also known as Legend of Zelda, The - Ocarina of Time
Nintendo 64
🇯🇵
Reviewed in 1998
99
✪ Reviewed on May 25, 2024
92
A cornerstone of 3D adventure, plain and simple. Hyrule becomes a tangible world, Z-targeting reinvents combat, the dungeons are design masterclasses and Kondo's score lodges itself in the collective memory. Hard to spend two sentences on this peak without falling into obvious praise.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player12+
Description
Japanese version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the landmark 3D action-adventure with Link saving Hyrule from Ganondorf. Published by Nintendo, released in Japan in November 1998. Vast open world, revolutionary Z-targeting, memorable dungeons, iconic music, and time travel.
Zelda no Densetsu - Toki no Ocarina review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
A foundational Hyrule in three dimensions, from wind-swept plains to the day-night cycle: the game invented 3D adventure with an unequalled sense of framing. The atmosphere and the economy of means give every place an unforgettable presence. This pioneering visual direction still feeds the whole of modern adventure gaming.
A few notes of the ocarina are enough to summon a whole world: Zelda's Lullaby or the Song of Time are etched into collective memory. Koji Kondo's compositions, woven into the gameplay, turn music into a genuine tool of adventure. This melodic magic, intact on 3DS, remains an absolute benchmark.
Torn from his childhood to cross seven years in an instant, a young boy becomes the hero of a founding legend. A rite-of-passage journey, friendship and the struggle against darkness unfold with an almost mythic self-evidence. A model of timeless adventure, this tale shaped the imagination of an entire generation.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Z-targeting redefined 3D sword combat: aiming, dodging and countering become intuitive and fluid, laying down a grammar that countless games have copied since. Clever dungeons, a coherent world and crystal-clear progression round it out. A few textures have aged, but this foundational handling still plays today with undiminished pleasure.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Exploring a dungeon, earning an item that suddenly opens up a whole swath of the world and solving the next puzzle strings discoveries together with masterful fluidity. The back-and-forth between eras and the hunt for heart pieces stretch the adventure well beyond the main thread. A few of the round trips show their age, yet this structure remains a model that still captivates.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Roaming the vast kingdom of Hyrule to defeat Ganondorf unfolds an adventure studded with cunning dungeons, puzzles and secrets. The main quest, long and masterful, is doubled by side quests and collectibles that hold you well past the credits. That foundational scope, still a benchmark, makes it a journey you take your time to savour.
Original Nintendo Japanese November 1998 edition of Ocarina of Time under the local Toki no Ocarina title. This original cartridge is the famed Japanese Rev 0 carrying the Fire Temple Arabic chant and Spaceworld textures in their initial state, before the successive corrections. Desirability rests on the gold finishing with holographic label and on the preservation of editorial elements predating the later Rev 1 and Rev 2 adjustments.
Memorable bosses
Each dungeon climaxes on a guardian that sums up its theme, from the fire dragon Volvagia to the spectral horseman Phantom Ganon, before a two-stage final duel against Ganondorf. Z-targeting and combat puzzles laid down the rules of the 3D boss. A solemn staging and unforgettable musical themes lend these battles an aura that hasn't aged a day.
A cult cover
Framed by a golden border, Link charging on Epona across Hyrule Field at sunset composes an image of pure chivalry, the Triforce watching from above. Warm golds and the sweep of the landscape promise the foundational adventure in three dimensions. Noble and timeless, it set the series' visual imagination for a long time to come.
Is Zelda no Densetsu - Toki no Ocarina still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 1998 on Nintendo 64, Nintendo's project redefined three dimensional action adventure and is still often cited as one of the greatest games ever made. The journey of young Link across Hyrule, the passage between childhood and adulthood and dungeons of founding ingenuity lay foundations the genre still follows. The target lock, which made three dimensional combat readable, was a lasting revolution. Koji Kondo's score and the scope of the world leave a permanent mark. A few technical rough edges betray the age. An absolute peak of the medium, recommended for any player curious about a founding classic.
