Having my interest spiked by the 3DS re-release, I recently re-entered the land of Hyrule and again completed the original version of the game. 
 
The nostalgia, obviously, came flooding back and I remembered what it felt like to beat Ocarina for the first time.  
 
Does anyone have any interesting stories regarding their first time completing the original game?

I remember hating the living fuck out of the water temple.

I woke up 3 hours before school just so I could finish Ganon's castle.
 
I was still late for school but the ending was amazing, so worth it.

My first time through I watched my brother play through the water temple and then copied his file so I wouldn't have to do it. Not the best thing to do, but hey, no water temple.

I remember being stuck inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly for 2 days and finally figuring out the gimmick to that dungeon. After that the rest of the game, yes even the Water Temple, was a breeze.

I rented the game and couldn't get past the deku tree. The torch jumping part maybe me so mad I nmade my dad bring it back early. Later when the gamecube version came out I beat in one try and fell in love with the game. To be fair I was 7 the first time.

The annoying ass owl that defaults to restarting the conversation if you mash 'A' during his rant.

I remember hating the Water Temple with a passion. I also remember how I completed it first time without getting the Fire Arrows because I never understood the clue on that island in Lake Hylia.

It took me a very long time (much of me not actually playing it) span to beat the game because Bongo-Bongo was really tough for me to beat when I couldn't grasp the concepts required to kill him. By the time I was finally able to kill him, I had forgotten how Phantom Ganondorf was defeated, and therefore didn't understand how to beat the real Ganondorf by the time I got there.

Eventually restarted a new file and then I was able to beat the game for the first time probably 5 years after it had come out.

I played this when it came out 1998. I stood outside the game store waiting for those damn dorrs to open.

Those things that I remember most about Ocarina of Time is that it had some incredible vistas. I will never forget seeing Death Mountains fire ring in the future when you stepped outside the Temple of Time for the first time. I almost yelled at the screen when I watched the Quick look, "Go out! Go OUT! I want to see Death Mountain!" ^^

I also really really dig Ganons Tower and that view, to not mention the last encounter in that game that was epic and glorius. They designed him and the enviroment spot on during that fight. It's allways that kind of feeling I want in all other Zelda games afterwards. That feeling of weight and being up against something bigger. Twilight Princess did it quite well but not at the same level.

I also really dig Morpha (thought that was a cool design/idea and Twinrova.

I remember being scared to death by Ganon, I used to have nightmares about him, and when I finally beat him I felt like I'd just saved the world for real. I guess I should mention I was like 7 years old at the time, was also how I learnt to speak and read english oddly enough.

For some reason, the memory that stands out most from the first time I played that game is the scarecrow dancing around to my scarecrow's song. Also, getting that big goron's sword was rad. I can't wait to play the 3DS version, but I won't be buying one until around the time Luigi's Mansion 2 comes out.

Played it when it first came out, when I was 10. Got stuck at the water temple, and stopped playing it for 2 years. Idk if I was just shitty at games or if the water temple was legitimately really hard. Did end up finishing it before I got my PS2.

When I read the title I clicked on the thread ready to divulge the details of my first time with a woman. Perhaps I should read the section the thread comes from next time eh?

On topic, I have yet to play any Zelda game for more than a couple of minutes, don't judge me damn it...

Oh such a great game and memories.
 
Not really about finishing the game. 
But i remember being frustrated by the water temple...
Buckeling down and finishing it in one go. I was so excited i turned of my 64 immediately to . .     Fuuuu!
 
Ow and the escaping from the collapsingtower... Was one of my most epic video game moments for a long long time.

The zombies that basically hump you to death freaked the fuck out of me

I was very young when OoT came out and I think I got stuck in the water temple for several months. But only because I didn't find that key that was hidden in a room below a platform that you had to lift up. I had no internet or guides etc. so I was ultra happy when I finally found it.

@Raineko said:

I was very young when OoT came out and I think I got stuck in the water temple for several months. But only because I didn't find that key that was hidden in a room below a platform that you had to lift up. I had no internet or guides etc. so I was ultra happy when I finally found it.

I had to laugh when the camera zoomed in on the hole in the new version. It was like Nintendo was telling me: " Down there, stupid."

I was only 6 (almost 7) when the game came out and I owned an N64 but I was to busy messing around with Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing so I didn't make time for myself to play OOT but I did watch my older cousin play it and it was so fun watching him play that game. I just remember the atmosphere that that game created. It's the only game that I actually enjoy watching someone else play, mostly due to the atmosphere.  
 
Since then I would just mess around with the game, never fully complete it until the virtual console release and then I played through the game with a friend and thought to myself "why did I never play through this game all the way myself?" because it was so incredible. And now it is even better on 3DS. I am loving it right now all over again :D

@Bocam said:

The zombies that basically hump you to death freaked the fuck out of me

This. So much.

That groan and shriek that they did....man.

Those god damn hands that dropped down and grabbed you in the Forest Temple scared the fuck outta me when I was a kid.

I remember being stuck inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly for 2 days and finally figuring out the gimmick to that dungeon. After that the rest of the game, yes even the Water Temple, was a breeze.

@Bocam said:

The zombies that basically hump you to death freaked the fuck out of me

This. So much.

That groan and shriek that they did....man.

I was actually really young. I remember telling my brother to pre-order it and waking up early on the release date while he left with my dad to pick up the game. My dad thought it would be hilarious to come home empty handed and tell me that they had sold it. This being the first game I've ever actually anticipated, I began to cry. My brother then pulled out a copy from inside a bag he was hiding and and brought my N64 to the living room. Since then, we always grow some sort of bond every time a new Zelda game is released. I remember calling him up around 2 AM just to get an answer to a Wind Waker puzzle. He's pretty stoked to "borrow" my 3DS to play it.

I was really young when I first played it, and had no idea what to do, didn't get passed the first dungeon (I think it was the Gohma larva that caused it. Freaked me out at the time). A couple years later when one of my cousins was visiting I watched him play through the game. Not all the way, just up to before the 3rd dungeon.

However, it wasn't my copy, and a couple years after that I ordered a refurbished N64 from EB games and got Ocarina of Time along with it, and after having some experience with Wind Waker, I felt more comfortable about the process and could figure out the puzzles on my own. The summer of 2004 was spent going through that whole game, getting freaked out by things much worse than what I saw 4 years prior. Stuff like Wall masters and whatever shit that was invisible inside the Shadow Temple. That final battle, man, quite an amazing finish. The mood, music, everything at that point got me super pumped.

Only played the game for real 6 months after it's original release, and the way I was feeling and amazed by the whole thing, I might as well have been warped back to 1998.

The new version was my first time with everything after the forest temple, which I didn't even finish before. So i don't have very many stories about my first time through the game. Plus that was 10 years ago, so ididn't remember much, making this a practically new experience for me!

I remember Ocarina of Time being released in '98 and was informed by my wife that I could not buy it. I knew then that it was going to be a Christmas present from my wife's sister and her family. I was 33 years old and less than a month away from 34, but that Christmas was one of the best ever for this big kid at heart. My nephew, who was twelve at the time, handed me my present that Christmas with a big grin on his face. He played a lot of video games too.

So I opened my present and found The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the strategy guide to go with it. I held my presents up in the air and announced to the room and my wife, "Goodbye honey, hello new world." My wife's mouth hit the floor and the rest of the room started to laugh as I stood up and danced around the room.

My wife forgave me and I had a wonderful time with that game. A classic indeed.