Is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time still worth playing for the first time today?

Archaea

Archaea

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I've been toying with the idea of purchasing this for $10 on the wii console. Is it still worth a play through 13 years after it's release in 1998? I never played this one and I keep reading about it being the best game of all time. I don't want to pick it up and dislike it. That happened with me on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night --- I picked it up on the PSP and didn't like it at all.
 
OOT is by far probably one of the best and most well executed games of all time.
 
OOT is probably one of the greatest games of all time, I'd rank it right up there in my top 3, with probably Xenogears above it, along with FFX in 2nd.
 
If you like that type of game, it really is a no brainer. OoT and the follow up Majora's Mask both still hold up really well.
 
okay - but did it age well. I understand it introduced a lot of control schemes and game concepts we take for granted today --- but did it age well?

For example
The original Tomb Raider introduced a lot of these types of control innovations too, yet I don't think I'd recommend someone go back and play it now - though at the time it was incredible! All the future Tomb Raider games have improved on that recipe and there is no real reason to visit the original.

How does this analogy hold up to Ocarina of Time?
 
I've never played Majora's Mask, and to answer your question, they revamped OoT for the new Nintendo 3DS, if you want a 3DS, i'd advise you to pick up the Zelda game, it is THE game to get!!

They may make a Majora's Mask for the 3DS, which I would welcome heavily and that would sell me on the system.
 
IMO it aged pretty well. It quite literally is the basic foundation for just about every single 3rd person action/adventure/RPG game since. I don't know about the Wii version, but I believe they completely redid the game for the 3DS version (cleaned up a bunch of jaggies and used much better textures). Bottom line is the game is STILL worth every penny of $10 if you're into the genre even in the slightest.
 
Yes, it has aged very well. It's on the short list of games that every gamer MUST play through at least once IMO. Get it on VC or N64.

That said, I would say the same thing about SOTN, so if you didn't like that, I'm not sure what to tell you. What exactly didn't you like about SOTN?

If you're just asking if the Zelda games that have come out since OOT have surpassed it, the answer is a definite no. OOT is still the best Zelda game to date, and I don't think you'd find many people who would disagree with that.
 
Radical said:
What exactly didn't you like about SOTN?
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It's a platformer that is doubly hard, doesn't have decent save points, makes you watch cuscenes without ability to skip, seems cheesy - it seems like any standard old nintendo type game from a half decade prior it's release. Actually I think it's pretty poor even for a nintendo game in regards to fun factor. I've tried SOTN on about 10 occassions in the last couple years and cannot find the magic.

I guess I should ask the reverse question and ask what you did like about SOTN?

I like platformer games, but they aren't deep games -- I don't see what all the rave was about for SOTN.

My favorite games from this era were:

Warcraft II (1995)
Diablo (1996)
Carmageddon II (1998)
Tomb Raider (1996)
Rise of the Triad (1994)
MegaRace 2 (1996)
Whiplash (1996)
Return to Krondor (1998)
Rune (2000)
Heroes of Might and Magic (1996 and 1999)
Stronghold (2001)
Quake (1996)

Further more how can another favorite of mine like
Super Mario Brothers 3 (1988)
be so much superior to
1997 - Castlevania SOTN
as a platformer? (IMO)

The only thing I can figure out is SOTN tried to mix platformer with RPG, but did both poorly --- how it got so many accolades is beyond me.
 
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Not to go too off tangent, but Whiplash was literally the first non-shareware PC game I owned. Made me all warm and fuzzy to see it on your list! :)

You're going too slow! Yeeeeehaaa!
 
Anyone who hasn't played OoT by now is really missing out. There is no reason to not go back and play it. Its one of the best games ever made for any platform. Also play Link to the Past
 
It sounds like the things you didn't like about SOTN aren't really specific to SOTN, but to Castlevania in general. So I guess the question is, have you played any other Zelda games (other than Zelda II)? If you have and you liked them, chances are you'll like OOT, because it's the same idea, just better.
 
TheResidentEvil said:
Anyone who hasn't played OoT by now is really missing out. There is no reason to not go back and play it. Its one of the best games ever made for any platform. Also play Link to the Past
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agreed on link to the past. best snes game by far imo.
 
I recommend playing Ocarina of Time on gamecube if you can swing it. Its at a higher resolution. Although, the N64 controller is more intuitive for this game imo.
 
My friend's son plays all the new modern games today. Got a 3DS with Zelda: OoT and loved it. It was his first Zelda and is now trying to play them all. I think that says a lot for this Call of Duty age.
 
