"TLOZ: Ocarina of Time 3D" Re-Review

   Just a quick post because I want to change my review score for my first review of all time, "TLOZ: Ocarina of Time 3D" which I reviews last July. Since then, I have changed my review rubric to include 100 point format rather than 20 point format. Because of this change I feel that I need to change previous review scores on 20 point, to 100 point to remain consistent. Here is the new score run-down for OoT3D:

Graphics: 10.0
Audio: 9.5 (because of no updates from original)
Story: 9.5
Gameplay: 10.0
Gameplay Amount: 10.0
Overall: 9.8 (changed from 9.5)

Ocarina of Time 3D was nearly perfect, however only so because it was the remake of perhaps a perfect game. The following is my run down of the original game's scores (yes, the graphics aren't as good, but these scores are for the time of release)

Graphics: 10.0
Audio: 10.0
Story: 9.5
Gameplay: 10.0
Gameplay Amount: 10.0
Overall: 9.9

The original Ocarina of Time was a bit better than the re-make, but still not quite a perfect game as seen by the final score. Both games are must-haves just like every other Zelda game. So if you haven't purchased Ocarina of Time 3D yet, you really are missing out as it is one of the best games ever made.

"TLOZ: The Wind Waker" Review

Pros:	Cons:
Charming cartoony graphics	Sparsely designed ocean
Amazing music and themes	Short and easy quest
Epic story, huge game world	Tedious sailing and Triforce shard quest
Amazing Zelda gameplay

            When you play a video game, you look for artistic qualities such as the game’s visuals, music, creativity, and story, as well as the game’s gameplay including the length, difficulty, design, and quality. These aspects together create something that should be one thing: Fun. Any game that is fun is surely one worth playing, and if you’re looking for a fun game, there’s hardly a better place to start than “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker”.

            Whereas most Nintendo games are geared more towards the gameplay, Wind Waker is the exact opposite. The artistic qualities of this game are absolutely stunning. By far the most unique aspect of the game is the game’s charming cartoony visuals which range from character models, to the many inhabited islands, all the way to the ocean itself. The art style presented in this game is amazingly detailed and unique, and easily one of the best selling points for the game. Everything has amazing detail too, buildings, fields, rocks… you name it! All the texture designs are smooth and highly detailed, even more so than successor Twilight Princess. The only complaint about the game’s perfected visuals is that the Great Sea is often extremely sparsely populated and barren. Perhaps some rocks could jet out of the sea in more areas, or maybe harmless sea life could swim by. But this is such a minor complaint that it doesn’t even damage the perfect “10” score I give the game’s graphics. Stunning. Gorgeous. Unsurpassed.

            Similar in style to the graphics, the audio in the game sounds cartoony, tropical, cheesy, but yet still amazing and stunning all the same. The sound effects are good, and thankfully Link’s yelling isn’t as annoying as in Ocarina of Time, but these things aren’t what makes the game’s audio so downright amazing. The outstanding music and themes are beautiful to listen to and some themes are some of the best in the franchise. (Dragon Roost Island, Wind Waker Title Theme, etc.) Sure there are some flaws here and there, but most of the music is perfectly combined with the game’s charming graphics to set mood and feeling into dungeons and cut-scenes, which helps make the amazing story even better.

            To round off my praising of Wind Waker’s constant beauty is a look at the story. The story line in The Wind Waker is by far the best story in the franchise. Yes, I love Ocarina of Time’s story, and yes, Twilight Princess’ cut-scenes were amazing, but Wind Waker had so many gasp worthy moments and twists and turns that constantly surprised the gamer. I mean c’mon, Tetra is actually Zelda? Priceless. Link is the Hero of Time? Well, I think everyone knew that one. But besides the epic story the game also includes tons of cool sidequests on nearly every island in the game, some with their own story packaged in. (see Private Oasis) Plus, the ending reveal in the game is worthy of a lot of praise, so enjoy it, it’s awesome, it’s epic, it’s The Legend of Zelda.

