The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka
Series	The Legend of Zelda
Engine	Rewritten Super Mario 64 engine^[1]
Release date(s)	N64 JPN November 21, 1998 USA November 23, 1998 EU December 18, 1998 iQue CHN November 2003 Virtual Console February 23, 2007 USA February 26, 2007 JPN February 27, 2007
Genre(s)	Action Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) ELSPA: 3+ PEGI: 12+ OFLC: G8+, PG (Virtual Console)
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, iQue, Virtual Console
Media	256Mb (32MB) Nintendo 64 cartridge, Nintendo GameCube Game Disc
Input	Gamepad

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (ゼルダの伝説時のオカリナ, Zeruda no Densetsu Toki no Ocarina^?) is a video game for the Nintendo 64 console. It is the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series and the first of the series released on the Nintendo 64. The game was considered the game that positively redefined The Legend of Zelda video gaming franchise, and was the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences 1999 Game of the Year.^[2] It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998. It was followed by a direct sequel, Majora's Mask.

The game's hero is Link, who is given a quest from the Great Deku Tree. Link's ultimate goal is to stop the evil Ganondorf from obtaining the legendary Triforce, a magical object made of three golden triangles, which can be used to control the land of Hyrule, where the game is set. To stop Ganondorf, Link must travel through time, interact with Hyrule's inhabitants, and use numerous weapons and items to conquer dungeons. During his journey, Link is helped by the fairy Navi and Princess Zelda, a member of Hyrule's Royal Family.

Within six months of its release, Ocarina of Time sold more than five million copies;^[3] since its release, more than 7 million copies have been sold.^[4] In addition to its commercial success, Ocarina of Time is frequently ranked as one of the greatest video games ever made.^[5]

1 Gameplay
2 Plot
- 2.1 Setting and characters
- 2.2 Story
3 Development
4 Versions
5 Reception and impact
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Young Link battling a Wolfos.

See also: The Legend of Zelda series weapons and items

Ocarina of Time is a 3-D third-person adventure game which takes place in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule. As in previous Zelda games, Hyrule takes the form of a large, fully connected overworld containing several dungeons — large self-contained areas with a single entrance in the overworld. Within most dungeons, Link must battle and puzzle his way through, finding items such as a Dungeon Map and Compass to aid him. A dungeon typically contains a special weapon, often needed to defeat the boss at the end, who can be reached by finding the Boss Key and using it on the door to the boss's lair.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting and characters

Further information: Ocarina of Time places, The Legend of Zelda series races, Ocarina of Time characters, Ocarina of Time enemies

A drawing of Link and Princess Zelda as children

The game is set in Hyrule, a kingdom created long ago by three goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. When they left the land to return to the heavens they left a power that would grant the wishes of anyone who touched it — the Triforce. The Triforce was sealed in another dimension called the "Sacred Realm", which is secured by the Master Sword in its pedestal in the Temple of Time. Some time after a great war ravaged Hyrule, the story begins when a boy named Link is having nightmares in the Kokiri Forest, a neck of the Lost Woods, in the south eastern area of Hyrule.

Six humanoid races inhabit Hyrule. The Hylians are a race which bear a resemblance to humans with the exception of their pointed elf-like ears. The Hylians mostly reside in Hyrule Castle Town, though some live in the nearby Kakariko Village while others are scattered sporadically throughout Hyrule. They are ruled by a king (present but out of frame in the game), whose daughter is Princess Zelda.

The Kokiri are forest children who were created by the guardian spirit of Kokiri Forest, the Great Deku Tree. They never age and never leave the forest. All Kokiri children have a fairy spirit who accompanies them throughout their lives. Link, the hero of the game, lives among them at the beginning of the game. His closest friend is a Kokiri named Saria. Link is not a true Kokiri but a Hylian. As a baby, Link was orphaned in the forest, and raised by the Great Deku Tree, who sensed him to be a child of destiny. The Kokiri Mido acts as the leader of the Kokiri children (mostly as the bully).

The Gorons are large, brown, rock-eating creatures that vary immensely in size. They live in Goron City, halfway up Death Mountain, an active volcano; and are led by Darunia. On the other hand, Zoras are blue fish-like creatures, who live at the source of Zora's River, the kingdom's water supply. The river runs all the way through Hyrule to Lake Hylia, at the very opposite end of the kingdom. The Zoras are ruled by King Zora whose daughter is Princess Ruto. The guardian spirit of Zora's Domain is Lord Jabu-Jabu, an immensely enormous fish.

