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Ocarina of Time Why Do We Love OoT So Much?

ihateghirahim

The Fierce Deity
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Location
Inside the Moon
OoT is regarded by many as the best Zelda game and the best video game ever made. You don't have to hold this opinion (you're just wrong). What makes OoT so meaningful? Why do we keep on loving it above more recent games? Why do you think it is so special?
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
It isn't so much how OoT excelled above the others, it's more so that it didn't do much wrong. OoT and TP are both ranked high on my list simply because there wasn't much content that I would dread when playing, like sailing in Wind Waker, waiting for time to pass in Majora's Mask, the saving in Majora's Mask, flying in Skyward Sword, etc.

Other games like Skyward Sword also rank high because they excel in certain aspects...however, unlike OoT, have many flaws.

While OoT may not have the best combat, (TP/SS), the best sidequests (MM), the best story (TP), the most exploration (tWW) or the best graphics (TP), it still has very little that detracts from the experience.
 
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I agree with DarkestLink. Ocarina of Time may be a technically dated game but its few flaws are so negligible they don’t detract from the overall experience. Too many games nowadays try to break from the mold and poorly execute their unique ideas.

Nostalgia is also a key factor in my appreciation for OoT. But I have good reason to do so. No Zelda game before or since implemented musical instruments so thoughtfully and the characters Link met as a child were carefully interwoven in the adult narrative seven years later.
 

ihateghirahim

The Fierce Deity
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Location
Inside the Moon
Ocarina of Time is more than just nostalgia and a lack of flaws. It implements memorable characters, challenging dungeons, fun mini-games, and an adventure that simply trounces all others. May OoT bring joy to children forever.
 

misskitten

Hello Sweetie!
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Location
Norway
For starters OoT has a huge nostalgic value being the first title to take the previously 2D franchise over to 3D, it's the game that brought the most new Zelda fans into the fold (I was one of them). I cannot truly explain why OoT remains the only Zelda title I have played from start to finish and replayed more than any of the other Zelda games.

Could be because I generally have great love for the games coming out of the N64 area (Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64), many of my favorites stem from that period. Those games bring back a lot of fond gaming memories for me.

It could be because they got the formula right. Some games are either too open and it gets hard to figure out where you need to go next, other games hold your hand far too much and you don't get to choose for yourself. OoT has plenty of hints spread around, but there are also things you need to figure out for yourself. For instance, it isn't spelled out for you that in order to gain access to the Fire Temple you need to stop the single Goron rolling around by strategically placing a bomb in his way. Nor does it say anywhere that in order to find a way into the Water Temple you need to figure out the puzzle in the Ice Cavern over at Zora's Domain. Some things you simply have to figure out more or less on your own, but at the same time there's plenty of helpful hints to point you in the right direction. It simply has a nice balance between guidance and freedom. You don't HAVE to complete temples in a set order all of the time, there are ways to get around it. Then there's the whole childhood/adulthood thing, you can go back and forth and play around with the pro's and con's of both.

I think OoT just got it right. True, games that followed managed to improve on various things that OoT introduced, but OoT is probably one of the best in terms of what it brings as a whole.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
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May 26, 2010
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Akkala
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Hylian Champion
It implements memorable characters,

Hate to be the bugger in the water, but I have to argue that none of Ocarina of Time's characters are worth remembering in that they're all incredibly one-dimensional and flat (sans Ganondork...kind of, Zelda, and possibly Link). I think that we all remember OoT's characters because we grew up with them, but in all honesty they are nothing stellar (majority of NPCs have like two lines in one text box).

Aside from the characters, I have to say the sidequests have a lot of deepness to them. On the surface, we're just collecting Cojiro and a couple of other stuff for the trading quest. But, if you take the time to consider the text, you'll find many great implications such as a relation between Cucco Lady (?), the Boss Man (iirc), the punk kid (Imma call him Grog), and the potion shop lady (iirc). OoT as a whole is essentially what DarkestLink said. It has flaws, but they're so negligible that we say the game is perfect.
 

snakeoiltanker

Wake Up!
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
Location
Ohio
I think what it is, is that, the 64 era is when most gamers started. Now i was born a geek, like full blooded geek. i was only 3 when i started playing NES on the regular and my parents are both geeks as well. but i digress. OoT is what got most of todays ZDers into the series. and really, OoT basicly kept the same story, and gameflow as ALttP. all they did was make it 3d, and add more characters. With that said, they used a formula to make the game that they already knew, that way they were able to focus on gameplay and upgrades (and by upgrades i mean things makeing a good transition into 3D). So this is the game that Defines the word Zelda in most gamers minds.

Add that concept to what DarkestLink said about it have less flaws than other games, and you have your answer. But i dont see all those flaws in other games like most ppl say, i agree flying kinda sucked in SS but it wasnt flawed, it just wasnt all that cool, i didnt like how the world was not connected. but thats a different thread. I still agree though, in a sense. I see OoT not takeing risks by adding things that are new to the franchise. with OoT they took what they already had and made it 3D. which resulted in very little short comings.

so in conclusion i feel i could have made this post one sentence: OoT is the game that Defines the word Zelda in most gamers minds!
 
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Triforce Hermit

Praise the Sun
Joined
Mar 2, 2013
Location
Bionis
Replay-ability is why I myself like it. I can come back on it anytime I'm bored and have a blast and enjoy myself even if I've beat it for the 100th time.
 
I often thought i loved OoT so much becuase i played it at the right time in my life, i was still young and had been playing Zelda since i was old enough to remember and was a pretty hardcore gamer back in the Snes days, then to see Zelda advertised on TV and play it on the n64 for the first time my little mind was blown and a new world of gaming was shown to me... i thought that alone was what wowed me about it and later on, years down the line, i was still playing it on the n64, then on the GC with the special edition of wind waker and my love didnt diminish, then OoT3D cme out and i still love it, i know the game, like many do, like the back of my hand and it still doesn't get boring, it feels like a game i can call home, im comfortable with every part of it, know what to do and where to go as if i was going for a walk around my own countryside, its nice to have that in a game but it stretches beyond familiarity and nostalgia; OoT itself is a wonderful game with incredible level design, characters, gameplay and a simple yet engrossing story about good vs evil in its purity which is a wonderful feat to behold when you play the game every time.
 
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Location
yggdrasil
I often thought i loved OoT so much becuase i played it at the right time in my life, i was still young and had been playing Zelda since i was old enough to remember and was a pretty hardcore gamer back in the Snes days, then to see Zelda advertised on TV and play it on the n64 for the first time my little mind was blown and a new world of gaming was shown to me... i thought that alone was what wowed me about it and later on, years down the line, i was still playing it on the n64, then on the GC with the special edition of wind waker and my love didnt diminish, then OoT3D cme out and i still love it, i know the game, like many do, like the back of my hand and it still doesn't get boring, it feels like a game i can call home, im comfortable with every part of it, know what to do and where to go as if i was going for a walk around my own countryside, its nice to have that in a game but it stretches beyond familiarity and nostalgia; OoT itself is a wonderful game with incredible level design, characters, gameplay and a simple yet engrossing story about good vs evil in its purity which is a wonderful feat to behold when you play the game every time.

Ya what she said lol
 

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