Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 3DS

These days we've been hearing the debate about video games getting easier. I'm not going to get into this debate here, perhaps another time, or perhaps never. It's not an issue that bothers me, trends are trends, and modern hard-core gamers expect more of an interactive movie than a game of repetitive action, seeking, finding, puzzle-solving, and the like. It comes with the technology.

But let's just quickly compare something like Uncharted or Batman: Arkham Asylum with... The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

That's right, just like I said.

I have played and beaten all three of these (actually 4, I didn't indicate WHICH Uncharted, there are currently 2 titles). The one I beat most recently was...

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, a.k.a. "Zelda 3D". You see I never finished it back in the Nintendo 64 days, it was just too damned confusing. You would have to be a MENSA-level genius to complete this game without a walk-through (or at least a serious list of hints and tips). My deepest respect goes out for anyone who beat this game just using their head. These people should be working for the F.B.I. or NASA.

And that is a roundabout way of getting to the first point of my review: you truely get more game for your buck with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS. This game requires more involvement, planning, thinking, as well as action than many of the top-tier big-budget blockbusters available on other systems. Zelda is a Nintendo game, after all, and one thing has always been true: Nintendo makes you WORK. You don't cruise through this title in linear fashion; you work for every little victory and advancement. I used a walk-through, to be sure, but I still found myself saying, "Oh, no, I can't get past HERE without THAT! So now I have to go all the way back THERE and GET that!" The satisfaction of finishing this game (which I only did on the original quest) is far more than finishing many other games because you have to work so much harder. It is not an easy title to beat, even with a walkthrough. The walkthrough merely tells you where to go and what to do; it doesn't play the game for you.

One of the things that irked me about the original Zelda 64 was the clumsy control. This problem is gone with the 3DS version, I have to say the control is quite good. Fluid and sensitive, with touch-screen controls and motion-sensing. Aiming an arrow is a matter of postioning the 3DS itself correctly.

The Graphics of Zelda 64 were fantastic for their time, and on the 3DS, with the small screen and 3D capabilites, the game seems brand-new. I have not seen that many games for any hand held devices to date that are as fluid, good-looking and deeply challenging as this title.

One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the "time-travelling". With the Ocarina, you can travel to the Temple of Time. From there, removing the Sword takes you into a dark, dismal future as teen-aged Link. Placing the sword back in the stone takes you back to the warm, sunny past (er, present...) as little boy Link. The best shops are in the past right near the Temple, so the best way to "beef up" as teen-aged Link is to return to the Temple, replace the Sword and travel back to the present. Hit the shops, stock up, then return to the Temple, remove the Sword and go back to the future.

The game is fantastic, it looks and plays great on the 3DS. It's like a brand-new game, but I take into consideration that it is, at heart, a "port".

Had it been a totally original Zelda game that looked and played like it did, I would have said a 9/10. Had it been linear with a lot of cut scenes like modern games I would have given it a 7/10. But it is what it is. I give The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS an 8/10.

This is a game I am truely proud to say I completed.

It took me close to 40 tries to take down Ganon.