The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time is possibly N64's best. It was an instant classic right away and still is. It was better than any of the other Zelda games. Link and Zelda came back to life in another game for the N64, but it was completely different. Some of the same characters, old baddies, new ideas, Ganondorf struck back again in 3D. It was a remake of A Link To The Past, a new beginning to the old story. The game was whole and unique, with it's own originality. It had new items, old items, new characters, old characters, etc etc. Altogether it's a fantasy willing to play, and I am about to take you through this fantasy. This review will explain all needed facts. There will be no spoilers in this review, just information, to tell you all about it. So you can know if you want to play it, rent it, or buy it. Alright, off we go...
     The story begins in a small forest which goes by the name Kokiri Forest, where a smile village lies. The view goes to a small fairy named Navi. The Great Deku Tree is before her. He tells her that it is time for "the boy without a fairy" (Link) was destined for greatness. It is her job to get him. So the young fairy zips off and arrives at Link's house. Link and Navi head out to find Link's best friend Saria greeting him happily. She eyes Navi and excitedly announces that Link has a fairy of his very own. After collecting a sword and shield, Link sets off. The young warrior tries to save the Great Deku Tree but finds out he was too late. The Deku Tree has enough energy to pass down the Kokiri's Emerald first, and that's where it all begins. Link and Navi must leave deep into Hyrule, where they will travel looking for the other two stones. Once they have them, Link would do the greatest test of all...
     Altogether, the game is a masterpiece. You start as just a young boy, venturing out into Hyrule for the first time with Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield in hand to collect the other two stones. As you go along, you'll meet more allies, more enemies, new inventory and even magic spells. You'll pass through dungeons as you go, doing new feats, solving new puzzles. The game is made extremely well, and it shows as you go through more. As you step through the game, the mystery unravels itself, leaving more mystery behind. It leaves you wanting to play for hours after hours. It keeps you entranced with the game. One you get all three of the stones, the Ocarina Of Time comes into play, and that's when the real story begins. After seven years you will now be a young man, a man with the legendary Master Sword. As an adult, you can go deep into bigger dungeons, travelling and rescuing trapped sages. More mystery unfolds to leave more behind, and all will be answered at the end of the game.
     The characters take a big part in the game. In this review, I'm not showing any spoilers, so don't worry about identities, etc. From allies to baddies, it just keeps going. A great allie in the game is Navi. The small, mystical fairy zooms around the screen from place to place, helping you lock ontop objects, people, and baddies. She gives information with "Top C" whenever it's needed, and when you lock onto an enemy with "Z Targeting", Navi will give a good hint for that baddy, and tell it's name. It's a helpful idea. The owl will meet up with you as a child and tell you different things, like directions and tasks, etc. Sometimes the owl offers a ride, which is helpful if you want to take as shortcut getting back. As an adult, the owl is no longer around to offer a talon, but a young Sheikah who goes by the name of Sheik will help you quite a bit. Sheik offers all the information you need to complete your tasks, and teaches special melodies to warp you back to different, important areas. It helps out alot in the game. Some good friends in the game are Saria, Darunia, Princess Ruto, and others. Saria gives you your first Ocarina as a gift and is your best friend. She also teaches your second melody, and a secret about her comes up later on in the game... Darunia is the Goron "Big Brother". He is angry at first but springs up to help you afterwards. Once you help him out, the Goron offers quite a bit.. and shows it. He's a great ally, young and older. Princess Ruto is a snotty, stuffed-up Princess who thinks that the world revolves completely around herself. Once you help her, she seems nicer, but she still is a little snooty. You play a big part with her in the game though. Other characters like Princess Zelda and Biggoron offer extra help, information, and inventory. Princess Zelda plays a gigantic part in the awesome game, she knows all about the Sacred Realm, and does whatever she can to save it and help you out. Some characters, like Sheik, will be unseemingly mysterious as you pass through the game. The mystery unravels as you go through, and you'll understand more until you figure it out. But some secrets lead you thinking the opposite, another idea I'm sure Myamoto had made sure was in this '99 hit.
     There's many items in the game to find. From bomb bags to sling shots, you can almost every game that ever appeared in the old Zelda games, and then some. As a child, you can get the Kokiri Sword, masks, two shields,a slingshot, a boomerang, bombs, and some magic. As an adult you can venture fully with a Master Sword, Biggoron's Sword, a Mirror Shield, two tunics, a bow, two pairs of boots, and then some. Each item has something special about it that you'll need to pass through the different dungeons. Even bottles are important when it comes to storing Poes, bugs and fairies for later needs. Link arms himself with a sword, shield, boots, tunic, and three items of his choice. Different bosses and baddies need different weapons used on them, and different items solve puzzles. Alot of the game is puzzles and half of the puzzles are to use your different items and attacks to figure it out. The puzzles in this game aren't extremely hard, but they're not extremely simple like in Banjo-Kazooie and other games of that sort. Altogether, the inventory is one of the biggest things in the game. You can even get a horse in this game, where it comes when you play a special song on your Ocarina. You can ride your horse around Hyrule Field and some other places. It's very helpful getting Biggoron's Sword.
