The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 Nintendo 64
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 8290 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7,394 out of 8290
  2. Mixed: 307 out of 8290
  3. Negative: 589 out of 8290
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  1. Cerberus0
    Nov 26, 2013
    10
    This is the best game ever created. Games today although graphically superior still all pale in comparison to how high this one set the bar at the time. Shame on you for giving it a 0/10. I'm sorry that you deprived yourself of this once in a lifetime experience, or never got to experience it, but don't rage against it for such a stupid reason.
  2. darezzi
    Nov 25, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well... I've just finished Ocarina of Time (100% I might add) for the first time ever. It's a great game! However, there are a few flaws. Thankfully, those flaws don't mean you shouldn't pick the game up right now and play it! First of all, the shops. They serve absolutely no purpose. I have gotten through the whole game without ever buying anything unnecessary from the shops. I did need healing and magic, though, but you always have a fairy ready somewhere to trap in a jar, so that's the only heal you'll ever need. And you're always full on magic, except the last battle, so there's no use for the magic potions. As for the cold fire, spiders and fish, you get those too! I got a giant's wallet pretty early, but I was always full on rupees. I think I wasted about 4 times the rupees I actually got by just taking them while my wallet was full. Speaking of rupees, that renders the reward for the biggest collectathon ever absolutely useless! Like getting 99 lives in Mario 64. It was satisfying finding all the spiders. As for the last battle, it's disappointing, to say the least. You HAVE TO HAVE the magic upgrade, and you can't waste any magic on missing, or testing. If you run out of magic, you have to either reset or kill yourself, wasting all the fairies you saved for the battle. Ganon was ok, I guess. I only felt the need to use a bombchu once in the entire game, which was stupid considering how much attention is given to those things. Also, Navi and Kepora Gebora. Those are truly the only problems in the entire game. It was a visceral experience from start to finish. I loved the music, the battle system, the items, the characters, the weapons, the quests, everything. I especially loved how you can't miss ANYTHING! You can get absolutely everything, anytime you want! (Except after the final battle, but you don't need it then anyway). I loved playing the ocarina freestyle, so the scarecrow song was a really cool thing. The ending kinda made me sad. All those people you helped, met, loved, like they never knew you in the first place. Still, every Ocarina song will stay in my heart, I will never forget any of the beautiful melodies I was taught. Thank you Shigeru Miyamoto. For reference, I'm 16 and this was my first encounter with the game. Please play it.… Expand
  3. rhaynes7
    Nov 23, 2013
    10
    I still love playing this game even today.

    It's classic Zelda, but revamped to 3-D for the first time. It's reinvented the way we do gaming with the lock-on targeting. The dungeons are great, and the quest is lengthy, with many hidden secrets. Not to mention that this game arguably has the Legend of Zelda's best soundtracks, it should be on any gamers list of must plays.
  4. ILoveDV
    Nov 22, 2013
    10
    The best video game of ALL THE TIME for me. Best memory of my childhood with A Link To The Past and Majora's Mask. This game is epic. PLAY IT, PLAY IT AGAIN
  5. velasco92
    Nov 14, 2013
    10
    El juego perfecto. Insuperable por lo que supuso. No habrá nunca una revolución igual. Lo mejor de la época y un espejo en el que miran los juegos de ahora. Seguirá en lo mas alto por siempre
  6. NinjaBucket
    Nov 9, 2013
    9
    Firstly, allow me to state an absolute that I'll probably get downvoted to Oblivion for pointing out: This game is, in a very obvious sense, overrated. This, however, has no correlation with its quality; I simply mean to make the fact apparent that some 10/10 reviews, well, shouldn't be as inflated as they are despite the amazing quality of this game. And anyone saying that "people votingFirstly, allow me to state an absolute that I'll probably get downvoted to Oblivion for pointing out: This game is, in a very obvious sense, overrated. This, however, has no correlation with its quality; I simply mean to make the fact apparent that some 10/10 reviews, well, shouldn't be as inflated as they are despite the amazing quality of this game. And anyone saying that "people voting 8's or 7's are idiots" are really nothing more than just stubborn giga-fans. That being said, my critique is as follows:

    There's no denial that this game is a great experience for apt Zelda fans. It presents a wonderful, new environment to the player, an arguably mega-fluid combat system, a light, yet invest-worthy engine, and most of all, a mood-setter that can be matched by few other games. Immersion is in near totality, with its only shortcomings being the limitations of the time. There's little that can be said against the game.