Perfect timing for you.
The 3DS version is the definite one to play. New 3DS/Zelda bundle in a week.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/zelda-branded-nintendo-3ds-coming-to-us-gamestops/

Nintendo_3DS_Zelda_Bundle_Is_Beautiful.jpg
 
OoT is my favorite game of all time. In fact, it is the only N64 game I still have, despite the fact that I don't even have a N64 to play it on! It's -that- good. I also have both re-releases for the game cube.
 
bpizzle1 said:
IMO it aged pretty well. It quite literally is the basic foundation for just about every single 3rd person action/adventure/RPG game since. I don't know about the Wii version, but I believe they completely redid the game for the 3DS version (cleaned up a bunch of jaggies and used much better textures). Bottom line is the game is STILL worth every penny of $10 if you're into the genre even in the slightest.
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QFT
 
as clearly stated by everyone in the thread. Heck yea pick it up. It is also my favorite game of all time. I of course own it on N64, but I also got on ebay and picked up that special edition one that has the "harder" dungeons that came out for gamecube. I havent done a play through this year...I have a hankering to beat down some fools with the big gorons sword though!
 
I finished the master quest. i dont know if the dungeons are all that harder but finding all the skulltulas is where the real challenge is.
 
Play the 3DS version or not at all. The 3DS version is by the far the best version. It is worth buying a 3DS just to play it.
 
Definitely worth playing. Stop everything and play it now.
If you get hit by a bus tomorrow morning without first trying OOT, not only will we mourn your death, we will weep knowing you died before experiencing greatness.
 
Few agree with me, but A Link to the Past was a far better game (and I'd almost say any of the older game boy games as well: Link's Awakening, Ages, Seasons). I can't force myself to keep playing OoT.

I had it on the N64 the day it was in the store, and while decent, just doesn't compare. The world is dull and empty; it has very little of the charm aLttP had. I liked Majora's Mask better than OoT, though it took a bit to get used to the time mechanic. It is a decent game, but there are plenty of improvements that could have been made, but perhaps not with the time and hardware limitations.
 
Nightrainsrt4 said:
Few agree with me, but A Link to the Past was a far better game (and I'd almost say any of the older game boy games as well: Link's Awakening, Ages, Seasons). I can't force myself to keep playing OoT.

I had it on the N64 the day it was in the store, and while decent, just doesn't compare. The world is dull and empty; it has very little of the charm aLttP had. I liked Majora's Mask better than OoT, though it took a bit to get used to the time mechanic. It is a decent game, but there are plenty of improvements that could have been made, but perhaps not with the time and hardware limitations.
Click to expand...

Link to the past is by far the best 2d adventure game i played. I would say its my favorite game of all time.
 
Nightrainsrt4 said:
Few agree with me, but A Link to the Past was a far better game (and I'd almost say any of the older game boy games as well: Link's Awakening, Ages, Seasons). I can't force myself to keep playing OoT.

I had it on the N64 the day it was in the store, and while decent, just doesn't compare. The world is dull and empty; it has very little of the charm aLttP had. I liked Majora's Mask better than OoT, though it took a bit to get used to the time mechanic. It is a decent game, but there are plenty of improvements that could have been made, but perhaps not with the time and hardware limitations.
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If anyone here hasn't played A Link to the Past, play it too!
 
Archaea said:
It's a platformer that is doubly hard, doesn't have decent save points, makes you watch cuscenes without ability to skip, seems cheesy - it seems like any standard old nintendo type game from a half decade prior it's release. Actually I think it's pretty poor even for a nintendo game in regards to fun factor. I've tried SOTN on about 10 occassions in the last couple years and cannot find the magic.

I guess I should ask the reverse question and ask what you did like about SOTN?

I like platformer games, but they aren't deep games -- I don't see what all the rave was about for SOTN.

My favorite games from this era were:

Warcraft II (1995)
Diablo (1996)
Carmageddon II (1998)
Tomb Raider (1996)
Rise of the Triad (1994)
MegaRace 2 (1996)
Whiplash (1996)
Return to Krondor (1998)
Rune (2000)
Heroes of Might and Magic (1996 and 1999)
Stronghold (2001)
Quake (1996)

Further more how can another favorite of mine like
Super Mario Brothers 3 (1988)
be so much superior to
1997 - Castlevania SOTN
as a platformer? (IMO)

The only thing I can figure out is SOTN tried to mix platformer with RPG, but did both poorly --- how it got so many accolades is beyond me.
Click to expand...

This entire post made me nauseous.

Its not hard by no means.
over 20 Save points well balanced over the map.
Too many cut scenes what are you talking about there are like 5 all very short.
You say you like platformers but they aren't deep games and yet this is one of the deepest platformers I have played.

good things about the game off the top of my head are: Artwork, Gameplay, Soundtrack and effects, map design, enemy and boss design, Treasure/loot system, light hint of rpg elements are well used and light enough to not distract from the platform, Replay value, originality..... This game was handed down from god to Jesus who then held on to it for over 2000 years to release it at the right time and you say meh to the greatness.

I do agree with 1 point you made. This games accolades are in fact beyond you.


