The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I am going to break these reviews into what I consider to be four of the most important elements of gameplay: graphics, story, gameplay, and music, and average them out for a total score. Of course, these are relevant to the time period in which the game was made. Future choices will be decided randomly, but the first one always has to be special :)

I figured I'd start with one of my favorite games of all time: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64). 

Genre: Adventure
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 64
Release: 1998
Rating: E

- Graphics -

If you've never played a game on the N64, an online gameplay video or even an emulator really can't give you an idea as to how horrible the average graphics were for the system. Some of the earliest games on the system used 3D graphic setups that were less advanced than some games used on the SNES!

All of that (well, most of it) changed in 1998, with the launch of a game that would begin to push the the known limits of the console to unheard-of levels of clarity. 

With well-defined textures, everything that moved in 3D (and also most of what didn't move), and relatively high-poly models for more important characters, some people at the time probably wondered how the came was even running so smoothly at all times. And yet, Nintendo wasn't finished with pushing the system for almost three more years! The world of Hyrule is one of the largest 3D places to explore that we have seen in a game in that point in time, and with so many small, some even pointless, places to explore, it's possible to play the game for over ten years and still find new awe-inspiring places. I even once came across a piece of artwork dedicated to an odd camera angle that occurred while the player was in an otherwise-normal cave!

Graphics: 10/10

- Story -

While the story is fairly cliche in the long-run, and unfortunately some of the best plot twist have been spoiled for would-be new players by newer games, the Zelda-specific additions to an otherwise generic Good vs. Evil plot can really bring a player into the world and hoping for more information about the religion, lifestyle, biology, and even some basic logic in the world of Hyrule. The relatively in-depth Triforce Legends, the addition of the optional tidbits of information from Gossip Stones, and the small bits of information from villagers otherwise useless to the gameplay really give the game a lively and captivating feel.

Story: 8/10

- Gameplay -

While the gameplay is not the best we've seen to date in the series, with Wind Waker having a much better monster AI and Twilight Princess having more interesting items to play with, it's probably the second most well-rounded game in the series in this category thus far. 

AI for enemies can be almost eerie; some enemies such as ReDeads even sometimes seem to show emotion for fallen-- er, "re-fallen"-- comrades. Some tend to be less intelligent, such as Lizalfos and Stalfos practically waiting in line for the turn to fight, but given the difficulty of those guys when you first see them, I don't think I'd want them ganging up on me!

I must say, the complexity and atmosphere of the dungeons probably couldn't be any better, and some of the challenges faced by the player are truly timeless, not getting too much easier after even playing through the game 20 times. Each dungeon pulled off the intended atmosphere almost perfectly, some of the best examples being the creepiness of Jabu-Jabu's Belly and the Shadow Temple, and the exotic, abandoned feel of the forest temple.

Controls were relatively seamless considering the clumsiness most players face while trying to figure out the classic question in regards to the N64: "How the heck do I HOLD this thing?!" Aiming items like the bow and hookshot, targeting, horseback riding, equipping more than the 2-3 items at once, and even opening doors, which were all first introduced in this fifth installment of the series, were second nature quickly (and if they weren't, we had a little poof-thing to tell us anyway). Speaking of Navi, while it's clear the developers understood that they made her a little overly-annoying (apparent in the changes made in Majora's Mask), her role as an aid to understanding the complex controls actually could come in very useful to players. True, we veterans have tried and failed to be rid of her, but think back to when you first played the game: Would you have known things like how to open a door or dive if she hadn't told you? Without spending 10+ minutes trying to figure it out? Personally I think one of the coolest additions was the ability to play the ocarina like a real instrument, even using Z and R to make notes flat or sharp (which was not actually used in any way during the game itself: it was purely for entertainment)

The boss battles in the game were well designed and balanced: bosses that could potentially cause a lot of trouble for players generally took less hits, while also incorporating the player's supposed skill at that point of the game (i.e. Gohma could easily be taken out with only stunning her one time, while Twinrova took a lot longer even with Biggoron's Sword)

Gameplay: 10/10

- Music -

Almost every original Ocarina of Time track in the game aside from dungeon themes have been recycled somewhere in the series, and are increasingly famous even to some non-gamers. The quality was fairly normal for the system, unlike the graphics, but the sheer number of tracks (a total of 82 on the official soundtrack), most of which are very lovable and difficult to forget, make the music stand out in most peoples' minds as exceptional. 

Music: 10/10

Total Score: 9.5/10

Also available on Gamecube (+Master Quest), Virtual Console, and 3ds (coming soon)