Ocarina of Time gets the accolades because it was the first 3D game that let you do what  you wanted. Sure Mario 64 was great, but Zelda appealed to a wider range of people because it was for kids (Kokiri Forest) and adults (Bottom of the Well). It's just like black and white films such as Casablanca and Citizen Kane; they're held in a higher regard because they are the first of their kind.  
 
And sure we'd visited many places like this with A Link to the Past, it's just Ocarina was the first of it's kind. In a way, it was a Mass Effect or Red Dead Redemption because it realized a place that could slowly be unraveled and explored; while simultaneously keeping the same framework that made people love Zelda on the NES and SNES. 
 
When something invents itself in a way that has never been done, that's the label it will be stuck with it forever.

It did much right, and compared to most modern games today it still kinda does.

I'll just reiterate what others have said: You had to be there. Back in '98 I was out buying Christmas presents for the family with one of my friends. We of course had to go to the nearest electronics store to see what they had available. Looking at their N64 games I found OoT and of course proceeded to buy it. 2 weeks later, I was done. 130-ish hours spent, and I absolutely loved every single minute of it. The dungeons, the open 3D world (which was a first for Zelda), the quests and the story just came together in a way that hadn't been done before. Combined with the amazing sound design, the game firmly cemented itself as being close to perfect, at least in my teenage mind and I will always call it one of the best games ever made. That said, the original hasn't aged well (haven't tried the 3ds remake), and pretty much everything feels dated at this point in time. Still doesn't change my perception of it though.

@me3639 said:

Never played it and never intending to ever do so.

.... Damn.

Vague off-topicness: I see VGK's only played one of them. Heh.

I didn't have an N64 so never played OOT until about 4 years ago.
 
I still enjoyed it though, it's a great game. To me, Wind Waker is the better game though. I enjoyed all of it, including the sailing.

@OP typical musings from a gamer who is younger than ocarina of time. 
 
seriously kiddos, ocarina will always be great.  it's your problem that you can't see it - and for that I feel sorry for you bunch.  The game is and always will be a classic. 
 
I can't wait to drink your tears when 2021 dirtbag preteens are hating on God of War or Call of Duty or whatever other shitty games your know-it-all generation clings to.

You had to be there, its like with any game, notalgia plays an important impact on a game. Thats like playing the first Fallout then playing Fallout 3...both games are very different, and unlike Fallout 1, OoT is still playable (for me) anyway. Even for a 13 year old game it shows how well it was made.

Your first sentence answers all. You kinda had to be there.  And those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

Vague off-topicness: I see VGK's only played one of them. Heh.

I don't see what people see in zelda period.

@Akrid said:

Your first sentence answers all. You kinda had to be there.  And those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

You are completely right. 13 years ago it was impossible to develop characters and designing puzzles was motherfucking rocket science.

@Hailinel said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@Akrid said:

Your first sentence answers all. You kinda had to be there. And those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

The joke is Majora came out 2 years later and fixed all of them but people still like OoT more.

Majora's Mask is different, strange, and terrifies people uncomfortable with breaking out of the traditional Zelda mold.

Then what about any other Zelda game ever, OoT is still the king for some reason.

I will shoot anyone who actually claims OoT is better than Wind Waker if I were to meet them in person.

I will go get a gun license, buy a mother fucking gun, go to a shooting range and pay to have lessons so I can learn to properly carry and operate a firearm, and then I will shoot them if they are still waiting for me in the same place.

If not I will go home and spam their inbox and just be satisfied with that.

@_jackbauer said:

@OP typical musings from a gamer who is younger than ocarina of time. seriously kiddos, ocarina will always be great. it's your problem that you can't see it - and for that I feel sorry for you bunch. The game is and always will be a classic. I can't wait to drink your tears when 2021 dirtbag preteens are hating on God of War or Call of Duty or whatever other shitty games your know-it-all generation clings to.

And with that we have a winner.

@Agent47 said:

@LordXavierBritish: I'm guessing you didn't play it at release?At the time the world and enviroments were amazing of course you can say all that but back then that was break through stuff.

I played it when it came out.

I rented it but I never got very far because I found the controls annoying.

@_jackbauer said:

@OP typical musings from a gamer who is younger than ocarina of time. seriously kiddos, ocarina will always be great. it's your problem that you can't see it - and for that I feel sorry for you bunch. The game is and always will be a classic. I can't wait to drink your tears when 2021 dirtbag preteens are hating on God of War or Call of Duty or whatever other shitty games your know-it-all generation clings to.

That's nice dear.

It's a Nintendo game, so nearly 100% of the love generated is through nostalgia.

I play through OoT, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker every summer and I'm currently at the Fire Temple on OoT (I'm playing the Collector's edition because I'm to lazy to hook up my N64).  It still totally hold up.  Sure the menu's a pain and the camera is wonky, but for a 13 year old game it is great, and I still have more fun with it than most modern console games. 

@FEnergyLegs said:

@Akrid said:

Your first sentence answers all. You kinda had to be there.  And those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

You are completely right. 13 years ago it was impossible to develop characters and designing puzzles was motherfucking rocket science.

you're cute

you had to be there!

I don't know why everyone assumes that just because I didn't finish it when it came out means I didn't play it.

I also don't see how the open worlds were anymore impressive than what Mario 64 did.

@Hailinel said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@Hailinel said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@Akrid said:

Your first sentence answers all. You kinda had to be there. And those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

The joke is Majora came out 2 years later and fixed all of them but people still like OoT more.

Majora's Mask is different, strange, and terrifies people uncomfortable with breaking out of the traditional Zelda mold.

Then what about any other Zelda game ever, OoT is still the king for some reason.

