User blog:TyrantRex/TyrantRex's Ocarina of Time Log

So as most gamers know, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is considered a masterpiece classic. Well, I recently bought a copy, and the interesting thing is, I've never played this game. More specifically, I've never played ANY Zelda game, nor do I have any opinion on the franchise because I've never played it.

I don't dislike the series, I don't like the series, and I don't have any sort of nostalgia towards Ocarina of Time. Because of that I think I can give an unbiased OPINION towards this game. The way this will work is that I'll be using this blog as a sort of log for my thoughts and impressions as I go through the game, which I'll be playing on an actual N64 for more authenticity. Once I finish the game, I'll give my full opinion on the game as a whole.

That being said, I can't play for more than an hour at a time, sometimes not even half an hour for various reasons. Partly because my N64 gets warm quickly and I don't want to run any risks. So this will probably take a few months to complete.

Log 1 (Introduction and first dungeon)
First of all, three things: Now that that's out of the way... the graphics kinda remind me of Super Mario 64 with how the characters look rather polygonal yet still clean, I like that. Link moves a bit slow but he controls okay. The control scheme works well with the N64 controller, though there's a few things I feel take a while to get used to, mainly that the C buttons use items. I keep pressing the C buttons trying to control the camera out of instinct only to keep using items. But other than that, I have no problem with the control scheme. Speaking of the camera... I'm convinced that making an N64 game with a decent camera is harder than beating Ghosts'n Goblins without taking a single hit. Enough said.
 * 1) Why are the games called Zelda is you don't play as Zelda?
 * 2) Link has the personality of a Pokemon game protagonist, as in none.
 * 3) There sure is a lot of talking, is there a way to make the text scroll faster?

My first major problem with the game however, is that it seems to suffer the "where am I supposed to go?" problem, I got lost for over 5 minutes twice in a single play sessions. I imagine this would only be a problem in a first playthrough, but still a problem I feel.

But other than the camera and getting lost, I'm quite enjoying the game so far, the first dungeon inside the tree was fun to go through and overall I got a relatively good first impression.

Log 2 (Messing on the overworld)
Do you really have to start at Link's house every time you boot up the game?! If so I hope there's some sort of fast travel method or something, because Hyrule field is huge and it's a tad easy to get lost.

I didn't get to any dungeon this time but got to do some side quest and there sure are a lot of them. Watching how NPCs react to situations is kinda fun.

I still keep pressing the C buttons to try to adjust the camera and accidentally use items, it's hard to remind myself that this game doesn't use them for camera control like almost EVERY other N64 game I've played so far. Maybe they should've done something similar to Banjo Kazooie where the Cs control the camera and also do something else by pressing them and Z at the same time or something.

Log 3 (Dodongo Dungeon)
My new PS2, Ratchet and Clank, and a power outage that affected the entire country sure slowed down my progress, but finally I made it to the second dungeon Dodongo's Cavern and...

When you Save in a dungeon, '''YOU START AT THAT DUNGEON NEXT TIME YOU BOOT UP THE GAME? '''Thank you for that, but seriously why is it just for the dungeons?

That nitpick aside, I'm again having a good time with the dungeon, just like the first one. So far I'm seeing that the dungeons are really fun, and the overworld a tad confusing and tedious at times. I guess it makes sense though.

By the way, I'm not finding the glowing bug particularly annoying, at least not yet.

Log 4 (Dodongo continued and evil chickens)
Wow, that cave boss was ridiculously easy, I figured out by accident that if you stand right next to the lava pit, he can't hit you at all. Regardless, glad to see enemies that can't be killed by spamming the sword attack.

Link doesn't like hugs from rock people, also glad to see he has SOME personality. Didn't make it to the next dungeon this time but at least I didn't get that lost. Still wish you didn't have to walk all the way back from Link's house though.

I also figured out the closest this game has from camera control: Have Link point to where you want the camera to point, and tap Z to move the camera behind Link. It's not much but still. I know I keep mentioning the clunky camera but it's an N64 game what did you expect?

Note to self, stop stabbing those chickens, they go insane!

