind Waker
Opening section: Twilight Princess
Replay value: Ocarina of Time

 

[Starik20X6]

Awakening is my personal favorite. That game does atmosphere right. Incidentally, it's also my first Zelda game and one of the first games I played, period, so clearly my opinion is 100% objective and 0% nostalgia goggles.

I bought Awakening off the eShop (I missed it when it first came out) and I can safely say that yes, it most definitely is one of the best Zelda games.

The only Zeldas I haven't played at all now are the Oracle games. I've played but haven't finished Majora's Mask- I found the time limit too stressful. I like to be able to faff about, explore and examine everything at my own pace; while playing MM I'd freak out whenever I spent more than 3 seconds trying to work out a puzzle. Or I'd miss a jump and spend forever climbing back to where I was... It's the same reason I prefer Pikmin 2 over Pikmin 1.

EDIT: Oh, and I haven't finished Zelda 2, that game is crazy hard.

 

[Guffe]

Played it as a child, can't remember too much except I liked it. I've been thinking of rplaying it but so far I haven't gotten to it. Maybe later.

 

[Fasckira]

Link to the Past; great graphics, great sound track, clever puzzles, a lot of game play and plenty to do. When Zelda went 3d I felt it kind of lost some of its charm though I will agree that Wind Waker is beautiful.

 

[Dethenger]

My favourite is Majora's Mask, but you should play Ocarina of Time first, because MM is a direct sequel.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Wind Waker is the most charming Zelda game I've ever played.
The game more than 10 years old and it still looks great to this day.

Stylised aesthetics age brilliantly.

It's also the most charismatic.

Link still says bupkis, but his simplistic facial design brims with personality, especially within the gameplay.

Twilight Princess was the first Zelda I played, and I loved it. But after having played Wind Waker, TP felt rather lifeless by comparison.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Oh fuck. I cant believe I forgot the name of, my favorite. You can see how in to the series I am from that.

I did turn into a rabbit if I didnt have the moon pearl if that helps anyone.

OP: Yes, its indeed worth a playthrough.I remember OoT as one of the only reasons I turned the N64 on. Hours and hours were sunk into the game just to give it another playthrough right after.

I highly recommend it.

 

[j0frenzy]

One does not simply wander into Legend of Zelda. Sorry OP, couldn't resist given your avatar.
I honestly never got the appeal of Ocarina of Time. It isn't bad, but I just never quite understood what it did so brilliantly that has it so highly rated considering a lot of the game retreads A Link to the Past. Incidentally, I think A Link to the Past still holds up really well, but I probably overplayed that game when I was younger so there are things I take for granted that I know that may not be as clear in retrospect.