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PlanetWooD
Bringing you the best in texts and video games

Since 1999

VIDEO GAME CENTRE REVIEWS
(n64)

Platform: N64
Game: Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Made by: Nintendo
Reviewer: Kefpac

Quite possibly the most anticipated game of all time, Zelda: Ocarina of
Time was released just in time when Nintendo was getting badly wasted
by Sony's Playstation in Japan. I must
admit that my first impressions when first
plugging this game in were not all that
great; I mean I was a little puny kid
in a graphically average forest with an
(initially) awkward control system.
However as I played on my opinions soon
changed and began to realize that this
is one hell of a game. Legendary game designer Shigeru
Miyamoto (da man) oversaw the development of this game; does it live up
to the extremely high standards of a Miyamoto designed game?

Graphics - 10
-------------

Ocarina of Time features quite possibly the best graphics and
effects you could ever see on the N64. As I said before when you first
start the game in the Kokiri forest, the graphics are pretty good but
are nothing special. Don't be fooled by your initial surroundings; as
you progress through the game you'll see some truly stunning sights
and graphic effects. In Hyrule Field you'll be amazed at some of the
realistic elements the game features; the sun sets and rises in real
time (by the way if you stare into the sun it is just like if you were
to stare into the sun in real life, minus the eye damage of course),
and your shadow even changes direction as the day progresses. These
are just a few things you will see through your travels. The different
characters and Link himself are detailed very well, and the only
drawback is a bit of blockiness. There is also amazing weather effects,
such as rain complete with thunder and lightning, obscurred vision
while you are trying to make your way through a windy storm in the
desert, and awesome lighting effects (when you first exit the forest
and start running towards the castle as night approaches you'll see
the distant glow of a torch by the castle drawbridge). The game's story
is largely told through cutscenes, and while many will complain that
the cutscenes are not Full Motion Video sequences (see Final Fantasy 7,
Final Fantasy 8) I personally MUCH prefer how Zelda uses the actual
game engine for cutscenes; it's far better than having some mediocre
graphics while you're moving your character around, then BAM all of a
sudden a FMV sequence kicks in and the graphics transform for the
cutscene, then after it's done it returns you to the crap graphics to
control your character. Whatever your preference is you definitely
won't be disappointed by Zelda. Surprisingly, there is even BLOOD in
this game, well, when you fight Ganon at the end anyway.
It's simply impossible to list all the excellent use of graphics in
this game, you have to see it for yourself.

Sound - 10
-----------

Sound effects in this game are awesome and fit the game well. Some may
think that Child Link's grunts and roars as he attacks and rolls get
annoying, but once you change into Adult Link (more on that later) it's
not as bad. When you swing your sword and hit a wall it makes a sound
suitable for that particular wall. If you hit one that can be bombed
open then it will make a suitable clash. Even when Link is running the
slight clanks that the steel of his weapon and shield make are nice.
If you are a big fan of voice acting then you may be disappointed to
learn that Zelda's only audio voices are Navi the Fairy's rare "Hey!"
and "Listen!" exclamations. Music in this game is awesome and each bit
that is playing while you are in a particular dungeon or area of the
game suits the atmosphere perfectly. From the peaceful tune of Kakariko
Village, to haunting tribal chants in the Fire Temple.
Even many of the tunes played by your ocarina are outstanding, even if short.
(by the way here's a little tip: when you play an ocarina song that
warps you to a particular location, don't warp immediately and the full
song will play out; all of the ocarina warp tunes sound very nice).

Gameplay - 9
------------

While your initial thought when first playing this game will be "damn
this game is exactly like Mario 64" this thought will soon be wiped out
after you play the game for about twenty minutes and realize that it is
very different from Mario 64. For one, there is no such thing as a
"jump" button. Instead there's an auto jump feature, if you want to
jump simple run off a ledge and it will jump for you. While it sounds
really crappy on paper it works extremely well for a game like this
where platforming skills are NOT the primary focus of the game. Each of
your special items are used by assigning them to three of the yellow
C buttons, which is quite effective. There are many different
techniques you can do with your sword, all of which you should learn
in order to fight against some of the game's enemies; the most difficult
technique is a 360 degree rotation of the analog stick and hitting attack; this
results in a spinning energy swirl sword attack. You can also hold down
the attack button and after you gain the ability to use magic, Link will
charge up his sword and do a very powerful, long ranged sword swirl
attack. The combat system in this game will be very much appreciated
by people who do not like turn based combat in games like in the
Final Fantasy series; you are in total control of Link's fighting
actions. All the dungeons in this game are excellently designed and
all of the puzzles are very neat to solve and aren't stupid
impossible-to-figure-out puzzles like in some games. At one point
you will find yourself running for your life and ducking under
your shield when you are climbing up Death Mountain while the volcano
is erupting and rocks are falling onto you. When you first
start the game you are a little kid who is about ten years old, however,
at one point in the game you pull out the mystical Master Sword out of
its rock, and an incident with Ganondorf (the game's main villain)
occurs and you are out of commission for seven years, until you wake
up and realize that hey, I'm bigger, stronger, and sexier now (okay
forget about the last one).

Value - 10
----------

If you buy only one game for the Nintendo 64 then Zelda: Ocarina of
Time is a prime candidate. There is tons of exploring you can do, and
items to find. Even after playing the game for a year now I STILL have
not found all one hundred gold skulltulas. There is also a truckload of fun
mini games you can play, including a fishing sim that rivals any fishing
GAME I've seen yet. Once you get good at the different mini games
you can win valuable prizes to assist in your quests.

Overall - 9.5 (out of 10)
-------------------------

In my opinion, this is the best game ever made so far for the Nintendo 64.
It also has high replay value due to the sheer amount of things you can
do in this game. While the story is not really anything new (Save
Princess Zelda, kill Ganon, go through dungeons and get special item
in them, etc.) it is still told very well, and definitely has more plot
turns and conversation than the previous Zelda games. All in all, a
definite must play for any kind of gamer!

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