Log 5 (Fish People)
By now I'm starting to get used to going back to Link's house every time. Now I've made it to the fish people's cave! And, getting there is annoying there's a jump on the route that if you miss the river drags you back to the beggining, and it happened a lot. But anyways the fish people, eh, rock people were funnier but at least I got the chance to throw a psychotic serial killer chicken into a river.

At least it didn't take long to figure how to reach the next dungeon which takes place... inside a giant fish? That'll be an interesting next log.

Log 6 (Inside a Fish Dungeon)
I'll have to agree with Unnamedgoon here, the Fish dungeon was my least favorite duneon so far. The visuals were a bit gross but I wasn't that grossed out by it given it wasn't my first time inside a giant creature's organs on a Nintendo 64 game. My problem with the dungeon was 1) Ruto babysitting 2) The boomerang. The boomerang is a cool weapon but it took a lot of practice to get it to hit the target, I kept missing my shots. It also caused a lot of awkward camera angels when the boomerang missed.

Dodongo Cave is still the best dungeonso far, at least the Jellyfish boss was the best one so far. Now that I got all the three stones, I guess it's adult link time.

Log 7 (Adult Link)
Well, the cutscene were you become adult Link wasn't as long as I expected. Though, I was expecting a boss fight with Ganondorf when you encounter him, that was a missed opportunity if you ask me. Oh yeah, adult Link's much better than kid Link, and THANKFULLY now I have a horse to travel around Hyrule Field faster.

And thanks to Unnamedgoon getting lost I knew to go to the graveyard right away.

Log 8  (I suck at Ping Pong)
So I made it to the Forest Temple and, it was my favorite dungeon so far. I never felt like I was getting lost and the Bow & Arrow is a good weapon. However I found a big problem of the game overall in this dungeon: when you die and start again, your progress is kept but you only get 3 Hearts, that's NOT a lot and especially now that enemies are getting more agressive and deal more damage. It was also annoying having to kill those wolves at the beggining every time I died. That 3 heart issue aside, I liked this dungeon.

As for the boss however...

I HATED, HATED, HATED THE BOSS!!!! The first phase is easy, if you stand in one of the corners he can't hit you and it's just a matter of getting the timing right for the shots, the problem was with the second phase. '''I. HATE. THAT. PING. PONG. ATTACK!!!''' It took me like FIVE deaths to get the timing for the ping-ponging right and even then I still got missed it a lot of times. It was awful!

It's a shame, the dungeon was good but that boss almost ruined it.

Log 9 (That was quick)
This has to be the quickest I've made it form one dungeon to the next, which is good because I like the dungeons and find the in-between stuff kinda tedious. It helped that Shiek and Glowing Bug directly said "Go to Death Mountain!". On the downside, I ended up missing some stuff that DetoxCyanide pointed out I'll need. Though it shouldn't be much of a problem since Shiek gave me a shortcut to the volcano so getting them should be quick too.

Rock people are still my favorite NPCs, I found funny that the Rock King named his son after Link. You know, if it wasn't for Smash Bros. I genuinely wouldn't know that Shiek is Zelda. Regardless, we'll see how the Fire Temple goes, I doubt the boss will be as bad as the lat one.

Log 10 (That boss fight was pathetically easy)
Fire Temple was easily the best Dungeon I've played so far. The objective was perfectly clear and straightforward, find the switches to save gorons and get keys to progress. Never got lost or confused and enemies weren't particularly annoying, which I find to be ideal. I also took a few shortcuts by abusing the fact that the fire suit makes you immune to lava, more on that later.

Though, there was one thing that mayorly annoyed me, there were at least five times Link jumped off a ledge out of my control and forced me to climb all the way back up, but that wasn't the Dungeons fault, there really needed to be a manual jump button. And again, the Gorons are my favorite NPCs and their hints were actually useful.

And as for the boss... well... this was the EASIEST boss in any game I've ever played, maybe only second to Papu Papu from Crash 1. Seriously, I'm baffled at how pathetically easy it was, and because of a massive exploit I figured out thanks to Rayman 3. See, if for whatever reason you fall off the platform into the lava during the fight (which I did because of Link's auto-jump), you can climb the ledge to get back into the fight. BUT, since the like I said the '''fire suit makes you immune to lava, if you simply jump into the lava and stay hanging on the ledge the boss absolutely cannot hit you. AT ALL. '''The fight is as easy as just hanging on the ledge and waiting for the time to whack it. I didn't even lose a single heart!

