Spoiler Does anyone else think that the original version of OOT was better than the 3DS version?

[Hero of Pizza Time]

Hello,

Not that the 3DS version is bad or anything (in fact, I was just playing it and it was able to ease the stress I have been going through lately). However, I personally think that the original version released for the N64 was better. I'm not speaking from nostalgia, I first played Ocarina of Time about four years ago. I think that the controls are probably one of the main things I liked better about the original. It was a little bit annoying when I was trying to shoot with my slingshot and when I made a slight movement my aim got all messed up (this was the case with z-targeting too). And when I used the circle pad to aim the controls seemed a little clunky and unresponsive. I liked a lot of things better about the original game's controls but in short the other things were not having to hold Z to Z target, the Ocarina controls being associated with directions, and having three buttons for items rather than two buttons with two touch screen slots.

Although the 3DS version did a good job with updating the graphics and animations, I still prefer the original's character designs and scenery. I didn't mind the graphics being primitive because Ocarina of Time is a 90's game and it was pretty revolutionary, so the game's outdated graphics made it kind of feel like taking a trip through video game history. There is also the fact that there were some really cool things in the original that unfortunately got censored like the blood in the Shadow Temple and the final fight against Ganondorf.

The last thing I want to mention is that you can do some really cool things on it with an emulator. You can use save states, download hacks and texture packs, take screenshots, and even use different kinds of controllers. You can also use some really fun cheats even without an emulator.

I have a lot more great things I want to say about the original but I think that I've already made this too long and I think I have made it clear that there were a lot of things I preferred about the original. Again, I don't think that the 3DS version is bad. Most of the important things about the original are in the 3DS version plus a graphical update and master quest. I'm curious to hear what all of you think though too.

 

[CynicalSquid]

I do much prefer the quality of life changes that the 3ds made. ESPECIALLY the fact that boots were items instead of equipment. I just felt like OoT 3d improved a lot on the original and it's probably the definitive way to play the game now. Now is this thread was about MM3D I would completely agree with you because N64 MM is far superior to 3DS MM. That's a discussion for another thread though..

 

[YIGAhim]

Hello,

Not that the 3DS version is bad or anything (in fact, I was just playing it and it was able to ease the stress I have been going through lately). However, I personally think that the original version released for the N64 was better. I'm not speaking from nostalgia, I first played Ocarina of Time about four years ago. I think that the controls are probably one of the main things I liked better about the original. It was a little bit annoying when I was trying to shoot with my slingshot and when I made a slight movement my aim got all messed up (this was the case with z-targeting too). And when I used the circle pad to aim the controls seemed a little clunky and unresponsive. I liked a lot of things better about the original game's controls but in short the other things were not having to hold Z to Z target, the Ocarina controls being associated with directions, and having three buttons for items rather than two buttons with two touch screen slots.

Although the 3DS version did a good job with updating the graphics and animations, I still prefer the original's character designs and scenery. I didn't mind the graphics being primitive because Ocarina of Time is a 90's game and it was pretty revolutionary, so the game's outdated graphics made it kind of feel like taking a trip through video game history. There is also the fact that there were some really cool things in the original that unfortunately got censored like the blood in the Shadow Temple and the final fight against Ganondorf.

The last thing I want to mention is that you can do some really cool things on it with an emulator. You can use save states, download hacks and texture packs, take screenshots, and even use different kinds of controllers. You can also use some really fun cheats even without an emulator.

I have a lot more great things I want to say about the original but I think that I've already made this too long and I think I have made it clear that there were a lot of things I preferred about the original. Again, I don't think that the 3DS version is bad. Most of the important things about the original are in the 3DS version plus a graphical update and master quest. I'm curious to hear what all of you think though too.

The uncensored version part is a part I like more from the original, and the graphics being old are actually enjoyable, but boot switching in the water temple is the biggest pain in the whole game and half the reason people started complaining about the water temple.

As for the controls, I think the motion controls can be turned off, and I like them more with motion than without but that's just me

 

[Azure Sage]

I will never go back to the original version (though in my case that would be the gamecube port). The 3DS version looks and plays many times better and the quality of life changes cannot be done without imo. I feel the same way about Majora’s Mask.

 

[Hydef Hyrule]

I like the N64 version better for a lot of the same reasons you stated in the OP, especially being able to emulate it in high resolution and use amazing texture packs.

But a big thing for me, even on a native N64, is the lighting. OOT is much more dynamically lit on the N64, and the color palettes are deeper. Grass and other flora in Kokiri Village go from lush realistic greens to garish neon tones. The 3DS version has a significantly brighter overall look, presumably to compensate for 3DS screen. This changes the mood in a big way in a lot of scenes. The temples are less atmospheric. The biggest issue is the final battle with Ganon. The scene is way too bright, completely losing the effect (Ganon being shrouded in darkness and only temporarily made full visible by flashes of lightning) that it originally had.

