My first original column went up at Joystick Division over the weekend. It's called "Hey! Listen! The Case Against Ocarina of Time."
You can probably guess what it's about.
I never have understood the fuss about the game. Before it came out, I was as excited as anybody. I had pre-ordered it from Toys R Us so I could get the gold cartridge. The day it came out, I rushed to the store to pick it up, and drove home recklessly to start playing. Then I found it to be meandering and uninteresting, and before long I put it down.
Several years later, I started a new game, determined to crack its shell. I was successful, in the sense that I finished it, but out of a sense of obligation more than anything. There was a lot that I liked, and just as much that I didn't. After all this time, I still don't get it.
But there's something else I understand even less. I keep reading reviews that say that Ocarina is the best game of all time, or one of the best games of all time, and that the 3DS version is graphically stunning and every bit as good as the original. Then the reviewer gives it one point less than a perfect score.
Really? It's a superior version of your favorite game of all time, and not even that merits a pefect score?
I can only think that the reason not to give it a perfect score is because it's a remake. That's not a good reason. People complain, justifiably, about how reviewers don't use the bottom end of the scale, but it's just as nonsensical never to go all the way to the top. That's what it's there for.
6 comments:
Amen sisters.
Quite how it tops best game ever charts all the time is beyond me. I just don't get it. I find all the Zelda games very dull indeed.
Which is fine. Each to their own. Except the VG press is falling over themselves to do sprawling Ocarina of time articles.
Absolutely. It's included on my top list.
i love the zelda games & wii games
I like Zelda on the 64, but what I don't like is the fact that since then, every Zelda game has been Orcarina of Time since. Nothing but Zelda64 clones.
Nice games and nice reviews
I actually think Ocarina of Time is fantastic, but it's also aging, and fast. The thing is, Ocarina of Time was SO important to the industry back when it was released, the Citizen Kane of video games, if you will, and I believe that's why many hold it up in such high esteem.
But without that appreciation or that nostalgic perspective, no, the game is going to impress like it once did. I never found it to be THE BEST GAME EVER, but it was top shelf back then. And it HAS aged quite well. It's like 13 years old! Anyway, interesting article!
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