The Sheikah, sworn "shadow guardians" of the royal family, are a race that appear to be Hylian with red eyes. They possess various magical abilities and are known to operate from within the shadows. Impa, Zelda's childhood nanny and bodyguard, is said to be the last remaining Sheikah. She helped establish Kakariko Village, at the base of Death Mountain.

The Gerudo are an almost entirely female race of thieves who live in the desert to the west were they inbreed with one another. Only one man is born to the Gerudo every hundred years, and he is destined to become their king. The most recent of these is Ganondorf, a man with black armor and "evil eyes", who acts as advisor to the King of Hyrule. Ganondorf is the primary antagonist of the game. The Gerudo, however, are supposedly led by Nabooru, who refuses to acknowledge Ganondorf as her king.

Other notable characters in the game include Link's fairy companion Navi, his horse Epona, the twin witches Twinrova (named Koume and Kotake), Zelda's alter-ego Sheik, and ranch hands Talon, Malon, and Ingo. Talon and Malon are highly reminiscent of the characters Marin and Tarin in the previous title in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Additionally, a wise owl named Kaepora Gaebora advises Link throughout his quest. The characters Talon and Ingo can be compared to Nintendo's other famous characters Mario and Luigi.

[edit] Story

Young Link stands before the Great Deku Tree

The game opens with Link dreaming about standing in front of Hyrule Castle on a stormy night. Link immediately notices a young girl on horseback being pursued by a dark stranger. While Link sleeps, the Great Deku Tree reveals to the fairy Navi that he has been cursed and is dying, and gives Navi the task to guide Link on a quest to save Hyrule. Navi summons Link to see the Deku Tree and before being able to approach him convinces the jealous Mido to let him pass. The Deku Tree gives Link the mission to find and destroy the curse that looms inside him. Link enters the massive tree through its trunk and battles an enormous spider named Queen Gohma. Although the curse is broken, the Deku Tree is unfortunately beyond saving. He tells Link of a man in black armor who cast the dreadful curse on him and how this man seeks the Triforce. He also gives Link the Kokiri Emerald (the Spiritual Stone of the forest), and sends him off to meet Princess Zelda at Hyrule Castle.

After sneaking into Hyrule Castle, Link encounters Zelda who explains that she has been having dreams about the future of Hyrule, and that she foresaw Link's arrival. She believes that Ganondorf was the one who cursed the Deku Tree, and that it is he who is trying to obtain the Triforce. To keep the Triforce from Ganondorf, Zelda explains to Link that he must obtain the three sacred stones before Ganondorf gets them and uses them to enter the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce lies. Zelda plans for her and Link to use the Triforce to defeat Ganondorf. Impa, Zelda's attendant, safely leads Link out of the castle .

Link heads to Goron City, which lies on Death Mountain, where the Spiritual Stone of Fire is located. Darunia tells him that Ganondorf has blockaded the Dodongo's Cavern, the source of the Gorons' food. After Link enters the cavern and defeats King Dodongo, a relieved Darunia becomes Link's sworn brother and hands over the spiritual stone of fire, the Goron's Ruby. For the final stone, Link travels to Zora's Domain. Upon arrival, however, he discovers that Princess Ruto has been swallowed by Lord Jabu-Jabu, a giant fish that has also been cursed by Ganondorf. Inside Jabu-Jabu, Link rescues Ruto and defeats Ganondorf's subordinate, Barinade. For Link's heroics, Ruto hands over the Zora's Sapphire (the Spiritual Stone of Water); however, because the stone is the Zora engagement token, Link is forced to become Ruto's fiancé.

When Link returns to the castle, he sees Ganondorf pursuing Zelda and Impa on horseback, as seen in the opening sequence of his dream. Spotting Link, Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time, another artifact required to access the Sacred Realm, into the town moat. After Link retrieves the Ocarina, Zelda telepathically teaches him the "Song of Time", which will open the door at the Temple of Time. Afterward, Link opens the Door of Time with the stones and the Song of Time, pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal, and warps to the Sacred Realm. However, Ganondorf follows Link into the realm and seizes the Triforce for himself. An older Link awakens in an ethereal room called the Chamber of the Sages and is met by an elderly man named Rauru, informs Link that he was frozen in time for seven years until he was old enough to wield the Master Sword to defeat Ganondorf. Rauru reveals himself as the ancient Sage of Light, one of the seven sages that protect the Triforce. He tells Link that if he can find the six other sages, they will be able to imprison Ganondorf within the Sacred Realm. However, the sages are unaware of their identities because Ganondorf has conquered Hyrule and transformed it into a land of darkness. Link must free the six Spiritual Temples of Ganon's monsters, so that each temple will awaken its respective Sage. Link returns to Hyrule and is met by a mysterious character (a young man, in appearance) named Sheik, who appears periodically to guide him in his quest.

