Over/Under: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

Angrist · 05-31-2010, 11:05 AM

I replayed OoT (Master Quest with hard but poorly designed dungeons) last year. It was so much better than I remembered, it can still compete with most games of this generation.

If any game could be called the best game ever (I don't believe in such terms), OoT would be it.
Not sure if it's underrated though...

TheGame · 06-01-2010, 09:52 AM

I have to follow the people who say OoT was better. Don't get me wrong though, Wind waker was an awesome game... Heck, I'd even call them at the same level if it wasn't for one big factor.

That factor being, WW's connection to OoT is what made it epic in the first place. That's what kept me going in WW.

Also, to whoever said WW has "better direction", I fail to see how that is. WW was fine up until you started to have to find those triforce charts/shards. I usually try to play a game without a strategy guide, but at one point I was wondering around aimlessly for over 5 hours of gameplay trying to look for a HINT of where to go next.

That simply didn't happen to me in OoT.

KillerGremlin · 06-01-2010, 03:02 PM

Ocarina of Time was a special game. It was one of the original N64 titles that transitioned 2D into 3D. I maintain that OoT is the best 3D Zelda game thus far, and for me I doubt I will ever play a Zelda game that tops the overall OoT experience.

I could sit here and tell you why OoT is so special to me:
-riding Epona for the first time
-running across Hyrule field and watching the sunset
-spending hours fishing
-pulling the Master Sword out of the stone
-time travel between adult and childhood
-8+ temples (3 kiddie levels, forest, fire, water, spirit, shadow, AND ice, bottom of the well, Ganon's castle)
-the hookshot in 3D
-side quests that felt meaningful
-challenging and original puzzles that have simply been re-used way too many times in the newer Zelda games
-Gerudo fortress
-killing chickens/riding chickens

And as Xantar noted, the game was perfectly paced and I personally think OoT has a modestly sized world.

The answers in this thread are in my opinion very obvious. Everyone knows OoT is the best 3D Zelda game.

What I don't get is why this thread is not about Majora's Mask. I feel like Majora's Mask really gets shafted. I personally think Majora's Mask is strangely underrated and perhaps just as good if not better than WW and TP. And Majora's Mask is the only 3D Zelda title to actually make strides towards originality post-OoT. What's up with that!

OoT > Wind Waker > Twilight Princess aka Original > Sequel > Sequel
OoT ---> Majora's Mask aka Original --> Evolution with Innovation

Typhoid · 06-01-2010, 04:18 PM

Honestly, I think it's overrated.
I'm not saying the game is crap, I like the game. I've beaten it a few times.
But it's not "The Best Zelda game ever", nor is it [in my opinion] one of 'the best games ever'.

I think it's great for the exact same reason FFVII was considered a great game.
Little kids who grew up playing 2D versions of both series' suddenly play a game from that series that's in 3D, so it's the first time you feel really immersed in the world you're playing.

TheGame · 06-02-2010, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Honestly, I think it's overrated.
I'm not saying the game is crap, I like the game. I've beaten it a few times.
But it's not "The Best Zelda game ever", nor is it [in my opinion] one of 'the best games ever'.

I think it's great for the exact same reason FFVII was considered a great game.
Little kids who grew up playing 2D versions of both series' suddenly play a game from that series that's in 3D, so it's the first time you feel really immersed in the world you're playing.

Eh I think it's more then that. Yes Zelda raised the bar for it's time in a big way, but I also think the game itself was simply a good game. FF7 in my opinion is more of a glossed over 2D game that just had graphics there for show... Zelda's 3Dness was actually used to make the gameplay itself different from older Zelda games. That's why Zelda OoT hasn't aged as bad as FF7 has.

Typhoid · 06-02-2010, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGame

but I also think the game itself was simply a good game.

Yes, but why.
Other than the fact you can fish, ride a horse, and use a handflute, it's relatively the same as every other Zelda game. Same temples, same outline, same basic premise, with a new villain, with basically the same name.

TheGame · 06-02-2010, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Yes, but why.
Other than the fact you can fish, ride a horse, and use a handflute, it's relatively the same as every other Zelda game. Same temples, same outline, same basic premise, with a new villain, with basically the same name.

Wow, have you played any Zelda games before OoT? OoT is MUCH different. Yes the 3D environment is a big part of it, but the fact is that the 3D environment was used to perfection was a bigger part. And no it's not just swimming, riding a horse, and using a handfllute that's different... The whole dungeon layout and gameplay design was completly different.

To me it's almost disrespectful to compare it to FF7. FF7 could have had 2D-overhead graphics, and it wouldn't have impacted how the game was played at all. In Zelda you had to go in first person a lot to closely examine your surroundings to have an idea of what to do next...

And while OoT's story is simplistic, it was the "real deal". I haven't played the Wiizelda yet, but I know MM and WW looked like gimmick stories next to OoT.

Ginkasa · 06-02-2010, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Yes, but why.
Other than the fact you can fish, ride a horse, and use a handflute, it's relatively the same as every other Zelda game. Same temples, same outline, same basic premise, with a new villain, with basically the same name.

Unlike TheGame I agree that Zelda games tend to be the same and OoT followed the same basic formula as ALttP and LA. But you have to keep in mind a couple of different things:

1) The "Zelda formula" is awesome and OoT did it the best for the time and also showed developers how make a good game in 3D. Its accomplishments are amazing.

2) The "Zelda formula" wasn't really the same back then. Now, 12 years later, the series is getting tired by following that same formula and keeps misstepping by adding wierd transportation that nobody wants. Its a legitimate concern. Back then, however, you only had one console game (ALttP) and one handheld game (LA) that followed the "modern" formula. It wasn't tired or overdone by that point. It was made even fresher by being in 3D and effectively altering the gameplay to accomodate 3D.

As for your comparison to FFVII: I also don't think its valid. Partially for the same reason as TheGame, but I also think you're misremembering. Both games' fanbases grew exponentially with their 3D games. FF wasn't nearly the behemoth it is now until FFVII and I know many gamers played OoT first as well. Now, both series' older games are easily accessible in re-releases, but it wasn't necessarily the case back then.

Anyway, my point is that both games stood on their own with their success. They didn't really capitalize on nostalgia or anything.

Angrist · 06-02-2010, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhoid

I think it's great for the exact same reason FFVII was considered a great game.

No, that's not it. OoT is still a great game.

And why is it the best Zelda game? Everything is done in (almost) perfection. Perhaps the reason why Twilight Princess didn't add much to the experience is because OoT already almost got it perfectly right.

For me, Majora's Mask was overrated. I replayed it a while ago and I liked it. But it wasn't as good as I remembered...

Oh and about bad direction of The Wind Waker: On one Island you have to fly to a smaller island, using the Deku Leaf. It takes a few tries to fly right (with the wind and all)... And every time you miss your target, YOU HAVE TO SWIM ALL THE WAY BACK AND CLIMB THE ISLAND AGAIN!