[Review] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D is what I think every remake should be. The graphics are better then the original, and it makes great use of the 3ds hardware. This wasn't a simple, "let's port it to this handheld". To me it felt like more of a "let's re imagine the game for the 3ds, and yet, it stuck so true to the original game.


The menus make great use of the touchscreen, as we have come to expect from games on the original ds, and the rest of the controls fit the 3ds very well. I do get confused sometimes when using the ocarina, but that is mainly because I have the original N64 buttons memorized to this day.

The revamped game also includes the maser quest, from the gamecube port (this makes the puzzles and enemies harder.), and a boss challenge mode, to re fight bosses you have already beaten. Once you beat all the bosses a second time you can do boss rush mode, which pits you against all the bosses one after the other. Other small changed include a hint system called visions (these are disabled in the master quest) and certain things were made generally more pointed out, such as previously hard to find chests, or other points of interest.


There are a number of subtle changes, to many to name them all here, to say the least. For a complete list of changes you can go here.

All in all, I actually like the 3ds version more then either the gamecube or N64 versions. It's a full length game that I can now play on the go, couple that with the improved graphics and gameplay and we have a winner. I should mention that I dislike numbered ratings, but, to give an idea I would give the game a 10/10.


To see what I think about the 3ds in general, you can click here.

Wii U

So, the launch of the Wii U is right around the corner at this point with Nintendo still saying that it will be launched in 2012. The question is, is there any reason to be excited about it? I would go ahead and say yes. First of all at launch there looks to be pretty great games such as Pikmin 3, Project P-100 (working name) and Zombie U to name a few. Also it's not like the console is going to flop in the long run, because Miyamoto has already mentioned that he has four upcoming projects and another new IP in mind for it later. We can assume that these games are a Zelda, full fledged Mario and other iconic Miyamoto games. Maybe a Star Fox? The new IP is apparently an exploration based co-op FPS, although he said that the other games will be coming first. EA is working to port a lot of existing franchises to the console including Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3. I do believe that I read earlier this week that Black Ops 2 will also be coming to the Wii U this holiday, optimized for the Pro Controller. I think that at least for the time being the Wii U will have excellent 3rd party support. And by the time the new consoles come out? It wont matter, or the Wii U will popular enough where they can still profit from supporting it. What I mean by that is that is if people can be made to be a believer of the Wii U, and people like it, then games will continue to be made for it.

And if not? Well, by that time the Wii U will have awesome first and second party games that define the console anyway. I'm personally looking forward to a new Zelda, Smash 4, and maybe a new Fire Emblem. I know that Nintendo has plans for the system, and I have faith in them. Look at the Wii. People say that Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are both top notch platformer, Skyward Sword looks to be a fine Zelda game, and a few 2nd party games were really great as well. I'm sure that like the Gamecube and the Wii, the Wii U will survive on hidden gems, if it dosn't get full 3rd party support.

However, if Nintendo hasn't been your thing in the past, if your not big into Mario, or Zelda, or other Nintendo exclusives I would definitely wait. I don't see the Wii U getting many new exclusive IPs, I mean Miyomoto has mentioned one, but I expect that at least at first it will be the usual "Nintendo" IPs. Things like Zelda, Pokemon, Mario, and Smash. Maybe a Metroid if we get lucky.