Wow, that was quite the oversight from the developers if you ask me.

Log 11 (Ice Cavern)
I'll say this, a mini-dungeon is the best way to get key items needed and unlock the next dungeon, because the longer I'm in dungeons and the lesser I'm in non-dungeons the better. As for the Ice Cavern itself, mayor Pokemon flashbacks in that puzzle where you push a block around an ice floor to make progress. Really subtle Nintendo.

Anyways, I made it to the Water Temple, wish me luck. And, after having to equip the Iron Boots then unequip them in less than a minute to get out of the Ice Cavern, I think I already know why people hate the Water Temple.

Log 12 (Water Temple)
Que se joda el templo de agua.

Log 13 (Water Temple continued)
I'll be completely honest here, I used a walkthrough (And I recommend you do the same Unnamedgoon). Water Temple's not that hard, but it's confusing and tedious. You do a mistake or go into the wrong room and you'll probably spend 15 minutes getting back on the right path. That Dark Link fight was also annoying until I discovered that if you stand right in front of him he can't dodge the hammer attack.

Also, I literally beat the boss in less than 40 seconds. What is it with bosses in this game being so pathetically easy Pingpongnotwithstanding?

Log 14 (Young Link again?)
Finally they made something clever with the whole "you can become a kid again" thing. Playing that mini Dungeon with Young Link was kinda nice though I quickly remembered how weak Young Link's items are compared to Adult Link.

That scene where Shiek gets attacked by the invisible whatever was pretty funny.

Log 15 (Why auto-jumping?)
I'll say this very clear: '''If your game doesn't have a manual jump button, don't put platforming on it! Or better yet, just give Link a manual jump button!'''

That annoyance aside, the Shadow Temple was alright I guess. Not my favorite but far better than the Water Temple. I do like that it was very straightforward and puzzles were very clear, only about two were cryptic but even then not too much.

The boss... eh, not ragequit inducing nor killable in 30 seconds, just... eh.

Log 16 (Gerudo Fortress)
Crossing that bridge was a pain because AGAIN Link keeps autojumping into bottomless pits when I don't want him to.

The Gerudo Fortress mini dungeon was um, interesting? It was a cool concept but those guards sending you back was annoying especially because they had an attack that auto stuns you and sends you back.

Between Ganondorf and those guards, I'm starting to think the Gerudos are assholes.

Log 17 (Crossing the desert)
I was kinda expecting to just go to the Spirit Temple right away after the Gerudo Fortress, I forogt you need to do non-dungeon stuff once in a while, and I just remembered that non-dungeon stuff is kind of tedious.

Back on topic, crossing that desert was kind of annoying with the whole "go back to start if you go the wrong direction" thin but it didn't take too long. Also I predict Shiek being Zelda will be "shockingly revealed" soon, then again I would be surprised by that reveal if it wasn't for Smash Bros. spoiling it long ago, because really who'd expect Shiek to be Zelda?

I guess I'm doing the Spirit Temple as kid Link, glad to see they found another utility to becoming a kid again besides making the market a non-postapocalyptic wasteland.

Log 18 (Spirit Temple - Kid)
Usually it takes me at least 2 play sessions to finish a temple so I decided to make an entry for the kid half of the Spirit Temple then a separate one for the Adult half.

The kid part of the Spirit Temple was really good. It was very straightforward and clear, nothing overly cryptic or frustrating that made me get stuck for about 20 minutes trying to get past it. It's already obvious who's going to be the sage for this temple, that Gerudo girl. Like, duh.

DetoxCyanide had warned me about the Skeletons and Lizard enemies, I remember those being really annoying in earlier dungeons. About that, when the first skeleton appeared I thought the Boomerang would be a good weapon against it; turns out the boomerang stuns it and makes it easy to kill. Same for the lizards.