            I probably sound repetitive because I have said this in every Zelda review so far, and I’ll more than likely keep saying it; the usual dungeon solving, overworld exploring, enemy fighting, princess saving, evil stopping, and adventuring around Hyrule is as fun now as it always has been, and even more so with the introduction of a few new items and gameplay elements. Every last dungeon is well designed, and all of the boss fights are well done and much better than in some other Zelda titles. The one major problem with the gameplay is definitely a major down point, and honestly the only thing keeping this game from a perfect 10 overall, and that would be the tedious sailing and Triforce hunt. The sailing itself can last a very long time especially without the help of cyclones which can warp you around the ocean. And besides this, the sailing is usually unengaging and extremely dull, and the Triforce Hunt in the latter half of the game takes an extremely long time, and is mainly repetition and rupee gathering thanks to Tingle (we all love that guy!). But what works in the game is pretty much everything else, I do wish that the islands were closer together, and maybe a Wind Waker 2 (please, please, please!) would solve these problems, but the moment you reach your destination all problems go away. I will admit there are a few other issues with the gameplay, but they are extremely miniscule, the first is that the game is not quite as difficult as other game’s in the franchise, but at the same time it’s a lot more fun to play. Also I kind of hate the Forsaken Fortress because it’s just  a giant fort with similar looking hallways and I can’t ever find how to get to the top, plus you have to go there like three times, and it’s just really tedious and dull. Besides this, I also wish that enemies would respond better to Link’s stabbing and slashing them with his sword, as half the time it goes right through them and it seems they have an invulnerability moment where nothing hurts them. Once again these are minor issues but it would’ve been nice if they had been fixed before the game released. But don’t let my list of cons make you think the game is bad, trust me, I have many more pros I could list but I just don’t have the time.

            If my last paragraph gave you headaches, I’ll be concise and to the point here. The amount of gameplay in Wind Waker isn’t very much. The main quest is the shortest in a 3-D Zelda adventure, and leaves you wanting more. It’d be nice if the game had about double the 6 or so dungeons, and you spend half the game looking for the Triforce of Courage (see gameplay) which is extremely tedious. The game world is massive however and there is tons to explore which should keep you busy for quite some time.

            “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” is one of the best games you’ll ever play, and it’s artistic qualities are absolutely unsurpassed even eight years later. The visuals, music, and story are worth buying the game by themselves, so just consider the short and easy quest a bonus, even if it is sometimes tedious thanks to the sailing and Triforce hunt. Wind Waker is certainly one of the best modern Zelda games, and one of the greatest GameCube games to grace the purple lunchbox. It will always remain dear in my heart and to many others as well, it’s a fan game, so get to it and save the land of Hyrule once again, even if it is underwater.

Graphics: Charming art style, highly detailed textures, amazing visuals, ocean is barren     10.0

Audio: Good sound effects and little voice acting, amazing tropical themes and music        10.0

Story: The best story in the franchise, awesome reveals, twists, and turns, great ending     10.0

Gameplay: Awesome new items and dungeons, tedious sailing and Triforce quests               9.5

Gameplay Amount: Huge overworld to explore but a small main quest                                  9.5

Overall: Unbeatable story, visuals, music, but with a short quest and tedious gameplay, nonetheless, an amazingly crafted and developed title, absolutely stunning                              9.5

SIDENOTE: Yes, this is my highest review score yet tied with Ocarina of Time 3D, and no I’m not saying this game is as good as Ocarina of Time, because it’s not. I gave it this score because I didn’t want to give it anything higher than OoT, but I wanted to give it at least a 9.5 because it is awesome. Overall, I think that OoT 3D deserves better than a 9.5, and I may do a re-review within the next few weeks to change the score a little bit. So overall, Wind Waker gets a 9.5, and Ocarina of Time 3D gets around a 9.6 or 9.7. The original Ocarina of Time would probably place at about a 9.8 because it was the original despite its lack of 3D graphics.

"TLOZ: Ocarina of Time" vs. "TLOZ: Majora's Mask"

  Both the “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” and “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” are true classics and will always live on forever and many gamers hearts. Nearly every Zelda fan who has played both of these Nintendo 64 classics will constantly ask himself which adventure is superior to the other, which game is a better playing quest, this question has lingered in my mind for years as well, and I’m finally here to put an end to that. This is my first of a multi-part series to find and reveal the greatest Zelda game ever. These versus style reviews will compare two games in the fields of Graphics, Audio, Story, Gameplay, and Gameplay Amount and will name the better of the two games at the end of the article. These articles will be informal and more disjointed than actual reviews. So here we go, which is better, Ocarina of Time (N64 version) or Majora’s Mask? Let’s dive in!

