Ocarina of Time is a game I like, but one I’ve never been particularly impressed by. It’s one of the most beloved video games ever made, and I’m not saying it shouldn’t be. I can understand why someone would like this game, why this would be someone’s favorite Zelda game, and why this would be someone’s favorite video game period. What I don’t understand is the legions of people who have spent 20+ years hailing it as the greatest video game ever made. I don’t get what it is Ocarina of Time does that other games, even just those within the Zelda franchise, haven’t done either just as well or even better.
To give OoT its due, it’s about as good of a jump from 2D to 3D as you could possibly hope for. Some era-specific jank aside, it’s polished to a mirror sheen, though the ‘wow’ factor of a 3D Zelda will be lost on anyone who wasn’t around for the N64 generation. Which is part of my problem with OoT. Going from Link to the Past to Ocarina must’ve been legitimately mind blowing back then, especially when you factor in the six year wait between those two games. But that wow factor has faded with age, and then you have to come to terms with how… basic OoT is compared to other Zelda games. OoT was preceded and succeeded by Link to the Past and Majora’s Mask respectively, both games which I feel display far more creativity and, in the case of Majora’s Mask, a more compelling narrative and world. Then the GameCube gave us Wind Waker, and I just can’t wrap my head around how, in a post-Wind Waker world, so many people could continue to praise Ocarina as the greatest game ever made.
I guess this is less of a review and more an expression of my befuddlement about this game’s reception. I don’t mean to make it seem as if I hate this game or I think people shouldn’t like it. It’s just that when you look at all the games to come before and after Ocarina of Time, like Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Shadow of the Colossus or what have you, does this really deserve to be considered the peak of the medium?
To give OoT its due, it’s about as good of a jump from 2D to 3D as you could possibly hope for. Some era-specific jank aside, it’s polished to a mirror sheen, though the ‘wow’ factor of a 3D Zelda will be lost on anyone who wasn’t around for the N64 generation. Which is part of my problem with OoT. Going from Link to the Past to Ocarina must’ve been legitimately mind blowing back then, especially when you factor in the six year wait between those two games. But that wow factor has faded with age, and then you have to come to terms with how… basic OoT is compared to other Zelda games. OoT was preceded and succeeded by Link to the Past and Majora’s Mask respectively, both games which I feel display far more creativity and, in the case of Majora’s Mask, a more compelling narrative and world. Then the GameCube gave us Wind Waker, and I just can’t wrap my head around how, in a post-Wind Waker world, so many people could continue to praise Ocarina as the greatest game ever made.
I guess this is less of a review and more an expression of my befuddlement about this game’s reception. I don’t mean to make it seem as if I hate this game or I think people shouldn’t like it. It’s just that when you look at all the games to come before and after Ocarina of Time, like Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Shadow of the Colossus or what have you, does this really deserve to be considered the peak of the medium?