Sheik guides Link to the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods, where Link destroys a puppet named Phantom Ganon, and awakens the Forest Sage: his old Kokiri friend Saria. He returns to the Deku Tree's resting place to find that a Deku Sprout has started to grow. The sprout informs Link that he is actually a Hylian, who was entrusted to the Great Deku Tree's care briefly before his mother's death. This explains why Link has grown up, while all of the other Kokiri have remained children. Next, Link ventures into the Fire Temple atop Death Mountain, where he frees several Gorons and defeats a snake-like dragon named Volvagia. Darunia awakens as the Fire Sage and gives Link the Fire Medallion. Link moves on to Zora's Domain and finds that it has been abandoned and completely frozen over. He eventually locates the Water Temple in Lake Hylia, where he battles a mirror image of himself and defeats an aquatic monster called Morpha. Princess Ruto is awoken as the Water Sage (and realizes that her engagement with Link was unrealistic).

At Kakariko, Link finds Sheik and discovers that the town is on fire. A dark presence rises from the town well and knocks Link unconscious. Afterward, Link learns that the dark force broke its seal in the well and delves into the Shadow Temple, located behind the Kakariko graveyard. Inside the Shadow Temple, Link conquers the evil creature (called Bongo Bongo), and wakes the Shadow Sage, Impa. In the desert, Link convinces the Gerudo thieves that he is an ally; consequently, they allow him to reach the Spirit Temple via the Haunted Wasteland. At the Spirit Temple, Link learns that he must go back in time to his childhood and obtain the Silver Gauntlets to enter the highest areas of the temple. In doing so, he meets Nabooru; however, after Link retrieves the Gauntlets, two witches kidnap her. Link turns back into an adult and uses the gauntlets to enter the temple. Inside, the witches send an Iron Knuckle to fight him, who turns out to be a possessed Nabooru. He kills the witches, in their twin form known as Twinrova, and finds that Nabooru is the Spirit Sage.

Ganon's true form

Link returns to the Temple of Time, where Sheik reveals that she is Princess Zelda in disguise. Zelda is also the seventh sage (the Sage of Wisdom) as well as the leader of the sages. She tells Link that when Ganondorf took the Triforce, his heart was unbalanced, so the Triforce split into three pieces. While this happened Ganon kept the Triforce of Power; Zelda gained the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link obtained the Triforce of Courage. Zelda gives Link the magical Light Arrows needed to defeat Ganondorf. The meeting is cut short however when Ganondorf takes Zelda prisoner in his tower (which has replaced Hyrule Castle). After the remaining six Sages help Link enter the tower, Link defeats Ganondorf and rescues Zelda. Link and Zelda barely escape the tower as it crumbles, but out of the fallen rubble, Ganondorf rises again. Using the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf transforms into an extremely powerful form called Ganon. Link engages his nemesis, and with the help of Zelda and the other Sages, Ganon is locked away in the Sacred Realm for eternity (supposedly). Ganondorf vows that when the seal is broken, he will return to exterminate their descendants.

Afterward, a celebration ensues across Hyrule. Zelda plays the Ocarina of Time to send Link back in time to become his child self, before Ganon took over. As a child, Link returns the Master Sword to its rightful place, parts with Navi, and sneaks into the castle once more to meet the young Zelda. The game ends with Link and Zelda looking to each other. (leading into the beginning of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.)

[edit] Development

[edit] Audio

Link playing the Ocarina of Time

See also: Songs from The Legend of Zelda series

Ocarina of Time's music was composed by Koji Kondo, Nintendo's long-time in-house composer. The music is culturally and worldly inspired, as exemplified in its diversity from cartoonish music in the Kokiri Forest to Spanish flamenco in the Gerudo Valley. In some locations, the music is a variation of an important ocarina tune related to that area. For example, in Lon Lon Ranch, the theme is Epona's Song, with small and large variations.

The opening theme is a remix of the "warp whistle" theme from the original 1986 title The Legend of Zelda. The Hyrule overworld theme from past Zelda games, which is considered by most fans as the "official" Zelda tune, is not in Ocarina of Time in its entirety, although its opening phrase is subtly present in the Hyrule Field theme. The theme for the Fire Temple is most likely inspired by an Islamic prayer call, with a male chorus chanting in the second half of the song. Due to some protest, Nintendo changed this in later cartridges to a vague Gregorian chant.