            Our first of our many categories is graphics, both games were developed for the Nintendo 64 and have the same exact art style and plenty of identical character models. Many of the textures remain the same between titles, and the game’s scope appears the same. However I give a slight thumbs up to Majora’s Mask for including many more notable and creepy characters such as the Mask Salesman, Majora, and the moon that hangs over Termina, and I also appreciate the fact that Clock Town is a fully rendered 3-D area, not a picture that Link runs around in like in Castle Town from Ocarina of Time. Both games have excellent graphics for the time but I think Majora’s Mask is a little bit better in every last way.

Best Graphics: TLOZ: Majora’s Mask

           

Next up is Audio, both games have similar sound effects, voice acting, and similar sounding music tracks. I do like the sounds and voices more in Majora’s Mask, simply because they are creepy and especially the Mask Salesman and Woodfall Temple boss sound really cool. I love the music in both games but find that Ocarina of Time has much better music mainly because of nostalgia feelings. Gerudo Valley and the Lost Woods can never be replaced. However, I do love Clock Town theme, Deku Palace, and many, many more. Overall, the sound quality is better in Majora’s Mask, but the tunes are better in Ocarina of Time, I’ll be fair and call this one a tie.

Best Audio: TLOZ: Ocarina of Time AND TLOZ: Majora’s Mask

            This is one category that required a bit more thinking, Ocarina of Time has an outstanding story that relates completely to the Triforce and Hyrule whereas Majora’s Mask is more like a sidequest, with a darker storyline than usual. Both stories are amazing, Ocarina’s is more epic and grand in scale and has more significance to the overall Zelda timeline, whereas Majora’s Mask is an absolute master piece to view. Between the imminent doom via moon crashing into the earth, the extremely sad story of poor Skull Kid, and the fantastic character driven moments, Majora’s Mask has a truly remarkable story, one that few games have ever come close to beating.

Best Story: TLOZ: Majora’s Mask

            Now to the category that matters most and is worth two points; gameplay. Both Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask contain the usual dungeon solving, enemy whacking gameplay that has come to represent the Zelda franchise, and both have their own unique hook to help spice things up. In OoT, Link travels through time to adventure around Hyrule as either a child or an adult, and in MM, Link takes the form of three other beings and must race against time itself to save the world before it is destroyed by the impending fall of the moon. The level designs in both games are about even in comparison, maybe better in MM because the water temple isn’t nearly as annoying (although it still is). The bosses in OoT are much more enjoyable in my opinion as nearly every boss fight in MM is extremely annoying, tedious, and difficult without the proper methods known to fight them. The time hopping gameplay of OoT works as you’d expect it to, whereas in MM it sometimes can be extremely annoying and will have you being sent back to the start many times which is a game killer. The mask-changing gameplay in MM throws a nice curveball into the game and is a nice change of scenery for Zelda games, and having four playable characters is quite something. Overall, I was annoyed by the Majora’s Mask exclusive features multiple times in my recent play through, so I’m going to say that Ocarina of Time is superior to Majora’s Mask in the gameplay department.

Best Gameplay: TLOZ: Ocarina of Time

            Some games may be short, some may be long, but when you play a Zelda game, you want to be entertained for days before the game’s credits roll. The gameplay amount between OoT and MM can be compared easily. Collectibles and sidequests are scattered everywhere in both games, and can provide a nice and fun way to escape from the main quest. The dungeon count and size of the game itself, is about double as much in Ocarina of Time making it the better game for gameplay amount.

