OoT-N64 Why is Ocarina of Time Considered to be the Best Zelda Game?

[LinkxZelda]

I don't believe it is but I was wondering why it is considered to be the best Zelda game.

 

[Dio]

The reason I think it is so good, is because it appeals to pretty much everyone. No other Zelda game, or any other game for that matter does that. The fast paced introduction, sets the tone for the game and gets the player right into the action. OOT appeals to children with it's simple to understand plot It appeals to a more mature audience with its subtle humour, which children would not get e.g when I was 4 I just accepted the fact that everyone blames Ganondorf for all the events happening in Hyrule based on his appearance, now I see how funny that is. The characters are all likeable and funny and the puzzles will provide an enjoyable challenge for people of all ages. The sense of adventure and exploration in the game is also an element for all to enjoy.

No other Zelda appeals to everyone in this way.

Wind Waker alienates many people who think the art style is childish, despite the mature plotline. This is the reason many people decide even before they try the game that it will not be for them. Also, playing as a young child throughout the game is not something allot of adults will enjoy.

Twilight princess lacked the humour of OOT, whilst the art style appeals to the majority, I feel that younger players could be put off by the slow paced introduction.

Skyward Sword, like the wind waker has an art style which whilst zelda fans will enjoy and accept it for what it is, allot will find it is not appealing to them the way that Skyrim's art style and allot of other modern games art styles appeal to them. The introduction is incredibly lengthy. I can't imagine being a little boy again and wanting to sit through all that. I would have liked to get straight in with some action or puzzles.

That is why I think OOT is considered to be not only the best Zelda, but also the best game ever made, by many.

 

[ZeldaPokemon25]

I think the game is incredibly overrated and has many flaws that's get overlooked easily. I have experienced the game by taking my time and doing everything slowly (this is my second play through) and I still it feel just lacked the appeal of a Zelda game. I consider OOT to be a departure from the original more then a better experience and I thought Nintendo was trying to garner to mature audience with using realism just to compete against Sony. I do consider OOT to be a good Zelda game and worth playing but I think its far from being the best game of all time.

 

[Link8150]

For many people it is the nostalgia factor. If it isn't nostalgia it just comes down to how different people rate games, many people say OoT is the best because of how revolutionary it was, personally I only rate games on five major things: Gameplay, Story, Creativity, Content, and Depth.

 

[MW7]

I think the game is incredibly overrated and has many flaws that's get overlooked easily. I have experienced the game by taking my time and doing everything slowly (this is my second play through) and I still it feel just lacked the appeal of a Zelda game. I consider OOT to be a departure from the original more then a better experience and I thought Nintendo was trying to garner to mature audience with using realism just to compete against Sony. I do consider OOT to be a good Zelda game and worth playing but I think its far from being the best game of all time.

My opinion is completely different from yours, but the only thing you said that I truly have a problem with is that you consider OOT to be a departure from the original more than a better experience. It sounds like you're saying that OOT wasn't like LoZ and that's why it's not a better experience. The inconsistency I see is that you rank SS and TP as your two favorite zelda games, and those two are barely recognizable to someone who has only played LoZ. I say this because the distinguishing feature of LoZ was freedom and exploration based in nonlinear progression. The modern zeldas still have freedom and exploration from sidequests and open worlds but have tossed aside nonlinear progression almost entirely (TP did toss it aside entirely as there is one path through main quest in the game). OOT remains the only 3d Zelda that allows for significant nonlinear progression, and that's why I believe it is the most faithful to the original game of all the 3d games.

Maybe I just completely misinterpreted your sentence though. What did you mean by "I consider OOT to be a departure from the original more then a better experience?" It is true that is was quite different from the original, but Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess are even further removed IMO.

Also on topic, one major reason why OOT is considered the greatest game (and zelda game) of all time is because it is the highest rated game of all time. Comparing it to Skyward Sword just because that's the newest title in the series you notice that several critics hailed it as perfect whereas some critics (nutjobs as I like to call them) gave it 8/10 or lower. OOT won over even the most cynical of critics, and there were only a couple reviews that weren't perfect. That has to mean something. As Ganonking said the game appeals to almost everyone, and the critical reviews show that.

