Support NeoGAF

[Kai Dracon]

The 3D in this game is amazing at places, but the difference between this and Mario Kart is night and day. I can play Mario Kart for hours with the slider full up, but more then an hour or so of OoT gives me a headache.

I wonder if it has to do with Mario Kart (and 3D Land too) mostly having a character locked in the center of the screen that you're focused on.

I've noticed I can play those two forever with 3D on, but Zelda does indeed give me a bit of a headache if I play for more than an hour.

 

[The Technomancer]

I wonder if it has to do with Mario Kart (and 3D Land too) mostly having a character locked in the center of the screen that you're focused on.

I've noticed I can play those two forever with 3D on, but Zelda does indeed give me a bit of a headache if I play for more than an hour.

I think Zelda has more issued with objects near the frame that break the 3D slightly.

 

[Papercuts]

I got the zelda 3DS and can immediately tell after a short SM3DL session that the effect is super intense in this. I turned it to just a notch or two above not being on when it was maxed on 3D land. I really like the gyro aiming stuff, just blew through the deku tree.

 

[The Technomancer]

More thoughts:
-Oh god the camera suuuuucks. Fighting Stalfos is such a massive pain, not helped by the iffy Z-targeting

-Wow, I wasn't really feeling too much one way or the other about the new graphics until the forest temple, but the forest temple now looks fucking sweet

 

[Nemo]

I started playing this, I'm at the mountain now. Pretty fun but one thing is bothering me very much- Anyone hate the model for link? It just feels like an entire different style to the rest of the world and for some reason the color shades for his outfit just doesn't jive with me :/

 

[The Xtortionist]

I got the zelda 3DS and can immediately tell after a short SM3DL session that the effect is super intense in this. I turned it to just a notch or two above not being on when it was maxed on 3D land. I really like the gyro aiming stuff, just blew through the deku tree.

I'll second this, I can play 3D Land with the 3D on max easily...Zelda not so much.

But the 3D effect in Zelda is still very impressive when the slider is at or under 50%.

 

[Roto13]

I started playing this, I'm at the mountain now. Pretty fun but one thing is bothering me very much- Anyone hate the model for link? It just feels like an entire different style to the rest of the world and for some reason the color shades for his outfit just doesn't jive with me :/

It isn't that Link looks bad, it's that everything else looks bad in relation to Link. It's kind of jarring. Link and Zelda and important characters look like they're from a different hardware generation from most of the NPCs.

 

[Nemo]

It isn't that Link looks bad, it's that everything else looks bad in relation to Link. It's kind of jarring. Link and Zelda and important characters look like they're from a different hardware generation from most of the NPCs.

True, some of the gorons look awful, just lazy lazy work really. But sometimes you are in places that have some amazing looking textures, easily better looking than the Wii thanks to it's size and clarity. Then you kind of wish they textured Link's clothing and equipment some more so it would be equally detailed and blended into the world more

 

[WrenchNinja]

but guys i thought this was a full remake

 

[Tribes of Trusty]

So I'm 7 hours in, thought I might post my impressions.

Back in 1998, when OoT first came out, everyone I knew who played it were telling me this game was like the second coming, that it was gorgeous, the music was awesome, etc etc.
I wasn't into Zelda like I am nowadays, I liked Link's Awakening and LttP without finishing it, and I thought the game was a bit too hard sometimes (Zelda NES : never forget), and that I would suck badly at a 3D Zelda game.

The first time I really played OoT was after Majora's Mask and Wind Waker, and I really didn't like it for technical reasons first : the game felt blocky and dated (especially after MM and duh, WW).

Now I am playing it on 3DS, and this game blows my mind. I mean it's basically the same game with just a basic graphic overhaul (towns and stores are now fully rendered in 3D, like in MM as at the time), but the core of the game is the same, and I can't believe it was made almost 14 years ago, it feels like the game was way too ambitious for its time, and that it succeded on the N64's limited hardware. I mean, it's really different from Skyward Sword (which is my favourite 3D Zelda where the game is basically one giant dungeon with little exploration and more riddles), but in OoT the music, the overworld, the feeling you get when you discover some things and it greatly rewards you, the NPCs...also you are enough left alone to figure out what to do, but if you can't continue there are always hints and help to help get you through.

So well, I know understands OoT's greatness.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

This has become my go-to game during travel and I think I've sunk more hours into it than any of my other 3DS games. It's a testament to the legendary quality of OoT that a fixed framerate and graphical polish can make it one of the best games on a modern system.

