The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D review

It has been 13 years since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 revolutionized the action-adventure genre with the introduction of target-locking and context-sensitive buttons.

Ocarina of Time is widely praised as one of the best games of all time. Nintendo and co-developer Grezzo undertook a daring assignment to revamp this masterpiece to make it more accessible to a new audience whilst still keeping that which lodged it so deeply in the hearts of thousands. In short – they executed it perfectly.

Ocarina of Time 3D is an updated version of the original – the main story, dungeons, characters and gameplay concepts are untouched. Right from the opening cutscene it’s clear that the biggest improvement to the game is the radically updated graphics and animations. The game showcases some of the best use of the Nintendo 3DS stereoscopic 3D capabilities and the locales and environments are spectacular. All of the visual elements were rebuilt from the ground up and it looks fantastic.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the fifth game in the series. It takes place before the first four installments but after the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

The hero of the story is Link, a young Kokiri boy from a small village in Hyrule. Link is accompanied by his annoying fairy Navi in a quest to save Princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf who seeks to gain possession of the Triforce – a powerful artifact that grants its bearer a single wish. Link sets out on a remarkable journey during which he explores nearly a dozen dungeons, collects various relics and meets plenty of interesting and memorable characters.

As with all Zelda games, Ocarina of Time features plenty of intricate puzzles and challenges. These puzzles range from simple switches to taxing multi-level underwater gauntlets. There are loads of weapons and accessories to collect and some are required in order to complete sections of dungeons. You’ll often find yourself returning to a statue or blocked path which you could not figure out until you acquired a new weapon or gadget.

A central element to the story and gameplay is Link’s ocarina – a magical instrument that allows our hero to travel through time. Players are tasked with memorizing songs which trigger different events when played. The ocarina ties in with the great soundtrack which brilliantly captures the tone and setting of the plot.

Gameplay Controls

While the 3DS has a completely different button layout to the Nintendo 64, I found the control scheme comfortable and intuitive. It’s great to have the dungeon map visible at all times; there’s no more pausing to figure out where you’re headed.

One of the greatest additions is the ability to use the built-in gyroscope for aiming. When Link takes out his bow or slingshot the camera changes to first person mode allowing you to use the motion controls to aim directly where you want to shoot.

You can also jump into first person mode when exploring and use the gyroscope to move the camera in order to figure out your next move.

The only problem with motion controlled gaming is that you lose the 3D effect when swinging around the 3DS. Then again you’re not required to use the gyroscope nor do you have to use the 3D effects – it’s all a matter of preference.

Gyroscope controls seem very novel at first but you’ll quickly find that it’s accurate, reliable and faster than using the analogue stick.

Unfortunately the updated graphics and additional mechanics can’t always hide the dated core of the game. If you’ve played the game before everything will seem very familiar – perhaps too familiar. A few more graphical enhancements and changes might have been a welcome change.

Fortunately we’re treated to Master Quest mode which unlocks after your first play through of Ocarina of Time 3D. Master Quest lets you play the game in mirror mode where corridors that usually turn left now turn right. It’s just enough of a twist to make it feel like a whole new game.

In disparity, newcomers will feel as if they’re dropped into a giant box with walls enclosing the entire central Hyrule field – a direct contrast to the ‘open-endedness’ of modern gaming environments. If you’ve never played Ocarina of Time (or any other Zelda game for that matter) you might be overwhelmed at first.

This game keeps its traditional gaming philosophy – it’s not about to dish up everything on a silver plate. Some of the puzzles can be complex and require loads of exploring whereas most modern games usually point you in the right direction from the start.

In trying to make the game more accessible to a new generation of gamers Nintendo included a hint system that gives you a glimpse of where you should go and what you should do but it’s not always as helpful as Nintendo makes you believe.