The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Ocarina of Time 3D is an interesting game. It's not a remake. Don't be fooled, this is mostly the same game you loved 13 years ago. But, it's not a port either. There are changes to the game, but they are all of the small detail variety. The graphics are of a higher resolution than the original but more importantly the art style has been subtly redone. The colors and lighting of most areas have been changed and there's just a lot more stuff to look at in this version of the game. This could have been enough to ruin things, but everything Grezzo changed and added was done with so much love that every change is for the better. Grezzo has pulled off an impressive feat in making the game look more modern while enhancing the spirit and feel of the original.Also of note is the use of the 3D. I don't mean to be hyperbolic, but this is the best use of 3D I've seen in any game or movie for that matter. Where other games and all movies simply have planes of depth and look a little off, this looks perfectly natural, like the action is simply playing out in front of you. I dare anyone to climb the perch in Kakariko Village and not be left breathless by the view. There are many moments in the game, most of which took me by surprise, where I had to stop playing and simply marvel at the 3D.As for the game itself, what needs to be said? Ocarina of Time was a landmark title in 1998 and while most of it's revolutionary features are commonplace these days, the game still holds up pretty much perfectly. It's even more impressive when you consider how many "great" games from that era are pretty much unplayable these days. The world design is still awesome, the dungeons are still devious, the inhabitants of Hyrule are still charming, the story is still simple and affective, basically everything that made the game so magical is still present and still very potent.As a sidenote, I had forgotten (or maybe never realized) how cinematic this game is. The visual storytelling on display here is phenomenal and it's something I haven't seen in many (any?) games before or since. Link doesn't speak, but the visuals tell you pretty much all you need to know about our hero. When you leave Kokiri Forest for the first time and say good bye to Saria, the camera switches to a wide, high angle shot as Link hesitantly runs away. It's such a small, simple moment, but also a very powerful one. There's a number of moments and scenes like this that only now do I realize how affective they really were. And yes, I think the 3D effect enhances this aspect of the game.If I had any nits to pick, it would be with the combat. Both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess feature much more fluid and fun sword-fighting action and it would have been nice to see the engine from those games make it's way to Ocarina 3D. But, not a big deal. The combat is more than functional here.As far as I'm concerned, this is the best version of Ocarina of Time. I know Nintendo gets a lot of flack for constantly re-releasing their old games and sometimes they deserve it (like that Super Mario 25th anniversary compilation last year) but this is not one of those times. This is a wonderful package and I recommend it to anyone who owns a 3DS, and probably to a lot of people who don't own one. Here's hoping Majora's Mask (and maybe even Wind Waker) gets this same treatment.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is truly a special game. It is one of those rare treats in an artistic medium for which the universal praise and superlatives are entirely true no matter what angle you look at it from. Very few would argue against Ocarina of Time's greatness, or its lasting impact on the industry as a whole, and the fact remains that even after all these years since its release, it still reigns supreme as the world record holder for highest rated game in history. To attempt to remake such a classic masterpiece is a very daunting task indeed, but developer Grezzo, under Nintendo's watchful eye, did just that. The question is, is the remake worthy of the original's name? In short, yes, yes it is. This, to me, is the shining example of what remakes should be, but allow me to go into greater detail to explain why I think this.Full Disclosure: The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite franchise in video games (a hobby I consider my favorite pastime). It is no stretch to say that Ocarina could very well be the greatest video game ever made thus far in the relatively young entertainment medium. The incredibly epic story of good versus evil, the compelling characters, the masterful gameplay, the beautiful art design, the iconic music, the sheer variety and amount of excellent content, the majesty and mystery of exploring the massive (at the time of its release, anyway) world of Hyrule, Ocarina had it all, and honestly, it still does. You could play this today in its original format and despite its age, you'd still get a masterpiece (as evident by its popularity on the Wii Virtual Console). I make no apologies for my belief in these statements, and I stand by them. Obviously, when considering how to rate a remake, you first have to consider the backbone of the package by analyzing the original works being remade. Ocarina 3D has one of the best games ever to work with, so no problems here. Second, you have to consider what work went into the game to qualify it as a "remake" AND if it benefits the original work enough to warrant a remake treatment. How does Ocarina of Time 3D fare in that regard?Back in 1998, Ocarina of Time was groundbreaking in many ways as a 3D adventure game, but one of the most striking examples of this were in its visuals. If you