Amazing Game
This game comes just about as close to perfect as you are going to get, without actually achieving it. This game follows along perfectly with the rest of the Zelda series, while still going its own way and showing off that some innovation can be a good thing, when done in moderation. In a series so impressively popular, this game not only lives up to the hype, but sets a new bar for future games to achieve. Basically, this game takes and old thing and makes it better.The plot of this game is just about as good as you are going to get from an adventure game. The basic run of the story starts as you playing the role of a young forest child, namely, a “Kokari”. Summoned by the Great Deku Tree, you quickly grab a sword and shield and head off into an adventure that will eventually span great mountains, deep lakes, and even time in your attempt to thwart the plans of the evil Ganondorf. While not as epic as say a Final Fantasy plot, this game has enough twists and turns to keep you playing, that is, if the game itself doesn’t.
The controls of this game are spectacular. There is a perfect transition from the days of 2D Zelda to this game. You always will attack with your sword using B and use items assigned to slots on one of the three lower C buttons. The top C button is used for a first person perspective. The A button is really quite simplistic in itself also. It is used for everything that isn’t an item or your sword, which means it will climb, push, pull, talk, dive, open, and just about anything else you are going to need. The Z button is also a glory to the controls, as it allows for the new Z targeting. Using this basically focuses in on one enemy, allowing you to strafe and leap around it as you please, as well was block that enemies attacks much easier. Z targeting is really the root of the combat, but this game isn’t all the just combat.
This game’s puzzles are without a doubt one of its defining factors. While some are on a less grand scale to say, earn you 5 rupee’s (the games currency), many of them affect whole areas or allow you access to new weapons. Many of these puzzles will be challenging but not frustrating enough to force you to quit playing. Even if you do get stuck on a puzzle for a while, you can always leave a dungeon and do one of the games many side quests which include fishing, scouting for health and cursed spiders, selling masks, riding a horse, and various other tasks. Some puzzles will even have you traveling through time, 7 years to be exact, as you journey through the land as both a child and as an adult.
The sound in this Zelda is spectacular. Each piece of music fits perfectly with the atmosphere you are journeying through. Also, the sound effects are spectacular. Each one is coordinated at just the right time, and you never hear any of them enough to tire of them. The game even accounts for your surroundings, adding echoes and muffles in the proper places. The ocarina, an (obviously) important tool in your adventure, sounds spectacular and you may find yourself stopping just to play a tune.
This game is full of plenty to do to keep you entertained far past the point of saving the world from certain doom. Tired of saving countless lives from inevitable destruction? Easy, just go to the local shooting gallery and take a load off. Plus collecting the heart pieces can be both fun, and quickly adds up to be very helpful. You see, you can have in total 20 hearts, but just by the end of the game the bosses will only have brought your total to 11, the rest are scattered throughout the world. This game is very replay friendly, but in that case comes my only gripe. There is plenty to do while playing, but once you have beaten the game and learned all the puzzles, many might not ever feel the urge to play again. It isn’t as fun to some to play through the water temple knowing exactly where all the items are, what keys are placed where, ect.
The graphics are spectacular, top notch for the Nintendo 64. There will be a few scenes where you will question how they actually managed such spectacular graphics, namely, the bosses. They are gorgeous and perfectly constructed. Textures in this game are rarely repeated and all the graphics are pretty crisp. In-game cut scenes, which use the same graphics, will often leave you in awe, namely to me a certain scene in Kakariko Village.
All in all this game is a must own for both fans of the series and anyone looking to have a good time. Games like this are the reason I’m a gamer.
