Few games can survive the destructive tendencies of time, but Ocarina of Time remains as astounding today as when it was first released.

I was not there when at that time, I didn’t play this entry until nearly 15 years later. While its series has remained an important part of my childhood, this was not an entry I touched for a long time. I was amazed to discover in this cartridge an experience as powerful as any game I’ve seen played in the years before or since.

What Ocarina of Time conveys is an unbridled passion for all aspects of its own existence. The wonder of exploration and childhood. The conflicting nature of young adulthood. The darkness and light inherit in individuals. There is a story here about the totality of growing up, all encompassing but somehow not messy.

It understands perfectly not the game that it is, but the game that it wants to be, and we are forever grateful for it.

Ocarina of Time is the quintessential videogame. The influence of OoT over the medium is immeasurable and would grant it a place in history by itself. However, the game is also damn good, and holds up to today's standards.

OoT is a masterclass in both game design and storytelling and lays the foundation to the modern videogame. The item-dungeon loop, the quasi-open world, the hub areas integrated into the worldbuilding aspects and the time-related plot twists and implementation of quests and sidequests integrating the game's main gimmick in such a natural manner were basically the template for most major game created ever since.

The use of soundtrack in ambience and storytelling is also extremely inspired and helps the game in its longstanding legacy. The musical and audio motif introduced in OoT are, in fact, one of the more important factors in the series identity up to the most recent entries.

The Kingdom of Hyrule feels alive, which is a feat and a half considering the technical hurdles of the time. The clever use of hub locations contrasting with the ample Hyrule Fields makes the populated areas feel that more important and full of points of interest.

Locations are, in fact, the most important part of the storytelling in OoT. The dungeons all have some significance that is alluded to but explicitly told - a not pioneering, but definetly daring move at the time. And the identity of the locales merges with the level design, capabilities acquired and soundtrack of the dungeons in a manner seldom replicated from then to now.

The UI and UX factors of the game are harder to evaluate. The field has developed tremendously and OoT utilized dated conventions - which still work, as most average gamers even today can navigate without any issues - but the use of c-buttons to alleviate the clutter of so many tools was a functional and perfectly able solution. The menuing can get quite annoying, especially during areas where the boots are used frequently. The d-pad should-ve been better utilized - and this was one of the first QoL solutions implemented by current-day modders. Hindsight is 20-20, however. During its day, there were few 3D games which utilized solutions as effectively as OoT - the Z-targeting was one of the greatest legacies for gameplay UX, and is now ubiuitous because of the great implementation made by OoT.

The story is an apt retelling of the Chosen One trope. While not groundbreaking as a general motif, the time-travelling twist is extremely effective in its implementation. Link is a blank slate and does not impede the player immersion into the story being told. That is very much a good thing, and contributes to the longevity of the game's enjoyability and it's perpetuity in history.

While being prey to the curse of the early 3D graphics, it is one of the least offensive polygons of the era. The artstyle is fantastical enough to make the graphics not too dated for today's standards - there is a kind of charm in them. Of course, in it's heyday OoT was considered an impressive technical feat. There were few games of it's scope back then and the graphical fidelity was amongst the top of its class, especially considering the N64 library - and not using pre-rendered graphics as much and as overtly as the jRPGs of the era. It's use of pre-rendered graphics was, in fact, subtle and melded well with the real-time polygonal graphics. The camera is generally acceptable, but it's finnicky sometimes - a problem that was much more felt in Majora's Mask -, an issue of the times. The ability to move the camera in the way OoT did, however, was extremely innovative.

All in all, OoT is one of those rare games that can be considered a true masterpiece. It is the template for all current open-world action-adventure games and is the starting point to videogames being taken seriously as a medium. It holds up well as an entertainment piece and is legendary as turning point in videogame history.

I don't feel like much needs to be said about this game at this point. Really impressive what they managed to pull off in the transition to 3D. Obviously not without its flaws but all things considered they're pretty minor.

The game feels like an adventure from front to back with the highlights being the temples and bosses. The world design in this game I always found a bit strange because it's ultimately a bunch of more interesting areas connected to a huge empty field. The vastness of Hyrule Field is important to the feel of the game, especially when you first arrive, but there's very little to actually see and do in it. Side areas are interconnected where they need to be but not always in useful ways. This is only really an issue when you're travelling around a lot but not so much when you just follow the main path.

I went for 100% this time around and didn't find it all that rewarding. The skulltulas are the biggest undertaking and there are too many for the reward to be worthwhile. I don't think you're really expected to get much more than 50 though in a normal run.