 

[DeusEx404]

Well it's really because of the time it was released. It pretty much revolutionized the adventure game genre, and especially because of the fact that it was the first 3D Zelda game. So I guess it's because at the time, some people doubted that the 3-dimensional move wouldn't work out so well for it, but Zelda's move from 2D to 3D was pretty much spot-on perfect. There are valid reasons as to why it's considered one of the most important and greatest games ever made. Although I will agree that, in my opinion, it isn't the best game ever and you can find some decent flaws with the game. I guess you just really got to keep at the mindset of what people were anticipating at the time.

 

[zeldafreak101]

I feel its the best game ever because it was so much differint than every game out when realeased. Also it was so ahead of its time in terms of gameplay, and it was so replayable even to this day. While it is rated by critics the best game ever it is not my favorite. (ALTTP takes that spot for me)

 

[ZeldaPokemon25]

My opinion is completely different from yours, but the only thing you said that I truly have a problem with is that you consider OOT to be a departure from the original more than a better experience. It sounds like you're saying that OOT wasn't like LoZ and that's why it's not a better experience. The inconsistency I see is that you rank SS and TP as your two favorite zelda games, and those two are barely recognizable to someone who has only played LoZ. I say this because the distinguishing feature of LoZ was freedom and exploration based in nonlinear progression. The modern zeldas still have freedom and exploration from sidequests and open worlds but have tossed aside nonlinear progression almost entirely (TP did toss it aside entirely as there is one path through main quest in the game). OOT remains the only 3d Zelda that allows for significant nonlinear progression, and that's why I believe it is the most faithful to the original game of all the 3d games.

Opps I made a mistake because when I said "I consider OOT to be a departure from the original more then a better experience" I forgot to put in ALTTP instead of the original. What I trying to say is that I thought OOT was a departure more from A Link to the Past in terms of style and feel on the same level and I felt OOT just lacked it. Its not really about nonlinear progression that has been lacking in Zelda games since ALTTP that's the problem is just the overall feel that game gave me and the form of realism wasn't helping me get into it. I weren't say that OOT was close to the original because other then side quests and going to the Spirit Temple after getting the Lens of Truth from the well and completing it before the Shadow Temple. That's not exactly what I would call nonlinear progression and in fact no Zelda game has been that faithfully to the first game in my opinion. However, that was not what I was trying to say as I have explained and there are no inconsistency with what I stated. Another thing is that I did notice the charm that OOT has whether it was it music or with some of the characters but as I have said the overall feel just wasn't the same as it was in ALTTP and even LA. As for TP I differently see the flaws it has now then years ago but I'm glad Nintendo listen to many critical points because then we would have never gotten SS a much better experience then TP could ever compared to IMO. Maybe my opinion will change towards TP once I replay it again especially for the fact that's how my opinion towards OOT changed not too long ago. I guess I went a little off topic there sorry.

Maybe I just completely misinterpreted your sentence though. What did you mean by "I consider OOT to be a departure from the original more then a better experience?" It is true that is was quite different from the original, but Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess are even further removed IMO.

Yes you did misinterpreted and I was being little vague and got the wrong game mixed up when I said that just a mix up on both sides.

Also on topic, one major reason why OOT is considered the greatest game (and zelda game) of all time is because it is the highest rated game of all time. Comparing it to Skyward Sword just because that's the newest title in the series you notice that several critics hailed it as perfect whereas some critics (nutjobs as I like to call them) gave it 8/10 or lower. OOT won over even the most cynical of critics, and there were only a couple reviews that weren't perfect. That has to mean something. As Ganonking said the game appeals to almost everyone, and the critical reviews show that.

Opps again I forgot the topic was about this and I guess I must have got caught up in my bias towards OOT. I can't really agree about OOT simply appealing to everyone and I think reviewers just happened to agree with each other when OOT was released. As for what I think about why some reviewers don't think the same way towards SS I personally think this is a case of people's tastes simply changing towards Nintendo and even Zelda in general and some may not have the same feeling they felt like they did years ago with the series and even the company.

 

[TheWind]

This seems to be rhetorical..... but I'll humor it. OoT came out in a time when Nintendo was doing very well. Most people I know had an N64 growing up, and if you had an N64, that means you had super mario 64, OoT, or both, but at least one. As it was said, OoT appeals to pretty much everyone, and pretty much everyone played it, so... yeah. It is not my personal favorite but I see how many people could say it is. Plus, for a lot of people, it was the first Zelda they ever played, and so that brings some nostalgia along with it.