     The music in this game itself amazing. It's deep, Final Fantasy like music. It's not like that of the other Zelda games, it holds it's own unique sounds. The music is hardly missing anything, the hyrule field music rings out loud and clear and at night-time they have no music so you can hear the drawbridge close across the long stretch of field and hear the crisp sound of a wolf howling. The music is orchestrated, and isn't midi type music, it's sharp and plays well. The only thingthat the game is missing is the original Zelda theme song. It was in every other Zelda game and I truly think it should be in Ocarina Of Time, the best of them all. It just makes sense. Now I admit, it can't be put in Hyrule Field like most of the other games, it just doesn't fit in there. But I think they should have put the original them song in the title screne. The sound effects are great too, there is no Japanese voices in it that they never took out, just crisp attacking yells and cries of triumph. The sound of steel hitting steel is a nice touch and they make a good sound effect of your sword finally slicing through. The cries of Poes sounds good and each baddie has it's own sound. The horses sound realistic and the real trotting sounds are a very nice touch. The boss music and sound effects are the best in the game, and Ganon's music at the end is amazing. The Ocarina songs can also sound quite good, a favourite of mine is Bolero of Fire.
     In all the other Zelda games, which took place on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, and the Game Boy/Game Boy Color, you could only have few pieces of equipment equipped at a time. In Ocarina of Time, it's a whole different story. In the Game Boy version, Link's Awakening, for example, you could only have two weapon/items equipped at a time, a tunic (in the Deluxe Color version), plus the flippers or anything else in the extra inventory bar. In A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo, you could have your sword, shield, one weapon/item equipped at a time, a tunic, and the Pegasus Boots, Gloves, things like that. But in Ocarina of Time, you can have your sword, shield, a tunic, boots, three weapon/items and anything else extra you had equipped at the time. There was also a bigger variety - - a mix of all the weaponry and inventory from the previous Zelda games. You could also get bigger slingshot seed bags, bomb bags, and arrow quivers to hold more objects, instead of just having more room in your pack all of a sudden to hold more bombs, etc. like in Link's Awakening. There was hover boots, a brilliant idea where you can hover for a few seconds on water and through air. This idea originally came in The Adventure of Link, and were forgotten when the Pegasus boots came into Zelda series. But, Mr. Myamoto hadn't forgotten. He saved the best for last, and put them into Ocarina of Time. Maybe the Pegasus Boots AND the Hover Boots will be in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask/Mask of Majula... only time will tell!
     The camera angles in the game aren't the best. Since your weapons take up the left, down and right "C" buttons, the views can't be changed by yourself too much. It will slowly turn to Link's view most of the time in the game, which is placed right at his back. But sometimes it may take a while, and you'll have trouble seeing the baddies ahead. This is when you have to use the Top "C" button, which will go straight to Link's eyesight. This keeps you standing on the spot, so you can look in the direction, tap the button again and head off. But this can take time and health if there's baddies around. Then though, Myamoto added in the "Z Targeting" idea in the game. It pretty much makes up for the camera angle problem. You can lock onto creatures and baddies or friends and people by tapping the "Z" button when there is a yellow arrow above that person/thing's head. You can lock onto signs like this too. But one Z Targeting" you can talk to people on rooftops, and do special attacks on monsters. You can jab with your sword or do a jump attack which takes double damage when locked onto a baddy. This helps alot, especially on baddies which you have to throw the boomerang or shoot at.
     Something you'll find takes a big part of the game is your Ocarina (hence the name Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time). Some songs have special powers. Froming putting broken signs back together, finding secret faeries, changing the scenery from night to day, and warping you to other places, your Ocarina has a big effect on the land of Hyrule. As a kid, you'll get your first Ocarina near the beginning. It's just a little gift from your best friend Saria, and it's the Fairy Ocarina. You'll learn a song from Impa the Sheikah first, and then you can get one at Lon Lon Ranch from Malon, that will call your horse later in life, and then even one from Saria that the Goron Leader really likes to shake to. You do most with Zelda's Lullaby, the song given to you by Impa, but there's even songs to change nice weather to a roaring thunderstorm and a song to change the night to day and vice versa. But once you get the Ocarina of Time, things change. You can then open the door of time where it really begins. Then, as an adult, you will learn songs to warp you to the various levels, and one to warp you to the Temple of Time. As an adult, the song you learned at Lon Lon Ranch really comes to use. Play it at the ranch to win the heart of the horse Epona, and then win her in the race. Once you own the stallion, you can play her song anywhere in Hyrule Field to have her race up to you as fast as she can. It comes in handy later on in the game.
     An extra thing which was added to the game in the end was the fishing pond. When you are younger, you'll find that not as big of fish will thrive there. But once you're an adult, the fish have grown and you have your pick. You can fish for as long as you want until you get bored, and then you hand your rod and caught fish back in to the owner. Just like real fishing, you have to angle therod right and drag in slowly, then fast at the end. The fish are realistic and sometimes jump out of the water and often splash around. Some lay near the bottom while others swim around. There is a legend of a big eel-type fish at the very bottom of the lake, but only the best of angles can catch it, and they'd need a special lure, a sinking lure perhaps, to do it. There's a sinking lure hidden somewhere near the pond, and if you can find it, you're worries will be completely over for good. The sinking lure sinks right to the bottom to catch the big luggers that stay around that area. You might possible even get the eel-type fish...