The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U)
Release Date	Nintendo 64 JP November 21, 1998 US November 23, 1998 EU December 18, 1998 CH November 2003 Gamecube JP November 28, 2002 US February 28, 2003 EU May 3, 2003 Wii Virtual Console US February 26, 2007 JP February 27, 2007 EU February 23, 2007 Wii U Virtual Console US/PAL July 2, 2015 JP December 22, 2015
Genre	Adventure
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

This article is about the game. For the titular item, see the Ocarina entry.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the fifth installment of the Legend of Zelda series and acts as the series' jump to 3D graphics. It is the first Nintendo 64 installment and has been remembered as the most popular installment of the series.

Story

One day, the fairy Navi comes to Link to tell him the Great Deku Tree wants to talk to him. Once Link goes to the Great Deku tree, it tells him that he's been cursed and needs Link to go inside him and defeat the evil within. Link accepts the challenge and manages to defeat the evil. The Great Deku Tree tells Link that he is going to die and gives him one of the spiritual stones. He tells Link to find Princess Zelda and show her the stone. So, Link's epic adventure begins.

Gameplay

The gameplay is largely reinvented for a 3D environment as opposed to the overhead 2D controls of the previous games. In this game Link's main weapons are his sword and shield, which are assigned to certain buttons. Unlike in previous games, Link can perform a variety of different movements with his sword beyond the usual spin attack. The player can also equip three different weapons at a time by assigning them to different buttons. The items include a variety of new items as well as old items that have been retooled to work in 3-D. One of the other new features is horseback riding.

The game also contains a wide range of environments that contains not only monsters that must be vanquished, but friendlier locales filled with more distinctive characters than in the previous games as well as a variety of sidequests. Another unique feature was time traveling, as after a certain point in the game Link grows up but can return to the past and his child self by returning the Master Sword to its altar. There were certain items and features that could only be used by Child Link, and others that were exclusive to Adult Link.

Version Differences

Nintendo actually released three different versions of the original Nintendo 64 game. Version 1.0 was the gold cartridges released in 1998, Version 1.1 was the later gold cartridges, and Version 1.2 was the later gray cartridges.

• Version 1.0 has a glitch that allows the player to play without the Master Sword and use any item while riding Epona. At the end of the game, Ganon's blood is red.
• Version 1.1 fixed many of the bugs from Version 1.0. At the end of the game, the color of Ganon's blood changes with the color of the tunic Link wears.
• In Version 1.2, Ganon's blood is green. They also changed the music in the Fire Temple because it contained an Arabic phrase that translates to "I bear witness that there is no God, but Allah." This was found offensive by the Muslim community.
• In the Gamecube versions of the game, the star and crescent symbol used by the Gerudos was changed to the symbol used by the Gerudo pirates in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, due to further complaints.

Continuity Notes

• On the official timeline, Ocarina of Time follows Four Swords. This game is an important nexus point for the timeline, as the timeline branches out into three different timelines from this game's events:
  • The time in which Link defeated Ganondorf in the future, commonly referred to as the Adult Timeline, continues on into The Wind Waker.
  • In the game's ending, Princess Zelda sends Link back in time to his own childhood so that he could use his knowledge of the future to prematurely stop Ganondorf's rise to power and truly experience his childhood. This branch of the timeline is referred to as the Child Timeline. The Hero of Time's adventures continue within this time in Majora's Mask, and this timeline leads into Twilight Princess.
  • The third branch of the timeline is not tied to the game's time travel and instead follows a hypothetical series of events in which Link is killed by Ganondorf in the final battle, and Ganondorf is able to claim the full Triforce before being sealed in the Dark World. This branch primarily contains the classic pre-Ocarina games and leads into A Link to the Past.
• Ocarina was for a long time acknowledged as the earliest game in the Zelda chronology, although its place was contested by The Minish Cap. Skyward Sword has since been made into the earliest game.
• The game was originally conceived as a telling of the Imprisoning War from the backstory to A Link to the Past. This is evident from several plot points in the game, as there is the presence of sages and the first threat posed by Ganondorf, the corruption of the Sacred Realm into the Dark World and Ganondorf being sealed into the Dark World by the sages. Ocarina wound up having several inconsistencies, as Ganondorf was sealed in the Dark World with only part of the Triforce and did not permanently become Ganon. The new third split in the timeline was made to partially amend these contradictions (and mostly likely partly because The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess took spots on the timeline that could have gone to A Link to the Past).
• Ocarina also takes some influence from the NES games. A new incarnation of Impa appears (which is technically her first in-game appearance due to her previous instruction manual-only role). Five of the sages and the character Mido are all named after towns from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link to give the implication that their historical importance led to the towns being named after them. Volvagia, a boss from Zelda II, also appears within this game with a storyline role.
• This game details some of Hyrule's mythology, primarily in relation to the Golden Goddesses. This game names them and reveals them as goddesses (whereas previously they were just called gods). More of the rules of the Triforce are also elaborated, and this is the first game where the three principal characters (Link, Zelda and Ganondorf) all wind up with their corresponding Triforce pieces.

Legacy

Ports and Rereleases

• In February 2003, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest was made available as a preorder bonus for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This bonus disc contained both the original Ocarina of Time and a new version known as the Master Quest. The Master Quest, which was originally going to be released for the 64 DD prior to its failure, was an enhanced version of Ocarina in which the dungeons were redesigned to be harder in a manner similar to the "second quest" of The Legend of Zelda.
• In November 2003, Ocarina of Time was included in The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition, promotional disc for the Nintendo Gamecube that compiled several classic Zelda games.
• Ocarina of Time was released through the Wii's Virtual Console in 2007 and for the Wii U's Wii U Virtual Console in 2016. A demo version for the Wii release was included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an unlockable Masterpiece.
• A graphically updated version was released in 2011 for the 3DS as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. This version also included the Master Quest as an unlockable option.
• In October 2021, Ocarina of Time was among the initial wave of Nintendo 64 games that were made available on the Nintendo Switch for those who purchased the Expansion Pack of Nintendo Switch Online.

Sequels

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was followed by The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The sequel used the same basic engine, but included a unique three-day cycle as well as new items and the ability for young Link to ride Epona.

See Also

• Enemies in Ocarina of Time