Heavy Is the Head That Wears the Crown - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64/3DS) Review

If you grew up in the late 90s, there were 2 video games that inarguably shaped the video game medium as a genre from their release. Final Fantasy 7 and the subject of this video, Ocarina of Time. While I was a little too young when the game released to appreciate it (ex: not born), Ocarina's legacy both as a Zelda game and video game in general looms so large that it can often muddy the discussion around it. Is the game truly all it has been built up as over the years, or is it an aging relic that we need to tone down the praise on? Join me today as I take a look at both its original release as well as its portable remake and discuss the good, the bad, and the spectacular little details that show just how much this game still stands up today. Timestamps: 0:00 Preamble 2:25 Retrospective Title Card 3:04 Nintendo's Fading Star 5:19 Forming a New Power 9:48 Nothing's Ever Easy 12:04 Crossing the Finish Line 14:40 Looming Shadow 18:24 Starting the Game 22:28 The Most Ambitious Opening in the Series 27:16 Inside the Deku Tree 34:44 Gohma and the Importance of Camera Control 39:50 Death in the Family and Saying Goodbye 42:07 Taking our First Steps Into a Larger World 47:00 Princess Parley 50:02 Whole Wide World to Explore! 55:44 Scaling Death Mountain and Admiring the World Below 59:37 How to Please a Grumpy Goron 1:01:27 Blasting Through Dodongo's Cavern 1:02:23 Creating Chanbara Combat 1:06:28 Let's Bomb some Dodongos! (And the easiest boss in the game) 1:09:06 The Magic of Brothership 1:12:28 Rising through the Zora River 1:14:01 Fishing for Bottles 1:18:22 Ever heard the tale of Jonah? (Inside Lord Jabu Jabu) 1:25:36 The Fall of Hyrule 1:31:54 A Masterful Gambit 1:32:39 The Most Cinematic Story in the Series 1:38:34 The Safety of Childhood 1:42:17 A Plank of Wood 1:50:01 Navigating a Minefield 1:52:30 Seven Years Later... 1:55:38 Digressing and Sidequesting 2:03:50 Finding the Forest Temple 2:05:19 I ain't Scared of No Ghosts! 2:11:03 Sorrowful Saria and Link's Backstory 2:13:45 Bullying a Child 2:15:13 Fiery Hot Temple 2:19:53 Dutiful Darunia and the Big Goron Sword 2:22:53 A Chilly Reception 2:27:03 The Worst Dungeon in the Series (and why it isn't) 2:37:08 Romantic Ruto and Cupid's Hot Arrows 2:40:27 The Next Dungeon? The Answer Lies in the Heart of Battle 2:42:44 Well well well, it's the next mini dungeon 2:44:59 The Shadows of Hyrule's Past 2:50:58 Inexhaustible Impa and the Journey to the West 2:53:24 Forced Stealth Missions are Never Bad Right? 2:59:39 Some Spirited Clean Up 3:02:15 We're Going Back in Time to Take Silver Gauntlets Off the Menu 3:06:45 Owl Really Miss That Owl 3:09:30 Silver Gauntlets and the Second Half the of Dungeon 3:13:31 Spiritual Subtext 3:18:09 The Fair Nymph Nabooru 3:22:19 Final Sweep of Hyrule and the Geurdo Training Ground 3:26:19 A Hidden Ally 3:32:56 Ganon's Castle and its Many Oddities 3:39:27 Endgame 3:56:46 Another Powerful Ending 3:58:13 Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff 4:01:34 Ganondorf's Greatness 4:04:05 Crackpot Theory Time 4:06:57 Parallel Journeys 4:11:13 Conclusion Credits: Written, Edited, and Voiced By: Seth Anderson Thank you to my friends ‪@StupidStudiosN‬ ‪@GenmaTheSamurai‬ and more who were kind enough to proofread, offer their thoughts and ideas, and be supportive through every step of the video making process. Fan Artwork (in order of appearance) Zelda Retrospective Title Card by @Aegis_Asu Music Used (In order of appearance) Ocarina of Time Title Theme Temple of Time Hyrule Field Main Theme Gerudo Valley Chamber of the Sages Lon Lon Ranch Ganondorf's Theme Temple of Time Kakariko Village Goron City House Theme Zelda's Lullaby Windmill Hut Shiek's Theme Potion Shop Inside Ganon's Castle End Credits