Ocarina of Time Retrospective
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- I'm back with a big one! No disrespect towards the earlier Zelda games, but when I set out to do a full series retrospective, I was most excited to tackle the 3D titles like Ocarina of Time. This legendary title is so much bigger than it's predecessors that it demanded a more extensive reflection. I tried a new format in which I go through the game bit by bit and offer my commentary along the way. As you can tell, the video ballooned accordingly...
I apologize for such a long wait since my last video, I hope to keep the gap between videos much shorter moving forward. If you're here for my Bioshock videos, I hope you weren't too disappointed to see the return of Zelda and I promise Infinite will be the subject of my next retrospective. This project wasn't easy so please continue to show my channel some love if you like what I'm trying to do. Because this video was a little different from my others, I'm really looking for feedback on how effective the new format was. Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy my Ocarina of Time Retrospective!
Loose Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:30 Great Deku Tree
10:31 Dodongo's Cavern
24:02 Jabu-Jabu's Belly
30:27 Time Jump
38:59 Forest Temple
44:10 Fire Temple
48:49 Water Temple
53:20 Shadow Temple
1:01:58 Spirit Temple
1:10:10 Side Content
1:16:44 Ganondorf's Tower
1:24:40 Conclusion - Hry
Fun fact: in the OOT manga, Ganondorf mistakes Saria's ocarina for the ocarina of time, and takes it from Link. But when he realizes it's not the one, he gets angry and smashes it. I honestly think this would've been a really good way to make the player hate him if they kept it in the game
Yeah that would be really cool! Now I’m curious about what else is different in the manga, never checked it out before
@@AustinAshworthsomething really cool; Sheik works for Ganondorf in the manga; and acts as somewhat of a rival to Link
@@joshie3I absolutely love the manga for OoT and MM, mostly cause link is a little shiiiiit
That is amazing. Now I wish they kept it
@@KnottsBear-yTalesPreservedWhy everyone keeps saying “I wish they kept it in the game”, when the game came out in 1998, and the manga was loosely based on it and came out in 2000? (2008 in USA)
As for Link charging straight in Ganondorf's trap, keep in mind he has the Triforce of Courage, and not Wisdom.
When this came out; it was almost like my real life disappeared. For that while between starting and finishing it the adventure almost seemed real. My days consisted getting up then going to school where I thought about and talked about the game all day with my friends who were playing and feeling the same way I was. Then, coming home and playing solid until bed. I am 39 now; and hearing those songs and sound effects instantly bring back all of those emotions. It was really something special.
Yup. I remember the feeling of awe when I first saw it at Toys R Us; formative experience that taught me many good lessons
Ya I still to this day turn it on and play at Christmas every year. Was Christmas break from school when I played it for the first time. Incredible
same and MAD profile pic
@@compulsiveconsumption :-)
When this came out it was almost like my real life began.*ftfy
I was 12 years old when this came out, and still to this day, every few years or so, I'll revisit Hyrule and do a playthrough. What a masterpiece.
Be careful nowadays it seems most players transition to lgbtwhoknowswhat
@@RetroPlayer4000how about u lgbtkys?
@@RetroPlayer4000Huh?
@@sheebuhenu4074 it’s his (terrible) attempt at being transphobic/homophobic 🙄
To a kid, even a young teen, the path through the game isn't as clear as you'd think....especially back in 98. Both I and my older sister, along with our friends were not on a consistent rail through the game's objectives, despite being engaged and conscious of them. Exploration is still the instinct of this game. Deku Tree to Castle is a big early game connection, but afterwards, a genuine lack of bearing, curiosity, and the game's restart locations of Link's House or dungeon make a visit to every other location on the map perfectly reasonable. Therefore, encountering Lake Hylia or Gerudo Valley earlier, as intended, is quite likely. Thus Kaepora Gaebora's intros are more natural. Struggles or hiccups unlocking Dodongo's Cavern and Jabu-Jabu or navigating Zora's River, along with curiosity have a high potential of driving the player, out into the field's other branches. Retreading and exploring all of Hyrule was a big part of my first playthrough.
Thanks for sharing your memories of the game! I think I probably found Kapora/Navi's guidance more insulting than helpful because I had already played several Zelda games by the time I touched Ocarina. This likely made their unnecessary interruptions along with the very unclear points (like feeding Jabu Jabu) more frustrating than a first-time player would feel.
I played the 3Ds Version First, and i do feel that. After Kokiri, and despite knowing i should Go to the Castle, I wandered around hyrule field and fished for like 3 Hours at Lake Hylia Before Even thinking about going Back and progressing the story
Agreed with the OP. The owl and Navi were very helpful as a kid, and even as an adult.
I played on my brother's old file when he gave me the game when I was a kid so I just would run around doing random things because it was fun, I would try to beat it on my own but the connection wasn't quite there yet. Personally I didnt mind back tracking due to my mistakes, I'd just recognize that I didn't have something yet and would just wait to go back. When I got a bit older I printed a guide from gamefaqs, a couple hours worth of gameplay at least (my parents would only let me play one system a couple hours at a time; I could play other systems in the mean time if it was the weekend) and learned better more fluid ways to pace through the game so I wasn't just lost trying to beat it on my own.
