After continued gameplay, I have bested another dungeon, and have focused for a while on attaining more rupees--the currency in Hyrule. It is not difficult to earn money in Ocarina of Time: in fact, the entire system of earning items is pleasantly simple, while still being of a level of difficulty that requires time and dedication before you truly become wealthy.
In terms of controlling the character, Link, the controls on my gamepad were simple to learn, and more importantly simple to remember. The controls felt intuitive to my hands, though this may also be attributed to the time I have spent playing other Zelda games on the Nintendo Gambeboy Color console.
Plotline for OoT is also of a quality not matched in many games. For good reason, the game has attracted a large following of fans who adore its roleplayed history, and I too feel a similar attraction to the easily understood history and development of the plot in OoT, unlike some other games whose plotlines are so convoluted that to properly understand you must have played ALL previous entries in that games history.
Graphics, as mentioned earlier, are adequate too for this game. Compared to some games now, they are but simple first generation 2D-3D graphics. This is OK, however, for this game because that is exactly what the game is, and it does not call for anything more advanced.
I took the opportunity to play LoZ OoT on a friend's gamecube as well, which supposedly has touched up graphics, and even with the newer graphics I felt no real greater draw to it then the draw I already felt with the N64 console version.
As all other entries into the Zelda series, this game also features mini-games inside of the game itself, that while even simpler then you might find elsewhere, are still quite addictive and prove to really empty out your pockets far too quickly.
I don't believe I really have any thoughts on the characters in the game beyond the observation that they adequately served their purpose, moving along the plotline and story. As always, Link returns to his role as the main character, which always does bring fans back for more. Something I found interesting was that the display of narration through the story did not actually bother me; indeed, I actualy wanted to follow along with what the narrator was saying, even if at times hitting the button to move down a screen to the next text box did get dull.
In terms of innovation, aside from being the first truly succesful game for the N64 that became the flag-game of Nintendo, LoZ OoT does not offer too much innovation in terms of the abilities afforded to the player. Of note is the ocarina itself, which serves a great deal many purposes in the game, and whose music is designed to be catchy and rememberable. Design wise too, the game is not anything majorly special, offering the variety of dungeons that a similar game might have, but offering nearly every type imaginable in a way that fails to bore the player with repitition due to the limits of the gameplay that the game provides.
The game is the story of Link, venturing forth into the lands with his new-found fairy, and who is later in the game forced to become the savior of said lands. A rather typical setup for a game, but OoT still presents it in a fresh fashion, presenting conflict through series of puzzles, boss encounters, and general dungeon-encounters familiar to most players. The game manages to keep the player interested with an addictive gameplay, a level of difficulty that is at the same time challenging while still not overly-difficult, and a background storyline that draws the player into the realm of Zelda and Link.
I don't actualy think I would change a thing about Zelda. It has stood the test of time for good reason, and generally seems to be an all around extremely well thought out game, that must have been extremely well tested and balanced for the player. The game flowed quite well between history, roleplay, battle, and puzzles, in a way that was neither choppy or dull.
Overall, I'd give Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time a 9.5/10 rating for all of its finely tuned gameplay and background plot. I enjoyed playing this game quite a lot. It doesn't really give me all that many ideas for my game, as I already have an idea of what I want to do with that, and was already familiar with the plotline and general gameplay of the Ocarina of Time itself.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 19th, 2007 at 14:14:54.
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I will confess that I already had some experience with past Zelda games before I picked up the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Upon entering the game, I was pleased by the graphics of the intro-movie, and similarly pleased with the graphics displayed within gameplay itself. Though not advanced or truly 3D worthy, the graphics did the job they were supposed to do, and served their purpose quite well.
In the beggining of the game, the first goal was to attain Link's Kokiri shield and sword. After picking up these two goods, I was able to progress past a villager who held me back from the Great Deku Tree, and was thus able to enter my first dungeon of the game.
I continued playing, completing the dungeon with friends chearing me on as I went. Gameplay for LoZ OoT invites a social aspect not found in many games, as all observers seem brought back to times of their childhood when they, too, traveled as Link through the great lands of Hyrule and the Kokiri forest.
I have made it, now, to Zelda's castle. I will continue this log after another period of extended play.
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