Overview:

Christ.  Where to even begin with this game.  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is, and even then, considered a classic of the formula.  In the game, you take the control of Link (or whatever you name him) to go on a quest to save the world of Hyrule from the clutches of a vile man from the desert, Ganondorf, who wants nothing more than to bend the world to his will.  Throughout the quest you’ll tackle dungeons, collect cool items, meet interesting people, fight screen filling bosses, and so much more.  There is really so much to say about this game but it would just be treading over so much trodden ground, I’m just going to agree with the masses and say this game is probably the best ever made.

Visuals:

You may not think it, but when this game came out in 1998 it was quite the looker.  It faithfully took the Legend of Zelda franchise to the third dimension.  The land of Hyrule looked amazing and still does.  While there are the very noticeable boundaries which prevent you from going too far, in the end the hub feels just right and doesn’t become boring going from zone to zone.  The characters may be low polygon but at least they really aren’t trying to make them look too realistic.  There is a stylized and overexaggerated vibe to everyone and it works quite well.  The dungeons are also each so unique from each other with none really overstepping their bounds.  I just wish there was quite a bit more enemy variation because you do see the same enemies, throughout the length of the quest.

Audio:

Perfect.  

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!  Back in 1998.  So many times.  When I got this game on launch day it was a Saturday and my mom took me to Best Buy to pick up my preordered gold cartridge.  I got home and immediately started playing it.  It was a bummer that we had to go on a trip that day to move my sister but I took the Nintendo 64 and kept playing it all throughout the night.  I must have beaten it within the week or not too much after but I wanted nothing more than to keep playing.  My main save did everything in the game and collected everything.  Eventually I would start new saves where to see if I could beat it without dying.  Beat it without collecting any additional hearts.  Etc.  I was hooked on this game and it still has not died down, even almost three decades later.  

Update: 01/28/2026:

I FINISHED THIS GAME…again! When I got my Analogue 3D I wanted to beat this game again and I did! It’s still an amazing game and it brings me such wonderful memories. Now, there’s a new one added to it and I couldn’t be happier.