Best Gameplay Amount: TLOZ: Ocarina of Time

VERDICT:

Both of these fantastic Zelda games are an absolute blast to play, but I will admit that one is better than the other, it may be because of nostalgic reasons, or perhaps because it was more revolutionary than its N64 sister game, but one of these games is a bit better than the other. Overall Majora’s Mask is better in an artistic way, with superior graphics, story, and with audio right on par with its contender, but Ocarina of Time itself is a much more polished game with better gameplay, and a much longer main quest. I recommend both of these games to you as they are two of the best games in existence, and I had a blast playing through them again. Majora’s Mask is a bit more challenging, but Ocarina of Time has more of a classic Zelda feel to it. With all that said, I honestly had more fun playing Ocarina of Time than its successor, Majora’s Mask, and that’s why I’m calling it the greatest N64 Zelda game of all time. I hope you agree with my decision and make sure to check the chart below for the rundown by category of the results!

These are my final decisions for each category including overall:

Graphics	Majora’s Mask
Audio	Ocarina of Time AND Majora’s Mask
Story	Majora’s Mask
Gameplay	Ocarina of Time
Gameplay Amount	Ocarina of Time
Overall	Ocarina of Time

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”

Is our winner!!!

"TLOZ: Majora's Mask" Review

For Nintendo 64

Pros:	Cons:
Amazing visuals and fully 3D towns	Low frame rate and textures need work
Somber and dark music	Story feels like a sidequest
Tons of unlockables	Only Four Major Dungeons
Fantastic Zelda gameplay	Mostly annoying boss battles
Controls work extremely well	Game’s saving abilities are terrible

            I’ll be honest right up front, I’ve never been a fan of Majora’s Mask, I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s the odd man out when it comes to Zelda, or if it’s because of the odd 3 Day gameplay mechanism, but I’ve never really “loved” the game. My recent playthrough of the game was actually the first time I’ve ever fully beaten the game, and I’m proud to say that I finally have. Majora’s Mask surely isn’t the greatest Zelda game of all time, but it’s certainly not the worst.

            The one aspect of the game that sticks out compared to its younger sibling, Ocarina of Time, is the visuals, which by the way look amazing for the Nintendo 64. The terrains aren’t quite as blocky as OoT and it seems you can see further into the horizon, plus Clock Town is fully 3-Dimensional compared to that of Castle Town, and the worlds are more varied and feature more colors than ever before. The many character models are also quite impressive. The one flaw I noticed was that the frame rate in the game was often extremely low like when fighting bosses, and walking through Clock Town. The game seems to have more slowdown than other Zelda games, and causes a bit of frustration from a hardcore gamer like myself.

            The music complements the game quite well offering dark, somber, depressing music and at times more optimistic tunes. Some of the better tunes include the Clock Town theme, Termina Field, and Majora’s Mask theme but there are so many others that are all worthy of their own praise. The sound effects also sound good on the ears for the most part, and the character noises are sometimes extremely creepy and effective (ex. Majora and Woodfall Temple Boss). I noticed the audio levels were off at times, and that the sound effects were often louder than the music itself, this saddened me as besides this, the game’s audio is pretty amazing.

            The story in Majora’s Mask really can’t compare to the more optimistic approach’s the other games take. Basically Link must save the land of Termina from impending doom via the moon crashing upon the earth thanks to Majora’s Mask. Link must relive the same 3 Days over and over until he saves four giants and faces Majora himself. The game has plenty of mood and atmosphere, and makes you really feel for the characters even more so than in other Zelda games, however some of the story doesn’t feel all that well put together. Whereas other Zelda games feature Ganondorf and Zelda, Majora’s Mask does not and therefore feels more like a sidequest from the central story of the Zelda series, this is both good and bad, as it feels like a breath of fresh air, but also feels unimportant and unnecessary. It’s up to you as to your personal preference.