[edit] Rumors

The Triforce appears before Link in an early promotional video of Ocarina of Time.

An early work-in-progress screenshot of Ocarina of Time shows Link receiving the Triforce from a treasure chest. Such a scene never occurs in the final game, and the plot does not allow Link to gain the complete Triforce at any point,^[6] although Link houses the Triforce of Courage when Ganondorf first enters the Temple of Time and receives the Triforce of Power. Despite this, the screenshot has fueled speculation as to whether the Triforce exists in Ocarina of Time as an obtainable item, as it does in other Zelda games.

Ocarina of Time contains development code and text that is not used in the finished product. Leftover Japanese text in the item banks reveals that there were two extra medallions called the Wind and Ice Medallions at one point in development (it appears on the item selection screen and in different slots).^{[citation needed]} The data for all six elemental medallions to be used as items exist, without any assigned spell effect. Several early screenshots show medallions equipped to C-Buttons. A fully coded Arwing enemy exists, but is not used in the final game.^[7] The enemy has a full attack and movement AI programmed, shooting at Link with lasers with original sound effects. When destroyed, it crashes to the ground resulting in unpolished explosion and flame effects, similar to the game StarFox 64.

[edit] Release

Ocarina of Time Collector's Edition gold cartridge.

Ocarina of Time itself gained a large amount of hype before release; consequently, only those who had pre-ordered the game had any guarantee of receiving a copy.

The first two Zelda games released for the NES had golden cartridges, rather than the standard gray-colored cartridges used for almost every other licensed game for the console. Keeping with the tradition, pre-ordered copies of Ocarina of Time were also golden. Also, the box cover had a thick, plastic card glued over the original cover. However, this was not the case in Europe where the game had a standard gray-cartridge owing to Nintendo of Europe (although there were actually some gold cartridges, they were only available very briefly). A possible incentive was an economic one, as standard gray cartridges are inexpensive compared to custom-made golden models. It should be noted that Australia (which is, like Europe, part of the PAL region) had golden cartridges. Also, the sequel to Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, had a golden cartridge in Australia and Europe (and in North America).

Ocarina of Time Collector's Edition box.

PAL cartridges are very noticeably different from NTSC cartridges. PAL, having a golden Ocarina of Time picture with a black background on a gray cartridge, and NTSC having a normally colored Ocarina of Time picture with a goldish background on the noted gray, or golden cartridges. The Australian PAL versions also come in either gold or gray cartridges. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess also have golden discs, following that of the older Zelda games.

[edit] Versions

Several changes were made to the game after the initial release of Ocarina of Time in 1998. All of the gold cartridges that came out that year are version 1.0. Version 1.1 gold cartridges began to be released in early 1999, in which Nintendo fixed a number of bugs and glitches from the first version. This was followed by a version 1.2, which occupies most of the grey cartridges and has the Player's Choice Million Seller seal on the box. Some of the grey cartridges are version 1.0 or 1.1, but version 1.2 grey cartridges are more common.

The most notable difference between version 1.0 and the later versions is that version 1.0 contains a trick that allows one to play the game without the Master Sword, which in turn allows one to use any item on Epona.^{[citation needed]} Version 1.1 is very similar to Version 1.0 except that players cannot perform the above trick (there is a different known method that works on all versions, including GameCube ones).^{[citation needed]} Another difference between the three versions is the coloring of Ganon's blood at the end of the game. In Version 1.0, Ganon's blood is red, in version 1.1, his blood color depends on what tunic you're wearing, and version 1.2 only has green blood. Finally, the original theme for the Fire Temple angered the Muslim community because it was the Muslim profession of faith in Arabic that translates to "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah."^[8]^[9] In response, Nintendo reworked the theme for version 1.2 and the two GameCube versions. (They changed the many symbols on items such as the Mirror Shield on the GameCube versions. The original symbol resembled the Islamic crescent moon.)

Ocarina of Time was re-released in two different forms for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest and The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition compilation discs. In both the Master Quest and Collector's Edition, the game was an emulated ROM instead of a port.

One significant difference in these versions is that Nintendo altered the original crescent moon and star symbol of the Gerudo to a design later used to represent the pirates in Majora's Mask, again due to Muslim protest.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest was available for those who pre-ordered The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in North America, as well as in a special GameCube bundle at Wal-Mart. In Europe and Australia the disc came in the same case as the initial pressings of The Wind Waker. The "Master Quest" in the title refers to a remixed version of the game that contained rearranged dungeons, much like the Second Quest of The Legend of Zelda (although in that game the dungeons are also found in different locations; the locations of the Master Quest dungeons are the same). Both the original game and the Master Quest are available on the disc.

