Ocarina of Time - Fun game. It exceeded my expectations, however my expectations were low.
OoT was one of the few games that I played from beginning to end on an emulator. I could write quite a few negative things about the N64, but I will focus on one - The graphics were absolutely terrible. It was a nice experience getting to play Ocarina at 1024x768 in 2000. I want to say that I ran it on 2x Voodoo 2 cards running in SLI mode. While textures were still blurry, the characters were quite sharp. It wasn't just the resolution of the N64 that made it look bad. It was also the blurriness. I once heard Nintendo's approach to anti-aliasing described as "smearing vasoline on your TV screen." Quite true.
But enough of that - My favorite Zelda is Link to the Past for SNES. I started with the original on NES and have worked forward. Though I am lacking in the total time I have put into portable Zeldas, the console-based OoT was quite fun.
I would say a key element of Link's transition to the world of 3D was Z-targeting. Had you not been able to lock-on to your enemy, this game would have failed miserably. I was also lucky in that I didn't have to use the N64's horrible controller. My PC gamepad at the time was quite nice, and worked really well with OoT. (Hammerhead FX - http://www.klenotic.com/pl/hfx/) The story was epic, the puzzles were fun, and exploring Hyrule in 3D had its moments. While it was a new game, it still had a good connection to its roots. Certain things would happen in OoT that would create feelings of nostalgia for the earlier Zelda games. The funny thing is that for many gamers, Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda they played. Nostalgia wouldn't have been a factor, but gamers still loved OoT.
I am a bit disappointed with the kiddie style that Nintendo seems to have run with in regard to the Zelda series. Ocarina let you play as a child, but it also let you play as an older Link. Zelda II and OoT were slightly darker in nature, and it wasn't really until Twilight Princess that we got something a bit more adult-oriented. That said, the target audience probably increased from 8-13 year-olds to older teenagers.
I have to admit - I am a collector, and the prospect of owning an Ocarina like the one in OoT seemed exciting. I bought one about a decade ago. There was only one company at the time that made them. I bet they are made by several companies and are all over the place now.
Ocarina of Time - Fun game. It exceeded my expectations, however my expectations were low.
OoT was one of the few games that I played from beginning to end on an emulator. I could write quite a few negative things about the N64, but I will focus on one - The graphics were absolutely terrible. It was a nice experience getting to play Ocarina at 1024x768 in 2000. I want to say that I ran it on 2x Voodoo 2 cards running in SLI mode. While textures were still blurry, the characters were quite sharp. It wasn't just the resolution of the N64 that made it look bad. It was also the blurriness. I once heard Nintendo's approach to anti-aliasing described as "smearing vasoline on your TV screen." Quite true.
But enough of that - My favorite Zelda is Link to the Past for SNES. I started with the original on NES and have worked forward. Though I am lacking in the total time I have put into portable Zeldas, the console-based OoT was quite fun.
I would say a key element of Link's transition to the world of 3D was Z-targeting. Had you not been able to lock-on to your enemy, this game would have failed miserably. I was also lucky in that I didn't have to use the N64's horrible controller. My PC gamepad at the time was quite nice, and worked really well with OoT. (Hammerhead FX - http://www.klenotic.com/pl/hfx/) The story was epic, the puzzles were fun, and exploring Hyrule in 3D had its moments. While it was a new game, it still had a good connection to its roots. Certain things would happen in OoT that would create feelings of nostalgia for the earlier Zelda games. The funny thing is that for many gamers, Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda they played. Nostalgia wouldn't have been a factor, but gamers still loved OoT.
I am a bit disappointed with the kiddie style that Nintendo seems to have run with in regard to the Zelda series. Ocarina let you play as a child, but it also let you play as an older Link. Zelda II and OoT were slightly darker in nature, and it wasn't really until Twilight Princess that we got something a bit more adult-oriented. That said, the target audience probably increased from 8-13 year-olds to older teenagers.
I have to admit - I am a collector, and the prospect of owning an Ocarina like the one in OoT seemed exciting. I bought one about a decade ago. There was only one company at the time that made them. I bet they are made by several companies and are all over the place now.
Chris Kennedy, Editor
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Email: chris@armchairarcade.com