In Praise of #8: Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3DS

I was given a 3DS for Christmas, and bought this game a little while after. I had played the N64 version when I was but a giant, overgrown teen, and so I knew what to expect. It was a great game, at the time held as the greatest ever, and remains, rightly, a classic. The remake into 3D, has a few changes to the button configuration, the temples have been made a little easier, and there is now a hint system which you can jump into if you choose. It's pretty awesome, and that's why it's the focus of today's 'In Praise Of.' [Please note, there are spoilers, kind of, and finding screenshots was nearly impossible, so there will be a lot of creepy fan art in its place*]

Some rare, non-nude fan art [source]

The plot and the story are well known, essentially its about Link, who uses a magical ocarina to travel back and forth through time to bring peace to his land. It's an immense game, with so much packed into it: it gets progressively harder, but logic and patience can solve any of the problems. It never becomes irrational. It's epic in scale, but still rewards exploration.  It's almost perfectly judged in tone, difficulty and scale.

Ganon, the main 'bad egg' of the game. Also, a ginger. Coincidence? [source]

Aside from the main plot, which is still great (although easier than I remember it), there are myriad side-quests. Masks, Magic Beans, ghost-hunting, an excellent fishing game, gold skulltula collecting and more ensure that this game will eat away precious hours of your mortal coil. The action is great, and the fighting system, even on the 3DS, still works intuitively. It's a joy to play, and a joy to look at, the visuals have been upped in the 3D version, and some gameplay things have been improved, meaning you don't have to spend half your time in pause while you rearrange your inventory or try to remember a song. 

Link holds up a fish, he looks surprised. [source]

The music, aside from the songs you learn to warp to places, are excellent and evocative, powerful even through the DS speakers, and makes a great game even better. My personal favourites are the flamenco influenced song at the Gerudo Hideout, and the evocative, harp themed music in the Zora's domain. 

Link on Epona. Perhaps not a flattering angle for a horse? It looks a little 'slow' [source]

While there are numerous highs: getting Epona (your horse); learning songs; some of the excellent cut scenes; the epic 'battle with Dark Link' - which retains the fast, ethereal logic of a dream, and the feeling that as you progress, you are learning more skills and gaining more powers and weapons. There are also some downsides, your fairy 'Navi' is just as annoying as she ever was; getting to some locations, particularly as a child, is a repetitive pain (Zora's domain, and the mountain where the awesome Gorons live, for example, take an age to get to without a horse or a warp). Furthermore, the game could also do with having a few more people in villages to talk to (although there are still plenty) and the game would also benefit from having something to spend all of your money on - for example, some new costumes, or perhaps some bling for your horse. There is also the rather unsatisfying conclusion - after you have defeated the final boss, you can't return to the game, so must remain in an unfinished game if you wish to, for example, collect every heartpiece or item. However, that doesn't detract from what is a terrific game.

Link is slowly approached by his evil self (from a N64 screenshot) [source]

  The land of Hyrule itself is a little odd. The Royal Family are more fawned over than even the British Royal family, they have a huge castle and seem to employ most of the town as guards. They are deferred to by villagers and even the main bad guy (Ganondorf), despite the fact that it is the Princess Zelda who is responsible for all of the trouble in the first place (she tried to reunite pieces of a tri-force, with disastrous results). A republic would work better for them, I think. Also, in Lon Lon ranch, a horse and cattle producing fortress, most of the work is done by the evil worker, Ingo, and the owner's daughter, Malon. It is no surprise that when Link re-emerges as an adult, it is Ingo who is running the place: he may be evil, but at least he is competent. The original owner, Talon, is found sleeping on multiple occasions, offers his daughter, Malon's, hand in marriage after a failed bet with a small child. Although he is a nice guy, he shouldn't be in charge of anything. Let's just say that this game isn't a paean to the free market.

One of the temple bosses, this one is particularly easy, despite his silly name and huge size. [source]

Incidentally, The girl Malon, who I deeply regret doing an image search for, (though a legitimate image can be found here) when she is an adult, looks almost exactly like an old girlfriend of mine. Her thick brown-ginger hair, odd dress sense and obsession with animals is a little worring for me. I don't know how I didn't realise that at the time. In fact, almost all of the characters of the game are either particularly attractive (that handsome dude who sells potions, that woman who keeps losing her chickens, but can't handle them because she is allergic (time to change jobs I think)), or alternatively they are particularly ugly (the crone with a cat who sells super potions, Dampe the gravekeeper, or that weird, frog-obsessed guy who lives next to the lake). It makes an interesting mix. 

Dead Hands Attacking Link. Hideous. Add sounds and it is vomit-inducing. [source

 The villains and bad guys are almost universally brilliant: armed lizards, bats which can either freeze or burn you depending on location, and other enemies which require guile and skill to defeat. The boss levels are also universally impressive (although the boss of the water temple was disappointing after all these years - it's a red blob which can manipulate water)- the final battle of all is genuinely epic. However, there are also some scary moments, a creature called the Dead Hand (Navi gives a name and unhelpful information on all enemies if they are highlighted), which spawns up from the ground and bites you as its undead, respawning hands pin you down, is awful. Also scary are the re-deads, zombies which scream, groan and jump on you sucking away your life; most unsettling of all though are the giant hands which occasionally come and grab you away, in 3d the detail is increased from the N64 version, and they are horrifying.

What could link possibly be looking at that is more interesting than that!? [source]

  The villages, churches, and landscape are very European in style, and it's often easy to forget that this is a Japanese game first and foremost.While it is a Japanese game, it's one which evokes a mythical universe and is European in its aesthetic. There are however, some particularly 'Japanese' moments, not least the extended scene inside the belly of a giant fish, or the pack mentality of an attacked chicken. Also, some of the bad guys are beyond crazy (see Dead Hands above). Most bizarre of all though is the collection of creepy, giggling naked fairies who are there to dispense assistance and skills from their caves. Creepy, especially in 3D. However, I mean this in the nicest way, it's crazy, but it's also crazy fun.

And this is pretty cute, huh? [source]

In conclusion, highly recommended, particularly if you've not played the N64 version, or if you're the same dork you were when you played this at age 12.

*I was amazed by how much fan fiction zelda porn there was, even when google settings were 'safe' and when the search was for things which could in no way be. Let's just say I'll never be able to look at Dark Link the same way again. There are some twisted minds around.