The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Reviewed by J.M. Hornbaker
Ah yes, the long awaited Nintendo 64 incarnation of the famed Zelda series. I
think we've had to wait just a bit too long for this mediocre cart, which
just lacks the flair and originality that it's predecessors had. Sure, it
has it's good points but Ocarina of Time just isn't that appealing to me.
Graphics 10 out of 10
The best graphics seen yet on the Nintendo 64, and the best part of them is
that they don't suffer from that "blurry" effect that the majority of
Nintendo 64 games seem to have. The frame rate is continuous, with no slowdown
whatsoever, the characters don't "stick" to walls, and there is
little or no break up.
Music and Sound 8 out of 10
The background music of the game isn't riveting, and the sound effects
are a little on the drab side, but the Ocarina itself is great! It actually
works like a real Ocarina does! (Trust me, I did research on it).
Game Challenge 10 out of 10
The game often leaves you with little or no clue of where to go, which
can make the game a little too challenging at some times, but nothing
that a true RPG fanatic can't handle. As far as novices to the genre go,
they will probably have some major troubles as far as finding there
way in this difficult game.
Game Play-Fun 5 out of 10
The gameplay is just too slow. If there were more fighting, and less
exploration, the game would just be more fun. Granted most RPG's don't
have fast-paced combat, but I just thought that was one area where
Ocarina could have shined. The exploration is slow and tedious while
battling the enemies is just not fun, due to the amount of time it takes
to defeat them.
Rumble Pak 6 out of 10
I really didn't use the rumble pak with this game much, and when i did
I didn't really even realize i was using it. Nintendo could have done a
much better job in this area.
Frustration 8 out of 10
Yes. The game often leaves you hanging and wondering where to go.
Thus, creating frustration. Also, as mentioned above, there is too
much exploring and not enough butt-kicking.
Replayability 8 out of 10
Since it's an adventure, you'll probably beat it 3 times before you've found
everything, unless you take the cheap way out and use one of those FAQs.
If you do use these, shame on you, if you don't, you'll not only have extended
play time, but will also get more satisfaction out of figuring things out
on your own.
Game Value 5 out of 10
I don't think it is even worth $40 to buy this game, but since it's the
Nintendo 64's first "true" adventure, and it's a cartridge, you know
it'll be too expensive for it's own good.
Overall 4 out of 10
Overall, a mediocre game that did not live up to my expectations, and
did not fully take advantage of things the Nintendo 64 is capable of. The
whole gameplay scheme needs to be tweaked, making for more battles, and less
exploration. I'll give Nintendo credit for the outstanding graphics and
superb ocarina sounds/mechanics, but it's just not enough to make a
solid adventure game.