 

[Jragun]

Who cares? Seriously, if you don't like it, don't play it. I think they're all pretty cool, and I'm going to keep playing them.
I guess I can still try to answer the question. I think it's because it was the first 3D Zelda, and it was done pretty well. It had nice cut-scenes (first Zelda with real cut-scenes, for that matter), nice music, a decent story (except for that damn owl), and Link actually has a voice for the first time (only in grunts and screams, but still...). The dungeon puzzles weren't bad either. Child's play for a genius like me (yeah, yeah, I'm not really a genius), but some of them do get you thinking at times. I actually did figure them all out myself, while a kid at school, who really was a genius, couldn't. That made me feel good.

 

[TheWind]

How will you know if you like something if you don't play it?

 

[zeldafreak101]

Nintendo's perception was so good when OoT was released, because they were on the cutting edge of graphics, gameplay, and innovation. With the release of SS they do not have the graphical appeal because of XBox and PS3. I do not let graphics affect the way i see a game, but experts and todays casual gamers do.

 

[Majora's Cat]

666th Post

Ocarina of Time is not the most technically impressive Zelda game. It is not the grandest Zelda adventure anymore. The dungeons are not the most creative and the story leaves much to be desired. Why is it the greatest game of all time? A wise man named Hanyou once stated that a game is not like perishable food, therefore it does not get worse with time. I believe the statement to be somewhat flawed. Video games better with time and as the industry progresses. New technology, engines, features, styles and gameplay elements are always being introduced to the world of gaming, and it is not that older video games are becoming less and less enjoyable. In fact, games are improving and moving past that point in time, leaving the classics to choke on the dust of a new era of gaming.

Ocarina of Time was the very pinnacle of gaming for its time, completely outclassing all other games released in 1998. The measure of a good game is its ability to stand the test of time, and some Zelda games to just this - others don't. What keeps gamers thinking that OoT is still number one is that no other game has delivered such an engrossing and innovative experience as the N64 classic did in its respective time period. Today, I find myself enjoying Ocarina of Time more than Metroid Prime 3, the Wind Waker and even the ground-breaking Super Mario Galaxy. Some people are under the delusion that this is called being biased, but they're wrong. When millions of gamers express their undying love for a game from over a decade ago, there's no mistake that it is one of the best of all time.

The lock-on mechanic from OoT is still used in gaming today, and makes gameplay flow much smoother than before. Super Mario 64 was intended to be the Ocarina of Time of the Mario franchise, but its slippery controls and terrible camera system made it fall short of pure gaming nirvana. OoT addressed these issues and gave players the ability to lock onto a target and keep that target in sight, allowing for a much less frustrating combat system.

Zelda's leap into the third dimension was every bit as daring, different and beautiful as gamers hoped it would be. Ocarina of Time provides the player with an unprecedented 30+ hours of gameplay, which was largely unheard of in the late 1990s. Additionally, dungeons were complex but not too mind-bending so that the player never felt overly frustrated or detached from the game. The visuals were inspired and rather impressive for the time, but that's no the core of Zelda games anyway. The icing on the already-delicious cake was the epic final boss battle and tear-jerking credits that sends the player off with a strong impression.

Video games on the market today appear to be more refined gaming experiences than Ocarina of Time was. In a sense, that is correct. Graphics are now very realistic, and objects are smooth and have brilliant-looking shadow, lighting and bloom effects. However, if you strip away the pretty outer covering, you will often find a broken, flawed and imperfect experience that will not draw the player in. While video games are progressing and becoming better on average, most games today still aren't as charming and spellbinding as Ocarina of Time. There are and will be gaming experiences to top OoT, but this beloved installment in the Zelda franchise will likely live on with the moniker "the greatest game of all time" for years to come.

 

[MW7]

I weren't say that OOT was close to the original because other then side quests and going to the Spirit Temple after getting the Lens of Truth from the well and completing it before the Shadow Temple. That's not exactly what I would call nonlinear progression and in fact no Zelda game has been that faithfully to the first game in my opinion.

Yes you did misinterpreted and I was being little vague and got the wrong game mixed up when I said that just a mix up on both sides.

