Ocarina of Time 3D
a masterpiece with a new look
By brian on: June 28, 2011s
The following review was submitted by Jared Chadwick of the Gamechurch Faction.
The prospect of reviewing Ocarina of Time 3D was a daunting one for me. I wasn’t sure if I could bear to see one of my favorite games of all time outside of the limelight of nostalgia, and I didn’t know if I could bear the burden of giving it less than a perfect score. As you can see, I decided to put my critical foot forward, and I couldn’t be happier that I did.
For those who have played OoT before, fear not, your beloved game is still completely intact. The classic story of saving the princess is still here, with a slew of dungeons and side quests to venture through on your way there. Nintendo has largely shied away from changing the core game and opted instead to tweak the user interface and perk up the overall look of the game, and it’s readily apparent. It’s stunning that the game looks almost exactly like it did in my mind, and Nintendo has even made some aesthetic changes to buildings and scenery to take advantage of the more powerful hardware. I was expecting to turn the 3D off immediately, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it complemented the scope and feel of the game instead of feeling gimmicky or tacked on. Even though I found myself frequently fiddling with the depth slider to get the feel just right, it was a feature that I was glad to have as an option.
Gameplay works great as always, with tight controls and easy to reach hotkeys that eliminate almost all need for navigating through your menu to equip items once you set foot in a dungeon. The view is still a bit awkward but with targeting and the use of gyroscopic tilting to help fine-tune your view, but things never get out of hand. Nintendo also did a great job of making sure you aren’t forced to use mechanics like tilting your 3DS or using the 3D for more than enhancing your experience, as all the new control options can be toggled in the menu if you find them frustrating.
There really isn’t a lot left to say about Ocarina of Time 3D. Nintendo has managed to take what is arguably one of the greatest games of all time and refine it even further. If you haven’t ever played a Zelda game before, this is where you should start. If you’re a longtime fan of the series, this will only remind you why the series carries the legacy it does, and just how that legacy came to be. OoT 3D is a masterpiece, and I’m overjoyed to say it lives up to its own lofty standards.
