The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, and upon its release, many heralded it as the greatest game ever made. This game has seen multiple updates and re-releases over the years, including a remixed “Master Quest” version of the game originally only released in Japan and later included as a bonus in a compilation disc on the GameCube. However, its release on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011 as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is the first time this game has been fully-remade from the ground up.

To be fair, this is an extremely faithful remake of the original game, so much that some could be forgiven for thinking that this is a simple remaster of the game to take advantage of the improved graphical capabilities of the 3DS over the Nintendo 64. However, a quick comparison reveals the truth of this situation – virtually everything in this remake has been lovingly recreated, with higher-resolution textures, more detailed character models, and new character animations, all while staying true to the look and style of the original game. This is how you do a remake while remaining true to the vision of the game you’re reworking for a modern age.

Of course, being on the 3DS, there are also new stereoscopic 3D effects added in as well (I found these to be generally good but they occasionally made for image “echoes” of bright spots, like the fairy Navi). However, this is far from the only new feature added to this version. There have been a slew of gameplay and quality-of-life additions here, such as reworking the inventory menu to the touchscreen (no more flipping back and forth between menus endlessly to swap boots in the water temple), a helpful guide for the game’s all-important ocarina melodies, and optional gyroscopic motion control for aiming the slingshot and bow and arrow (and exceptionally good motion control at that!). This version even includes the Master Quest as an unlockable bonus for those who complete the game.

Given all of these improvements and additions, I think it’s fair to say that this is the definitive version of this game. So the only question then is… how well has it aged, and does it deserve its reputation?

The answers are “very, very well”, and “yes, absolutely”. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is still to this day one of the greatest games ever made. Not only was it one of the most influential games of the 3D era, setting the standards for everything from game design to camera design to controls, but its fantastic world design, superb puzzle design, phenomenal boss design, creative gameplay, and wonderful variety are still an absolute joy even to this day. The quest still feels as epic as ever, and while the large world has since been eclipsed by Open-World games like Skyrim and Ocarina of Time’s own descendant, Breath of the Wild, that doesn’t detract from how wondrous and impressive this game’s scope is.

If I had to point to one flaw in the gameplay itself, its that the camera here feels a bit stiff and limited by today’s standards. Oh, it’s still perfectly functional here, but it is a bit frustrating to not be able to adjust its height or rotation at whim.

Still, this is such a minute issue in an otherwise outstanding remake of a truly legendary game, it’s hard to feel anything but love for this release. If you have a Nintendo 3DS, you need to own this game. If you are a fan of the original version of Ocarina of Time, you need to own this game. In fact, even though this is a remake, it may very well be a game worth owning a Nintendo 3DS for. Do not miss it.

tl;dr – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is an outstanding remake of this massively influential Action-RPG, updating the graphics in multiple ways, adding in numerous additional features and quality-of-life options, and even throwing in the Master Quest after completing the game, truly marking this as the definitive version of one of the best games ever made. This is not only a must-own game on the Nintendo 3DS, it is a reason to own a Nintendo 3DS.

Grade: A++

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