November 23, 1998, gamers in the United States were about to be amazed, this is the day that a very special game known as Zelda Ocarina of Time Was Released. Originally announced in 1995 with a small video produced using the mario 64 engine, ocarina of time gained a lot of hype. Due to some production issues, storyline, and various engine changes, etc the game planned for late 96 wasnt released until 98. This was for good reason, the game in 95 was gonna look like this , than the style was gonna be like this eventually it changed to this style later the final style was made and beta tested. This took a while, fans were sad to wait as long as they did, but let me tell you, it was worth it.

Ocarina of Time was out only 39 days in 1998 yet it was still the best selling game that year. It won various game of the year awards, made its way to the top in many best game ever lists, and was the statistically the highest rated game of all time. I say was, due to last week Mario Galaxy beat it by one tenth of a percent. Ocarina of Time is more than a game, its an epic. Detailed characters, booth soothing and exciting music, a deep storyline with various twists, and flawless gameplay. How Nintendo managed to fit all of this into one cartridge will always boggle me.

Of course, it wasnt until 2003 that I owned a copy of this game (Zelda Ocarina of Time/Masterquest) but I remember watching my uncle play it when I was young. When I played it, there was just something special, maybe its the story, the music, the gameplay, or maybe its just everything about this game. This game has stood as my favorite game ever since that first week I owned this game. To me there is no other game that can top this masterpeice. Yet, I am still open to newer games as worthy challengers. This game holds a special place in my heart, and always will.

Happy 9th Birthday Ocarina, and thanks for all the entertainment and inspiration!

I have not been a Zelda fan until recently. I need to go back and pick up all the titles that I missed out on. I have a Link to the Past but have never played it once. I may start there and work my way forward
~~NGD

I have yet to play OOT too, since I basically stopped playing games at the SNES, but I downloaded it on the virtual channel so I will be playing it soon. LTTP is a great game NGD you should try it, I love that game. I bought it when it first came out and have played through it probably 25 times since then.

thats funny real funny that you bring this up,its the game his birthday??

I bought this game for the n64 a while back,still playing( in the forest temple right now)
A  friend of my got this game when it came out,watch him play and played some part with him back in the day.Whe where blown away by this game,wow
He always had the latest games and consoles,i mean he had almost every game and console with his older brother.  Parents with ALOT of $$$

As a fan of the series (i played zelda1,zelda 2 and a link to the past before this game,i must say i had a hard time getting used to 3d zelda.
But i love 2d games more then 3d

Many fans say that ocarina is/was and always be the best game of the series!But is DISSAGREE.

For me a link to the past for the snes is the best zelda game!!
Many people consider this to be the second best in the series
So for me a link to the past is the ultimate zelda game followed by links awakening on the gameboy and suprise the windwaker on 3rd place

but maybe ill change my mind when i got the ocarina beaten! huh what??
YES i never finished the game back in the day( 1 0f 2 i didn't untill now)
My friend Dennis was his name had al these games and that was great,BUT having it al has a down side,you dont now what to play when you have great games  coming out 1 after another,so long rpgs did''t make it.

Dennis died a couple of years ago.
I picked up a n64 this summer with some games and zelda at a fleamarket,and i thought to myself,lets play and finish the game retro style,so when i feel like i play the game ,its real funny,i have these flashbacks,like we did this back then and thats real cool,but some times i find out some parts are real different then i thought i  did its like playing a proto and things have changed.
This game is not my favorite zelda game from the series BUT it always had some type of atraction ,its special,just the title screen gives me goesbumps.
I always think of dennis when i see this game and its freaky but i like playing it like some memory lane type of thing and have the feeling i need to beat the game to close the book.

I have both N64 Zelda games, but have yet to pay either of them.  Any ideas on which is better to play?

I agree with Dutch that a Link to the Past is the best Zelda game. I too had a hard time getting used to the 3d style zelda. But I also agree that OOT is an groundbreaking game. I loved the text that comes up each time you visit a boss.



Jason, before you start your job, try to fit it in.



And Dutch, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. It's nice having something like this game to remember him by.

For me OOT is the best game ever released, never mind the best zelda game. No game even comes close to that one, the nearest for me is possibly another zelda game, maybe Majora's mask.

^ Man, Majora's Mask isn't even a Zelda game, it just has the name and Link character slapped on so that a bunch more schmoes will by it

As for OOT, I'd say it's probably the best "modern" game ever, in the sense that it engrosses you and is a great "experience" from start to finish. The problem is that, much like most other modern games, once you've played through it once, it's tough to make the trek again. It has that "seen it all already" aspect to it, for me at least. I couldn't get past the third dungeon on my second try through many years ago - it had become an exercise in tedium. The original Zelda, on the other hand, has excellent GAME PLAY, and I have burned through it probably 20 times over the years as a result.

To each his own, I guess...

I must of played through OOT at least 4 - 5 times, and then the master quest version on the gamecube once, I got my money's worth out of that cart.
IMO majora's mask is every bit a zelda game as any other zelda game, the magazines I buy now and bought in the N64 days still argue that this is the best zelda game ever, I think they could have a point but OOT came first and thats what does it for me, that game was the leap into 3d, not MM.

Each to there own though...

Ocarina is the best game IMO and for all of you you havent played it, play it! The ending is so epic along with the rest of the game.

Allright recently ive been trying the masterquest version of this game, the first 3 dungeons are fairly easy, but once you get to the fire temple its pure hell. The puzzles make you want to get a pik and claw your brains out cause theyre so difficult. Also you have to fight an iton knuckle in the fire temple and 3 stalfos at once in the water temple, its just nuts! Even mini dungeons (bottom of the well, ice temple, gerudos fortress ice arrow quest) have been rearranged. So far the water temple has the been the worst, the bottom of the well was pretty damn hard though, 5 redeads and floormasters in a cramped room do not make a good combination. WHile the redeads stop time with their scream the flormasters will grab you and bring you to the first room of the dungeon! I just beat the hell hole that is the bottom of the well, and am about to go to the shadow temple.

Yeah Master Quest is pretty tough.  I did beat it once when it first came out, but I distinctly remember certain parts being a real bitch. 
I kind of wish they'd do this with other games too.  A Super Metroid Master Quest would be solid, and of course my favourite of all - A Link to the Past.  I love that game as if it were my son, but some mixed up dungeons would surely make it more interesting on my umpteenth time through

http://datacrystal.org/wiki/Le...a:_A_Link_to_the_Past

Look at the hacks. That should get you excited.