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Very LTTP: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 21 years later, does it hold up?
- Thread starter Deleted member 58846
- Start date
I think it holds up perfectly well especially given this was cutting edge 3D gameplay that nailed it one go, but better games have come out since.
It'd be a damning indictment on the games industry if no one in the last 21 years could surpass Ocarina of Time.
It'd be a damning indictment on the games industry if no one in the last 21 years could surpass Ocarina of Time.
Yeah it will forever be a masterpiece, it's level design is damn near perfect and almost no one else even dares create complex 3D levels like dungeons started in OoT. It's a shame BOTW left out all that great level design when it should compliment the freedom.
MM is different and not different. Different in that it's tone is very bleak and it has a full game system in time travel that alters how you approach the game. But it's the same game for the most part, just new areas, new dungeons, a bunch of great new mechanics, it's OoT expanded. It also has the greatest side quests of any game. It's my favorite game because of that.
MM is different and not different. Different in that it's tone is very bleak and it has a full game system in time travel that alters how you approach the game. But it's the same game for the most part, just new areas, new dungeons, a bunch of great new mechanics, it's OoT expanded. It also has the greatest side quests of any game. It's my favorite game because of that.
I don't think it's dated at all and still holds up remarkably well. I haven't even played the 3DS remake, but plan on doing that soon enough.
The music, the dungeons, the general gameplay though. All top-notch still.
The music, the dungeons, the general gameplay though. All top-notch still.
I've really enjoyed these threads OP. It's interesting reading opinions from a long-time gamer whose tastes gravitate towards one of one of the most critically acclaimed series of all-time yet is clearly pretty unfamiliar with the series.
That being said I'm actually of the opinion that OoT holds up a lot better than aLttP. The dungeons in OoT feel more like....well, dungeons, the puzzles feel more involved and complex and they have a lot more atmosphere, the whole game feels more like a a real journey. aLttP's dungeons feel a bit more arcadey. I agree that aLttP's combat and movement hold up better but I think OoT is mostly fine in that regard.
That being said I'm actually of the opinion that OoT holds up a lot better than aLttP. The dungeons in OoT feel more like....well, dungeons, the puzzles feel more involved and complex and they have a lot more atmosphere, the whole game feels more like a a real journey. aLttP's dungeons feel a bit more arcadey. I agree that aLttP's combat and movement hold up better but I think OoT is mostly fine in that regard.
FANTASTIC The One Who Knocks loved reading your OP.
Glad you enjoyed a zelda game again, man you must have some time to play all of these zelda games :D
Again going to point out that this game also has TONS of Randomizer communities and options that make the game fantastic if you ever want to play it again.
Looking forward to your MM Thread enjoy! :D AniHawk reminds me a bit of you when you started to play all the zelda games and post about your experience over at the old place.
Glad you enjoyed a zelda game again, man you must have some time to play all of these zelda games :D
Again going to point out that this game also has TONS of Randomizer communities and options that make the game fantastic if you ever want to play it again.
Looking forward to your MM Thread enjoy! :D AniHawk reminds me a bit of you when you started to play all the zelda games and post about your experience over at the old place.
Still didn't played a game as good as this(MM being the nearest) and I try to play at least once a year. If you don't bother about low(though constant) framerate I'd recommend you the original. That are some changes made on 3ds that I didn't like. Though it's a good version anyway.
Thanks for your opinion...XD
Thanks for your opinion...XD
Anything it did that was amazing has been done better at this point, but that's a good thing. It was amazing when it came out and still holds up pretty well. It's just not the watershed game it was back then.
Glad to see you enjoy a traditional 3D Zelda! It's always interesting to watch new fans from BotW go back.
-The paths leading to the panels where you can change the water level are marked
-The key in the room in the central column is made much more obvious; when you change the water level inside, the bit where the game shows you the room hidden under the floating platform was only added in the 3DS version. Without that scene, this key was so obscure that people believed it was possible to use your keys in the wrong order and get stuck. This rumor actually became a common belief among fans.
-Iron Boots were changed from main equipment to an item, eliminating the need to pause to equip or remove them. This was exacerbated by the original menu being slower to navigate.
If you're curious, they made exactly 3 changes:
-The paths leading to the panels where you can change the water level are marked
-The key in the room in the central column is made much more obvious; when you change the water level inside, the bit where the game shows you the room hidden under the floating platform was only added in the 3DS version. Without that scene, this key was so obscure that people believed it was possible to use your keys in the wrong order and get stuck. This rumor actually became a common belief among fans.
-Iron Boots were changed from main equipment to an item, eliminating the need to pause to equip or remove them. This was exacerbated by the original menu being slower to navigate.
Not a controversial take at all because:
This is correct. BotW was probably the weakest of any entry so far in this aspect, and even among its most adoring fans this is pretty well recognized.
