LogFAQs > #950038113

44. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)

Talking about Ocarina of Time in 2021 feels like an impossible task: either you breathlessly explain why Ocarina is clearly one of the best video games ever made, or you unfurl a laundry list of flaws that summarize why it's severely overrated. So here I go, trying to straddle the line in-between the two and give a measured take of (perhaps) the most popular video game of all time.
Ocarina's combat was a really smart choice for 1998 - the Z-targeting system became the basis for Zelda swordfights in every other game going forward. Compared to Wind Waker five years later, though, the depth of combat options is a little lacking; most fights are either a couple of simple slashes or are a little sluggish and belabored (like the Stalfos). The dungeons are pretty solid overall though, similarly, I think later games got a little more creative with how items were used and didn't rely on anything nearly as tedious as constantly rummaging through the item menu to take on/off the Iron Boots in the Water Temple. And structurally, the game does a good job keeping things moving, not getting you bogged down in unnecessary sidequests (hey Majora's Mask) but giving you lots of cute optional mini-games and quests if you want to go down that road.
What makes Ocarina such a standout classic, for me, is its (at the time) unparallelled storytelling and atmosphere. Of course, the game's storyline is essentially a re-working of A Link to the Past, with the "collect 3 trinkets -> get the Master Sword -> travel to alternate world -> find all the 6/7 sages -> go beat Ganon" parts all fully intact. The 3D environments and characters, with their more comprehensive worldbuilding, bring this plot to life, actually giving faces and storylines to all of the Sages and their respective temples. And speaking of the temples themselves, their atmosphere is fantastic, from the music to their downright creepiness. If the child dungeons feel like a simple introduction to the game, the adult temples are where the seriousness of the plot begins to take shape. The Forest Temple brings home how much blight has befallen your cute childhood home, and the Shadow Temple is wonderfully dark, spooky, and weird.
I also adore the game's titular instrument and its fascination with music. There's something inherently satisfying about playing out tunes on the ocarina, whether it's for intended game purposes or just messing around with its simple functionality. (you can flatten or sharpen notes for some reason!) Even without being super relevant gamewise, there's something that always gets me with the sequences where Sheik teaches you one of the Temple warp songs on the ocarina - they're part of the many moments that (imo) still hold up to this day.
I don't think in 2021 Ocarina of Time is the revolutionary experience it was when first bringing over the Zelda franchise to 3D in 1998, but I do think its charms and general gameplay flow still hold up great. And as someone who's played and enjoyed enough of the Zelda games throughout the years, I feel pretty good about still placing it fairly high on the gaming pedestal, even despite its limitations.

43. Okami (PS2, 2006)

Fast-forward eight years to 2006, where a relatively unknown Capcom development studio took the core structure of Ocarina of Time and...outdid Zelda? Okami is a visually brilliant, cel-shaded adventure game where you take control of the sun goddess Amaterasu, in the incarnation of a cute white doggo with a sword. (Eat your heart out, Pokmon.) As Amaterasu, you wander around an open world, fighting enemies, completing quests, and accruing a myriad of collectibles, all while accompanied by a miniature traveling companion. Sound familiar? Sure, and Okami makes no real pretense of not being directly inspired by the Zelda franchise.
But the game absolutely stands on its own; the game's core gimmick is the "Celestial Brush", an ability that allows you to draw various symbols on the screen during battles for different effects. I can't speak for the game's many HD ports, which have improved controls, but on PS2 it was both a little clunky but still functionally fine. The game's combat also interestingly takes you into a darkened and portioned-off screen when you encounter an enemy on the overworld, meaning you have to "resolve" enemy encounters by defeating them or actively running away, instead of just being able to breeze by them on the map entirely.
What really endears me to Okami, though, is its story. Divided (largely) into three big sections, Amaterasu follows along with the stories of a legendary swordsman slaying a giant dragon, a palace cursed by a nine-tailed fox, and a snow-covered mountain housing the ultimate demon. All of these tales largely follow along to actual Japanese mythology, and are rendered beautifully in the game's lovely cel-shaded visuals. There's a whole host of little stories and sidequests adding color in-between, making the whole plot feel absolutely unique from not only the Zelda franchise but all of gaming as a whole. And the Eastern influences feel sincere, respectful, and earned by the game's narrative complexity.
I didn't end up checking out Okami until 2010, fully-cleared it, and haven't touched it since. And just putting together this writeup, I'm feeling inspired to bust it out and give it another go, the memories are so endearing and charming. It's a game that manages to take the structure of a Zelda game and make something greater out of those parts, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

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it's an underwater adventure ride