The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ) (Hylian: ) is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 as a part of Nintendo's critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda series. It was followed by a direct sequel, Majora's Mask.

The game begins with the series' trademark silent protagonist, Link, in the land of Hyrule. Link sets out on a quest to stop Ganondorf, the Zelda franchise's prime antagonist, from obtaining the Triforce. To stop Ganondorf, Link travels back and forth between a period of seven years using the titular Ocarina of Time.

Ocarina enjoyed wide critical acclaim as well as commercial success. It has sold over 7.6 million copies over its lifetime,, and was the best-selling game in 1998 despite its November release. It also received perfect scores from numerous gaming media publications, most notably Famitsu, and went on to place highly or top several "greatest games of all time" lists, including those from Gamespot, IGN, and Edge Magazine.

Gameplay
Ocarina of Time is a 3D action-adventure game with role-playing and puzzle elements. The player controls Link from a third-person perspective using a control scheme that is common today, but was considered revolutionary at the time. Link primarily battles with a sword and shield; he can also use projectile weapons such as arrows, bombs, and magic spells. When battling, the player can cause Link to focus on an enemy through a new feature called "Z Targeting". When using this technique, the camera will follow the target and Link will constantly face it. Projectile attacks will be automatically directed at the target and do not require manual aiming. Although much of the game is spent in battle, some parts encourage the player to use stealth – an uncommon situation for the series. Link must avoid guards at times in both Hyrule Castle and the Gerudo Fortress. If spotted, Link is thrown out or imprisoned, and thus forced to start over.



Link gains strength and new abilities through the collection of items and weapons found in dungeons or in the overworld. Not all are required – like all games in the series, Ocarina of Time has several optional side quests, minor objectives that the player can choose to complete or ignore. Completing the side quests usually results in rewards, normally in the form of weapons or abilities. In one side quest, Link trades items he cannot use among non-player characters. This trading sequence features ten items and ends with Link receiving the Biggoron Sword. In another side quest, Link can acquire a horse. This allows him to travel faster, but attacking while riding is restricted to arrows. This mechanic was expanded for future games and is now common in the Zelda series.

Link is given an ocarina near the beginning of the game, which is later replaced by the Ocarina of Time. Throughout the game, Link learns twelve melodies that allow him to solve music-based puzzles and to teleport. The Ocarina of Time is also used to claim the Master Sword in the Temple of Time. When Link takes the sword, he is transported seven years into the future and becomes an adult. Young Link and adult Link have different abilities. For example, only adult Link can use the Fairy Bow, and only young Link can fit through certain small passages. Link can travel freely between the two time periods by replacing and taking the sword.

Plot and setting

 * Further information: Races in The Legend of Zelda series, List of characters in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, List of places in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time is set in Hyrule, a fictional kingdom surrounding Hyrule Castle and the setting of most Zelda games. Hyrule Field serves as a central hub connected to several outlying areas with diverse topography. Some of these areas are populated by one of the races of Hyrule: Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, Kokiri, and Gerudo. Each race generally stays within its region of Hyrule and is led by its own ruler.

Story
The game opens as the fairy Navi awakens Link from a nightmare. Navi has been sent to bring Link to the guardian of his village, The Great Deku Tree, who is cursed and near death. Link breaks the curse, but cannot stop the tree from withering. The Deku Tree tells Link that the wizard that cursed him seeks to conquer the land of Hyrule, and that Link must stop him. He orders Link to Hyrule Castle, then dies.

At Hyrule Castle, Link meets Princess Zelda, who explains that she has been having dreams about the future of Hyrule and that she foresaw Link's arrival. She believes that Ganondorf, a king from the Gerudo Desert, is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic in the Sacred Realm that gives its holder god-like power. Zelda's description of Ganondorf matches that of the wizard that killed the Great Deku Tree. Zelda asks Link to obtain the three Sacred Stones so that he might enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce before Ganondorf reaches it.

. Link retrieves the three stones and returns to the castle, where he sees Ganondorf pursuing Zelda on horseback. Spotting Link, Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time into the castle moat. After Link retrieves the Ocarina, Zelda telepathically teaches him the "Song of Time", which, combined with the Sacred Stones, allows Link to open the door that leads to the Sacred Realm. Just through the door, Link finds the Master Sword, a magical sword forged to fight evil. As he pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal, Ganondorf appears, having followed Link into the Sacred Realm, and claims the Triforce.

Seven years later, an older Link awakens in an ethereal room and is met by the elderly sage Rauru. Rauru informs Link that his spirit was sealed for seven years until he was old enough to wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf. Rauru is the ancient Sage of Light, one of seven sages who protect the location of the Triforce. The seven sages can imprison Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm; the other six sages are unaware of their identities, due to Ganondorf transforming Hyrule into a land of darkness. Under Ganondorf's reign, Hyrule has rapidly fallen into decline and numerous disasters happen. Link returns to Hyrule and is met by the mysterious Sheik, who guides Link to rid five temples of Ganon's monsters, so that the power of the temples can awaken the sages and they will help him liberate Hyrule from Ganondorf's tyrannical rule.

