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 A Legend 20 years in the making

           One of my favorite songs from the game and you can listen to it right now

Hello everyone, how are you? Today is definitely a special one as it is the anniversary of a landmark title that released 20 years ago. I mean if you saw the title then you know which game it is and the picture makes it obvious. But anyway, today is the 20th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As with any game with an anniversary, I like to use these posts to give my thoughts and share my memories on a game be it 5, 10, 15, or 20 years old. So as long I have played said game. Get your sword and shield ready and don't forget your ocarina as we travel back through time in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time...

First things off, I will say that I never played Ocarina of Time on an actual N64. I almost did when I was a kid though. I remember when I was a kid, I invited some friends from school to my birthday since my parents decided to throw me a birthday party. We played some video games on my N64 and had a fun time. One of my friends brought a copy of Ocarina of Time. I saw the cartridge and saw it was gold colored. I had never seen a different colored cartridge at that point in my life. It definitely looked special. I really wanted to try it out but my friend said no because the game was expensive. He only brought it to show it off. However I had been acquainted with the Zelda series thanks to Super Smash Bros. and Link's Awakening thanks to a friend from school.

I didn't get to try out a Zelda game till I got a Gamecube and till Wind Waker released in 2003. I learned about Wind Waker thanks to Nintendo Power, it's always thanks to them that I learned about new games. I was out with my parents on a trip to the mall and was at KB Toys. Anyone remember that? I saw that if you pre-ordered Wind Waker, you would get a Gamecube version of Ocarina of Time as a bonus. Plus Master Quest, a never released version of the game as well. I jumped on the chance and pre-ordered my copy, this was actually the very first game I ever pre-ordered but definitely not the last.

                                      

                    This was back when pre-ordering meant giving you another game for free

I got both Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time and I decided to pop in Ocarina of Time in first. What was cool about this was that it also had trailers for upcoming games as well. Like F-Zero GX, Wario World, Wind Waker, and many more. I think they were supposed to hand out OoT when you pre-ordered the game, since that makes the trailer for WW on this kinda pointless now that you have it. I played for about 10 minutes. But I stopped there. It's not that I didn't like it, but WW looked much more appealing I suppose.

I got fairly far in WW, I made it as far as the shore of the Forest Haven and stopped. I don't know what it was, but something told me to go back to OoT. So I did and made much more progess now that I was armed with more knowledge I guess. After the first dungeon I took my first steps out of the forest and Hyrule Field was big. Really big. I was really amazed. Granted, OoT had been 5 years old by then, but as someone who was experiencing it for the first time? It was incredible. I felt like the adventure really began from here on out.

From here on out I got through the dungeons and did some of the other things the game had to offer like side quests. The story itself is really good and does a good job of keeping you interested. One thing that blew me away was when Link drew out the Master Sword for the very first time, only to find out afterwards that time has passed since and that he was now an adult. That was definitely a mind-blowing moment. Not many games age characters, but they did it in a way here that wasn't permanent, but really brilliant.

                   This is definitely one of the most memorable moments in the game

The game introduced a number of new things too now that Link was an adult. Link can now use weapons that only his adult self can use and he can ride a horse. That was pretty cool. It's nothing special now but that was a big deal back then. Another thing is now that 7 years have passed, you can see how much Hyrule has changed. You could even access new areas you couldn't before. However you can put the Master Sword back in its pedestal and you can go back in time again and you'll be a kid again.

Dungeons have always been a staple of the series and they are really good. There are some dungeons where you have to solve puzzles in them as a kid and as an adult in order to advance in them, which I thought was really clever at the time. Some of the later games have gone on to surpass the design and puzzles of these, but still like the designs here.

Another cool mechanic here is the songs you play using the Ocarina. You could  learn different songs in the gae and each one had its own use. One allows you to change the time of day from day to night and vice-versa. Another allows you to summon rain. And special songs you learn that allow you to warp back to temples for quick travel.

One of my favorite things about this game is the music. It is amazing. Each song matches each of the locations really well. One of my most favorite songs in the game is the Gerudo Valley theme, which is the song you are hearing right now. It could in fact be my most favorite song in the whole game. It's so good.

                                           This was such an amazing moment as well

Final thoughts: If there was a game that is a masterpiece or close to it, it's this one. Super Mario 64 changed the world and showed how 3D platforming is done, but Ocarina of Time took that very same foundation and improved upon it in every way and showed how to do a 3D game. Z targeting your opponent was a big game changer that allowed you to target a enemy in 3D space. Pretty much every 3D game that followed owes OoT.

One of my most favorite thing about this game was the concept of time travel. It's something that has been done before in various forms of media like movies and other games. But it was done really well and in clever ways that lends itself well to the overall design of the game. This is probably one of my most favorite games that does time travel, I feel like no other game has touched upon that in the same level as OoT did.

Master Quest, wasn't as hard as what they made it out to be. I personally found it more easier to be honest, but it's a really great bonus, to the bonus you were already getting. If you never played it and are curious about it, you can try it out as Ocarina of Time 3D has the mode as well.

Yes, I went back to Wind Waker after finishing Ocarina of Time. I'm glad I did stop playing WW when I did, I wouldn't have picked up on all the references to OoT if I didn't do that. I know it was a really bad decision on my part, but I suppose it all worked out in the end. I bet it was so amazing playing it back in the day during its original release, I wish I could have. But I do have to say, that I'm glad that friend of mine didn't show me anything on it. It wouldn't have been as surprising to see everything that blew me away then that surprised me when I saw it on my own. I guess it doesn't matter when you tried it out, as long as you have played it regardless of the format. I may not have experienced it in its original format, but I'm glad I got to play such a legendary game.

So those are my thoughts on Ocarina of Time 20 (or 15) years later. I feel like this post didn't do this game any justice, especially a game of this magnitude. I feel like it was maybe too short, but I did try my best. So what did you think of Ocarina of Time? Thanks for reading and Happy 20th aniversary Ocarina of Time!