I just want to add- my brother (who is 6 years older than me) showed me ocarina of time at 4, the first thing he showed me was redeads and I was too terrified to play again until I was about 7 😭
Now, 21 years later I laugh about how terrifying I thought the resident 2 advertisements on the tips and tricks books were, comparing them to my fear of redeads
My sister and I*
This game was unbelievable.. my best friend would sleep over on weekends and we would play this all night.... some of my greatest memories
This may have already been said in the comments, but there is a way to track skulltullas. On the map subscreen of the start menu, if you highlight a certain region (Lake Hylia, for instance) there will be a gold skulltulla icon next to the name. If there's no icon, there's still skulltullas. This also works in dungeons.
Great video, thanks for taking the time to make it
Yeah that’s something I completely missed when playing (I literally never open the map haha). Thanks for the correction and glad you enjoyed!
My god, i was 12 and bought in on release day with paper route wages.
Having never previously played a zelda title it absolutely blew my mind and was easily the most moved i have ever been by any piece of entertainment media.
Absolutely astounding and one of the most memorable experiences of my childhood.
my sister and i played through this game together when we were kids. i have such fond memories of putting our heads together to solve the puzzles, and handing off the controller when things got too hard. it took us well over a year to beat it, so it really felt like a huge epic adventure! watching the credits roll after all that time was satisfying, but with a bittersweet side of "oh no, what do we do now?!?!" i'm definitely looking through nostalgia-rose-colored-glasses, but nothing's ever matched the scale of this game for me!
That’s a great memory! Thanks for sharing it!
I was 6 when my mom came home with a NGC copy after work. She was (is) really big into video games, and the both of us had been sold on the series after having played WW and ALttP -she actually had played the others by this point, but anyways- to say that we were excited would to be an understatement. OoT was just so… different. Ik exactly what you mean about nothing being able to match the impact OoT, and to suggest such a thing could even exist would be absolute heresy, but… almost 20 years later I was finally able to experience something that brought me the same scale of wonder as OoT did so many years prior in the form of Elden Ring. That game just- man, that game. Ever time I think I’ve seen it all, that I’ve seen the craziest of the craziest stuff the game could possibly offer, it goes off and just keeps blowing me away and it’s the exact same feeling I had first experiencing OoT
@@Painted_Owl Elden Ring blew my mind. That game just kept going and going and going but was always surprisingly me with cool new stuff even like 100 hours in!
I was born a while after the N64 era, in 2007, and yet Ocarina of Time was my childhood game. My dad played it when it came out, and passed down many games he used to play to me, but when i was very young, 2 or 3 even, I watched him play Ocarina of Time. As soon as I was able to pick up a controller, I was running around Hyrule. In that sense, Ocarina of Time has always been with me.
I returned to the game when I was a bit older and did a full playthrough for myself but even by that point I knew the entire game like the back of my hand.
Ocarina of Time is a game that has truly defined me, more so than any other game in this series that I so utterly adore, and I think the fact that it can have the same magical impact it had on kids in the 90s to kids like me born in the late 2000s or any other time is a testament to how truly influential and timeless this masterpiece is.
It'll always be my favourite game, and the early memories I have of watching my father play in the family living room will always be some of my most cherished. It's a game I know I will come back to time and time again in the future just as I have done my whole life, and it'll always be with me.
Truly, a game that endures the flow of time.
That’s an awesome story! Cherish that memory!
I was born in 06 and grew up with the 3ds version as well
About feeding fish to Lord Jabu-Jabu:
One of the Zoras in Zora's Domain says, "According to the 'Legend of Zora,' the act of offering a fish to Lord Jabu-Jabu will make you happy."
So that's the direct clue.
Right you are, that’s definitely a mistake on my part. I think the game still does suffer from a lack of guidance at times regardless but apologies for the error there.
@@AustinAshworth No worries, there are still plenty of things I figure out about the game as well, and for me personally the lack of guidance is a blessing because it forces you to really explore the world into the deepest corners. It took me 6 months as a child to beat the game 100% and it was such an accomplishment, because I figured everything out myself, as a young boy that's a huge deal :D
I was 7 when this game came out. I remember being so confused with the jump mechanic, being used to mario. But the jump mechanic coupled with the 3d dungeon design unlocked parts of my brain I never knew were there. This game made me smarter in a way.
I was 9 when OoT came out and I remember it being the grandest video game anyone I knew had ever seen. The world just felt so infinite with secrets and hidden areas that I thought it impossible to find them all. Nowadays when randomisers being a thing there are still new things to find, be it a business scrub, a hole or a line of dialogue; even after yearly playthroughs for almost 25 years. This will always be my farvourite game! Good video :D
I was the same age and had the same experience. People couldn’t believe something like oot was even possible lol
Fun Fact, if you play Saria's Song on the Ocarina of Time as a child Saria mentions how the Ocarina sounds different.
Lol really? This game is so ducking cool man , I learn new shit every time 😂
I’ve watched all of the popular retrospectives on OOT on CZcams already, and I specifically searched for a more recent upload that I hadn’t seen before that was buried further down the results page.
Great analysis, nice voiceover work and I agree with your assessments on the whole, I’ve replayed this game likely over 100 times by now, and I’ve favored the 3DS version on Citra for a few years now, but find myself going back to the original and appreciating what they were able to accomplish back in 98’. It’s hard to state just what an impression this game made on me, even when my friends skipped over this because they wanted more “mature” themes when we were 13 years old. I never knew how important this game would become.
Great work!
Thank you so much! Yeah upscaled on Citra is the way to go!
Same here . As far as OOT retrospectives, I’ve seen em all and this video is great. I also recommend the Running Shine review after this one.