play the original today, you'll obviously notice Ocarina has aged pretty horribly, despite the timeless art design, gameplay, music, story, etc. Graphically, Ocarina needed a facelift, and this 3DS remake does just that masterfully. From character models/animations to structures to textures, literally everything was remade from the ground up visually. Grezzo's goal in remaking the visuals was to finally channel the exact art design that was originally conceived, seen through the original official concept/promotional art for the game. That been said, rather than being the detailed, adult graphic novel style of Twilight Princess, OoT3D is more like a vibrant, colorful stylized comic book/anime. Is that bad? By no means! It's more a matter of taste. Personally, I think this game is absolutely gorgeous! The 3DS is essentially a portable Gamecube in terms of graphical capabilities, so imagine that kind of power channeling the original epic concept and promotional art for Ocarina and you have a pretty good idea what you're looking at here. If you don't think the difference between the original and this is much, I dare you to say so after looking at videos and screenshots of them side-by-side. Yes, in terms of visuals, Grezzo nailed it with this remake! To play Ocarina with the visuals it was always intended to have before but couldn't because of hardware limitations is reason enough alone to warrant a purchase, but that's not all Ocarina 3D has going for it visually.Another visual treatment that this remake got was one that only the 3DS could offer: 3-D (duh). In all honesty, this is one of the better examples of stereoscopic 3-D on the 3DS. I actually found myself playing the game with the 3-D slider all the way up most of the time, and viewed it as an essential aspect to the experience, something I did not expect going into it. That 3-D effect really lent this feeling of organic life to the game, and helped Hyrule truly feel like a living, breathing world. As gimmicky as that all may sound, it's very true in this game's case. Nintendo did a great job making this a showpiece for the 3DS' three-dimensional capabilities. The only problem I ever encountered in this area was image ghosting in places where there was very high contrast, but that's more of a criticism of the 3DS' screen system and not this game.Koji Kondo's work as the main composer in Ocarina of Time is unrivaled in terms of iconic, brilliant music in a game. To this day, Ocarina's music is required listening for any fan of Nintendo, Zelda, video games, you name it. That been said, they did not rock the boat when handling the soundtrack for this game. The music was remastered, but plays pretty much unaltered in any way from the original (per Kondo's request). It's fun to take in the sound/music design in this game, as the original was pretty groundbreaking in this way. For example, the Hyrule field theme would change in pace and instrumentation depending on circumstances, which is something we take for granted today, but back then it was amazing. It is still impressive today. Grezzo's treatment of the audio was extremely respectful, upgrading and refining without altering, and as a massive fan of Zelda, that is exactly what I wanted.The controls are as intuitive and satisfying as ever, and in some areas may actually be better than the good ol' N64 "pitchfork" set-up, which always worked so well. The lower touchscreen on the 3DS is utilized to great effect, making looking at the map, changing equipment and gear, changing the view to first-person, talking to Navi, using two of four item slots, and playing the Ocarina, all smoother and more accessible. Otherwise, the action buttons are masterfully mapped on the 3DS' button layout, no complaints there. I DID find my hand cramping after extended play due to the button placement for z-targeting and shield usage, but that's more criticism of the slick, compact 3DS itself. This 3DS hand grip helped *immensely* in that way (and if you have a 3DS XL, then I highly recommend this grip). You also have the option to use the 3DS' gyroscopic capabilities to aim things like your bow that feels really good to use, but that often means losing the 3-D effect, so there is a trade-off there.To summarize, this remake is, in my opinion, the best version of one of the best video games ever made. It makes substantial upgrades to the original in its visuals, 3-D implementation, audio remastering, controls, as well as the inclusion of the Master Quest (a game that plays the same as the original, except that it is mirrored and the temples/dungeons are very different and much harder, as a challenge to Ocarina veterans). The fact that this new portable version of one of the most revered games ever channels the spirit of the original so perfectly while still feeling brand new again is pretty amazing. In my opinion, that is everything a remake should be, and is exponentially better than the hideously lazy cash grab opportunities that comprise most remake/rerelease/port efforts, but in all honesty, this isn't really a "remake." No, it's more of a respectful refinement. You can tell that the developers were constantly cognizant of the massive shoes of the original, and so refined all that had aged and respectfully left untouched all that makes this game so timeless, and timeless it most certainly is. It is just as good now as it was all those years ago, and is a game that would be worth buying the 3DS for alone. Yes, Ocarina of Time is indeed one of the greatest games ever made, but here's what you maybe didn't expect: Ocarina of Time 3D actually refines and revitalizes this timeless masterpiece. Buy it, save the beautiful kingdom of Hyrule once again, and become the destined Hero of Time.