This is a review of the 1998 Nintendo 64 game, not the remake announced for the Nintendo Switch 2.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time shipped on the Nintendo 64 in 1998 as the fifth main entry in Nintendo’s series and the first built for that console. It was among the most anticipated games of its time, and it earns that weight. This is the rare game that changes what players expect from the games that follow it.
Link, Navi, and the Great Deku Tree
The story opens in a village of elf-like Kokiri, where a boy named Link has been raised. A fairy named Navi brings him to the village guardian, the Great Deku Tree, which has been cursed by a mysterious man. Link is sent to Hyrule Castle to learn more.
There, Princess Zelda tells him that Ganondorf, leader of the Gerudo tribe, is hunting the Triforce — a holy relic that grants immense power to whoever holds it. Link must reach it first and save Hyrule.
That setup is simple, and Nintendo keeps it that way. The pull is not the plot. It is what the plot lets the player do.
Two Links, One Ocarina
The time-travel system is the game’s centerpiece. The player starts as the child Link, and later controls an adult Link as well. Each version has abilities the other does not, and the game builds puzzles around the gap between them.
Music does real work here. As Link learns new songs, those songs solve puzzles, open paths and warp him across the map. This is not decoration. It is a second set of keys, and it is the mechanic later Zelda games keep reaching back for.
Dungeon design leans harder on puzzles than earlier entries in the series, though it never buries the player. Exploration, dungeons, puzzles and item use remain the core, as they were before.
What Ocarina of Time Gets Right
Combat is readable. Link fights with a sword and shield and can add projectiles, bombs and magic spells. The third-person camera keeps the action legible in a 3D space that could easily have swallowed a player whole.
The world is the other half of the argument. Nintendo treats Hyrule as a place to cross, not a set of rooms to clear, and the game is better for the patience it asks.
Here is how the major pieces of the design stack up against each other:
| System | What it does | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Time travel | Switches between child and adult Link | Two ability sets, one continuous world |
| Ocarina songs | Solve puzzles, open areas, warp | Music becomes a tool, not a mood |
| Dungeon design | Puzzle-forward layouts | Sharper thinking than earlier entries |
| Combat | Sword, shield, projectiles, bombs, magic | Readable action in 3D |
The ranking of what carries this game is not close.
- The time-travel system, which gives the whole adventure its shape.
- The ocarina songs, which turn music into a mechanic.
- The dungeon puzzles, which reward attention over reflexes.
- The combat, which is solid but rarely the reason to play.
Where It Stumbles
Not everything lands. The game’s quieter stretches can feel like filler between the parts that matter, and the pace sags in places where the design has nothing new to hand over.
None of this sinks the game. It just means Ocarina of Time is not flawless — it is decisive.
The Verdict on Ocarina of Time
The gameplay here was revolutionary for its time, and it has arguably made more of an impact on later games in the series than any predecessor, even though those games share the same cores of exploration, dungeons, puzzles and item usage. That is the real story. Nintendo did not invent the adventure game with Ocarina of Time. It showed what the adventure game could be once it moved into three dimensions, and it did so with a confidence that most studios never find.
The time-travel system is the part worth watching. It is not a gimmick bolted onto a quest. It restructures the quest, splits the hero in two, and forces every puzzle to answer for both versions of him.
The music mechanic deserves the same credit. Turning learned songs into keys, warps and solutions is elegant, and it gives the ocarina a purpose beyond the title.
Is it the greatest game ever created? Numerous websites and magazines list it among them, and this review will not argue. What can be said plainly is that Ocarina of Time is the game that made the series’ modern shape legible to everyone who followed, and the one that showed a generation of players what a 3D adventure could feel like. It holds up. It is the standard.
Score: 9.9 of 10.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