    However, there is in fact, even in this masterpiece, room for some error:
    The main problem in the game, though not overwhelmingly prominent, is the slight feeling of emptiness associated with plot-carrying. If you choose to look at it standalone, there is a present problem in the fact that the game never truly reaches the point that you feel the overwhelming need to "push on" towards the end-result (which I'll not spoil). You feel, rather than working with Link to reach a goal, that you're watching the story play out for you. The problem with deciding the factoring of this error into a numeric review is the fact that the fault of this is halfway between the creators themselves, but also the simple limitations of the time. The only thing that's stopping me from giving this a full 10/10 is the likely possibility that this error could have been fixed, or at least improved with more consideration into immersion, no matter the era. And to be fair, a 10/10 implies a perfect game. Meaning there would be NO POSSIBILITY for ANY improvement in the game, which this game barely falls short of.

    There's not much more to say. This is, arguably, one of the greatest games ever made, and is near-perfect aside from it's minor immersion flaw. But I'd recommend this game to anyone in a heartbeat. The environment, the gameplay, the whole feeling of it is just about as close to near-flawless as a game could be at that era.    … Expand
  7. Parthros
    Nov 6, 2013
    10
    This is the best game I've ever played. Ever. It should come with a warning label that says, "Every game after this will feel like a slight disappointment." It's story is wonderful, and has plenty of undertones that add depth to a seemingly simple storyline. The game play is perfect. Puzzles are challenging but not impossible, the open world is fun to explore, and Link's arsenal ofThis is the best game I've ever played. Ever. It should come with a warning label that says, "Every game after this will feel like a slight disappointment." It's story is wonderful, and has plenty of undertones that add depth to a seemingly simple storyline. The game play is perfect. Puzzles are challenging but not impossible, the open world is fun to explore, and Link's arsenal of weapons provides a variety of playing styles.

    This is my favorite game of all time, and I feel like everyone should be given the chance to play this masterpiece.    … Expand
  8. goobyplz
    Nov 2, 2013
    10
    Best game ever made. And I dont think any game even comes close to it.

    Story is perfect, sound/music is spot on, environment is well made and the graphics were sensational at the time.

