( Grade:A)

I was a bit harsh on Ocarina of Time the last time I reviewed it on Gamespot. I'll be honest with you, it had been a while since I had played it and after I played a Link to the Past, I just thought about Ocarina and didn't take the time to sit down for the re-review. Sorry about that, next time I won't do something like that. I've actually re-played the game for review this time.

I'll start with the Gameplay. Nothing new? What was I thinking?! Sure its pretty similar to how A Link to the Past is set up but come on, this game did a lot for 3D Adventure games. How? It was simply one of the first true 3D third person games. Like Super Mario 64, it took what was old and made it new again. There are a ton of gameplay innovations here. There is the Ocarina, the lock-on, new items, 3D level design. These are some new things that at the time made the game so special. And despite what I said, it HAS aged well. It really was the first "if you can see it you can go there" games. Some games today aren't even like that! There is so much stuff in the game you have to play it to believe it. I could go on and on. Its plain and simple, the Gameplay is perfect.

The Graphics and sound are also really good. While they aren't quite as good as the gameplay, they are sill really good. The reason I took a point off for each was because for graphics, the Textures weren't quite up to par with some other N64 games at the time in a few areas. Plus there were a few badly pre-rendered scenes such as the marketplace. Other than that, its one of the best looking games on N64. The music and sound effects are still amazing to this day. There are tons of details to sound effects. For example, the sound of your steps changing depending on the surface you walk on. And the sword makes different noises depending on what you slash on. The music is just as good, especially for MIDI music. If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't think the music was MIDI. It just goes to show that if some effort is put into something, it will seem like much more than what it is typically. The only gripe I have about the sound is Navi's constant "HEY! LISTEN!" and the noise that is made when you are low on health. But other than that its great.

Well what else can I say? I've said what has to be said about the game. Its very nearly perfect with only a few flaws. The only truly bad thing I can say is that a few dungeons are a bit repetitive (Water Temple anyone?). That's why I gave the tilt an 8. But even though the game can be repetitive at time, its still worth every moment of playing. Ocarina of Time has gone down in history as one of the best N64 games and even one of the best games period.

I take back what I said in the previous gamespot review.

Written By: WillBillXP
Date Submitted: February 12th, 2007

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