“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D” Review

For Nintendo 3DS

Pros:	Cons:
Fantastic graphical update	Some blocky terrains
Amazing original tunes and sound effects	A few re-done songs would be nice
Breathtaking story with cinematic cut-scenes	Minor control problems
Improved controls and interface
Engaging quest with lots of enjoyable content

            It’s hard to believe that it’s been about thirteen years since the birth of the legend, a legend so amazing that its spawned many more legends in the last decade all of which are just as notable. Sadly, most legends age with time and are no longer considered the great legends they once were. But one particular legend time cannot harm, but actually improve on the astounding quality of the original legend and bring it to an entirely new level. This legend may you ask, is “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D,” an unforgettable classic and a modern marvel all in one amazing adventure. Most legends come to an end, but not all of them have to…

            Of all the many, many necessary improvements on this outstanding game, one area sticks out the most; the visuals in the game are absolutely amazing. The most noticeable change in the graphics are the character models that were completely re-made for this game, more particularly the main hero Link. At first, it’s hard to notice how good the enhancements are until you go back and compare it to that of the 1998 original. Not only have all of the character models been improved, but also the textures of hills, buildings, and rocks, this was a major issue in the original game in my opinion, and actually in a lot of Nintendo games, and honestly I think this game has fantastic texture work. The nice folks over at Grezzo (the co-developers of OoT 3D) were also kind enough to up the frame rate from the original number to a much more enjoyable level. When it comes to the visuals, Nintendo and Grezzo did a great job but there were a few neglected areas. The only really noticeable flaw in the visuals, is the dated design of the original game, some blocky terrains such as hills and cliffs still exist, and can be even more noticeable thanks to the updated textures. It certainly isn’t a deal-breaker though, after all, the key upgrade is what makes this definitive version of the legend unique; the stereoscopic 3D effects. The 3D in the game certainly adds some depth to Hyrule and makes it feel more real, but I don’t find the quality of the 3D to be as good as some of the other offerings on 3DS. It’s not that its bad, nothing could be further from the truth, it’s just that nothing really wowed me when it came to the 3D. Then you add in the fact that it drains the terrible battery in the 3DS, and I ended up playing with the 3D off about two-thirds of the time. Nonetheless, it’s a fantastic option to include on an already amazing list of upgrades from the original.

            While Nintendo focused most of its time enhancing the visuals it seems that the audio in the game was mostly neglected. Don’t get me wrong, nearly all of the songs from the original game are simply breathtaking, and even today, on the 3DS’s tiny little speakers the sound is absolutely stunning at the least. It just seems to me that since every other aspect of the game is being enhanced in some fashion, so should the audio, it would’ve been nice to have seen re-made sound effects since some of them are a bit dated, and a few orchestrated or re-arranged songs would’ve been appreciated, the one orchestrated song that was included was truly amazing and it would’ve been great to have even more of such a good thing. In the end though, maybe it’s not meant to be for such amazing classic songs like Gerudo Valley, Song of Storms, Zelda’s Lullaby, and Hyrule field to be re-made.

            Another part of the game that wasn’t changed from the original is the story, but why would it? It’s already perfection to say the least. The story begins in Kokiri Village with a young man named Link. Link soon finds out that he’s not meant to stay in his little village and ventures across Hyrule to Castle Town (which looks great by the way), where he meets princess Zelda. Zelda shares her thoughts of an evil man named Ganondorf, and asks for Link’s help which he gladly gives. Eventually Link retrieves the Master Sword and ages seven years into the future, where Ganondorf has taken over the land of Hyrule and Zelda has disappeared. Link uses the Ocarina of Time, the Master Sword, and help from many friends such as Sheik, Epona, and the six Sages to take down Ganondorf and seal him in the evil realm forever. With enhanced cut-scenes, the story proves to be even more of an epic creation than it once was many years ago. Every time I beat the game, it never fails to bring a tear to my eye, I’m not sure if it’s the gorgeous music, bitter-sweet ending, or the end of a fantastic game, but I would never want the story to be changed and I’m thankful that it didn’t, for no other Zelda game outside of The Wind Waker has ever come close to challenging Ocarina of Time’s wonderful tale.