Also, try the randomizer for this game if you’re replaying it so often. I eventually switched to randomizers for all 4 original 3D Zelda’s and I can’t even go back to standard game with the exception of Majora
I usually avoid the videos with the millions of views as they're usually disappointing. Scrolling down a bit is where you find the truly good stuff
@@mattmas6628 I highly recommend “the hero of time the most tragic story in the Zelda franchise” or something like that. If you haven’t seen it yet the production quality is fucking insane
I was all in on the N64 when it came out, and I was actually in my late 20's at the time. The hype for this game was real, and the game unbelievably actually lived up to the hype. Had the gold cartridge and everything. I will say this; this game introduced the lock-on targeting. The auto-jumping was also a new idea at the time, as every other game and their mothers made you have to jump over everything. Not having to worry about jumping let the player instead focus on the quests and tasks at hand instead, which was great. The game had tons of memorable moments and ideas, but that moment when you mount the sword to travel forward in time and become teen Link was mind-blowing. I don't think the idea itself was original, but the dramatic build-up and how it was presented to players was surprisingly an emotional moment.
Ocarina is definitely up there as one the all-time landmark videogames. Shigeru Miyamoto was single-handedly transforming how we played 3D games at the time. Not just on the N64, but his creativity gave the industry a kick in the proverbial ass.
Agree with you 100%!
Man, I remember buying 3 separate player’s guides back in the day because the first 2 didn’t get me through the damn Water Temple’s raising and lowering of the water levels. And the third one, the one that actually did it, had clever remarks like “Zelda shows off an arm better than many an NFL quarterback and overthrows the Ocarina into the moat behind you”.
Damn you still got it somewhere or happen to remember what it was called or anything? That’s sounds interesting I wanna take a look at that
@@yeahey5947Probably the Versus Books one. Another good line in that one: "Those damn Keese"
Try looking up the Prima guide, I remember that one had some good remarks.
I always love a new youtuber with long retrospectives
Me too! I’m trying to make the kind of content that I would be excited to see in my feed.
This game was a gigantic journey as a 8yo kid, and it being in a completely different language than the one I grew up with made it so challenging!, Zora's domain made me pick up an English to Spanish dictionary just to figure stuff out.
Wow! That’s a really cool memory! Thanks for sharing.
Agree that finding Ruto’s letter in a bottle was probably the most challenging part for me in terms of it just being very hard to find. I took a while to remember to move the graves to get the hookshot too.
As to the fish thing with Jabu-Jabu, I believe one of the Zoras mentions feeding it a fish if you take the time to speak to each one. That being said, I might not have been able to remember that other than I did it as a kid and remembered it somehow.
The fact that you can’t get all the Gold Skulltulas initially because some require weapons like the Boomerang which you won’t have on a first visit and requiring an arbitrary return at a time of your choosing blew my mind as a kid. If you want to get all 100 of them, you even have to make a point of revisiting the Great Deku Tree, a temple you’ve already cleared, with bombs to blow up a wall to enter a formerly inaccessible area.
I actually wish there was more backtracking like in Metroidvania games. Love that "aha" moment when you realize how a new item would unlock something in an area you already explored.
And by the way, it is at least marked on the overworld map as soon as you cleared an area of its Skulltullas.
@@serozahter4495 I'm squinting skeptically at you, but to be fair, I don't think I ever tried to get all of them in the OG game so I wouldn't know they had that mechanic. The only 100% I bothered with were heart pieces and bottles and item upgrades. Never bothered with the Skulltula passed 50. Next time, maybe!
@@Kagomai15It's true. On the world map, in the same gray bar that houses the area name the cursor is currently on, a golden skulltula symbol will appear next to the area's name once all of the gold tokens from the golden skulltulas are obtained in that area.
Knowing this makes it very accessible. As a kid, I just looked at the map to see which area lacked a golden skulltula symbol, made it night via the Sun's Song, and searched. Golden Skulltulas are extremely loud.
Additionally, the same golden skulltula symbol also appears next to the dungeon name when you check the map in dungeons. Thankfully, golden skulltulas are always present in dungeons, regardless of whether it's night outside or not.
I loved this game so much when I was a kid, I don't see any other game taking the number 1 spot for me.
I did play it close to release, it was magical!
I always just love the fact that link travels 7 years to beat Ganon and it took me probly 7 years to beat this game. I remember playing it before I could even read and asking mom to read evry npc text for me 😆
That’s such a great memory! Thanks for sharing!
Patient mother 😅 thank her for that!
Fantastic video. Crazy hearing people having the exact same experiences with you in relation to a game. Most don’t understand how deep that connection can actually go. Great work helping me relive those feelings again. It was such a magical time to be alive.
I found this game in 2000 & played it back to back with Majora's Mask. I loved this game. But I loved MM even more. Yep, I'm one of those guys. I'll be looking forward to that retrospective as well. 👍🏼
Spoiler: I’m one of those guys too
@@AustinAshworth I had a feeling. We can smell our own.
You too Joe? Nice….
@@AustinAshworth this video is great will you be making more like for Mario 64 Mario kart or starwars shadows of the empire?
@@mcj_istheman2378 thank you! I’ll definitely be making more but can’t promise any of the games you mentioned. Although I am a big Mario Kart and Super Mario fan too!
Just hearing the music and Links grunts/yells makes me nostalgic. The game will always be iconic . It’s till fun to run through these days
Wow! This is making me remember how much I loved this game when it came out. That first song completed itself in my mind though I haven’t heard it in years! Great vid
my father bought me as my first console and game all together the 3ds Ocarina of time edition along with the remastered version of the game for the 3ds. I was so happy expiriencing this first hand as a kid. This game is still one of my favourite games ever. I kind of cried at the ending of the game in my first playtrough ngl.
