Thirteen Years Later

Finally! I am elated that I can finally post a review on Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This is the very first Zelda game that my sister and I played. This is the game that we named Link 'Zelda', because everyone has to do it at one point. This is the second video game that I ever played (Animal Crossing was the first).

I can't even be sure it was thirteen years ago. It might be fourteen, might be twelve. I was somewhere around seven or eight years old when my sister and I asked for a Gamecube for Christmas. Or, more like my sister had played Animal Crossing on a friend's Gamecube, then managed to convince me that I wanted to play it too. I should probably thank her for that, or else I probably would not have come to love video games as I have. Or, maybe I would have fallen in love with Playstation, or X-box. I'm glad it was Nintendo though.

If I remember correctly, I was the first one to turn Ocarina of Time on and play it. I didn't even manage to find the sword though, so I gave up, and later my sister found it. We struggled through the Deku Tree, somehow got through Dodongo's Cavern (I have no memory of this, so someone else probably did it for us), and eventually finished Jabu Jabu's Belly. It was magical to see Link all grown up. Until you leave the Temple of Time and suddenly REDEADS. It must have been years before we got any further.

Of course, the first few years we didn't have a memory card, so all of this was done over a few days, when we kept the Gamecube running constantly. I have to admire our dedication, and wonder how we even managed to turn it off and restart anew later on. Once we got a memory card, it was a breeze. Not that we really got any further. The Forest Temple was terrifying, the Fire Cavern was difficult, the Water Temple was impossible, and the Shower Temple was just one big NOPE. We never got farther than halfway through the Shadow Temple, at least not by ourselves. (Any time where someone outside of the family had to complete more than one temple for us doesn't count as actually completing the game.)

This time around, I'm proud to say that I actually beat Gohma myself. That's pathetic, I know. I suck at using the slingshot. My sister did half of Dodongo's Cavern and fought Dodongo himself. I did the whole Jabu Jabu's belly, including mini and full boss. I did most of the Earth Temple, while my sister fought the final Poe sister and killed Phantom Ganon. I did most of the Fire Temple, and my sister tried to beat Volvagia, but in the end I had to do it. I did the while Water Temple, but handed the controller off to my sister to kill the boss (who's name I cannot remember). I found the courage to do the bottom of the well, and later the Shadow Temple, while my sister beat Bongo Bongo (I did a rage quit after my first death). I navigated the Gerudo fortress, while my sister beat each of the thieves that strange up. I completed the Spirit temple and let my sister try the boss. She failed, and Twinrova became my favorite boss!

It seems like I did a lot, but my sister beat both Ganondorf and Ganon, since I suck at electricity ball tennis, and I did another rage quit after running out of arrows to fire at Ganon. So yes, quantity wise, I did most of the game, but my sister did most of the hardest parts. (Except for the Water Temple. God damned Water Temple.)

So this turned more into a review of my experiences with the game, but that's okay. That's basically what a game is, right? The graphics and gameplay don't matter, as long as you enjoy playing it. As you might have figured out, I've been playing it on a Gamecube, so although it's not the original, it's closer to the remake that just came out. I do believe the remake was made a bit easier in places such as the Forest Temple and the Water Temple, but that's just what I've heard. Either way, I'm happy to have played it in its original form.