The gameplay improvements are nice, but the atmosphere is so much less epic to me as a result of the above changes.

 

[Fraxinus]

I'm pretty indifferent to comparing the two versions, but it is very common for a remake to not capture the same essence as the original game. It's not that one is necessarily worse than the other, but there will definitely be preferences for one over the other among the fanbase. The graphical "update" for the 3DS version hugely changed the atmosphere of the game, despite being technically the same game. OoT3D using the old animations with the updated models always felt pretty off to me, and made it feel choppier and clunkier than the original, even though the 3DS version had streamlined menus and equipping options. I think maybe it attempted to preserve the wrong aspects of the game to maintain the authentic feel of OoT, but it's still a very good remake nonetheless. I didn't play much of OoT before getting the 3DS version (I got to, like, the Forest Temple, on the collector's edition disc), but OoT3d being handheld was the big reason I enjoyed it more than the original. However, I think the original *feels* better to play overall.

 

[Castle]

Yeah. 3DS wrecked the ambiance of each area. It's way too scarily close to toon shaded with how brightly colored and lit the graphics are. It doesn't improve the models overmuch. Not much higher poly count or texture resolution, so what gives? It just shaves the angles off the models and gets rid of some of the more obvious low res textures from the original.

But the atmosphere and ambiance of the areas in Ocarina of Time are what I fell in love with. The darker areas just lose their flavor when they're so brightly lit. Few areas actually benefit from the more colorful graphics. Places like Zora's Domain and Kokiri forest are bright whimsical areas that might benefit from the change in tone, but they really don't.

There's still just something weird about playing an epic game with expansive environments on such a small screen. Xenoblade Chronicles 3DS suffers from this too. The display resolution jags up the edges a bit because no amount of anisotropic filtering can do as much for such tiny displays and even the clearest eyes have to squint to make out much detail. There's just nothing quiet like seeing the expanse of Hyrule Field for the first time even on old CRT monitors from back in the day, but that experience is lost on the 3DSs diminutive little screen.

About the only benefit the 3DS version has over the original is quick equipment swapping. It's not much to gain compared to how much is sacrificed graphically.

 

[YIGAhim]

Yeah. 3DS wrecked the ambiance of each area. It's way too scarily close to toon shaded with how brightly colored and lit the graphics are. It doesn't improve the models overmuch. Not much higher poly count or texture resolution, so what gives? It just shaves the angles off the models and gets rid of some of the more obvious low res textures from the original.

But the atmosphere and ambiance of the areas in Ocarina of Time are what I fell in love with. The darker areas just lose their flavor when they're so brightly lit. Few areas actually benefit from the more colorful graphics. Places like Zora's Domain and Kokiri forest are bright whimsical areas that might benefit from the change in tone, but they really don't.

There's still just something weird about playing an epic game with expansive environments on such a small screen. Xenoblade Chronicles 3DS suffers from this too. The display resolution jags up the edges a bit because no amount of anisotropic filtering can do as much for such tiny displays and even the clearest eyes have to squint to make out much detail. There's just nothing quiet like seeing the expanse of Hyrule Field for the first time even on old CRT monitors from back in the day, but that experience is lost on the 3DSs diminutive little screen.

About the only benefit the 3DS version has over the original is quick equipment swapping. It's not much to gain compared to how much is sacrificed graphically.

Graphics mean that much to you?

 

[Spirit]

@Satan nailed it by saying that remakes often fail to capture the essence of the original.

I do think there is magic in OoT3D still (OoT is a magical game) but the title screen for example; the gorgeous simplicity of the original version is something the 3DS version just doesn't approach. They're both nice but the original is one of the most iconic in gaming and the 3DS version doesn't get it exactly right.

Likewise the lighting in the 3DS version makes the remack lack some intensity in places; the likes of the Shadow Temple for example, the original had colour but it was hidden in low light making the place feel ancient. In the 3DS version it looks like some contractors have been in and given it a paint job, this makes it feel way less eerie.

This extends to the final battle with Ganon too. In the original things were pretty dark and you couldn't quite tell what Ganon was outside of two swords and a pair of glowing eyes.
In rhe 3DS version things are so bright that the mystery and intensity of Ganon being this obscure nightnare monster is lost completely.

I also like being able to play on a big tv...

However i really like the quality of life enhancements the 3ds version brings. Gyro aiming, iron boots being an item and a clean HUD are all welcome.
I do love the new animations characters have and for as much as i have a problem with the lighting i think that the graphics really help brinf OoT to life.