The 3DS version is such a great way to experience the game. I got it at launch and then when Nintendo dropped the price of the 3DS they gave early adopters a bunch of older NES and GBA games and that’s where I played a lot of the older Zelda games and stuff. Great times!
@@AustinAshworth omg thank you for the comment after 1 year. Btw awesome commentary for such a small channel. Keep the uploads comming and you are gonna make it big one day
@@Charybdis47 thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
As much as I grew up with this game and beat it about 50 times with the guide, Majora's Mask captured my imagination. However, I cannot overlook the impact this game had on my development in understanding and interacting with fiction and how it captures your imagination. I was the perfect age for this game and it means a lot to me now that I'm over 30. Looking forward to Majora's Mask!
Thanks for sharing! Ocarina of Time's original release was before my time so it's really cool to hear from so many people who played it back in the 90s when it was fresh. Can't promise any sort of timeframe but fret not, Majora's Mask is definitely coming!
majoras mask is pure garbage lmao
It is 1998 and I'm playing N64 with my brother, it was 25 years ago...Unbelievable. Thanks Zelada for those memories.
Great video! OoT is the most nostalgic Zelda game for me, I first played when I got it for xmas in 1998 and have returned to it many times since. I think I’ve only appreciated it more as I’ve gotten a little older too, so much of the dialogue and emotional moments in the game went right over my head when I was younger.
I find it nostalgic even though I didn't even play it when I was a kid. There's just something special about it! Thanks for sharing!
Zora dialogue mentions presenting Jabu-Jabu witha fish, and they are sold at the shop to accommodate those who don't think to catch one in a bottle. This IS obscure, but when faced with a mystery I DID talk to all the Zoras. However, I do recall not solving this on my own....the Zoras that advise offering a fish aren't obvious enough for an inexperienced or young player. More hints about feeding him would've been helpful and natural. The attempted lesson here is to encourage engaging NPCs and context clues along with bottle use and experimentation. Like Dodongo's Cavern there's an interaction with the leader to gain an item and true access to the dungeon, and then there's opening the dungeon itself, but Dodongo's Cavern does this more elegantly.
The fact that fish are sold in the shop actually makes this point more forgivable, I think I had missed that on my most recent playthrough simply because I already knew I had to catch one in a bottle. If a new player sees one in the shop they will likely wonder what the use for the item is and from there isn't not a massive jump in logic to put together that the fish will open up Jabu Jabu's mouth.
Oh I can tell I’m gonna love this channel, great stuff Austin! Hope all is well!
It's absolutely MIND BOGGLING how well-crafted this content is. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for reminding me of some wonderful weeks (let's be honest months & years) playing this game during my teens. It brought back so many memories of my sisters coming in to watch me play, and eventually, end with us all completing the game together as adults! One of the most fantastic games to have ever been created, and a really special review Austin. Again, thank you for your time and efforts with this, and taking me back to a distant and happy place for me.
I’m glad it had that effect on you, but all the credit goes to the game not to me haha. I enjoyed hearing your story!
This game was magical
This game bonded me and one of my brothers. We both had a love for Zelda after this game. Yes we were huge fans of the ones that came before but there was something so magical about this one to us. This stayed with us playing Majoras mask together all the way up to twilight princess. My brother some how snagged a Wii when you couldn’t find them anywhere just so we could play twilight princess together. (Yeah it was on GameCube also but it didn’t seem right to try out the new gimmicks.) Now that me and my brother have very separate lives. I am forever grateful with the memories Nintendo provided for me and my brother with Zelda and Pokémon growing up. Oracle of ages/seasons was another one we bonded over as well.
Thanks for sharing such a special memory! I’m excited to get to the Oracle games in this video series I’m doing because they’re the only mainline Zelda games I’ve never played!
@@AustinAshworth thank you for an amazing video! And ooooooo. That is super exciting! I am totally looking forward to your videos of those then! Subscribing now! Lol
I've seen a lot of OOT retrospectives but I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your commentary/point of view and take on the game along with how you presented all of it. Well done. 👍
Thank you so much!
I've watched quite a few retrospectives of this game and this was actually very well done.
Thank you for this amazing walk down memory lane.
The water Temple is Chefs kiss as the kids say. Id love to know how you Used that analogy....your narrative is excellent, id hope your using your talent to make stories come alive
If you are interested in doing some voiceover work. Let me know. I got a few videos that could use a up and coming narrator
Great video mate! This game will forever hold a special place in my heart
My earliest memory was me playing this game...specifically watching the masterful title sequence and listening to the somber melody. No wonder the piano is my favorite instrument
The skultula quest does provide a checklist. It is the map screen. There is a gold Skultula symbol over areas that you have gotten every skultula. So there isn't a specific list but you do get feedback as to where there may be remaining ones.
Yeah this was something I missed until others pointed it out. Would have been helpful to know earlier haha. Thanks for the correction
Amazing retrospective! Thank you for this classic video.
Thank you!
Such a great video. You definitely did not take up too much of my time, as watching this video was time very well spent Thank you!
Much appreciated! Glad you enjoyed!
,,Somehow the game expects you to figure out that Lord Jabu Jabu only opened his mouth if Link presents him with a fish. Don't even get me started on that one."
