I picked up a 3DS almost a week ago, and me being the huge Zelda fan that I am, purchased the remake of the critically acclaimed N64 title Ocarina of Time. For it's time, there were many great things that could be said about it. Not only was it the successful first jump into the 3rd dimension for the ever popular Legend of Zelda series, it was a technical marvel on the N64, perfecting third person gameplay with it's revolutionary Z targeting system, and is to this day considered one of the best games out there.
And now, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda, Nintendo has remade this game with some visual improvements for the 3DS.
Personally, Majora's Mask is my favourite game in the series, but it was Ocarina of Time that helped ease me into the series when I first started out. One of this game's biggest strengths is around it's tightly paced main story. Every once in a while you may be forced to do some backtracking, especially early on in the game, but for the most part you'll feel like you're covering a lot of ground and enjoying yourself while doing so. A good chunk of the fun is found in the games dungeon exploration, which always involves a good blend of puzzle solving and combat. One minor complaint that I have for the game's combat, and for the whole game in general, is that maneuvering the 3D world using the 3DS's stick takes quite a bit of getting used to, although I feel like that at the beginning of every Zelda game sometimes. Complaints aside, it's great to be able to play a console sized game wherever I go, and I'm looking forward to similiar experiences on the 3DS.
In terms of differences between the remake and the original, Nintendo has definitely addressed some of the concerns made by the fans. Some adjustments have been made to bypass level design issues, such as a camera focusing on the location of a possible hidden plan, and much care has been put into the infamous Water Temple so that players won't get lost as often (I personally have only gotten lost once in the remake, as opposed to the 5 bouts of wandering in my first playthrough). Hint videos are also available ingame, which is a great way to welcome newcomers to the series while at the same time staying true to the original level designs that players have grown to love and cherish.
The music and sound design is largely the same as they were on the N64, as well as the original art style. Although, all these things have been touched up a little in the remake, which is great because we get to see and hear like it was new while still retaining what the developers had in mind back in 1998.
This game is quite an adventure that players won't soon forget. It has certainly aged better than other games in the past, and will probably still be remembered after most of the games in the 90's have been forgotten. While the game certainly looks prettier, the core gameplay that we all know and love is safely intact. And for those that have played this game in the past, you'll all know how valuable this information is!
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