Now on to the topic at hand.


OOT graphics didn't age well, but the controls, gameplay, and over all wow factor of the game aren't effected by its aged graphics that much so you should still be able to enjoy it assuming you like this type of game.
 
Nightrainsrt4 said:
Few agree with me, but A Link to the Past was a far better game (and I'd almost say any of the older game boy games as well: Link's Awakening, Ages, Seasons). I can't force myself to keep playing OoT.

I had it on the N64 the day it was in the store, and while decent, just doesn't compare. The world is dull and empty; it has very little of the charm aLttP had. I liked Majora's Mask better than OoT, though it took a bit to get used to the time mechanic. It is a decent game, but there are plenty of improvements that could have been made, but perhaps not with the time and hardware limitations.
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Agreed.

but the transition to 3d makes these games 2 completely different games. But I feel out of all the 2d to 3d transitions I have played this one was the second best beat only by Mario.
 
I think that is the biggest problem for me. The transition was a huge change. Thinking about it, I do prefer the 2D games over the 3D ones.

Had OoT been a world filled with more, stuff I guess, then I would probably have liked it more. The overworld just felt too empty to me. Everything was just too sparse I suppose. I admit it was a very good game overall, just a bit of a letdown in some areas to me.
 
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Nightrainsrt4 said:
I think that is the biggest problem for me. The transition was a huge change. Thinking about it, I do prefer the 2D games over the 3D ones.

Had OoT been a world filled with more, stuff I guess, then I would probably have liked it more. The overworld just felt too empty to me. Everything was just to sparse I suppose. I admit it was a very good game overall, just a bit of a letdown in some areas to me.
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good point. But it was one of the first of its kind. It had hidden hearts, the spiders, and fishing so it wasn't completely empty but I still did get that feeling of emptiness.
 
Funny, I've always preferred the 3d ones, because they've had deeper stories (not necessarily better). To be fair though, I didn't play LTTP until a couple months ago whereas I grew up with the 64 games. I was a Sega Genesis kid. :)

Mario did transition very well, but if I have my choice I like my Mario 2d and my Zelda 3d. No Mario game has yet to beat SM3 for me... though again, I haven't played SMW.
 
drako said:
Funny, I've always preferred the 3d ones, because they've had deeper stories (not necessarily better). To be fair though, I didn't play LTTP until a couple months ago whereas I grew up with the 64 games. I was a Sega Genesis kid. :)

Mario did transition very well, but if I have my choice I like my Mario 2d and my Zelda 3d. No Mario game has yet to beat SM3 for me... though again, I haven't played SMW.
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if you weren't a huge fan of mario 64 you like will be even less of a fan of SMW. New Super mario for the Wii is quite good fun even with the stupid pause when someone dies, and its 2d.
 
Ok, this thread has a whole lot of different opinions, and that's great to see.

Personally, I liked Link's Awakening, very amazing game for the GB, probably one of the best games of all time across any platform, and it still stands up even after all this time, it's definitely memorable.

I personally did not like Wind Waker, I didn't like Twilight Princess, I could barely play that game, it just felt really meh to me.

I tried Phantom Hourglass on my DS (I buy all the Zelda games, I'm very loyal to the Zelda franchise) but it didn't feel as good to play either.

It just feels like they used up all their ideas.

However, Zelda, Zelda: LTTP, Zelda: LA, and Zelda 64 are the prime titles in this series. I have to say that I would probably rank them like this

Zelda 64
Zelda: LA
Zelda: LTTP
Zelda (NES version)

And for the record, I loved the shit out of Symphony of the Night, not only that, I owned all 3 GBA Castlevania games, and those were the bomb, especially Aria of Sorrow.

Also really loved the Nintendo DS Castlevania games.
 
stevedave said:
if you weren't a huge fan of mario 64 you like will be even less of a fan of SMW. New Super mario for the Wii is quite good fun even with the stupid pause when someone dies, and its 2d.
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Oh I loved SM64. It just wasn't as good as SM3 for me. And actually, while I love the idea of going back to the classic 2d style, I think NSMBW is a little overrated. The Galaxy games are superior... though the first one is too easy, which coincidentally is the biggest problem I had with Twilight Princess. I hope Skyward Sword actually requires some thought during combat. Early signs sound good.

That's one area where the 2d Zeldas kick the 3d Zeldas ass. The 3d ones, except for Majora's Mask, just haven't been all that challenging.
 
It depends if you like the play style. I have always hated the 3d zelda's and the formula hasn't changed even a little bit so once you finish it you should be set for the rest of the series. Love the 2d zelda's though... link to the past is still amazing.
 
image8-495x346.jpg


For me that is definitely true for any Zelda game that I played afterwards. I couldn't get into Twilight Princess because the whole time I was playing I just kept thinking "this isn't Ocarina".
 
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