MMOC Blog #11 - Nintendo 64 and Ocarina of Time

"My grandparents had purchased this strange new game for me, and for the life of me I was angry people were saying it was superior to Mario 64."

OK - I'm going to throw a bit of a curveball on this one.  When I was young I was an avid gamer.  Although I've fallen off considerably over the past decade (haven't bought a new system since Nintendo Wii), I know my old-time, or old-thyme games.
And it seemed like Zelda:  Ocarina of Time was miles above anything else I ever played.
 
The funny thing was, I wanted to hate it for the first several hours I played it back on Christmas night of '98.  My grandparents had purchased this strange new game for me, and for the life of me I was angry people were saying it was superior to Mario 64.  Now, seeing that the two are considered related since they run on the same engine, I can see why they're my two favorite games ever (Mario Kart 64 and Majora's Mask would come next, but don't get me listing things again).
 
The overworld in Ocarina of Time was one of the craziest things I've ever seen.  I kind of wish I could go there.  Hyrule Field and especially its music was amazing.  It has probably crept its was into a few MMOC songs, especially ones in the key of G.  That Kojii Yo or whatever his name is.  He really knows how to compose a soundtrack for a video game.  I think only Cat Stevens could have made something on par with it, since his music would fit well in the land of Hyrule.  Can't you just hear Moonshadow at Zora's River?
 
The best part was, when you thought you were getting somewhere by collecting all of those damn spiritual stones, things were really just getting started.  The levels and bosses were all memorable.  The Lost Woods and Forest Temple in particular are my favorite areas in any game.  It's like they came out of an old book.  Check those places out if you get the chance.  I look forward to forcing Alan to watch me play the Forest Temple in its entirety one of these days.
 
I'd go ahead and write a walk-through for the entire game, but you're better off just checking more out about it here.  I'm sure I'm not the only person who's such a big fan of Ocarina or other Zelda games for that matter.  A Link to the Past was amazing, and Twilight was the last one I played all the way through.  Let me know if you agree so I don't feel like such a nerd - I've probably beaten the game over twenty times.  That's not bragging, it's more sad.  Fortunately MMOC has been busy enough lately that I haven't been able to play it in a couple of years.  Maybe I'd better clear my mind for a bit and go battle Ganondorf...
 
-Tyler