 

[FairXchange]

Finally finished this on 3DS the other day, starting Master Quest!

What should I be expecting?

 

[Kai Dracon]

Having played both this 3DS edition and Skyward Sword, I do think SS is the best 3D Zelda... but OOT is astounding for being essentially the first 3D action-rpg of its kind, yet getting so much correct on the first try. In an era when just about everybody else was flopping around like wet fish trying to make 3rd person 3D games work at all (and almost entirely failing).

There are so many smart design decisions that effectively became the standard concepts for just about every 3D action adventure game to follow. All devised and polished by one game, close to the dawn of the technology itself.

It is not a perfect game; the big, dead, empty overworld field is a disappointment, for instance. I feel the Gerudo Fortress is a badly done stealth section, and pretty boring. Forsaken Fortress in TWW is better, if anything. And I never did like the horse (in OOT or TP), which is like driving a four legged truck.

But, you can't knock what the game achieved in the era it did it. It's pretty amazing.

 

[Boney]

Finally finished this on 3DS the other day, starting Master Quest!

What should I be expecting?

a pretty big brainfuck with the whole mirro thing

 

[Muskweeto]

a pretty big brainfuck with the whole mirro thing

Yes, I'm surprised how much it confused me.

I can't count the number of times I went to Ganon's tower instead of Hyrule field by accident.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

This has become my go-to game during travel and I think I've sunk more hours into it than any of my other 3DS games. It's a testament to the legendary quality of OoT that a fixed framerate and graphical polish can make it one of the best games on a modern system.

You know you can check that in the 3DS Activity Log, yes? I have played it for about 110 hours according to mine and that far exceeds the next most played game.

 

[zigg]

Finally finished this on 3DS the other day, starting Master Quest!

What should I be expecting?

If you're like me, wishing you could skip all the mind-numbingly slow walking through Hyrule Field and just skip straight to the remixed dungeons. I did all those dungeons years ago on the GameCube and I still loved them today.

 

[PKrockin]

No complaints here; Super Sliding makes travel fast and kinda fun.

 

[The Technomancer]

Huh...I seem to have screwed myself in the Water Temple. I've gotten all four keys you can get before the Dark Link fight, but I don't have a key to unlock the second door in the room with the waterfall and the moving platforms. I must have unlocked a door I shouldn't have at one point...

Shit...

EDIT: Or maybe not...

 

[olimpia84]

I need to get back to this. I'm very close in beating the game, I just need to find myself time

 

[vagabondarts]

I need to get back to this. I'm very close in beating the game, I just need to find myself time

Me too. We can just play this and have all the time we want, right?

Spoiler

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

I need to get back to this. I'm very close in beating the game, I just need to find myself time

Pfft, call yourself the Hero of Time?!

:/

 

[The Technomancer]

Wow. Again, the first three dungeons didn't seem to benefit from the upgraded graphics that much, but I just finished the Water Temple and its amazing how much nicer the adult dungeons look now as well. They took just enough artistic licence to make the temples look nicer aesthetically.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

Wow. Again, the first three dungeons didn't seem to benefit from the upgraded graphics that much, but I just finished the Water Temple and its amazing how much nicer the adult dungeons look now as well. They took just enough artistic licence to make the temples look nicer aesthetically.

The N64 version and its framerate is gone from my memory. This will forever be Ocarina of Time in my mind.

Now, if only we could get some Majora's Mask up in here...

 

[olimpia84]

Finally did it! Beat this sucker just now...I think last time I finished this game was right after I got the preorder bonus disk for GC. Some parts towards the end in Ganons Castle felt new to me; I guess it's been that long.

I'll take a break from this game and try to finish Zelda SS now, and then I might either go back to the regular quest and find all the heart pieces and skulltulas or start Master Quest.

 

[vagabondarts]

Finally did it! Beat this sucker just now...I think last time I finished this game was right after I got the preorder bonus disk for GC. Some parts towards the end in Ganons Castle felt new to me; I guess it's been that long.

I'll take a break from this game and try to finish Zelda SS now, and then I might either go back to the regular quest and find all the heart pieces and skulltulas or start Master Quest.

Congrats man! I'm at Ganon's Castle about to finish the game for the first time.
When it came out on the N64 I was a Playstation guy more into WipEout and Gran Turismo at the time.

