The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. What can be said of a remastering of a 13 year old title that many gamers herald as the greatest game of all time? Well, that largely depends on what you've come to expect from such a game. Sure, some of the visuals have been overhauled, but the actual core of the game is unchanged. So the question remains, has the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time actually stood the test of time?
If you've ever played a Zelda game before you'll be right at home with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. Ocarina of Time is a tried and true Zelda game from front to back, and here's a fun fact for the young'ins reading this: As far as 3D Zelda games go, Ocarina of Time was the first. Not only did it set the precedent and create the mold from which all other future 3D Zelda games would be shaped from, back in it's day it raised the bar for all games of it's genre. It's left quite a legacy, don't you think?
Because of that reputation, it's no surprise that Grezzo, co-developers of the 3D Remastering, have left much of the core gameplay intact. Taking a "don't fix what ain't broke" approach, they've really respected the original form factor of the game. They know The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is in the hearts of many, many gamers around the world, and have taken extra special care to make sure that this 3D Remastering still feels like Ocarina of Time. They've even gone so far as to leave some of the glitches from the original title in the game's source code, because they know they've become a part of the unique experience that only Ocarina of Time can give. The only changes they've made in terms of gameplay are slight tweaks to the controls that take advantage of the 3DS' enhanced capabilities.
Speaking of controls, Z-targeting has now become L-targeting, as you use the left shoulder button to lock on. You still use the right shoulder button to bring up your shield. The A and B buttons are still your action/attack and sword buttons, respectively. X and Y take the place of two of the C-buttons from the N64 controller, allowing you to assign inventory items to them.
Now this is where things get a little different. On the corners of the bottom screen of the 3DS, are four buttons that are just the right size for your thumb. The one in the upper left corner acts as the C-Up button on the N64 controller, allowing you switch to first person view and talk to Navi if you so wish. The one on the bottom left is now a dedicated ocarina button. Pressing it makes Link pull out his ocarina and turns the entire touch screen into an ocarina layout, allowing you to simply press the touchscreen to play, or you can still use the corresponding buttons if you want. You can also access your ocarina's song book from here, incase you forgot how to play a certain song. You can play a song with song book open in case you can't remember how to play it without the notes being right in front of you, which is good for those out there that completely lack any signs of possessing what is considered to be a memory.
On the upper and lower corners of the right side of the touch screen are the other two touch screen buttons. These are used to assign items to them. I usually found myself using them for less precision based items such as bombs, Din's fire, or even bottles worked best. As great as the touch screen buttons are, they don't quite compare to physical buttons when it comes to precision based items such as the bow or sling-shot. Let it be known that this isn't a gripe with the controls, as I found they worked perfectly and I completely prefer them over the N64 controls.
In the center of the bottom screen of the 3DS is a map that is constantly being displayed for your viewing pleasure. This makes navigation less of a hassle. On the very bottom of the screen are three tabs labeled Gear, Map, and Items. Opening each tab displays it's corresponding subscreen. Pulling up the Gear tab allows you to switch out tunics or shields with a touch of the screen, the Map tab shows in depth dungeon details allowing you to view any dungeon floor and not just the one you're currently on, and the Items tab does exactly what you would think it'd do- it pulls up the item subscreen.
All the items in the game work exactly as they did in the original, except for a few exceptions. One of the differences, and, according to the game's director, Aonuma-san, possibly the main reason behind this remastering, all the boots are now listed as items instead of gear. This means you can switch between the iron boots and kokiri boots with the push of a button instead of having to pause the game and work your way through to menu screens.
Another addition to Ocarina of Time 3D's control scheme, is the ability to aim with the 3DS' gyroscope. I remember going into this I was thinking "Great, they just had to add the gyroscope to MY ocarina of time. This thing is the reason they didn't put a second analog stick on the 3DS. Well, at least they make it optional, so I can still just use the analog aiming system." After trying it out, however, I am certainly a believer. First of all, like I said, using the gyroscope to aim is entirely optional so you can disable it. Secondly, even when you do have the gyroscope aiming on you can still use the analog stick to aim with it simultaneously, which gives birth to a new level of precision. Using the gyroscope whether to aim or look around simply feels great. It has 1:1 precision and truly makes you feel like you're looking into a window to another world, and truly makes it feel like you're the one aiming your bow or hookshot. I don't know what it is, really, it's just so engaging. If you think about it, it's such a simple action, but to me it really just adds so much immersion. I love it.
Wait...what?
As far as the 3D effect goes, obviously when you're using the gyroscope to aim it's a little harder to keep the 3D effect. For the most part, however, it's not an issue, especially when you use it in tandem with the analog stick. The 3D is gorgeous in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and showcases the best 3D I've seen on the system thus far. I've yet to experience any eyestrain from any 3DS game, and this one is no exception.
The landscapes truly stretch out into the distance, and make Hyrule seem more expansive than it ever has before. The 3D adds to the gameplay too, as I found my archery skills increase the moment I slid the 3D depth slider up. And I had a much easier time judging distance between me and enemies, especially during certain epic battles where you have to reflect the enemy's attack back at them. I want to keep this review mostly spoiler free, but Ocarina of Time veterans know what I'm referring to. However, it's worth pointing out that, while the 3D effect is great, I noticed considerably more aliasing with it on than I did with it off, and I also experienced very slight ghosting on Link occasionally when he was in front of a really dark background. Just food for thought.
