Experiencing the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I was only six years old when I started playing Zelda. I didn’t even know how to read, and I know this because I remember standing in front of the Great Deku Tree for the first time and having my Dad help me read what he was saying. There are many reasons why I was hooked, especially so young. More than that, I still play sixteen years later. When I go home, I get on the N64, the Gamecube, and the Wii, shuffling through over twenty years of production. As a kid I placed bets on how many times I could defeat Ganondorf without using a fairy. As a teenager, I was seeing if I could beat the game in two days. Over the years, I became an expert on how to run through Ocarina of Time.

The Boss Fights

My best friend hated them, but to me they were the reward for completing a Dungeon or Temple. I was so spooked running through the Forest Temple that when I got to fight Phantom Gannon I was relieved at first. I got decked so many times, but the challenge of repeatedly dying kept bringing me back. The Desert Colossus was my favorite, because after getting stuck solving so many puzzles I got to fight the Twinrova sisters, Koume and Kotake. Mastering the finesse of backflips, scrambling to get back on the platform, and dodging the elements was the best. I “saved” after that fight and stopped progressing in that file so I could re-enter it whenever I wanted. Ultimately, Ganondorf and Ganon were my favorite fights growing up. The rainbow bridge was only the beginning, and after getting the hearts from that fairy I felt up to the challenge.

Getting Stuck

Can someone say Water Temple? No matter what Zelda game you play, if there is a Water Temple, it’s going to be tricky. You don’t even find the Iron Boots IN the Water Temple! You have to somehow figure out how to get into Zora’s Domain, and then after getting to Jabu Jabu’s remains hop over ice platforms!

As an adult my dexterity is a lot better than when I played Ocarina of Time for the first time. Those ice flows were tough, and then you have to figure out the ice cave dungeon BEFORE even starting the Water Temple. In the temple itself, there is a specific order in which to visit the rooms. Every decision about where to go depends on a few things. The first is which rooms you know exist. The second is remembering how to get to those rooms. If you know where a room is you want to get to, then you have to know how to access the water level rooms. You don’t want to mess that up and have to re-do each of the water levels.

Switching Between Young Link and Adult Link

This dynamic added complexity to the game. I can think of three key examples that demanded good timing, and the ability to figure it out in general. The first was getting Epona, the second was accessing The Well in Kakariko, and the third was accessing the Desert Colossus to get the gauntlets from Nabooru.

To get Epona before I knew a shorter way, I completed the Forest Temple before I could turn back into kid Link again. Running around Hyrule Field listening to Navi and trying to figure out where to go without that horse took a long time. Now I’ve learned that to get Epona, you learn her song as a kid before ever going to the Temple of Time. Once there, the Ganondorf sequence commences and before you know it, you have to wait forever before having your only form of good early-game transportation.

There are three temples that you have to complete a “pre-dungeon” in order to enter. These are the Water Temple, the Spirit Temple, and the Desert Colossus. The Spirit temple involves earning the Eye of Truth from Below the Well in Kakariko Village. You have to learn the Song of Storms, but figuring out how to get it is hard. I didn’t know initially that I could even go back in time when I first played the game. Then, the old man in the Mill kept grousing about a kid teaching him a song, and that is the only hint you ever get to go back in time.

Entering the Desert Colossus as a kid was super fun for me. I was a kid in real life at the time so the added feeling of being somewhere I shouldn’t be really had me going. The thrill of sneaking into the Gerudo's Fortress, completing the Poe chase through the desert, and reaching a mysterious Oasis was plenty as an adult. Then, add in meeting the mysterious and alluring Nabooru as kid Link and it all became intriguing. By then I understood the concept of switching between kid Link and adult Link. Entering the small section of the Colossus as kid Link was a great build up for finally entering the Temple as an Adult.

The Fear Moments

There were definitely “fear moments” during this game. The obvious was Navi’s warning about the Floormaster. I always had my Dad help me with that one, running through the room, hoping not to fall on the floor. Nobody wants a massive claw to rush down and sweep you away. Plus it was just a pain.

Another thing was the Boss in the Water Temple, Morpha. The Boss is silly now, just looking at it, a weird “brain” floating around. As a kid I was terrified of falling into that “water” and having Morpha snatch me.

One last thing: don’t mess with the Cucco’s. You don’t know fear until you slash a bird and then the whole flock chases you out of Kakariko village.

Conclusion

In conclusion, experiencing Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a wild ride. The boss fights, the countless puzzles, switching between young and adult Link, and facing down the creepy moments made this game my favorite of all time. It was so good because of key elements, but the sheer complexity of the storyline was ultimately what makes it the best Zelda game of all time.

The storyline for Ocarina of Time is so good that I wrote another article on it. Feel free to check it out on my blog!

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