4.5/5 ★ – TNGLiam's review of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

Platform: 3DS Time Played: 27.6 hours Status: Completed Back when I played the original N64 version of Ocarina of Time two years ago I said that I would have much rather played Ocarina of Time 3D for its improved controls, graphics, and quality of life improvements, along with stating that the original was a "guide game" that almost required a guide at times. So now after playing the 3DS version, I have confirmed to myself that in my eyes at least, this is the superior release; sure, some people prefer the original, either for nostalgia, or they prefer the dimmer, atmospheric, and more primitive look for the 3D graphics, but for me, this version will forever be the definitive release. Overall, I am certainly satisfied with everything that was updated in this remaster; the controls have been improved to be smoother and tighter to control, the framerate has been upped, the updated graphics look gorgeous, the gyro controls for aiming work great (at least when you're not sitting down, I wish the manual aiming controls were a bit more sensitive and faster because when you're just sitting down your gyro controls kick in and don't always go where you want to shoot immediately, not a huge issue though), and much more. Take for example the main UI being on the bottom screen, this change worked so well in my opinion, being able to just tab on an option or a third or fourth extra item on your bottom screen and being able to toggle and tap through menus down there was a great move is just one of the many reasons why the 3DS was the perfect system to remaster this game on. The first time I played Ocarina of Time, it felt like a stilted experience with lots of roadblocks where I felt like I had to use a guide, this time around (perhaps because of my prior knowledge to the game, although it has been over two years so I don't remember most things) things were a breeze for the most part, going from area to area, completing dungeon after dungeon, quest after quest, and progressing the main story which I think I actually enjoyed a fair bit more this time around as well. Getting back to the updated graphics, I truly think that this game looks beautiful thanks to them. The new models and textures look immaculate and have such great detail to them; I also like the way colors pop more in this version, sure that may be something that others don't prefer, but I think it makes things stand out a lot more and overall makes the game's presentation look a lot better. I also found the story cutscenes to work a lot better with the updated graphics and that really helped the overall main story to imprint more on me; the flashback scenes explaining some of the crucial backstory and lore, the shadow monster being unleashed in Kakariko Village and it being set ablaze, and the final cutscenes during the climax against Ganon are great examples of some of the best cutscenes from this game's story. I genuinely loved running around the world and just playing this game. As I said earlier, going to each area and completing their main quests and dungeons was just really fun. I loved meeting each new group of characters or checking back in on them as Adult Link and I loved side quests like saving Epona and Lon Lon Ranch as a whole. Each dungeon felt unique and were fun to traverse through (the only exceptions being the Forest Temple and Bottom of the Well), take Inside Jabu Jabu's Belly for instance, the level idea of being inside a giant whale will never get old to me, and this game's rendition of that trope works so well in my opinion, I didn't even care if I had to carry around Ruto, shit was still fun. Running around trying to find the map, compass, boss key, and dungeon item was a blast, and it felt great every time you finally got the dungeon item and the dungeon and game world itself always expanded due to it, just a great feeling. The Forest Temple was my least favorite dungeon in the original release as well, I just didn't like how you could go down one path and then have to go all the way back because you didn't grab a key from the other path that you just happened not to take, and I just found that dungeon's layout to overall not be the best. Bottom of the Well was my true least favorite dungeon if we're counting mini-dungeons as well, because man this shit sucked, running around with invisible trap floors everywhere trying to find the barely noticeable pathways that finally led to the Lens of Truth was painstakingly aggravating; it was the only dungeon where I looked up what to do, because every other one I felt like it was fairly simple to traverse through without help, but once again, this mini-dungeon sucked the life out of me. Once you get the hang of things, combat in this game is pretty fun. Z-Targeting (or L-Targeting in this version's case) onto the enemy, putting up your shield and waiting for an opening to strike was great against enemies like the Stalfos. All of the bosses were really unique and have great designs, with most of them having pretty great fights, my personal highlights being Queen Gohma, Volvagia, Bongo Bongo, and obviously Ganon. Barinade, Phantom Ganon, and Twinrova also have great designs and concepts to their fights, but I just didn't jive with them as well. My least favorite boss was definitely Morpha who just wasn't a fun fight. This game also features some iconic mini-bosses as well, like Dark Link (a concept I wish returned more often) and Dead Hand (who sadly is nowhere near as nightmare-inducing in the 3D version due to the removal of the blood smeared all over him in the original, although he was a little tough), and the Iron Knuckles were tougher than any main boss the game had to offer. This game's sound design and overall soundtrack are also phenomenal. Ocarina of Time features so many of the best and most iconic Zelda tracks that I can't even begin to name them. Practically all of them are catchy as hell enough for them to all be stuck in your head simultaneously as you go through the game. In fact, I'd say there isn't one bad track in this entire game, and even the songs that you wouldn't necessarily add to your playlist are usually just atmospheric dungeon tracks that deliver the exact tone and feel that it attempts to instill within the player. If this game wants you to feel a certain emotion, it will do it via its soundtrack, while also providing some of gaming's best tracks of all time, but when does Zelda ever fail to deliver a fantastic and memorable soundtrack. And once again, the sound effects of the UI and overall game world are also just as great, I love it when a game's UI has just the best sounds to it. Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D provided the definitive experience of Ocarina of Time for me; I found myself enjoying this adventure much more this time around and loved the entire experience. I now understand to a greater degree why so many people hold this game as one of their favorites, if not the best, and while I can personally think of a handful of games from this franchise that I find more fulfilling, entertaining, and overall just better, the first 3D entry featuring the land and characters of Hyrule still stands up to this day, even more so with this phenomenal remaster that makes it more accessible to modern gaming audiences. If I were to ever recommend Ocarina of Time to someone, this would be what I'd tell them to check out.