I will shoot anyone who actually claims OoT is better than Wind Waker if I were to meet them in person.

I will go get a gun license, buy a mother fucking gun, go to a shooting range and pay to have lessons so I can learn to properly carry and operate a firearm, and then I will shoot them if they are still waiting for me in the same place.

If not I will go home and spam their inbox and just be satisfied with that.

You enjoyed that Triforce hunt in Wind Waker?

Who wouldn't? Thought this awesome game was going to end and then wham! An excuse to explore all those other islands and unlock their secrets. Plus I loved being on a jumping boat.

SO...
You clealry have no soul?

@Video_Game_King said:

@LordXavierBritish: You didn't finish it? What the fuck? You mean you found the Ganon fight at the end to be too easy, but you didn't finish it? No wonder people are yelling at you: your opinions aren't entirely logical.

When I played it the first time I didn't make it to Ganon.

When I played it the first time it was 1998.

Ocarina of Time gets the accolades because it was the first 3D game that let you do what  you wanted. Sure Mario 64 was great, but Zelda appealed to a wider range of people because it was for kids (Kokiri Forest) and adults (Bottom of the Well). It's just like black and white films such as Casablanca and Citizen Kane; they're held in a higher regard because they are the first of their kind.   And sure we'd visited many places like this with A Link to the Past, it's just Ocarina was the first of it's kind. In a way, it was a Mass Effect or Red Dead Redemption because it realized a place that could slowly be unraveled and explored; while simultaneously keeping the same framework that made people love Zelda on the NES and SNES.  When something invents itself in a way that has never been done, that's the label it will be stuck with it forever.

Zelda games is good games, just play it and enjoy it ( or don't.) There is no reason it should be more complicated than that.

Played it when it first came out gave up after an hour, attempted many years later and had the same problem. I have it for 3DS now and I am loving it, the beginning's of the game is pretty rough.

@Video_Game_King said:

@LordXavierBritish:

So I'm assuming that you've finished it at some point? Because otherwise, your Ganon point would be fucking stupid.

Yes.

Yesterday.

Well, i think that real classics should be good not only "because it was good 13 years ago", so, i think you're right by judging the game's world by today standards. The problem is, people who bought Ocarina Of Time 3D were not asking for today standards. They wanted a nostalgic experience, and if the developers made radical changes to the game world, people who want a nostalgic experience (A.K.A. 99% of the buyers) would criticize the game. 
 
Sorry if someone said that before, and sorry if this didn't make sense.

it's aged terribly but yo, it's zelda, a timeless franchise

you had to be there!

You know, you may be in the minority here.  Like people who preferred the yellow ranger to the pink ranger.  Doesn't mean you're wrong, but it might mean that you have problems.

You know, you may be in the minority here.  Like people who preferred the yellow ranger to the pink ranger.  Doesn't mean you're wrong, but it might mean that you have problems.

@Yanngc33 said:

it's aged terribly but yo, it's zelda, a timeless franchise

The Nintendo 64 in general aged terribly. There isn't one game on that system that looks good unless you up rez it which is what they did. The NES, SNES and even the Atari 2600 are more tolerable than the N64. But there's more to games than graphics and Mario 64, Zelda, Shadows of the Empire, and DKC were all great.

those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

It's a 3D game from the 90's that's still playable today. That's a feat in itself.

@DrMcKittrick said:

@Yanngc33 said:

it's aged terribly but yo, it's zelda, a timeless franchise

The Nintendo 64 in general aged terribly. There isn't one game on that system that looks good unless you up rez it which is what they did. The NES, SNES and even the Atari 2600 are more tolerable than the N64. But there's more to games than graphics and Mario 64, Zelda, Shadows of the Empire, and DKC were all great.

No one has said anything about graphics.

@Deusoma said:

@Akrid said:

those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

I believe the appropriate phrase is "/thread".

No it isn't, because the fact of the matter is people still laud it as if it is the pinnacle of gaming.

Time is not a factor in that argument.

Where's my ish!?

@Akrid said:

those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

I believe the appropriate phrase is "/thread".

Man you guys are silly

just so silly

Man you guys are silly

just so silly

@FEnergyLegs said:

@Deusoma said:

@Akrid said:

those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

I believe the appropriate phrase is "/thread".

Once again it was 100% possible to create a world that wasn't inconsequential, characters that had development, and puzzles that aren't shit 13 years ago. Ocarina of Time has terrible design all around and the release date is no excuse.

Lovely the way you attempt to state an opinion as fact.

@LordXavierBritish: You need to calm the fuck down son.

@FEnergyLegs said:

@Deusoma said:

@Akrid said:

those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

I believe the appropriate phrase is "/thread".

Once again it was 100% possible to create a world that wasn't inconsequential, characters that had development, and puzzles that aren't shit 13 years ago. Ocarina of Time has terrible design all around and the release date is no excuse.

Lovely the way you attempt to state an opinion as fact.

Only nerds play Zelda.

@Hailinel said:

@FEnergyLegs said:

@Deusoma said:

@Akrid said:

those seem like incredibly minor gripes for a game that came out 13 years ago.

I believe the appropriate phrase is "/thread".

Once again it was 100% possible to create a world that wasn't inconsequential, characters that had development, and puzzles that aren't shit 13 years ago. Ocarina of Time has terrible design all around and the release date is no excuse.

Lovely the way you attempt to state an opinion as fact.

I'm not giving any opinions here. There have been several video games predating Ocarina of Time to have actual character development, not to mention film and literature. There were also several video games that predated Ocarina of Time to feature good level design and clever puzzles. Ocarina of Time could have had those things thirteen years ago because other games had those over thirteen years ago.