            But the story really is just a reason for the gameplay to happen, and in any games the gameplay is what truly matters. This is especially the case in “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D” as the gameplay is undoubtedly the best part of the epic quest. The gameplay stays largely untouched from the original, and therefore is outstanding just like in the original game. From the L-targeting system to the amazing bosses to the masterful dungeon design, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D” has some of the best gameplay I’ve ever seen. And controlling all of the action is more fun than ever thanks to the 3D handheld’s touch screen and gyro-sensor. Gone are the difficult and tedious days of switching out items constantly, now four different items can be equipped simultaneously via the touch screen. The Ocarina is also displayed on the touch screen, along with a Navi button/view button. When viewing Link’s immediate surroundings, you can look around with the circle pad, or by moving the Nintendo 3DS via the gyro-sensor. The latter option is certainly more fun to do, but can be difficult when playing in 3D because of constant loss of the sweet spot. The first option while not as enjoyable is certainly the primary choice among most players including myself. Sadly, I found that the circle pad while great for the 3DS doesn’t seem to do quite as good of a job as say, an analog stick like the one found on the original Nintendo 64. The circle pad just doesn’t seem to be quite as precise as other potential options could have been. Thankfully though this is just a small complaint, and moving around in Hyrule is still a blast, even more so thanks to a few more improvements like the ability to add the Iron boots and Hover boots as an item (which really does help in the water temple). Other great additions include the signs in the water temple that lead you to the water changing levels, as well as faster climbing times when venturing up vines or ladders, not to mention the improved ocarina interface, allowing players to view the music notes as they play the songs. The gameplay really has been improved in Ocarina of Time 3D which is a hard thing to do considering the original was already near-perfection.

            Besides the main quest (which can take 20-30 hours) the game also includes the unlockable Master Quest which can be played by beating the original quest. And don’t be fooled, the Master Quest is also mirrored along with other enhancements that weren’t in the original Master Quest many years ago. I wasn’t able to play Master Quest in time for this review, but I’ve heard that many dungeons have been altered as well, and it all makes Master Quest a much more difficult adventure. Nintendo also included a Boss Challenge mode which can be accessed via Link’s comfy bed in Kokiri Village. Boss Challenge enables the players to replay nearly all of the bosses in the game, and try for their best completion times possible. With all of these extra features it’s hard to complain, but honestly it would’ve been nice to have leader boards for the Boss Challenge mode, and maybe an extra dungeon or item in the main quest, however, what Nintendo and Grezzo gave us certainly does justice.

            Legends don’t come around all that often, and we’re lucky that Nintendo gave us another opportunity to re-play one of the best games in creation. The updated visuals, beautiful music, epic story, flawless gameplay, innovative touch controls, and new modes all add up to the 3DS’s best adventure yet. The legend proves once again that it’s never too old to be re-made for current generation game consoles, and even beats current games in a lot of ways. I’m not saying that I’m ready for another version of this masterful legend to be released anytime soon, that’s not the case at all. But I’m certainly thankful that Nintendo has decided to give us “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D”, even if I have played it many times before. I can’t even say how good this game is, if you’ve never played the legend before then buy it right now, it’s near perfection, you can’t do any better than that.

Graphics: Gorgeous textures, character models, 3D adds depth, some blocky terrains          9.5

Audio: Nearly all amazing themes, updated audio is strangely missing however                      9.5

Story: Amazing just like the original, even better with re-done cut-scenes                              10.0

Gameplay: Subtle improvements make it even better, touch controls are great                   10.0

Gameplay Amount: Two Quests and Boss Challenge mode give tons of replay value        10.0

Overall: A better game than the N64 original, a few minor issues can’t harm this legend     9.5