The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past is one of the closest things to video game perfection I believe that has ever existed in the medium. The original Zelda was a fascinating title and one of the first pure open world games on home consoles. The sequel, Adventure of Link (often considered the black sheep of the franchise) experimented with a different style of play and I still believe is better than it ever got credit for. Then as advancements in game development, the leap to 3D was only natural. Ocarina Of Time is widely considered one of the most important games in video game history and has been a favorite of many during a generation. But is it really? Yep, time to play a little contrarian.

Developed by Nintendo and released exclusively for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, Ocarina of Time would go on to be one of the most popular games on the console, during the era. There's no doubt that this game was very influential for how 3D adventure games should be designed, or at least serve as a blueprint for making them accessible. Early 3D games around this time were very rough, so Ocarina of Time's contributions (as well as Super Mario 64) don't go uncredited.

That being said, I never really was that much of a fan of this game. Not because I thought it was a poorly made game, but as a ZELDA, I don't feel like a lot of the things it tries to do aids in game flow. For instance, the opening to Link To The Past starts off immediately thrusting you into the action. Princess Zelda alerts Link that his uncle has been injured, and he's needed under duress. I get that there's a plethora of new controls and functions to grasp, but the start of OoT designed to introduce gameplay elements to you takes too long, and it would become a formality of the series for years. I get that ingratiating players to a game is essential, but having to meticulously go through Z-Targeting, how to ride a horse, and explaining how ladders and rupees work, not to mention the heavier story elements added for the sake of context I'm kinda bored an hour into this game.

So how does the game function? Again, I disagree with the structure of the game, because them emphasis is less on exploration at your own behest and more about following what the game tells you to. Mind you, these are merely philosophy choices I disagree with. But as far as setting up your objectives and what you need to accomplish, it runs more linear than LttP (which technically established that format, it just isn't bogged down by a lot of the pacing). Strangely enough, I enjoy the bits where you're young Link and going about the early portions of Death Mountain and the smaller inventory. The dungeons are pretty big for the time and are packed with rooms to explore, I did get tired of the constant reminders of what items do when you open chests for the thousandth time and the notification lets you know what bombs do, as if you haven't figured it out by now. 

I know, it sounds like I'm nitpicking. But Link to the Past was such an ingratiating experience, that Ocarina felt like a significant step backwards in terms of what defines a "Zelda" game. It does have positives, the controls are fine. Ocarina isn't particularly combat-centric, most of the battles in it are waiting for the enemy to provide an opening and then wailing on them. Fighting in and of itself feels more like a means to an end and not really a craft you have to hone. So boss fights are looking for a way stun an enemy, hit them several times, wash. rinse, repeat the pattern.

The visuals for their time were good. Most N64 games still retained a blocky look, and ocarina of Time wasn't an exception. I guess you could say it retains a charm, it again is a game that a generation grew up with it, so a lot of this is pretty iconic. The graphics occasionally clip, and the camera can be a pain to deal with because it remains fixed in portions where I would like to be able to zoom out or pan the angle around to get a better vantage point on a hazard. It's one of the things that's aged the worst about this game. 

Despite the reputation some portions of this game, like the dreaded Water Temple (I believe the Shadow Temple is more annoying), Ocarina of Time isn't really that hard to me. Its challenge feels pretty moderate, all things considered, I never felt there was a lot about the obstacles that was very demanding. 

So is Ocarina of Time worth playing today? I think it's rough around the edges and doesn't withstand the test of time with me, because I much prefer overhead Zelda games that accommodate the series' strengths more. Ocarina of Time does work as an adventure title, and its design serves a great contribution to the medium. As a Zelda game, I think it's just a little too slow paced and has a lot of dead air. 

That being said, this is still enjoyable game. It's packed with a lot of boss fights, and for its time, Hyrule was a vast location to explore that's chocked full of secrets and trivia. One of the things I like the most was elements of Star Fox 64's engine made its way into the game for use in a boss battle. The dragon Volvagia has a flying pattern that emulates the flight of the Arwing, and this programming was used to ingratiate flying without having to command resources towards Ocarina of Time's development. I might be picking on a childhood favorite here, but by no means do I think Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is a bad game. There's just much about how it serves as a "Zelda" that I disagree with.