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Critiquing Ocarina Of Time


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If there's one game you simply cannot criticise on the internet for fear of fanboy retribution it's Ocarina Of Time. I've said for years that this game is an overated overhyped game that gets by on fanboy nostalgia. Thankfully someone has finally made a video on the subject so I though I'd share Egoraptors video here.

 

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=XOC3vixnj_0

 

Edit: Can't embed the video from a phone.

Edited by TornadoCreator
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I think most people on here love the game, but Im there with you. Played it for the first time on 3DS and it wasn't really that great, it was honestly barely good.

I honestly don't care if people love it and have nostalgia for it since I have the same feeling for other games, but a lot of fans say that it's aged well. It hasn't. That's just factually wrong. The idea and premise behind OoT is fantastic, but the story isnt and the gameplay isn't. Though Zelda isnt really known for story.

 

And yes, maybe for it's tike it was fantastic and I wont take that away from people....as long as they admit it hasn't aged well.

 

- biggest OoT hater on this forum

Edited by Strangelove
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The way I see it, people getting upset because of critique are simply too delicate. Sure as kids OoT may have been fun for people, but objective judging criteria are worth discussing especially if we want the media to be taken seriously.

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It's funny, but Alice: Madness Returns did OoT's combat gameplay way better than any other Zelda since OoT. Or any other game(Darksiders) that tried to be like 3D Zelda.

And Im not saying Alice MR is a good Zelda replacement because it isnt(it doesnt have the puzzles Zelda does), just saying it did the core of Zelda better. And yet somehow Alice MR was shitted on by critics for having antiquated gameplay. Yet Zelda hasnt changed much since OoT and as we all know, everyone loves it.

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I consider Alice: Madness Returns to be one of my all time favourite games. 10/10 I say. The mainstream critics aren't fit to critique it quite frankly. Not one of them spoke about the theming, character growth, storyline, art direction, or atmosphere; they didn't even make reference to the original source material. It was just sad inane bullshit as they discussed textures, graphics, mechanics and combat; reviewing the game not as art but as a product and that made me angry...

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I think this was brought up in another forum.


I always feel the "aged well or not comment" is in itself subjective...to a point. 
 

Anyway, that is a whole other topic. 

As far as OoT being the best thing ever, the best game, etc etc. No...and it's impossible for a game to continue to be "the best"...

I love OoT. I loved replaying it on the 3DS. My wife, who played it for the first time, loved it(She still loves Link to the past...due to nostalgia. Just like OoT fans)...but it sure as hell has some flaws.

Haven't played the Alice games...really need to. Same goes for Darksiders. 

I'm also probably the most unqualified to argue about Zelda games and which one is the best....as OoT is the only one I've played to completion(mostly because it was the only N64 besides Goldenye that I had)

Edited by Vecha
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  • 4 months later...

I think this was brought up in another forum.

 

 

I always feel the "aged well or not comment" is in itself subjective...to a point. 

 

Anyway, that is a whole other topic. 

 

As far as OoT being the best thing ever, the best game, etc etc. No...and it's impossible for a game to continue to be "the best"...

 

I love OoT. I loved replaying it on the 3DS. My wife, who played it for the first time, loved it(She still loves Link to the past...due to nostalgia. Just like OoT fans)...but it sure as hell has some flaws.

 

Haven't played the Alice games...really need to. Same goes for Darksiders. 

 

I'm also probably the most unqualified to argue about Zelda games and which one is the best....as OoT is the only one I've played to completion(mostly because it was the only N64 besides Goldenye that I had)

OoT gets praised by fans because it was one of their childhood Zelda games, and by critics because it was a huge and well done leap into 3D when many franchises were making clunky transitions from 2D. Edited by Opabinia
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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

I just started playing OoT for the first time last night while catching up on Game of Thrones.

 

It's a pretty phenomenal adventure. And I'm not even out of Kokiri Forest yet. (Or whatever it's called).

 

The story is basic indeed, but it feels basic more in the style of Shadow of the Colossus than a bad story. It has a kind of timeless, essential mythological feel, with surprising dark moments, like the Deku tree dying right after it helps you, or Link crying in his bed because he doesn't have a fairy. It's like legit decent fairytale stuff.

 

The graphics thing is a non-issue for me. Slightly off-topic explanation in the spoilertag.