True, we should not get started on that one, because that one is mostly the players fault.
I myself ran into this ,,roadblock" when I first played Ocarina of Time, but if you explore Zoras domain, there actually is a Zora (or a sign, I don't remember) which basically tells you to feed a fish to Jabu Jabu (at least if you pay close attention to what your goal is).
I think that you get an empty bottle shortly before you have to catch a fish also should help in deducting what you need to do.
And I also think that the fact that many kids in 1998 actually were able to figure this out without a guide just shows that this is basically player error, not the games fault.
The letter example is also player error.
If you explore Zoras Domain, you will find the tunnel which connects Zoras Domain and Lake Hylia.
Visually speaking, you can't really overlook it if you explore. And Nintendo expects you to explore, because that is basically the goal of the game, somewhat.
Diving is also something the player already knows Link can do thanks to one puzzle inside the Deku Tree.
And once Link dives through that tunnel, Navi will instantly target the bottle which obviously should draw the players attention towards that bottle.
Soooo...there really shouldn't be any reason for anyone to miss this if anyone takes their time to explore around the world...which is basically the goal of the game.
Ocarina of Time is very similar to A Link to the Past in that regard.
In A Link to the Past the townsfolk of Kakariko actually provide many hints throughout the game. If you are stuck, just go to Kakariko, talk to everyone and sooner or later you will find something to do which helps you out. Obviously, if you are really stuck, there is a fortune teller to help you out.
In Ocarina of Time, it is very similar. Just talk to everyone, read all the signs and explore.
Sooner or later, you will find the right way to progress and the correct way is never to far off.
And any time it is, the game actually provides you with hints.
You can also call Salia at any time with Salias Song to get hints.
The game really is not as obtrusive/obscure as you make it out to be here.
Other than that though, great retrospective. Overall a very positive video.👍
Even if I think you are nitpicking a bit to much throughout the video, but that's subjective.
You aren't the first to point this out to me, thanks for keeping me honest haha. Yeah I totally missed the Zora who tells you to feed Jabu Jabu the fish, and as you pointed out it isn't as unreasonable as I thought. I appreciate the correction and I'm glad you enjoy the video!
I finished the game a couple of months ago with the assistance of my younger brother. I’m 34 and remember when Ocarina came out, played it but it was to difficult and didn’t know enough English to complete it. My younger brother is 9 years younger then me and he’s a big nostalgia gamer, I used to show him all of the old games when he grew up. Anyway, he urged me to play it and he helped me al along the way, he’s already played it and finished it. I was so lost in the beginning but when I made it to the end it was all worth it. And you can say that my brother was sort of like Navi to link, he helped me and showed me the way without spoiling anything or giving anything away. Since then I’ve come to love him even more and even though I didn’t complete the game as a young boy, I feel nostalgic when I hear the melodies or talk about the game.
That’s awesome that you could share the experience with your brother, I’m sure it was a special shared time for him as well. I’m the gamer in my family but I’ve helped my sisters through a few games when we were younger and I really cherish those memories. Thanks for sharing!
Ocarina of time will always have a special place in my heart because it gave me an experience i haven't felt since and dont think i ever will, the game was fairly difficult for someone my age who played it shortly after it came out, as such my fellow classmates (I think i was in 1st or 2nd grade at the time) were also playing it. Nowadays with guides and stuff so easily accessible there just isnt the experience of a group of 1st or 2nd graders spending an entire lunch and or recess essentially theory crafting ways to enter lord jabu jabu's belly (or progressing some other part of the game) and those memories hold such nostalgia for me and really shaped the friends i made in those early years. some of whom i still talk to today. Great video! took me down memory lane and i teared up on afew of these songs thinking about the initial reaction i had to the first time i experienced alot of this
Thanks for sharing! I love hearing people’s memories of the game
great video.
loved the game as a child.
this brought back some good memories.
Ocarina of time was my first Zelda game. There was nothing like this anywhere at the time, especially the 3d graphics. Since this is my first, I hold very dear to my heart
Me too!
With OoT iI have some special memories. Something I miss today is the feeling of exchanging with friends about the game, learning new things they have discovered and being mindblown when it works on your savestate. The game felt almost overwhelmingly big at that time and I know that as a kid I had troubles finishing the game. I had multiple deadlocks in the water temple which also had me losing my motivation. I have never finished the game yet but have played it countless times to the point where I almost could speedrun it til that point. Your video was great and maybe cause being very comprehensive I feel like I can now finally do it and prove to me, that I can finish the game. Your video did somehow rationalize the game for me but not in a bad way. More so it feels like now that I saw it's solvable and not as hard as I thought, I might as well try again and overcome my younger self. Thanks for putting up the work and sweat to produce such a video. I always love watching video essays where people really put their hearts into it.
Glad you enjoyed it and it had that effect on you! Good luck if you give the game another attempt! I’m sure you’ll be able to overcome it.
I need Majora’s Mask, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword. The quality of this retrospective is phenomenal and your narration is as the kids say, chef’s kiss! Keep going!!!!
Haha thank you very much! I’ll definitely be continuing through the Zelda series. Thank you for you patience and hope you stick around
Thanks for this video! Great editing and narration. I haven't seen the other Ocarina of Time Retrospective videos on CZcams, but this was just really beautifully made.
Took me back all those years
Thank you so much! Glad you liked it!
@@AustinAshworth Hope to see more of your videos!
My George you've got it, a link between worlds sports almanac. 35 years of Zelda statistics. Oh Marty Marty I did not make the link between worlds time machine for financial gain.