Sorry yeah I almost was sure I wasn't understanding what you meant. I should have guessed you didn't mean nonlinearity. But I would like to provide you with some info on OOT's nonlinearity. It actually is the most nonlinear 3d game. The rules for completing the adult dungeons are: Forest before Water; Forest, Fire, and Water before Shadow; Forest and Water before Spirit; Ice Cavern before Water; Bottom of the Well after Forest. By following these rules there are 60 different orders to complete the dungeons and minidungeons (7 only counting the dungeons). So Forest can be 1 or 2; Fire can be 1,2,3, or 4; Water can be 2 or 3; Spirit can be 3,4, or 5; and Shadow can be 4 or 5. This even excludes the possibility of entering a dungeon for the item and not finishing it (getting the bow from Forest but then finishing Water first, or in the child portion of the game getting the bombs and completing jabu jabu before dondongo's cavern). I think this counts as nonlinear because it is totally possible without any glitches to obtain the quest items in crazy orders like Kokiri Emerald, Zora's Sapphire, Goron's Ruby, Light Medallion, Iron Boots, Water Medallion, Forest Medallion, Spirit Medallion, Fire Medallion, Shadow Medallion, Lens of Truth. Allowing yourself to enter the dungeons for the item and leaving allows you to complete the adult temples in 18 different orders. Including the child dungeons and minidungeons there are potentially 274 different orders to complete the game within the main quest alone.

Still like you said no game in the series including ALTTP has been entirely faithful to the original. IMO it's disappointing, but from my experience in these forums I think that I'm in the vast minority when it comes to demanding more nonlinearity. Also I understand now that you weren't being inconsistent because that's not what you meant at all. Sorry for my confusion, and my intentions in the above paragraph are just to inform you and not to argue that OOT is the "most faithful game" (whether to LoZ or ALTTP it doesn't matter really).

Opps again I forgot the topic was about this and I guess I must have got caught up in my bias towards OOT. I can't really agree about OOT simply appealing to everyone and I think reviewers just happened to agree with each other when OOT was released. As for what I think about why some reviewers don't think the same way towards SS I personally think this is a case of people's tastes simply changing towards Nintendo and even Zelda in general and some may not have the same feeling they felt like they did years ago with the series and even the company.

Even though I used this as evidence in favor of OOT being the greatest game of all time, I have to agree with you. Some of the criticism that Skyward Sword is definitely a result of Nintendo's current image (and as a result of Nintendo's image, Zelda's image). Back when OOT was released I don't think this anti-Nintendo bias existed or at least was as bad as it is now. Still the critical consensus was that OOT was perfect, and we'll never know if Skyward Sword deserved the same but just was a victim of anti-Nintendo bias.

 

[Ventus]

Ocarina of Time, in my opinion, did what it did with excellence in every single bit. As I said in a discussion with JuicieJ, Ocarina of Time made the best with what the N64 had to offer. It achieved 50/50. It was in almost every sense of the word "perfect". Everything back in '98 that OoT presented was absolutely breathtaking. The story was EPIC and made you want even more. The gameplay was top-notch, and the new addition called the Target Lock System, something completely fabricated at the time, redefined how games would play forever. Games to this day still use the target lock-on system. OoT was influential, it was ambitious, it was the best that the 90s had to offer by far. If you want more information on the grand adventure that was OoT, check this out:

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/1/0

Needless to say, OoT went through many revisions to get where it stands today. It is basically the best Zelda has to offer, by many peoples' opinions. Even today where standards are very high, OoT is considered the best or very good because it maxed out the N64. As JJ said in a discussion with me, N64's max standard = 50. OoT did 50. Wii's max standard = 200. SS did 195.

Translation: The N64 has a base limitation as far as content and ability goes due to the hardware and things it uses. Ocarina of Time used the N64 to the absolute maximum. Now, that's not necessarily impressive today because standards are so high, but seeing that the game achieved 50/50 and stood the test of time, everyone sees OoT as the cornerstone of Zelda and gaming worldwide, along with classic Super Mario 64.

The Wii's limitation is a lot higher than N64, and games like Skyward Sword or Super Smash Bros Brawl (I don't agree with this but reviewers do) haven't seen the maximum potential they could. So in a sense, OoT achieved perfection but newer games haven't. They *almost* but they still *didn't*. And that's somewhat the reason why people consider OoT to be the best Zelda game, and possibly the best game, ever.