Good game.
It has been a while since I've played a game, since I've been so busy with school and whatnot, but I decided I wanted to play a Nintendo game, and wanted it to be something on either the SNES or N64. So I picked Ocarina. I haven't played Ocarina since waaaaaaaaay back in the day when it came out and barely remember anything about it.
I just beat King Dodongo and am enjoying myself. Very reminiscent of A Link to the Past, but with its own unique atmosphere. I can see a ton of things that influenced Twilight Princess already and am not even Adult Link yet.
For the longest time, I haven't understood why people claim it is "the greatest game of all time" or even "the greatest Zelda game of all time." It just isn't either. Sure, it captures everything that has been standardized in the Zelda franchise, but I don't think that makes it the "best" in the franchise.
I personally have enjoyed A Link to the Past the most of all the main Zelda games I've played (still have to play through Majora's Mask, which will occur after Ocarina, depending on when I finish Ocarina). It's atmosphere is the best of them all, and the characters, worlds and bosses are just among the best.
Granted, Ocarina of Time is an amazing game, but it receives far too much praise for what it is. And really, the most common praise for Ocarina is Z-targeting... which I've found very unintuitive and extremely clunky so far. It might have something to do with being used to more modern forms of controls, but I think a lot of people haven't taken off their rose-tinted goggles and seen Z-targeting and Ocarina for what it really is: an amazing N64 game that is most definitely showing its age and is not the best game ever made, nor the best Zelda.
I do very much like the atmosphere in Ocarina, just not as much as A Link to the Past. And from what I've heard about Majora's Mask, I doubt I will enjoy Ocarina as much as that either.
Definitely a N64 game worth owning for anyone with the console.
Comments
I liked Ocarina of Time on how they used a useless item from ALttP and made it important for the entire game. Music is an important feature in OoT.
I'll say you'll like Majora's Mask a lot more. The NPC characters in the game has more personality than in OoT and Masks are very important to the game and story. Somehow the myth of Termina has a connection to the Tower of Babel. There maybe less dungeons than OoT, but you can do so much around in Termina then running on foot in Hyrule.
But I played this game, on the N64 for the first time, in 2007, and I loved the game very much at the time. It's what inspired me to buy a Wii and many games with it, such as Zelda for Gamecube and many virtual console releases. What I love most about it is the Ocarina itself, and the tunes, oh the tunes. I fell in love with Saria's Song before I even knew what it was; before I ever played a Zelda game. So I really like the game, and that's all there is to it. I'm not concerned about a 13 year old gamer's argument over who's opinion should be forced on the other concerning the best game ever.
Majora's Mask is also a superior experience. Nintendo really thought outside the box with it. Superb atmosphere, original design, and easily the darkest and more eerie game in the franchise. Get it and play it ASAP.
However, I don't agree about the Z-Targeting being clunky. Just tap the trigger and you're locked. Or use it to focus on a particular area. It works great, I feel.
It's no different from FFVII fans either. They say it's the best in the FF franchise, but it hasn't aged well either. If it was the best in the franchise, it would have that same feeling you get any time you play it. Much like Chrono Trigger. Story isn't the only contributing factor to a game's greatness, but at the end of the day, FFVII's story wasn't exactly a gold mine either.
creepy_mike
I agree with you in full about Ocarina of Time. Great game? Yes. Best game ever when it came out? Maybe. Best game ever still? Not a chance.
I really think you'll enjoy Majora's Mask. It's easily my favorite Zelda game ever for a multitude of "don't get me started" reasons.
But yeah, I remember you praising Dead Rising up and down about a year ago, and while I do get pissed when people compare the the time management/save systems of the two, they do have definite similarities, and if you didn't get frustrated by DR's (like I did), you'll surely have no problem with MM's. Plus, you can also take pictures!