 

 

I've thought about it a lot, and imo, graphics are relative. One doesn't notice 'bad' graphics if one plays something for an extended period of time. Our expectations normalise to whatever we're playing. The only people I've known who can't get past bad graphics are people who only glance at things, taking them at face value. Get immersed in the gameplay and the graphics/jankiness melts away.

 

 

The design of the world is fantastic. I really miss this old school, open approach to level design. I feel that Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy may have been the last of this kind, bar some very recent developments (AAA like Sunset Overdrive and indie). Like Ratchet and Clank never seemed to capture that sense of freedom or fun, of having no clear direction in which to go but always stuff to find if you just did it. In a platforming context, I mean. The level design in OoT is sublime - simple, clear, but exciting and enjoyable to navigate. The way the puzzles tie in seamlessly is beautiful, too.

 

The main thing is, though, that I'm having some damn good fun. It's just nice to be in a well designed platforming/puzzling environment that doesn't hold my hand. One that gives you freedom to move around how you please in large areas and approach combat often on your own terms. It has a fantastic sense of adventure.

 

My opinion might change as I go on. I'll keep you posted. But as I feel right now, it deserves most of the praise it gets.

 

Plus what others said. For a game on what is clearly a miniscule amount of memory, it achieves some pretty great graphical things. The aesthetic direction is also fantastic. Some of those rasterised backgrounds, though... Holy shit

 

Edit: once I finish this I think I might have to get the Okami remaster. Seems like that would be right up my alley considering how much I'm enjoying OoT.

Edited by kenshi_ryden
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See thread title, check OP, of course that's who it was...

 

I have to disagree with SL about the core of Zelda.  I haven't played Madness Returns so I can't comment on its combat, but I would agree that the combat in Zelda isn't amazing.  The thing is, combat isn't the core of Zelda, the puzzle-dungeons are.  Combat is ancillary except during boss fights, and even there the bosses are set up more like puzzles than normal combat encounters.

 

Skyward Sword was a little bit of an exception to this, as it did have more of an emphasis on combat, but even there I wouldn't say it rose to prominence over the puzzle-dungeons.

 

I also can't dispute that the Zelda formula is repetitive, but I think for the people who still enjoy the series (like me) it's mainly about solving your way through the puzzle-dungeons, and those are always different.

 

As an aside, I'm confused by the Darksiders comment.  I know that post was from a year ago, so fair enough if you can't remember the point you were making, but it seems to me like Darksiders' combat is nothing like Zelda's, and is in fact significantly better.  I'd say that's about the only thing Darksiders did better than Zelda.

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Should I recognise this guy?

 

TC?  He was a member of the forum for about 2 weeks last year.  He started some interesting discussion threads, but then would ruin them by going batshit crazy in them, declaring that anyone who disagreed with him on any point was obviously wrong/misinformed, constantly saying that there is plenty of evidence to establish his view as the correct one, but then never actually providing any of that evidence.  I don't think he was trolling though, I think he just doesn't know how to discuss things with people.  It was weird.

 

*Edit - For the archetype, see the An Industry Doomed thread.

Edited by TheMightyEthan
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I don't remember DK being that bad... I remember we played with him on Uncharted 2 one time I think. He was a bit nuts.

 

Tornado Creator was a special kind of frustrating, because he was a totally decent guy. He just couldn't objectify his opinions or see things in terms of evidence. This thread was the absolute best, TN, and hopefully it reminds you of him. It was just an insane bout of total head-in-the-clouds, 'end is nigh', baseless pessimism.

 

Anyway, back on track, OcarinaofTimeOcarinaofTimeOcarinaofTimeOcarinaofTimeOcarinaofTimeOcarinaofTime

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Yeah I read it. A pity I was less active during that time. I'd have enjoyed taking him to task over his assessment of a certain publishers financial outlook. But yes, Ocarina of Time. Enjoyed it, but also blame it for being too good and as such being mimicked by most console Zelda's since. Majora's Mask was the peak imho.

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Enjoyed it, but also blame it for being too good and as such being mimicked by most console Zelda's since.

That's an interesting outlook that I can kind of get behind.  It worked so well that they felt like they needed to stick to that formula.  Thankfully they started experimenting a little with Skyward Sword, and it looks like they're going to do even more of that with Zelda U.

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