The only part that gave me some trouble was that big metal knight thing I guess was a miniboss. The thing hits really hard and nearly killed me but honestly that was my own fault for charging towards it like an idiot, once I figured out when to attack it the fight was no problem.

We'll see how the adult half goes.

Log 19 (Spirit Temple - Adult)
The adult part of the Spirit Temple was also good. Just like the kid half nothing confusing or frustrating, the mirror shield was a good item, and it didn't take too long. Although that last one might be because it was just half of the temple.

The boss was a case of good concept, not so good execution. The idea was good, use the mirror shield to bounce the witches' attacks at each other, problem with that is that you need the attacking witch to be almost right next to the other one which is pure luck, most of the time the other witch was on the opposite side of the room. Then the second phase was ridiculously easy, '''again. '''Noticing a pattern of meh bosses.

ANYWAYS, now with all the temples completed Shiek finally revealed herself to be Zelda and gave Link an item I guess will be needed by the final boss, then the princess got kidnapped by Bowser -I MEAN- Ganondorf.

Log 20 (Ganondorf Castle part 1)
So Ganondorf's castle consists of a challenge room for each of the temple sages. First thing that came to mind when I saw that was the final level for Donkey Kong 64 where each Kong has their own challenge room. ANYWAYS, I'm going to talk about each room: Jodida shadow room aside I liked how what I'm assuming is the first half of the final dungeon. I'll try to reach the final boss next time and make it the final log.
 * Forest: Oddly enough this room doesn't really seem to resemble the temple it's supposed to represent besides the wolf at the very beginning. Either way, this room was fairy simple, just using the hover boots with the fans to grab silver Rupees.
 * Fire: Another Silver Rupees challenge but with the fire tunic and sinking platforms. Funny story, I forgot to unequip the hover boots after the Forest room and turns out the platforms don't sink if you have the hover boots equipped. I didn't know that platform is supposed to sink until I realized I still had the hover boots and took them off. That made things a lot simpler. BUT, I couldn't clear this room on the first visit because I was missing the Dungeon item, more on that later.
 * Water: MERCIFULLY this room is based on the Ice Cavern rather than the Water Temple so no Iron Boots needed. Simple Ice Block pushing puzzle and Blue fire.
 * Shadow: ODIE ESTA HABITACION! Took me over 20 minutes and 5 deaths to clear it! First of all, turns out you need Fire Arrows which I had to look up where to find them (Seriously how was anyone supposed to figure out shoot the morning sun?!). Second, you have to hit those torches with Fire Arrows which is very hard because the arrows don't have an aiming reticle (that caused me a lot of trouble many times before). Third, that slug thing was horribly located, it's too easy to get eaten by it. FOURTH, more platforming with auto-jumping with time limits and Lens of Truth enough said. FIFTH, the Golden Gauntlets (Which you need for THREE other rooms including the Fire one) are here and there's zero clue about it, they should've been located in the Forest Room which players are more likely to go to first. This room was just horribly designed.
 * Spirit: Thankfully this room was ok, more Silver Rupees and a mouse bomb puzzle. Nothing frustrating, though you do need Fire Arrows for this one too.
 * Light: This was the easiest, simple "kill all the enemies" and dodging boulders.

Log 21 (Ganondorf - Final Log)
I was expecting a second half of the dungeon, not just a mini boss gauntlet, but hey that was alright.

The first fight against Ganondorf was... well to put it brutally honest...' BULLSHIT! Sorry but I simply cannot get that Ping Pong attack right no matter how many times I try, and this time it was even worse because there's no Z targetting and after stunning Ganondorf you have to shoot him with a Light Arrow, which again is unfairly difficult because there's no aiming reticle for the arrow'. I kept getting hit by the ping pong attack over and over and over and when by miracle I managed to get it right then I missed the shot and had to do the Ping Pong AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN FOR OVER AN HOUR. I admit rage quitted, AGAIN, and almost rage quitted a second time, it's just that frustrating. Beating that boils down to pure luck for me.

THANKFULLY the second fight was much better, more intense, NO PING PONG, and more fair. It was very satisfying to hit the final blow and kill Ganondorf. The ending was also quite good for an N64 game.

I'll put my final thoughts tomorrow.