The graphics were so atrocious to me I never was interested in playing through it, until now.

Now that I'm almost done with the main quest, it's clear that the game was way ahead of it's time. Modern polygonal games have been heavily influenced by the design decisions made in this game.

 

[Marco1]

Worse mistake ever!
Let my wife start this last night and now I've lost my 3DS until she finishes it. She describes the 3D effect the best, as if she's looking through a window.
I am buying marioland this weekend but no way is she getting near that.

 

[vagabondarts]

Worse mistake ever!
Let my wife start this last night and now I've lost my 3DS until she finishes it. She describes the 3D effect the best, as if she's looking through a window.
I am buying marioland this weekend but no way is she getting near that.

Haha that happened to me with Pokemon black. I ended up buying my lady her own ds and myself a copy of white.

 

[zoukka]

I just wanted to try this game, but I already got hooked again. What a magnificent game this is and especially after Skyward Sword you just gotta love the rapid progression. No padding, no constant interruptions, just you and the world. Just got to temple of time and haha people must've shat their pants as kids back when this game was released.

How the playability and pacing has stood time is nothing short of a miracle of game development.

Easily the best Zelda.

 

[Xun]

It'll be interesting to see what Nintendo does with the 3DS Zelda, because that determines whether or not I'll buy a 3DS (as well as this of course).

 

[Übermatik]

Where the fuck is the last key in the Gerudo Training Grounds? I say 'last' key, but I realise you can get them in any order, more or less.

Seriously, is it so simple that I've missed it, a bit like the last prisoner in the Fortress?

Does it involve the Song of Time or something? Is it in the caged room itself?

I've got the one with the lens of truth in that room, if it's any help.

Any idea which one I've missed?

 

[Celine]

Where the fuck is the last key in the Gerudo Training Grounds? I say 'last' key, but I realise you can get them in any order, more or less.

Seriously, is it so simple that I've missed it, a bit like the last prisoner in the Fortress?

Does it involve the Song of Time or something? Is it in the caged room itself?

I've got the one with the lens of truth in that room, if it's any help.

Any idea which one I've missed?

If you are smart, you don't need every key to get the reward.
However one thing that always get me in the training camp is that there is a fake wall/ceiling in the main central area (use the eye of truth)...

 

[zoukka]

Haha this game is so much fun, there's not a single trace of it feeling "been there done that" in the beginning. Kakariko village is full of secrets and nothing breaks the pacing. Secrets give you great rewards

Spoiler

Hylian shield from random grave!

and the golden skulltullas are an excellent way of keeping players exploring. Often you'll see them way before you can nab the reward.

This game wasn't years before its times. More like decades.

 

[Übermatik]

If you are smart, you don't need every key to get the reward.
However one thing that always get me in the training camp is that there is a fake wall/ceiling in the main central area (use the eye of truth)...

Yeah, I know you can get through halfway, if you know what I mean, but collecting the keys is fun.

Now, time to look in the central bit... but I've a feeling I've got that one.

 

[Raging Spaniard]

Playing through this while playing Skyward Sword at the same time.

The lack of handholding is truly refreshing, I wish SS was more like that. They give you vague hints and just let you run around, its very, very nice. Also, the whole world has this very cohesive feel that SS is somehow missing (eventhough its a gorgeous game, it feels kinda segmented)

Truly ahead of its time and such a landmark for adventure gaming.

 

[Xun]

Playing through this while playing Skyward Sword at the same time.

The lack of handholding is truly refreshing, I wish SS was more like that. They give you vague hints and just let you run around, its very, very nice. Also, the whole world has this very cohesive feel that SS is somehow missing (eventhough its a gorgeous game, it feels kinda segmented)

Truly ahead of its time and such a landmark for adventure gaming.

The Zelda series is so good that barely anyone has attempted to compete with it.

Aside from maybe 3 games, which is a complete shame.

We need more games like Zelda...

 

[PedroPanache]

I played this up to the Water Temple back in the day, before my friend took the cartridge back off me, because I was taking too long with it. I'm surprised by just how little I remember of the game, outside of the opening segment and Hyrule field, it feels like I'm playing a new Zelda game. Just finished the Water Temple, which was disappointingly straight forward and pretty easy. It makes me wonder if anything was changed at all to make it easier aside from the obvious ease of turning the iron boots off and on.