I absolutely love Back to the Future!
@@AustinAshworthand I actually love that you responded. Thank you great work, well other than dropping the sheik is Zelda in disguise part lol
I played Ocarina recently with the goal of pretending I had never played it before. I wanted to see how this game holds up today for a new player not using a walkthrough. This meant I would not do a thing unless the game gave me a good reason to think I should. The results were interesting.
For example, at 28:20, I knew from past play-throughs that I needed to give Jabu Jabu a fish, but that's not knowledge a new player would have. I spent a while meandering around trying to find a hint. The game does actually give you a good one! One of the Zoras talks about feeding Jabu a fish, and that Zora just happens to be standing right near a spot where you can catch a fish.
The part that left me truly stumped was the false wall you can walk through near the start of Bottom of the Well. I searched all over, but the game gave me no reason to think I could do that. It's difficult to even discover it by accident, because only the center of the wall is false. The sides still act like a normal wall.
That's an interesting experiment! I probably didn't hunt for the Jabu Jabu hint long enough because I already knew the solution so maybe I should have tried that for my playthrough too. Thanks for sharing!
On the 3Ds the Sheikah Stones give lots of hints, including showing how the wall in the Well is passable as child Link. Though, this reminded me that there is a moment in the game where Sheikah Stones don't tell you that you need to go to the Kakiro Village to meet up with Sheik when everything is on fire. So you kind of wander around wondering where to get Winged boots for the Spirit and Shadow temple, that the Sheikah Stones keep referencing 😂. The first hint for the Shadow Temple are the Winged Boots, not how to get into the Temple itself.
A lot of my thoughts were shared with yours in this video. Love Ocarina of Time, but can definitely see through its cracks
I played this game on release as a young kid and the impression it left on me is timeless. I tell people that this is undisputed the greatest video game of all time. What it did for the industry as a whole had lasting ripple effects that continue through gaming today and ita hard to not look at this game, even as an adult, and not feel some level of attachment and nostalgia because this game and its descendants made up my entire childhood. Truly a timeless classic that captures what makes video games so special overall
Agree with everything you said and I didn’t even play it until I was a teen. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome video. Really appreciate it. Although I do think everyone over exaggerates how annoying the owl is. He’s not that bad.
Appreciate the heads up. Paused at at 2:30 in, going to go play it first. Gimme like a couple years but I’ll be back to watch this.
Enjoy! It’s truly a timeless game!
I think you can play it with Switch subscription
Absolutely amazing video! Your structure is very solid and I really enjoyed your recap. Though the game has many adventures, you made it seem seamlessly quick. Truly impressive.
Thank you so much!
It is difficult to explain to people exactly how ground breaking ocarina of time was, but you pretty well nailed it.
The nostalgia of this entire Zelda series is amazing to so many people.
For me it was spending Christmas with my brother and family, my 5 year old niece would sit on my lap in front of the TV and we would play Zelda, she would run around immersed in the game world and hand me the controls to beat the monsters every time a scary bit came up.
The 3D images give you the metal image of actually being in the game,
The grandparents would sit and watch us playing and ask “so where is that world being shown on the TV?” And they could not comprehend or understand that this world has located in that little box plugged into the TV.
That’s a great memory! Thanks for sharing it!
Hope you're gonna continue this series. Quite enjoyed it so far. A great attention to detail was you tracking the old Zora design when introducing the new Ocarina look for them. Love a good, lengthy retrospective to pop headphones on and work on my PC to make my own game.
Life gets in the way so these videos take way longer than I’d like to make, but I absolutely plan on continuing when I get the time and motivation. Glad you enjoyed!
@@AustinAshworth Perfectly understandable. Looking forward to more content you create. Am watching everything today while I work on my game.
Oot was released a year after I was born, my earliest memory before I could read or talk was this and smash64. I used to try to get to gohma as fast as possible and then beat her and restart. I'm doing a replay after all these years and being in the spirit temple I realized maybe it did hold your hand back in 98 but even with Navi I found myself getting stuck a few times (twice was because I entered places through different ways and didn't trigger cutscenes). Compared to modern games its still cryptic at times to where I'm finding new things on this current playthrough, honestly it's a breath of fresh air to me with the current trends in gaming.
Great video! I remember getting all the heart pieces with fondness.
Thank you!
As a young lad i remember fondly and with annoyance how this game was, in scope, as well as difficulty. I was always surprised at how much I enjoyed the little things more than the overall game; I could spend hours hunting Poe's in the open Field, playing the fishing game, or even the others in town.
The tasks though quite daunting to myself as a kid were always met with satisfaction if I managed to complete them, (never actually managed to complete all temples on my own). as well as a sense of accomplishment.
these and many more reasons are why this game will forever be a part of me, and my most memorable moments of my childhood.
But nothing in this game compares to the music in my opinion, these melodic, exceptionally memorable tunes will always be my favorite.
Thankyou Austin for this path down memory lane, I really appreciate this video and the effort you put into it.
I will be looking at your other content soon.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your memories, I agree that the music in particular is extremely special and brings up so many great memories with just a few notes.
@@AustinAshworth It was my pleasure mate, thankyou again.
Absolutely true, some hit hard.
Every time I replay, watching King Zora scuttle to the side always makes me laugh lol and also…
I used to think it was ridiculous the game didn’t tell you how to get into Lord Jabu Jabu but through my many replays I noticed one Zora says something along the lines of “feed him” or “give offering” then the shop sells a fish and the shop-keep doesn’t understand why it’s so expensive when they’re so easy to obtain and finally you’re told princess Ruto would give offerings daily.