            Like in most Zelda titles, Majora’s Mask has excellent controls that for the most part, work to perfection. From moving Link to shooting arrows to fighting octoroks, this game is as easy to control as it might look. The basic gameplay is basically the same as in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, and the usual dungeon solving, field roaming gameplay that has become a staple of the Zelda franchise continues in this amazing game. The dungeon design is not quite up to standard with other top titles, but it still proves to be really outstanding and creative. The two main gameplay mechanisms introduced this time around, each have their own pros and cons. The first is the many masks Link will acquire including the Goron mask, changing Link into a gigantic Goron, this allows him to roll around and punch enemies with unbelievable force. The masks are fun to use (except in the 4^th dungeon in which you have to create statues with them) and are used creatively throughout the game. The other main feature, the 3 Day time structure, is also both good and bad, it is a nice hook to have in the game, but also is a massive pain in the butt when you have to re-start the time period (via the song of time) in the middle of a dungeon, and have to re-play everything. Another annoyance is the game’s saving abilities which will have you walking around all of Termina looking for a save spot, and if your game happens to freeze or get turned off while you’re playing, you’ll have to start all over from the last time you played the Song of Time, and from my own personal experience, it’s not fun. The final problem with the gameplay was the boss battles; of the five major bosses, two of them were hell, two were ok, and the final boss Majora, was way too easy but also impossible if you ran out of arrows or magic. Clearly the game has way more cons than a normal Zelda game, but that’s because it truly isn’t quite as amazing as other Zelda games, it did however have some serious pros including the amazing controls, character moments, and dungeons.

            The massive world of Termina is bigger yet smaller than that of Hyrule, it doesn’t take nearly as long to traverse from one side to the other, but it takes much, much longer to fully explore and find every secret. And this is because Majora’s Mask has a ton of sidequests which lead to unlockables such as secret masks, heart pieces, and more. I will note that this material may not appeal to all players such as myself who may stick to the central quest and never unlock the rest. Needless to say there is plenty to collect for completionists. The central quest itself is sadly much shorter than other Zelda games, aside from Wind Waker, and feels too much like a sidequest to be a full length game. With only four dungeons and no final dungeon such as Ganon’s Castle, Majora’s Mask feels about half the length of a game such as Twilight Princess. The short playthrough you will have however will be enjoyable, as long as you don’t have to re-start a dungeon because of that stupid 3 Day structure. :)

            With it all come and gone, I can definitely admit that I am now a huge Majora’s Mask fan, it is definitely not as superior as more recent Zelda games, nor does it compare to the older titles in the series. The one thing the game has which is more noticeable than most Zelda games is a heart, I constantly found myself feeling for characters, understanding their sadness, and being depressed by Termina’s state of doom. I found myself in love with the creepiness of the Mask Salesman and Majora himself, and saddened by the Skull Kid’s poor history, as well as his poor fate as Majora. And if there’s one thing that would be deserving of boosting my overall score and did, it would be the creepy moon hanging above Clock Town that adds a sense of urgency to the game, the design of the moon, as well as the animation and constant trembling create one of the most menacing antagonists in the history of gaming, if only a Lon Lon cow would jump over that moon, it’d be an automatic 10.0 from me! But sadly that’s not the case, before you check the final score do be aware that it may not be accepted by most hardcore Zelda fans, but I did have some troubles with the game so please understand that it is my opinion. I may never play this game all the way through, but I will admit that all gamers should play it at least once.

Graphics: Visuals look great with fully 3D towns, however low frame rate and textures          9.5

Audio: Dark and somber music, good sound effects, but audio levels are poor                          9.0

Story: Story is unique and dark but feels like a sidequest, not always well put together           9.0

Gameplay: Amazing controls/gameplay, 3-Day structure works well but can be annoying       9.0

Gameplay Amount: Termina is fun to explore with lots of unlockables, only 4 dungeons      9.0

Overall: An amazing Zelda experience with multiple flaws; saving, bosses, frame rate, etc.    9.0

September 2011 Schedule

In honor of the 25th Anniverssary of the Legend of Zelda series, I will be playing all of the 3 dimensional Zelda games during September and October including Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. During this time I will post editorials discussing which games are better and why. Later in November 2011, I will write a post with my final verdict on the best 3 dimensional Zelda including Skyward Sword. More information on all of this soon. Twilight Princess review coming in October.


Zelda Majora's Mask-September 11th 2011
Zelda Ocarina of Time vs. Zelda Majora's Mask-September 18th 2011
Zelda The Wind Waker-September 25th 2011

10 NES Ambassador Game Reviews

 Now that the ten free NES games have been released as free ambassador games on the Nintendo 3DS, I've had a chance to play a good deal in each of them. Some of them I've enjoyed very much, while others have let me down quite a bit. Below I will be briefly discussing all ten of the games and my thoughts on each. Also at the bottom is a chart with all ten games and their corresponding review scores. So let's get going and find out more about these ten classic games.