The game was also re-released as part of the compilation The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition, which was available in GameCube bundles in Europe and North America, as well as by registering hardware and software, or by subscribing to official magazines or clubs. The disc also contained Zelda I, Zelda II, Zelda: Majora's Mask and Zelda Wind Waker Demo as well as a Zelda retrospective.

Ocarina of Time was released in Europe and Australia for the Virtual Console on Nintendo's new Wii console on February 23, 2007 for 1000 Wii Points. It was released in North America on February 26, 2007, and in Japan on February 27, 2007.^[10] The emulation is accurate, though the only absent element is the rumble feature (this includes the use of the Stone of Agony). The Virtual Console is Version 1.2 of the original game.

[edit] Reception and impact

**Reviews and awards**
Publication	Score	Comment
Famitsu	40 of 40^[11]	First perfect score ever awarded by the publication
IGN	10 of 10^[12]	Editor's Choice First perfect score awarded; 10/10 given to Virtual Console rerelease
GameSpot	10 of 10^[13]	Editor's Choice; first perfect score awarded; awarded "Greatest Game of All Time"
Electronic Gaming Monthly	10 of 10^[14]	Platinum award Game of the year (1998)
Edge	10 of 10
N64 Magazine	98%	Star Game Award; Best score ever awarded
Nintendo Power	9.5 of 10^[15]	Game of the Year (1998); Best game of all time on a Nintendo console (2006)^[16]
Super PLAY	100 of 100	First perfect score ever awarded.
Compilations of multiple reviews
Game Rankings	98 of 100 (based on 40 reviews)^[17]
Metacritic	99 of 100 (based on 22 reviews)^[18]
Awards
2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards	Game of the Year Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering Console Game of the Year Console Adventure Game of the Year Console RPG of the Year

Despite that it was available for only the last 39 days of the year, Ocarina of Time became the best-selling game of the 1998, with 2.5 million units sold^[19]. It went on to sell a total of 7.6 million copies worldwide.^[4]

Ocarina of Time is regarded by many game review magazines as one of the greatest video games of all time(See table adjacent). Ocarina of Time was ranked second behind Super Mario Bros. in IGN's "Top 100 Games of All Time.".^[20] In the Reader's Picks lists, Ocarina of Time was second in 2005 (behind Resident Evil 4),^[21] and first in 2006.^[22] Nintendo Power called Ocarina of Time the greatest game to ever appear on a Nintendo console.^[16] GameFAQs users chose Ocarina as the second best game of all-time in 2005 (behind Final Fantasy VII).^[23] As a result of these and other high scores, Ocarina is placed first on both Metacritic^[24] and Game Rankings^[25] sites which rank games by averaging review scores from many sources. In addition, when the UK's N64 Magazine reviewed Ocarina, they delayed the full review by one month in order to fully appreciate the game and its nuances. Finally, after an exhaustive review covering every reviewer in the magazine's favorite moments and some coverage of The Best Game Ever, the game was awarded 98% by the N64 staff. The music from Ocarina of Time was praised for its quality and seamless incorporation into the game.^[26]

Very few were disappointed with the game, a startling rarity in the gaming world. Critically, the game was commended as a seamless transition from 2D to 3D in the Zelda series, since it supported the main feel and many details of the previous flagship Zelda: A Link to the Past. Many gamers, especially Nintendo fans, would argue that no game since Ocarina has matched its classic standard. Ocarina of Time immediately became the standard by which all future Zelda games--they are Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess--were measured. They received comments that they fail to match the "newness" of Ocarina of Time, sometimes receiving lower scores as a result.^[27] Some notable minor flaws and annoyances in Ocarina which have kept the game from obtaining perfect scores from critics and gamers more generally include the inability to fast-forward text and cut scenes (which add up to over one hour in the game) and also the inability to rematch defeated bosses and play through completed dungeons again, though the latter is not possible in any of the Zelda games, except for Majora's Mask, and, to an extent, The Wind Waker.

Ocarina of Time gave the Nintendo 64 a lot of extra support, being released at a time in which the lack of games for the system was becoming a big problem for Nintendo. Much like A Link to the Past before it, it helped Nintendo sell more consoles after the hype from the launch game, in this case Super Mario 64, had finally died down.