After awakening five sages, Sheik is revealed as Princess Zelda, the seventh sage. She tells Link that when Ganondorf's heart is unbalanced, so the Triforce split into three pieces according to an ancient prophecy. Ganondorf kept the Triforce of Power, Zelda gained the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link obtained the Triforce of Courage. Zelda bestows Link with the magical Light Arrows needed to defeat Ganondorf, when Ganondorf suddenly traps Zelda in a crystal and transports her to his tower. After the remaining six Sages help Link enter the tower, Link battles Ganondorf and the seven sages use their combined power to trap Ganon in the Sacred Realm, who takes the Triforce of Power with him. Zelda then takes the Ocarina of Time from Link, and uses it to send him back to his original time so he can live out his childhood naturally.

Music


Ocarina of Time's music was composed by Koji Kondo, Nintendo's primary composer. The music is culturally and worldly inspired, as exemplified in its diversity from cartoonish music in the Kokiri Forest to Spanish flamenco in the Gerudo Valley. In some locations, the music is a variation of an important ocarina tune related to that area. For example, in Lon Lon Ranch, the theme is Epona's Song, with small and large variations.

The Hyrule overworld theme from past Zelda games, which is considered by most fans as the "official" Zelda tune, is not in Ocarina of Time in its entirety, although its opening phrase is subtly present in the Hyrule Field theme. This marks the only time in the series when the overworld theme has been absent.

The theme for the Fire Temple was originally the Islamic shahadah. Due to some protest, Nintendo changed this in later cartridges to a theme without lyrics.

Triforce rumors
A very early work-in-progress screenshot of Ocarina of Time shows Link receiving the Triforce itself from a treasure chest. Such a scene never occurs anywhere in the final game, and the plot as it stands does not appear to allow for Link to gain the Triforce at any point. Despite this, there has been great speculation as to whether the Triforce exists in Ocarina of Time as an obtainable item, as it does in other Zelda games, rather than simply being referred to in the storyline.

Even when hacking the game, it is impossible to actually gain the Triforce, unless in the beta version. The only thing possible is to see it. Some, however, point out a technicality that, in the storyline, Link obtains the Triforce of Courage when Ganondorf first enters the golden realm and obtains the Triforce of Power, and thus has it through the majority of the game.

Leftovers
Ever since its release, Ocarina of Time has been examined by members of the ROM and emulation community to find any leftovers in the game. So far, several major items have been found. While some have been found only through a GameShark, the leftovers indicate that various revisions (older, incomplete areas) have been left in the game’s code, and can be accessed by hacking them back in the game (or at least temporarily, with the GameShark and other cheat devices). The following has been found inside the Ocarina ROM that shows proof of unfinished concepts that were lost over time.


 * Leftover text (in Japanese) in the coding reveals that there were two usable medallions (from A Link to the Past) called the Wind and Ice Medallions at one point in development (it appears on the item selection screen and in different slots).
 * An ocarina pedestal (not found anywhere else) can be loaded into the area where Jabu-Jabu is if a specific GameShark code is used. The pedestal itself does not react to Link in any way.
 * A red ice platform (used to block access to a chest) can be found in the Ice Cavern by using a specific GameShark code. The same item can be found in the GCN release of Master Quest while doing the same dungeon. However, it does not appear in the same area it once was in.
 * Various areas throughout the game that were slightly modified before release, or have various NPCs normally not seen in that area. The areas with minor differences are: Kakariko Village (Adult), Lon Lon Ranch (Kid), and Goron City (Either).
 * By using the GameShark and the Expansion Pak, people can search through the data loaded into memory when playing the game. Several text strings are there, making reference to the Expansion Pak (which was required to use the Nintendo 64DD) and inserting an expansion disk (again referring to the planned 64DD expansion that became the "Master Quest" on the GameCube Zelda preorder disc).
 * There is a path on one side of the Temple of Time which cannot normally be accessed, as it is blocked by four Gossip Stones. These could not be blown up because no item (other than the Mask of Truth) can be used in the area. Using the moonjump code, it is possible to go behind the gossip stones and walk around; however, nothing else will happen, and if the player makes it past an invisible wall in that area, the game will freeze. A theory as to why this happens is that the player may have been able to go back there at one point in development but this idea was removed. There is a beta screenshot that looks similar to the back of the Temple of Time.
 * A Gameshark code was discovered that allowed any NPC to be replaced with any other NPC in the game. Examples include various enemies, Ganondorf's organ, Dark Link, and even portions of Dark Link's "Illusion Room". Among these NPCs was found a fully coded Arwing enemy. The enemy has a full attack and movement AI programmed, shooting at Link with lasers with original sound effects. When destroyed, it crashes to the ground resulting in unpolished explosion and flame effects. A similar code can be found in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
 * It is possible through using a certain Gameshark code for the Adult Link to use the boomerang. It can be used by Adult Link to stun and harm enemies, but there is no graphic of him holding the boomerang. This may suggest that, early on in the game's development, Adult Link was able to use the boomerang.