Super Mario Bros.              9.0
It's Super Mario Bros, so there's not much to say. But if there is, its that after so many re-releases over the past 25 years, that this game is still fun as it ever was. My only problems is that the controls didn't feel as solid as they used to be, and that it just doesn't feel like you're still playing the same game. It feels, not as good if you will. Nonetheless it's a great game and a great download to launch the Ambassador Program.

The Legend of Zelda          8.5
I'll be honest, I've never really liked a 2-D Zelda game, and the same can be said for the original. I've never gotten into it and whenever I play it I get lost over and over again. I will say that the game has excellent graphics and soundtrack and that it has all the same elements as the modern Zelda's have today. Maybe one day I'll actually beat the game.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link        7.0
To me, this is the worst Zelda game ever, and truthfully I can't even make it three feet without getting a game over and restarting the entire game over. Maybe I just don't get the game, but I have a hard time believing that anyone's ever beat this game. I can't really reccommend this game except for the fact that it has brilliant graphics and audio, like its predecessor. If you want to play a 2-D Zelda though, play A Link to the Past.

Metroid                  9.0
The last of Nintendo's big three franchises to hit the Ambassador Program is the original Metroid. Now unlike the original Zelda, I do enjoy Metroid just as much as its more modern entries. I love the controls, visuals, music, story, and gameplay. There's not much more to say about Metroid but honestly, it is the best full-length experience that the eShop has to offer. A must download!

Donkey Kong Jr.         8.0
While not as good as the original Donkey Kong, the sequel brings in a huge twist; you now play as DK Jr. and must rescue your father from Mario himself. The game is extremely difficult albeit simple, and provides players with their first adventure playing as their favorite ape... or at least his son.

Ice Climbers               8.0
I must say I enjoyed my first ever experience with Ice Climbers fairly well, however, I didn't like that you can half way jump through blocks and sometimes don't land on them even if they're there. It makes the game difficult as you will often fall and die thanks to the somewhat bad programming skills that went into making the game. Besides that it exceeded my expectations quite a bit.

Balloon Fight              9.0
Another game that I had never played, Balloon Fight managed to surprise me in every way. The graphics look great, the controls work well, and the gameplay is absolutely fantastic. This is easily one of the best games on the Ambassador Games made better by the fact that most have probably never played it. Plus its two players!

Wrecking Crew          4.0
Overall, this was my second to last favorite game of the ten. I didn't get the point in it at all, you just climb ladders and knock down doors. It is absolutely pointless and even has fairly poor graphics and audio. Unless you really want to try the game, don't bother downloading it.

NES Open Tournament Golf            2.0
This is it, my absolute least favorite Ambassador game. It's basically a turn based golf game where you play as Mario and choose between different setting for your swing, then you have to try to hit the ball with your club and make it in the flag. The one problem is that the mechanic doesn't work, its pointless, stupid, and by far the worst game on the Ambassador Program. Don't bother with it.

Yoshi             9.0
In all honesty, I think that this was my overall favorite game of the ten. For one, I've never played it before, for two, it's like a better version of Tetris, and for three, its just dang awesome. The game is basically a Mario version of Tetris where you swap out columns of Nintendo characters in order to get them to match up. It's addicting, amazing, and an absolute blast. There's not much else to say, so go download it NOW!!!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Yes, I know my reviews are going to cause some uproar from fans. Yoshi is an amazing game and is normally extremely underrated. In my opinion it deserves the score that it received. If you don't think so that's your opinion and I respect it, but I'm settles on my final score, so deal with it.

So here are the final scores below, hope you agree with them. Now I'm off to play more Yoshi and Metroid, and to delete NES Open Tournament Golf off my shiny 3DS system. Time to take out the garbage. :)

Game Name                               Score
Super Mario Bros.                      9.0
The Legend of Zelda                   8.5
Zelda II: Adventure of Link         7.0
Metroid                                      9.0
Donkey Kong Jr.                        8.0
Ice Climbers                               8.0
Balloon Fight                              9.0
Wrecking Crew                          4.0
NES Open Tournament Golf       2.0
Yoshi                                          9.0
Average Score                           7.5 (rounded to the nearest half)