So hints are there but the fact that so many of us struggled to figure this out shows it needed something a little more on the nose.
@@jamespowers.gpa. haha glad I’m not the only one who missed the Jabu Jabu hint. Many commenters have acted like it was so obviously spelled out for the player but, even if the hints are there, I still think more guidance was necessary.
I too like the Water Temple. Cheers mate for entertaining me on my past two work nights 🎉
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed!
What an awesome video mate, you're a legend.
Really enjoyed this deep dive into this amazing game!
I must have put hundreds of hours into this game figuring it out, never had the internet so wasn't able to look up anything about the puzzles/side quests etc so had to spend my time figuring everything out but you know what, I loved every minute of this game. This will always be one of my favourite games from childhood even if I was 6 years old when it came out.
It must have felt like such an accomplishment finally beating the game after all the time with no outside help! I’m sure that’s part of the reason it’s so memorable to you. Thanks for sharing!
@@AustinAshworth It definitely was, I found it has helped later on in life as well for some reason I'm able to problem-solve a lot of stuff required for work on the day-to-day a lot better and people at work don't understand how I'm so patient when dealing with problems lol.
The Deku Tree is sick and old, it's like when an elder insists you have to stay and listen. You're supposed to sympathize with the psychological attachment and then feel mourning.
People love to think that OoT was too cryptic, i.e. with the Jabu Jabu fish. But for so many of these little puzzles, if you talk to people you get pretty big hints on what needs to be done.
I did miss the hint about feeding Jabu Jabu fish. My bad, I probably overplayed how cryptic it is
@@AustinAshworth great video btw man, i really like your presentation, style and way of speaking. some of your insights are very original too. going to watch your others soon.
@@amesoeurs thank you so much!
Another great video Austin! Thanks so much for sharing :)
Right back at ya! Thanks so much for the support and the kind words!
Wow man what a video I took 3 days hearing it during work here and there I love and enjoy my time. Also thanks for the memories I had as a child thanks for everything and if you’re reading this have a good day and new year 2023
Thank you so much! Little late for happy new year haha but I hope all is well with you and your’s
I remember a time when it was unheard of for someone to NOT have played Oot. Really showing my age here. One of the first video games I ever played and the one I was extremely fond of for most of my early childhood. A game that had so many things to discover if you were curious enough to use every item available to find it. Me and my brothers discovered nearly the majority of secret holes, hidden hearts/rupees, easter eggs, etc. It wasn't until I found a video on this subject some 5-6 years back that I realized we missed some, such as the dying Hylian soldier in the ally. But I was also equally surprised to have seen so many comments from people admitting to have never found the majority listed in the video.
Thanks for sharing your history with the game!
I'm glad you mentioned how the bean sprouts are kind of lame as a time travel puzzle. When I played this with my siblings in 1998, I remember we had a very "that's it?" response to the leafs. We didn't think much of Zelda being captured either, because we wanted her as a companion. Took until Wind Waker to fulfill that wish and even then they nerfed Tetra. I remember thinking it would be nice to have Sheik as a companion like Epona....
One connected I noticed is that Zora's Domain is never properly unfrozen in OoT. I believe that the unfreezing Zora's Domain sequence in Twilight Princess was a direct apology from the developers for this oversight. In OoT the Zora are implied to be trapped directly inside the ice in Zora's Domain but purifying the Water Temple does nothing to revive them. They're just trapped there forever and I remember running around on the N64 going "where is everybody?? what was the point??" Then in Twilight Princess they freeze the Zora in ice again except this time you can free them properly as Wolf Link. It may just be me but it seems pretty clear that was this a quiet apology from the devs for not freeing the Zora properly in OoT.
That is such a weird detail that the Zora Domain doesn't unfreeze after defeating Morpha, I hadn't really thought about that. Thankfully during the end credits we do see unfrozen Zora Domain so the Zora aren't actually trapped forever!
The even lamer part about the bean puzzles is that if you fail to dump bugs into the hole as a kid, and there was a skulltula in it, you are now doomed to never being able to complete the Golden Spider quest-- I found this out the hard way in 1999 when little me decided to give the spider-hunt a full try.
Love this breakdown! Basically a play-by-play is the way it is intended. Can't wait for Majora's mask version of this. Listened to this about four times so far on my downloaded videos. Hasn't left the library yet
Wow! Hope you haven't gotten sick of my voice yet haha. Can't promise any sort of timeframe but a similar Majora's Mask retrospective/commentary is definitely planned.
@@AustinAshworth hell no! I keep like 30 or so videos on my phone that I go back to: NEScRETRO, Liam triforce, ect. I was really hoping you would say that a Majora's style is coming. By far the game that spooked me as a kid, I got to over come my fear and 100 % beat the game. Majora's mask was my catalyst, to prevent the fear going forward. I am very much looking forward to this! Take your time, I know you will do it justice.
This game is incredible for being so old. Like I tell my friends, if you're not able to find anything to do in this game, you have no imagination. It's got its rough spots sure, but I am baffled how fun it is in spite of them.
It’s held up incredibly well! Honestly, the only thing I can see modern players having to get used to is the lack of free camera control
19:50 on the Menu Map, select an area, if a Gold Skulltula Icon appears next to the area name, it means that you have found ALL of them in that specific area. And the same goes as well for the Dungeon Map. Also using the Mask of Truth on certain Gossip Stones will tell you "They say that it's possible to find a total of 100 Gold Skulltulas throughout Hyrule."
