QuickBASIC/QBASIC newsletter

 
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Review
by Danny Gump
 
I realize this game has nothing to do with QB, but it does have to do
with programming, so I felt it holds enough relevance to be in this newsletter.
 
Zelda 64 is an action/adventure/RPG for the Nindendo 64, the most
powerful video game console on store shelves now.  The game immerses players
into the expansive world of Hyrule in an attempt to stop the evil villain,
Ganondorf, from collecting the triforces and becoming an unstoppable foe.
 
Zelda 64 is the first ever Nintendo 64 game to use a 32Mb cartridge
(Turok 2 and Earthbound 3 will soon follow) which is 4 times bigger than
Mario 64's cart.
 
 Many people have asked me if it's worth buying a Nintendo 64 just to
be able to play Zelda.  The following review should help explain that:
 
 
 
The graphics of Zelda 64 are some of the best 
seen seen on the Nintendo 64 yet.  They are 
easily better than those of most PC games that 
require the use of the Voodoo 2 accelerater.  The 
artists paid attention to every minute detail to 
bring the immersion to the most realistic level 
possible.  The enemies and bosses are so huge
 
and contain so many polygons, they make one 
wonder if the Nintendo 64 will ever have a limit 
to its power. 
The sound in Zelda 64 was so incredibly done that 
it makes you feel like you're really in the kingdom 
of Hyrule.  The programmers did so well with the
 
surround-sound that you can almost close your
eyes and navigate through the world.  Again, the
programmers paid attention to every possible
detail: when Link is in a cave, the sounds echo;
when he's under water, everything has "fluidic"
sound to it.  The music in Zelda 64 is as incredible
 
as the sound effects - everything from the fully- 
orchestrated pieces on the ocarina to the choral 
sounds in the Temple of Time.  The music even 
gets that fluidic sound when Link is underwater! 
The controls in Zelda 64 are wonderful in that they 
allow the player to freely explore the terrain
 
without having to worry about when to jump, etc.. 
The action button idea makes it really easy to do 
many different kinds of action without having to use 
several different buttons.  The only part that 
falls short is the inability to directly control the 
camera,  leaving the player facing a wall at times
 
when in tight corridors with corners. 
The story line is one of the best in the Zelda series, 
and it is wonderfully evoked through the use of the 
60 minutes or so of real-time FMV sequences. 
The story explains the creation of Hyrule and the histories of Ganondorf and Link through-out the
 
progression of the game. 
Zelda 64 has an excellent replay value because of 
the countless subgames (like the fishing game) 
and the hundreds of items to collect.  As of now, 
I'm still missing seven heart pieces, and I have 68 
skulltulas of 100.  Some of the subgames include
 
the horseback archery, the fishing game, the 
diving game, and the various games in shops.  All 
of these subgames alone could potentially keep a 
player busy for hours-on-end.  (The fishing game 
could have even been released as a separate 
video game and sold tons of copies.)
 
Overall, Zelda 64 is worth the $59.99 price.  If
you don't have a Nintendo 64 yet (what's wrong
with you!?), this game is the best reason yet to
purchase one.  As long as Nintendo has Shigeru
Miyamoto, you can trust the company with more
games as good as Zelda and Mario.
 
Category Rating
Graphics 10
Sound/Music 10
Controls 9.7
Story 10
Replay/Extras 10
Overall 9.9
 
 
Back