In terms of the bare bone visuals themselves, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D features many new textures, much more vivid colors, more fluid animations, and a few revamped character models, with Link finally looking like he does in the official artwork for the game. Let's be honest with ourselves, Ocarina of Time's muddy textures haven't aged so well, it's the gameplay that's kept the game in the hearts of gamers around the world. That's why texture face lift is more than a welcomed addition. It breathes new life into the 13 year old game and helps keep it relevant. Unlike the original Nintendo 64 version of Ocarina of Time, which fluctuated between 10 and 20 fps, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D runs at a smooth 30 fps most of the time. This really adds a layer of silk to the character animations and is a nice touch. I say it runs at 30 fps most of the time, because, well, it's just that. For the most part the game is silky smooth, but there were a few noticeable spots where it chugged a little. For instance, in the guard house by the entrance to Hyrule castle town, if you break a lot of the pots really fast the game slows down just a bit.
One reason for that is that the game is still running off of it's original engine. Due to the outdated engine, it was hard enough as it is for Grezzo to get the game to run at 30 fps because the engine was designed around the Nintendo 64's limited hardware capabilities. Because of this the game doesn't look as great as it could. Yes, it's leaps and bounds better than the Nintendo 64 original, but you can really only do so much with a 13 year old engine. Higher-resolution textures and a slighter better frame-rate is really all you can ask for with dated tech like that. There is no sign of bump-mapping, and the decade old geometry is showing it's age. At best, the game really only looks as good as a Dreamcast game with slightly better lighting here and there. Certainly not even close to what the 3DS is capable of. Of course, depending on who you ask, this could very well be a plus. You have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to how much you can truly change and update while still making it feel like the same game. Grezzo knows this, and the last thing they wanted was take away from that feeling.
Comparing the visuals of the 3D remastering with those of the original we can see the stark difference in contrast between the two. However, we can also observe that whether it's 1998 or 2011, some things never change:
As far as the sound goes, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D retains all of the original songs and sound effects from the N64 classic. I'm sure for some this is a pro, while for others it's a con. Nintendo had planned to rework the original soundtrack with Orchestrated remixes of the original songs, but after they had one song finished, Koji Kondo stepped in and said that he wanted the soundtrack to remain as it was.
During my playthrough with the game, I found that the music really took me back to the good old days. As always, I found the music to be best enjoyed with headphones. I thought the midi tunes really held up well over the years and I found myself actually glad that they didn't remix the songs. That is, until I stumbled upon the one song they did remix. It really blew me away, and I felt new life in the game. It's left me feeling rather torn in regards to the game's music. Obviously the Orchestrated soundtrack would have been great, but I can definitely see the appeal of the original, and would be sad if it were absent. It leaves me wishing that Nintendo would have included both on the game card. Keeping the original soundtrack for the first playthrough of the game, then allowing the orchestrated version to be unlockable for subsequent playthroughs or vice versa would have been great. Ocarina of Time was originally a 40mb Nintendo 64 game, there would have been more than enough room to include both the original midi and the revamped orchestrated soundtrack on the 3DS 2GB game card. Unfortunately, Nintendo missed out on this opportunity.
Speaking of unlockables, after you finish the main quest, the Master Quest becomes unlocked. For those that aren't in the know, Master Quest is a lot like the original quest, except the dungeons have been revamped with harder puzzles. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D's version of the Master Quest also mirrors the entire game, much like how Twilight Princess for the Wii is mirrored when compared to the GCN version. And Master Quest also features increased difficulty, with the bad guys dealing out twice as much damage.
Just to give a basic idea as to how much harder Master Quest is. During my playthrough of the regular quest, I didn't die once, and I think I only fell once, but I had a fairy to revive me. Keep in mind that this is from a seasoned veteran of Ocarina of Time. During my playthrough of Master Quest, however, I found myself dying twice in the very first dungeon. I had never played Master Quest before though, so that may have a bit to do with it, but it is harder, and, in my opinion, better than the original quest. Bear in mind that this was my first time ever playing through Master Quest, so the fact that it was entirely fresh to me probably helped to lend to its appeal.
As for other unlockables, Nintendo has included both a boss rush mode and boss gauntlet mode for added replay value that really push the most devoted Zelda gamer to their limits. It's neat, but it's ultimately more of the same, so I can see how it would still leave some players longing for more.
To summarize, even with a slight face lift, at its core The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Tim 3D is still the Ocarina of Time so many of us grew up with. To some this is great news, to others, not so much. Whether or not it warrants a $40 dollar purchase is ultimately up to you. If you've never played through it previously and have yet to experience Link's first 3D adventure, go pick it up right away. You won't regret it. If you've played the original recently or grew tired of it over the years, there's really not a whole lot here to tie you over and breathe new life into the experience. Of course, if you've played the original to death over the years you're probably the type of Zelda connoisseur that would want to add The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D to your collection even if it was just a bare boned port.
I've given it some thought, and I've decided to give The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time two different scores. One for the gamer who has never experienced it before, and another for the gamer who was there for the original, and are wondering if this rendition of Hyrule is worth revisiting.
For those who have never played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time before, this 3D remastering gets an 8.5
For those who have played the original, and are considering picking up this 3D remastering, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D gets an 8
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