Take the Moblins in the Sacred Meadow from the original and look at their faces compared to the 3DS version. I have no doubt that OoT3D is closer to the original intention of what they wanted OoT to look like originally.

I also think the 3DS controls better. It feels super smooth to the point where i feel satisfied just be running around.

Overall the 3DS version gets my vote. All that is really off about it is the lighting and even then when compared to Wind Waker HD it isnt offensive at all.

I still love the original though and it'll never matter if its 3DS or an HD/4K version, there will always be a magic to the original that will never be replicated which means itll always be relevant.

 

[Castle]

Graphics mean that much to you?

In the Zelda series, yeah. In a game about exploration and saving the world, I really have to have a vested interest in the world if I'm going to care about it. Being able to care about the characters helps but this is something only Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess have ever succeeded at.

I have to be able to take the world I'm saving seriously and there has to be something tantalizing about it. Zelda games really don't ever have much of anything interesting to discover through exploration. Heart pieces, ammo upgrades, maybe on the rarest of occasions an entirely optional secret item are usually all that's on offer... but just being able to stand in a place and feel the ambiance wash over me is enough to encourage me to explore and discover. Conveying the sense that a place has history - even if we'll never know for sure what it is - solely through its visuals is enough to excite me.

So ambiance is a very important factor. Washing the environs in bright colors ruins whatever ambiance or mystique the world has. This is why toon shading and hyper deformed characters fall flat with me. Even Twilight Princess has deformed characters but other than Midna - whose proportions actually add to her character development - most of the deformed characters are undeveloped side characters except for perhaps Rusl and his ginormous chin I guess. I do wish ninty would knock it off with the deformed characters, but it doesn't distract me as much as pastel and neon graphics shaders do. Except Wind Waker which went waaay over the top with the hyper deformity.

 

[YIGAhim]

In the Zelda series, yeah. In a game about exploration and saving the world, I really have to have a vested interest in the world if I'm going to care about it. Being able to care about the characters helps but this is something only Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess have ever succeeded at.

I have to be able to take the world I'm saving seriously and there has to be something tantalizing about it. Zelda games really don't ever have much of anything interesting to discover through exploration. Heart pieces, ammo upgrades, maybe on the rarest of occasions an entirely optional secret item are usually all that's on offer... but just being able to stand in a place and feel the ambiance wash over me is enough to encourage me to explore and discover. Conveying the sense that a place has history - even if we'll never know for sure what it is - solely through its visuals is enough to excite me.

So ambiance is a very important factor. Washing the environs in bright colors ruins whatever ambiance or mystique the world has. This is why toon shading and hyper deformed characters fall flat with me. Even Twilight Princess has deformed characters but other than Midna - whose proportions actually add to her character development - most of the deformed characters are undeveloped side characters except for perhaps Rusl and his ginormous chin I guess. I do wish ninty would knock it off with the deformed characters, but it doesn't distract me as much as pastel and neon graphics shaders do. Except Wind Waker which went waaay over the top with the hyper deformity.

Oh yeah they really should knock it off and make it more realistic

 

[Castle]

Oh yeah they really should knock it off and make it more realistic

Well I would certainly appreciate that.

I don't need hyper realism. Just something believable that can ground me in the experience instead of make me feel like I'm playing something obviously fake.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I remember there being 3 specific things I prefer in the original
1. when you play a warp song but then say no to the warping, the song still continues to play all the way whereas in the 3ds version, it cuts out right as you select no
2. link looks pretty silly while wearing the hover boots in the 3ds version, which isn't really the case in the n64 version so in that version, I never took off the hover boots once I got them
3. the forest temple sounds slightly different in the 3ds version, and I'm not a fan, much prefer the original version

other than that, virtually everything else I prefer on the 3ds, there's definitely an argument to be made about how the lighting changed the atmosphere in certain moments, but honestly if I'm going to play ocarina of time, I'm playing the 3ds version

 

[Beauts]

I want to say N64 version is better because of nostalgia but to be honest, the graphics in the 3DS are so much better, also the fact you can have the Iron Boots as an equipable item without having to open the pause menu a hundred times over in the Water Temple may seem like a small change but for me it makes a HUGE difference to the playing experience. I'm with some people on the way the lighting changes alter the atmosphere in some parts of the game but for me I'm afraid to say it's not enough of a reason for me to say the original is technically better. I still enjoy playing the original version just as much though.

 

[Jirohnagi]

I agree with @Beauts for the most part but the only thing i feel like the N64 did "better" (such a subjective term) is the atmosphere in areas like forest temple and the fire temple.