It's definitely not, and it's absolutely still a Zelda game at heart. However, the gameplay mechanics and general mood are built around the central mechanic make it feel very different from anything else. I adore the game, probably one of my top 3 Zeldas, but don't go in expecting another epic adventure though a classic fantasy land; that's not what MM is.
No but I didn't like it at the time either despite loving every Zelda game that came before it. For me OOT represents a downward trajectory for the series but I know that I'm alone in this opinion.
I miss having my mind absolutely blown like it used to be via games like OOT, Half Life and Metal Gear Solid.
Though on the other hand there are so many good games being released now. Even a bad Assassins Creed is still a pretty good game. There was a lot of crap during that gen and now even bad games have a decent level of polish.
Though on the other hand there are so many good games being released now. Even a bad Assassins Creed is still a pretty good game. There was a lot of crap during that gen and now even bad games have a decent level of polish.
Amazing game for its time that feels dated by today's standards. I agree with pretty much the entirety of Lobster Roll's post. Much of what made Ocarina great was how revolutionary it was in terms of game and world design, both of which have been refined in the decades since.
OoT absolutely holds up. It's better than than the 3D Zelda that most directly tried to follow the same formula ( Twilight Princess ). every other 3D is better as they expanded or toyed with the OoT model in various ways. But they all owe it to OoT, and they're all great.
I wouldn't go that far. It's very similar to Ocarina of Time, but it gets very weird and very sad at times. It's definitely my favourite of the lot.
Nice write up OP.
Ocarina will always be my favourite video game ever, but that's for what it means to me. I don't necessarily think it's the best Zelda game, but it has a charm to it. That said I will defend the Great Deku Tree's level design in that it is incredibly engaging in that it does what Nintendo level design does best, and teaches the player the game mechanics as it introduces them, ie: the ladder in the slingshot room being an example. You can't leave the room until you use the item you received in it.
That said I've been playing the fantastic randomizer of OoT to freshen up my experience with the game.
Like you said OP, back when Hyrule Field did feel incredible to me the first time I traversed it. Today though, it isn't that it's empty that bothers me, but that it's layout kind of makes no sense. With paths and fences that don't seem to have any real purpose.
This is more evident when compared to the design of later games, such as Terminal Field in Majora's Mask which certainly feels to have more thought out into it.
Anywho, have fun with Majora's. It has the best side quests of any Zelda game.
Ocarina will always be my favourite video game ever, but that's for what it means to me. I don't necessarily think it's the best Zelda game, but it has a charm to it. That said I will defend the Great Deku Tree's level design in that it is incredibly engaging in that it does what Nintendo level design does best, and teaches the player the game mechanics as it introduces them, ie: the ladder in the slingshot room being an example. You can't leave the room until you use the item you received in it.
That said I've been playing the fantastic randomizer of OoT to freshen up my experience with the game.
Like you said OP, back when Hyrule Field did feel incredible to me the first time I traversed it. Today though, it isn't that it's empty that bothers me, but that it's layout kind of makes no sense. With paths and fences that don't seem to have any real purpose.
This is more evident when compared to the design of later games, such as Terminal Field in Majora's Mask which certainly feels to have more thought out into it.
Anywho, have fun with Majora's. It has the best side quests of any Zelda game.
OoT has aged in some aspects: the overworld is no longer impressive, and the combat (while fortunately still controlling well) is rather simplistic nowadays. Collecting 100% and finding all the secrets is kind of pedestrian now too.
However, it still has enough timeless stuff at its core to hold up pretty well. The story is a perfect example of a simple fairy tale (with one midgame twist) executed very well. The dungeons are the game's bread and butter and they're excellent. And of course the soundtrack. So basically the things listed in the OP.
However, it still has enough timeless stuff at its core to hold up pretty well. The story is a perfect example of a simple fairy tale (with one midgame twist) executed very well. The dungeons are the game's bread and butter and they're excellent. And of course the soundtrack. So basically the things listed in the OP.
Technical Achievement is not what made Ocarina of Time so great.
You said it yourself, you felt the mastery of the game's design. Now imagine how impossible it was to design a 3D game this good in 1998, when developers were still trying to figure out how to do basic things like camera and controls right.
I did play it when i had a PS2, and it felt superior to every single PS2 game I did play in term of brilliant game design and mastery over 3D space and construction, despite generational jump. This is a testament to how good OoT really was.
It is still a great game today and like you said, even the simple, fairy tale story was great with very strong spiritual atmosphere.
I love Ocarina of Time.