    I cant come up with anything that was negative with this game. Such great memories.
  9. GuyWhoDoesStuff
    Nov 1, 2013
    10
    Ocarina of time is easily one of the greatest games ever made. The pacing is perfect, the dungeons are phenominal and the bosses are fantastic. 10/10 no doubt about it
  10. joei1382
    Oct 31, 2013
    10
    I think it's funny that you have Zelda haters writing reviews based on their personal feelings towards the game, as opposed to how the game play actually was for them. Ocarina of Time was one of the single greatest games ever created. It set a precedence for future games. The graphics were unrivaled at the time, the game actually took real skill to beat it at times. In other words, itI think it's funny that you have Zelda haters writing reviews based on their personal feelings towards the game, as opposed to how the game play actually was for them. Ocarina of Time was one of the single greatest games ever created. It set a precedence for future games. The graphics were unrivaled at the time, the game actually took real skill to beat it at times. In other words, it wasn't something that you would pick up, beat in an hour, and never look at again. I can still pick this game up, and still play through it while enjoying every single second of it.… Expand
  11. DemKin
    Oct 30, 2013
    10
    Poetic, beautiful, clever, creative, funny, creepy,... this game plays with your feelings just like the best films and books do.
    A unique and extremely powerful adventure that every person claiming he is a gamer should have played to.
    Ocarina of Time is and always will be the best game ever made.
    Every game has a story, but only one is a legend.
  12. Shadowstar
    Oct 30, 2013
    7
    Yes I will not deny this is a good game.Maybe even a great game,But I think a lot of people talking about this game are blinded by nostalgia and it simply came out at the right time.
  13. Swisslegend
    Oct 23, 2013
    10
    Verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, verry, good game
  14. RedLink
    Oct 22, 2013
    10
    This game here is basically the best game ever made. Sure you may have your opinions but it's pretty much agreed worldwide that this game is perfect and deserves the praise it gets. The story, the gameplay, the fights, the bosses, the soundtrack, and pretty much everything else is perfect, Everyone should get the chance to experience this masterpiece.
  15. elitefour
    Oct 18, 2013
    10
    Ocarina of time is the best n64 best game and the best adventure game of ever.
    an Excellent soundtrack with unforgables melodies,an excellent story. a innovative game with a perfect gameplay and a great open world.
    a masterpiece...
    a legend of nintendo
  16. Rcj8993
    Oct 14, 2013
    10
    one of the best games of all time
    ignore the reviews by the trolls (ie all the ones in the red)
    without any doubt in my mind, this was my favorite game growing up, and it wasnt until i was around the age of 13 that i actually finished it. i popped it in recently, and it STILL lives up to its reputation, Graphics dont make a good game, sure Majoras Mask looks better, but without focusing    one of the best games of all time
    ignore the reviews by the trolls (ie all the ones in the red)
    without any doubt in my mind, this was my favorite game growing up, and it wasnt until i was around the age of 13 that i actually finished it.
    i popped it in recently, and it STILL lives up to its reputation, Graphics dont make a good game, sure Majoras Mask looks better, but without focusing on side quests, OOT is much longer and gives you more playtime and replay value.
    a total of 10 dungeons, Memorable bosses and plot points.
    EVEN without the Promised Ura Zelda Addon (that WAS said to have been finished by miyamoto on autust 25th on a tvshow back in 2000, but added no plans to release it) this game is pretty solid on its one.    … Expand
  17. crehop
    Oct 13, 2013
    10
    I remember when this game came out.. my friend got it, and all 5 of us played taking turns to save the kingdom. after countless hours and a sleepless night at 7am the next morning we had beaten the game. no small feat and it took 5 minds to help solve everything. I must say that is by far and away the funnest time i have ever had on a video game bar none this games story is just insanelyI remember when this game came out.. my friend got it, and all 5 of us played taking turns to save the kingdom. after countless hours and a sleepless night at 7am the next morning we had beaten the game. no small feat and it took 5 minds to help solve everything. I must say that is by far and away the funnest time i have ever had on a video game bar none this games story is just insanely awesome.. and i dub it the BEST VIDEO GAME OF ALL TIME!… Expand
  18. Fretfire
    Oct 9, 2013
    9
    Ah ocarina of Time, a classic in the eyes of many. Ocarina of Time is the type of game that is timeless. It's hard to even put a finger on what makes it timeless. Maybe the way it controls or they way you feel when you travel across hyrule or play a song on your ocarina. It's something you have to experience for yourself to understand what I mean. I know there are a lot of haters out thereAh ocarina of Time, a classic in the eyes of many. Ocarina of Time is the type of game that is timeless. It's hard to even put a finger on what makes it timeless. Maybe the way it controls or they way you feel when you travel across hyrule or play a song on your ocarina. It's something you have to experience for yourself to understand what I mean. I know there are a lot of haters out there who automatically hate the game because of the praise it gets and I totally understand how something being so overrated can turn you off completely, I feel the same way about a lot of things. But before you make your final consensus, at least give the game 4 or 5 dungeons of your time before you truly decide it's not for you. And in the chance it's not for you at least you could give an educated reason why you don't like it instead of hating it because of the fan base. To wrap things up Ocarina of time is very enjoyable experience. It's not the best game of all time but It gets the job done.… Expand
  19. Mamodman123
    Oct 3, 2013
    10
    I did chuckle at some of the bad reviews involving a moan about Navi and the graphics. These people obviously don't have the balls to finish it, or the brains to. They belong to the Playstation generation, and as far away from Hyrule as possible.

    Still after all these years (and it's been a few) it's the greatest game of all time. Graphics aside you can't make this game any better than    I did chuckle at some of the bad reviews involving a moan about Navi and the graphics. These people obviously don't have the balls to finish it, or the brains to. They belong to the Playstation generation, and as far away from Hyrule as possible.

    Still after all these years (and it's been a few) it's the greatest game of all time. Graphics aside you can't make this game any better than it already is. There is no story in any other game that will grab you and pull you in like this one. Traveling forwards and backwards through time is just pure genius and it's a journey that everyone should experience until the end.

    So many legendary moments that help this game cement itself as the greatest there ever was. Brilliant ingenious weapons and a targeting system that was way ahead of it's time. Plenty of fun side quests to do along the way if you fancy a change from the main storyline. The main temples are challenging but satisfying as you progress, Nothing beats the feeling of completing the water temple for the first time.

    The world of Hyrule just seems massive. From Hyrule field and all the temples, how did they squeeze it all on to one N64 cartridge? So many places to explore and secrets to find. Coupled with the excellent catchy soundtrack that you'll be humming along to for days.

    The whole game just builds up the tension and excitement until you find yourself climbing that long staircase with the organ playing in the background to face the final challenge.