Release
Ocarina of Time itself gained a ferocious amount of hype before release, the end result of which was that only those who had pre-ordered the game had any guarantee of receiving a copy.

The first two Zelda games released for the NES had golden cartridges, rather than the standard gray-colored cartridges used for almost every other licensed game for the console. Keeping with the tradition, pre-ordered copies of Ocarina of Time were also golden. Also, the box cover had a thick, plastic card glued over the original cover. However, this was not the case in Europe where the game had a standard gray-cartridge owing to Nintendo of Europe (although there were actually some gold cartridges, they were only available very briefly). A possible incentive was an economic one, as standard gray cartridges are inexpensive compared to custom made golden models. It should be noted that Australia (which is, like Europe, part of the PAL region) had golden cartridges. Also, the sequel to Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, had a golden cartridge in Australia, Europe (and in North America).

PAL cartridges are very noticeably different from NTSC cartridges. PAL, having a golden Ocarina of Time picture with a black background on a gray cartridge, and NTSC having a normally colored Ocarina of Time picture with a goldish background on the noted gray, or golden cartridges. The Australian PAL versions also come in either gold or gray cartridges.

Versions
Several changes were made to the game after the initial release of Ocarina of Time in 1998. All of the gold cartridges, and some of the gray cartridges, that came out that year are version 1.0. Version 1.1 gray cartridges began to be released in early 1999, in which Nintendo fixed a number of bugs and glitches from the first version. This was followed by a version 1.2, which has the Player's Choice Million Seller seal on the cartridge and box.

The most notable difference between version 1.0 and the later versions is that version 1.0 contains a trick that allows one to play the game without the Master Sword, which in turn allows one to use any item on Epona. Version 1.1 is very similar to Version 1.0 except that players cannot perform the above trick (there is a different known method that works on all versions, including GameCube ones). Another difference between the two versions is the coloring of Ganon's blood at the end of the game. In Version 1.0, Ganon's blood is red; Version 1.1 is known to have two variations, one with green blood, and one with red blood. Meanwhile, Version 1.2 only has green blood. Finally, the original theme for the Fire Temple angered the Muslim community because of its similarity to an Islamic prayer call. In response, Nintendo redid the theme for later versions of the game.

Ocarina of Time was re-released in two different forms for the Nintendo Gamecube as part of the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest and The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition compilation discs. In both the Master Quest and Collector's Edition, the game was an emulated ROM instead of a port.

One significant difference in these versions is that Nintendo altered the original crescent moon and star symbol of the Gerudo to a design later used to represent the pirates in Majora's Mask, again due to Muslim protest.

Master Quest
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest was available for those who pre-ordered The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in America, as well as in a special Gamecube bundle at Wal-Mart. In Europe and Australia the disc came in the same case as the initial pressings of The Wind Waker. The "Master Quest" in the title refers to a remixed version of the game that contained rearranged dungeons, much like the Second Quest of The Legend of Zelda. Both the original game and the Master Quest are available on the disc.

Collector's Edition
The game was also re-released as part of the compilation The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition, which was available in GameCube bundles in Europe and North America, as well as by registering hardware and software, or by subscribing to official magazines or clubs. The disc also contained several other Zelda games and a Zelda retrospective.

Virtual Console
On February 26th, Nintendo released Ocarina of Time as a Wii Virtual Console title in America. The game had already been released in Europe and in Japan. The game is available for download at the price of 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

Reception and impact
Ocarina of Time met with both commercial and critical success. Reviewers praised the graphics, soundtrack, gameplay, and story. It has been inducted into GameSpot's "Greatest Games of All Time" list, and is ranked fourth on the 2007 edition of IGN's top 100 games of all time list. It is also the first game to receive a perfect score from Famitsu.

In 1998, Ocarina of Time won the Grand Prize in the Interactive Art division at the Japan Media Arts Festival. It also won six awards at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including "Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design", "Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering", "Console Game of the Year", "Console Adventure Game of the Year", and "Console RPG of the Year".

Despite being available for only the last 39 days of the year, it was the best-selling game of 1998, with 2.5 million units sold. It went on to sell a total of 7.6 million copies worldwide.

Criticisms for Ocarina of Time started to appear on the game's re-releases, with reviews for Master Quest and the Virtual Console version considering the graphics and sound technologies dated. The most recent Gamespot review awarded a score of 8.9 out of 10 for these reasons.