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At the release, Ocarina was the most impressive game ever:
-Tons of content
-Amazing implementation of the series mechanics in 3D
-Some really revolutionary new mechanics, like Z-targeting, that are basic to some beloved modern series like Souls games
-One of the best OSTs ever
-Lots of secrets and a really strong level design
-Epic bosses and some scary moments (for a kid, obviously)
-The ocarina implementation is really good and makes the player connect with the game music even more
I considered OoT the best game ever during years, and this only changed when BotW was released.
-Tons of content
-Amazing implementation of the series mechanics in 3D
-Some really revolutionary new mechanics, like Z-targeting, that are basic to some beloved modern series like Souls games
-One of the best OSTs ever
-Lots of secrets and a really strong level design
-Epic bosses and some scary moments (for a kid, obviously)
-The ocarina implementation is really good and makes the player connect with the game music even more
I considered OoT the best game ever during years, and this only changed when BotW was released.
OP, when it comes to Majora's Mask, if you are going to play the game just to beat the dungeons and finish the game, then you aren't really going to like the game too much. It's actually really short if you play it that way.
You HAVE to play it getting all the masks because THAT'S when you get to see all the story bits, all the weirdness, and fall in love with the characters.
You HAVE to play it getting all the masks because THAT'S when you get to see all the story bits, all the weirdness, and fall in love with the characters.
Agreed, still amazing by game design standards in ways that others will never match up too, but it can feel pretty dated and was surpassed by every 3D Zelda after it.
however I also think LTTP aged badly too.
Still holds up. Did a replay last year via emulator and still loved it. I'm playing through botw now and I agree with the story telling aspect, OOT was very strong in that regard.
It absolutely BLEW minds when it was released...well, it did for literally everyone I knew who played it. Yes, the structure is very similar to LTTP but there are enough differences that it isn't too much so.
It absolutely BLEW minds when it was released...well, it did for literally everyone I knew who played it. Yes, the structure is very similar to LTTP but there are enough differences that it isn't too much so.
Agreed. It was just so far ahead of what everyone else was doing. It didn't seem like anyone other then 90s Nintendo could make that game.
People keep trotting this, but I haven't read a single convincing argument how subsequent 3D Zeldas have refined OoT's design templates. All the 3D Zeldas since have had glaring flaws that, while marginally changing some mechanics and adding new gimmicks, overall they don't reach the consistent level of quality game design OoT has set in 1998.
Not on surface but definitely once you think about all the dialogs and characters. It's such a strange, different yet so brilliant Zelda game.
OoT feels outdated in terms of controls and combat, but the world, atmosphere, characters and locations are amazing. Still one of my favorite games (3DS version).
I love ocarina and hate majora with a passion, aside from 2, it's easily the worst game in the series as far as I'm concerned. It's certainly the most divisive one in the series. It seems you either love or hate Majora's, there's simply no middle ground.
MM- way more engaging story and sidequests
TWW - way better exploration of the overworld, sense of adventure
TP and SS - way better dungeons
Let's not do thread shaming shall we? It's basically picking on people.
The visuals on the 64 are pretty rough by today's standards (3D was definitely needed on that front), but the dungeon design and general pacing is still sublime.
The overworld, characters and sidequests are pretty bland though. Majora's Mask evolved things on that front so heavily that Ocarina of Time seems very simplistic in comparison.
The overworld, characters and sidequests are pretty bland though. Majora's Mask evolved things on that front so heavily that Ocarina of Time seems very simplistic in comparison.
MM: it has great sidequests but I'm not sure how they contribute to the plot. Link grows in OoT (quite literally) and is personally invested to complete his quest. Link in MM does not except his selfish reason to return to his own world. MM also has a trash villain that doesn't get explored at all in the final act.
TWW: I'm pretty sure OoT has more actual ground to walk on. The seas in TWW are ultimately shallow (quite literally) with little to explore beyond a handful of islands.
TP/SS: If you ask people around, I'm pretty sure they still celebrate the Forest Temple, Water Temple and the Spirit Temple for different reasons. People make a case for the Arbiter's Grounds, City in the Sky and Ancient Cistern, and rightfully so, but again, they are few and far between. OoT on the other hand has quality dungeon after quality dungeon.
I recently played the 3DS OoT and I think it holds up incredibly well. But, I also played the N64 version back at launch and it blew my mind and I'll never be able to shake that nostalgia.
But of the two N64 Zeldas, I'll always prefer Majora's Mask. It's weirder, darker, shorter and the Bomber's Notebook is still one of the coolest things I've done in a game.
But of the two N64 Zeldas, I'll always prefer Majora's Mask. It's weirder, darker, shorter and the Bomber's Notebook is still one of the coolest things I've done in a game.
Agreed. Even in the cases where improvements were made (ie hub world) they often came with that lacked other quality zelda content like temples.
Also things like fishing. It's damning when every Zelda game that came after OoT has a worse fishing mechanic. The Wind Waker doesn't even have fishing!