    Then when it's all over you must "Go home where you are supposed to be...the way you are supposed to be"

    It's a masterpiece, totally flawless and an unforgettable journey from the beginning to the end. Experience it for yourself and on completion realise that you'll never quite feel the same again.......    … Expand
  20. JoeSoul
    Sep 28, 2013
    10
    I can belive that some people don't like Zelda games,
    for example i don't like Gta games, but I recognize that in the genre are unbeatable. For this people that rate this game 0 or 1 or 5 are very childish.. because this game, in is genre, is perfect.
    For me, this is the best game of all times, i pleyed this game over 10 times, on N65, Gamecube and 3ds. Of course is a 10/10
  21. LHy
    Sep 28, 2013
    10
    This game is personally the best game I have ever played, In my opinion though, the price is too low! the game deserves a way more higher pricing due to its absolute chaos, in a good way. Loved this game and always will.
  22. EDOARDOMASTER
    Sep 27, 2013
    10
    Its one my 3 favorite games of all time! The difficult its perfect, the history is perfect, the design is perfect, all is perfect! I love this game! :D
  23. Andrez0608
    Sep 24, 2013
    10
    The legend of Zelda is a beautiful game, good graphics for the time, excellent story, good bosses, a plot magnifies definitely one of the best Zelda games and the world of the story.
  24. cado64
    Sep 24, 2013
    10
    It's incredible how Nintendo could do such an amazing game with just 25MB and another game developers couldn't do better with 15 GB
    This is the best game ever made...by far
  25. Tehemai
    Sep 23, 2013
    10
    I wouldn't change a thing about this game. Lots of content, great art style, great controls, great gameplay, great characters, great story and possibly the best soundtrack of any game. We're now 15 years after this games release and most games coming out still aren't able to candle to this classic. Also, given the nature of the game, it can be enjoyed by a really wide audience.

    It may    I wouldn't change a thing about this game. Lots of content, great art style, great controls, great gameplay, great characters, great story and possibly the best soundtrack of any game. We're now 15 years after this games release and most games coming out still aren't able to candle to this classic. Also, given the nature of the game, it can be enjoyed by a really wide audience.

    It may be difficult for new players to try this game out with an open mind given that this games ratings and hype are probably above that of your favorites. Still, if you are really able to overcome this first hurdle, you may very well be in store for one of the most amazing experiences a video game has ever offered you.    … Expand
  26. Klatort
    Sep 22, 2013
    10
    If you can see how beautiful this game is, it's because you know about amazing and gorgeous histories, this is one of the best games ever created and i think it is one of the best Zelda games ever
  27. iqudoblev
    Sep 21, 2013
    10
    this game is 90! and still has one of the best stories of all action rpg. was the only reason to buy a nintendo 64 in those years. is the best game :O
  28. TheCorf
    Sep 21, 2013
    10
    This is the best game i have ever played, the game got lot of replayability and it will always be just as amazing as the last time you played it, the few bugs here and there are not game breaking and mostly used by speedrunners.
    For a game on the very limited N64 it is extremely beautiful and huge, the atmosphere and story is very gripping and even a young kid can, as in many other    This is the best game i have ever played, the game got lot of replayability and it will always be just as amazing as the last time you played it, the few bugs here and there are not game breaking and mostly used by speedrunners.
    For a game on the very limited N64 it is extremely beautiful and huge, the atmosphere and story is very gripping and even a young kid can, as in many other Nintendo games, play this while still feeling the magic of everything even without perfect understanding of the story.    … Expand
  29. agentesupremo
    Sep 20, 2013
    10
    the best game of zelda¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
  30. YellowMan64
    Sep 18, 2013
    8
    This is good, but not the "Best game of all time". It has problems. They could have made the overworld have more secrets, and I don't the Stone of Agony (I think that's how you spell it) should have been in the game. To me it ruins the feeling of finding a secret. Also, they way you get the item I just mentioned is tedious. You have to kill spider creatures, and once you kill them aThis is good, but not the "Best game of all time". It has problems. They could have made the overworld have more secrets, and I don't the Stone of Agony (I think that's how you spell it) should have been in the game. To me it ruins the feeling of finding a secret. Also, they way you get the item I just mentioned is tedious. You have to kill spider creatures, and once you kill them a yellowish token will appear, you have to collect a bunch of them and give it to a cursed family. They'll give you rewards for breaking the curse. The item I mentioned is one of the rewards. If those things were magically fixed, then I would have given this a 9/10.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best N64 Game of 1998
1
#1 Most Discussed N64 Game of 1998
1
#1 Most Shared N64 Game of 1998

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
99

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. My Gamer
    Mar 24, 2016
    94
    The player will be drawn into the Zelda fantasy world from the moment the opening sequence bursts onto the screen, and the game won't let go-not even after finishing the quest.
    Read full review
  2. Happy Puppy
    Mar 24, 2016
    90
    Realism is one of the major reasons this title is so amazing. After playing for a while it feels as though you have actually been to Hyrule.
  3. Gaming Age
    Mar 24, 2016
    95
    Featuring unparalleled 3D environments, a deep and involved quest, brilliant and intuitive play controls, and a well-developed cinematic quality that enhances rather than overwhelms the whole game experience, Miyamoto's latest soon-to-be-classic title deserves to be played by each and every person who might deign to consider themselves a fan of great games.
    Read full review
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