I'm now craving games with the Zelda template, they're such wonderful games when they get that balance of freedom of exploration and intelligent dungeon design right.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

Wow, I'm kind of pissed. Beat the game 100%, and went through the credits and what have you and when the game started up again I realized it didn't save my file. Like an idiot I never really save that much just because I leave my 3DS on all the time. My file goes back all the way to before the Spirit Temple now. What a joke. Why the hell do games these days still not save after you fucking beat them?

 

[NoRéN]

So, my girlfriend just encountered something weird. She has all 20 hearts already. But, she caught gold skulltula #50, when to House of Skulltula and now has an extra piece of heart? Is that common? Glitch? Didn't believe it til she came home from work and showed me.

 

[Snuggles]

Playing this right now, I'm on my way to the Spirit Temple. The upgraded visuals and improved controls are enough to make it feel fresh again, and I'm enjoying it much as ever. Portability makes this game very hard to put down, lol, I've been going all day. Great game.

edit - But seriously, why does Navi interrupt me in when I'm in the thick of shit just to tell me to take a goddamn break? Come on, Nintendo.

 

[Xun]

Do you guys think the likelihood of Zelda 3DS being a 3D Zelda game is slim?

Would be nice but I really doubt it.

 

[Jocchan]

Do you guys think the likelihood of Zelda 3DS being a 3D Zelda game is slim?

Would be nice but I really doubt it.

I would be very surprised if it wasn't.

We need more games like Zelda...

Absolutely.

 

[Myriadis]

We need more games like Zelda...

There are several who tried to be like Zelda, but quite some games failed. Mystical Ninja and Starfox Adventures sold quite well, but games like Beyond Good and Evil, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy and Legend Of Kay are games that took quite some time to make, surely weren't cheap to produce, are indeed good games and still sold badly. I could understand that other companies noticed that and therefore stayed away from that.

 

[Roto13]

The only game I've played that *really* tried to be Zelda is 3D Dot Game Heroes and it was completely soulless. Games like Beyond Good and Evil and Star Fox Adventures are only like Zelda as much as Genesis Sonic and Little Big Planet are like Mario. There are action adventure games around.

 

[civilstrife]

Okami and darksiders are top tier Zelda-likes

Okami in particular could literally BE a Zelda game.

 

[Door2Dawn]

Darksiders and Zelda shouldn't even be in the same sentence.

 

[Myriadis]

The only game I've played that *really* tried to be Zelda is 3D Dot Game Heroes and it was completely soulless. Games like Beyond Good and Evil and Star Fox Adventures are only like Zelda as much as Genesis Sonic and Little Big Planet are like Mario. There are action adventure games around.

Sonic and Little Big Planet are so close to Mario that I often see comparisions between them. There are other games in this genre that are not as close to Super Mario as the other games. And Starfox Adventures is far closer to a Zelda than Assassins Creed, which is also said to be an Action-Adventure. The main focus is getting to the dungeons, finding often rather useless stuff in a world that is seemingly open-world, yet still quite linear in progression.

 

[Xun]

I would be very surprised if it wasn't.

I'm only wondering due to development times.

But I'd love to see it happen.

There are several who tried to be like Zelda, but quite some games failed. Mystical Ninja and Starfox Adventures sold quite well, but games like Beyond Good and Evil, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy and Legend Of Kay are games that took quite some time to make, surely weren't cheap to produce, are indeed good games and still sold badly. I could understand that other companies noticed that and therefore stayed away from that.

True yeah.

Who knows, maybe we'll see a Zelda-like game pop up next gen?

Okami and darksiders are top tier Zelda-likes

Okami in particular could literally BE a Zelda game.

Darksiders has elements of Zelda but there's a lot which is nothing like it.

As for Okami I still need to play it, but I was just split on which version to get.

 

[Roto13]

Sonic and Little Big Planet are so close to Mario that I often see comparisions between them.

You see comparisons because people think of Mario as the gold standard for platformers and that every platformer is secretly trying to be Mario. I don't know how you can really say they're similar beyond starring mascots and having a lot of running and jumping.

 

[Snuggles]

Man, finally wrapped up the Water Temple, took me forever. It's not bad at all, it's much more complex and puzzle heavy than the previous dungeons, and it was very satisfying to complete, but it does kinda drag. I don't remember the boss being so laughably easy, though, I must have killed him within sixty seconds. Poor bastard could escape the reach of my longshot.

Now that Lake Hylia is refilled, it's time to do some fishing. Best minigame ever.