I appreciate the correction, somehow I never knew about the skulltula map icons. Apologies for the error
I never got passed the water temple as a young kid. I remember my cousin came over and played through the game while I watched in awe. I had to leave the room when we got to Ganondorf because of the suspense. Magical game!
Thanks for sharing! I love hearing people’s memories!
My Earliest memory is on my 5th birthday eating pizza pockets and watching my older brother leaving the forest and going across hyrule field only for it to become night and having to fight the skullkids off until dawn, always get nostalgic playing this game
It makes me nostalgic and I didn’t even first experience it until I was a teen and it was an old game! Thanks for sharing!
Heck of a video! This is by far my most favorite game of all time
Thank you so much!
I chuckled at your "Great urgency" sarcasm.
I think you did a great job with this retrospective! I really enjoyed it, though on some points/opinions we differ. This is one of my absolute favorite loz games, and was the first I played as a teenager.
Thank you so much! Anything specific you disagreed with? Differing opinions are what makes discussion and criticism interesting!
I have watched this video every night for the past month or so! I love it.
I find the commentary along with the nostalgia relaxing and I often fall asleep to it with earphones in.
Thanks Austin! would love a similar video on goldeneye or super Mario for the N64 that would be cool!!
Wow haha, that’s funny but I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! Unfortunately I’ve never even played Goldeneye so don’t count on that one, but maybe Super Mario 64 someday. I love the 3D Mario games.
Ahh okay! yeah would love to hear your take on mario64! I will sub now so i get notified if you do it in the near future! once again, thanks for this awesome vid! by far the best and most thorough retrospective i’ve seen. I bet writing the script took you a while?
I really appreciate you saying that. Yeah it did take a really long time to make but kind comments like your’s make it worth it!
Anytime dude! I have subbed and look forward to future videos ifyou are still making them.
Also in this video you mentioned about how are people meant to know Jabu Jabu will only open his mouth to a fish in a bottle! I swear it took me about 3 weeks of trying only for me ask my mums friend who knew back then in 98 when I was 8 haha i wasn’t that smart back then 😂
I love Navi and my text alert is "Hey! Listen!"
That would drive me out of my mind haha
Oh my god Game Grumps played this game and Dan had NO IDEA about Sheik until the reveal, it was so good!
I think you overlooked the main mechanic of the boomerang, unlike the slingshot, it dosent require ammo.
Great video. One of the best of all time and one of my personal favorites.
Edit* Do Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess next. Love the long form content.
Still replaying it at least once every year, not getting many heart pieces or skulltulas (except for the ones along the main quesr) but just to experience the dungeons. There are NPCs i havent talked to in 10+ years and maybe that takes away from the game but i still love it. ^^
I remember.. I was 15/16 in 1998/1999, a very good friend of mine played this as he had the N64, I remember the whole UI and the controls in third person and "open" world was just so next level. Nintendo was the master of the early 3D games and their controls, I know the N64 controller is very contreversial, but it was also a revolution.
i love all of your retrospectives btw. please keep doing more content like this, just subscribed 👍
Thank you so much! I work at my own pace and took an unplanned hiatus last year but I definitely will continue to make more videos!
Sad to see there is not more content from you but thank you for what you have done.
More on the way! I took an unplanned hiatus last year but currently working on more videos right now and excited to be back! Hope you stick around
@@AustinAshworth I watch a lot of retrospectives and how you handled this one in particular stuck out in a way that was both entertaining and a little more unique from most of them.
I’ll stick around in hopes of seeing the rest of the Zelda franchise covered with this treatment. Glad you are back.
great job austin I also loved this game too
Aww damn. I loved this and watched the whole thing through. I immediately checked your channel for more in the series and saw that this was your last post. I would love to see you do the same thing for other 3D zelda games!
Thank you so much! I took an unplanned hiatus last year but I’m back now and currently working on some more videos! Hope you stick around because I do play to continue through the series!
@@AustinAshworth haha. For sure already subscribed and got notifications turned on for your channel. 😁🫡👍
28:20 There is an in-game hint given by the Zora if you talked to them. They’ll tell you to use a fish as an offering, but to stay clear as Jabu-Jabu could accidentally swallow you.
A lot of the game has characters, or other means to guide the player through the main story.
You are absolutely right, apologies for the error on my part
When this first came out, the expectation for players was that we would try everything and talk to everyone. It wasn't like it is today where open world games have destroyed exploration mechanics by making everything too big and numerous to talk to or try consistently (hence why open world is so cookie cutter.) There are some vague hints about JabuJabu and Ruto, as well as other dungeons, but OoT is an experience where the devs dumped the cartridge in our laps and said "get to it!" Everything is scaled where you have lots to see and do but it isn't overwhelming. And of course if you got REALLY stuck then you could call the tip hotline.
I remember finding Hylia and Kakariko before getting to Hyrule Castle which made the owl's comments less of a pain.
I agree, the game size hits the perfect balance with a grand scale but no bloat. I personally get really burned out on really long open world games like Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom so I appreciate the earlier game's more limited scope.
Just when i think iv run out of longform video essays to watch the youtube algorithm blesses me with another
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you stick around for more in the future!
As a kid on the N64 Bongo Bongo always looked like a ghostly Queen Goma to me.
On the remastered version he looks terrifying by comparison