The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ, Zeruda no Densetsu: Toki no Okarina), commonly abbreviated as OoT or LOZ:OoT, is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo‘s Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998. Originally developed for the Nintendo 64DD peripheral, the game was instead released on a 256-megabit cartridge, which was the largest-capacity cartridge Nintendo produced at that time.
Ocarina of Time is the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series. The player controls the series’ trademark protagonist, Link, in the land of Hyrule. Link sets out on a quest to stop Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo tribe, from obtaining the Triforce, a sacred relic that grants the wishes of its holder. Link travels through time and navigates various dungeons to awaken sages who have the power to seal Ganondorf. Music plays an important role-to progress, the player must learn to play and perform several songs on an ocarina. The game was responsible for generating an increased interest in and rise in sales of the ocarina.
Ocarina of Time‘s gameplay system introduced features such as a target lock system and context-sensitive buttons that became common elements in 3D adventure games. In Japan, it sold over 820,000 copies in 1998, becoming the tenth-best-selling game of that year. During its lifetime, Ocarina of Time sold 1.14 million copies in Japan, becoming the 134th-best-selling game of all time, and has sold over 7.6 million copies worldwide. The game won the Grand Prize in the Interactive Art division at the Japan Media Arts Festival, won six honors at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and received overwhelmingly positive acclaim. The title is considered by many critics to be the greatest video game ever made.
Ocarina of Time had four major re-releases on the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles. It was ported to the GameCube as part of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest (ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ 裏, Zeruda no Densetsu Toki no Okarina Ura, 裏 (Ura meaning reverse side)), featuring reworked dungeons with new puzzles, and The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition as a direct port. It was also ported to the iQue Player in 2003 and the Wii’s Virtual Console service in 2007. These re-releases were well received: while some critics considered the relatively-unchanged game to be outdated, most reviewers felt that the game has held up well over the years.
A remake of Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 3DS was announced by Nintendo at the E3 2010 on June 15, 2010, marking the fifth re-release of Ocarina of Time, as well as the second Zelda remake after A Link To The Past for the Game Boy Advance in 2002.
Plot
The events of Ocarina of Time take place before those of the first four games and are set in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule, the setting of most Zelda games. Hyrule Field serves as a central hub connected to several outlying areas with diverse topography. Most of these areas are populated by the races of Hyrule: Hylians, Kokiri, Gorons, Zoras and Gerudo.[35]
The game opens as the fairy Navi awakens Link from a nightmare, in which Link is seen on a stormy night as a man on horseback, Ganondorf chases Princess Zelda who is being escorted also on horseback by Impa. Navi brings Link to the guardian of Link’s village, the Great Deku Tree, who is cursed and near death. Link breaks the curse, but cannot stop the tree from withering. The Deku Tree tells Link a “wicked man of the desert” has cursed him and seeks to conquer the land of Hyrule and that Link must stop him. Before dying, the Great Deku Tree gives Link the spiritual stone of the forest, the Kokiri’s Emerald, and sends him to Hyrule Castle to speak with the princess of destiny, Zelda.
At Hyrule Castle, Link meets Princess Zelda, who has been having dreams about the future of Hyrule and foresaw Link’s arrival. She believes Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves, is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic in the Sacred Realm that gives its holder god-like power. Zelda’s description of Ganondorf matches that of the man who killed the Great Deku Tree. Zelda asks Link to obtain the three Spiritual Stones, one of which he already possesses, so that he might enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce before Ganondorf reaches it. Link goes to Goron City, where he meets Darunia, the leader of the Goron race. After Link kills King Dodongo, the boss of Dodongo’s Cavern, Darunia gives him the Goron’s Ruby, symbolizing brotherhood. Link next obtains the Zora’s Sapphire from the Zora Princess, Ruto, after rescuing her from the belly of Lord Jabu-Jabu (a whale-like creature sacred to the Zoras). Receiving the Zora’s Saphire symbolizes marriage between Link and Ruto.
Link returns to the castle, where Ganondorf is pursuing Zelda on horseback, as in his nightmare at the start of the game. Spotting Link, Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time into the castle moat and telepathically teaches Link the “Song of Time”. After Ganondorf rides off, Link retrieves the Ocarina and uses the song together with the Spiritual Stones to open the door to the Sacred Realm. Through the door, Link finds the Master Sword, a legendary sword forged to fight evil. As he pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal, Ganondorf appears, having followed Link into the Sacred Realm, and claims the Triforce.
Seven years later, an older Link awakens in a distant room known as the Chamber of Sages and is met by Rauru, the ancient Sage of Light and one of the seven sages who protect the location of the Triforce. Rauru informs Link that his spirit was sealed for seven years until he was old enough to wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf. The seven sages can imprison Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm; however, five of the seven sages are unaware of their identities after Ganondorf transformed Hyrule into a land of darkness. Link returns to Hyrule and is met by the mysterious Sheik, who guides Link to rid five temples of Ganondorf’s monsters, allowing the power of the temples to awaken the sages.
After awakening five sages, Sheik is revealed to be Princess Zelda and the Seventh Sage. She tells Link that Ganondorf’s heart is unbalanced, causing the Triforce to split into three pieces, as predicted in an ancient prophecy. Ganondorf kept the Triforce of Power, while the other two chosen by destiny carry the remaining pieces: Zelda gained the Triforce of Wisdom and Link obtained the Triforce of Courage. After Zelda bestows Link with the magical Light Arrows, Ganondorf traps Zelda in a magical crystal and takes her to his tower. The remaining six sages help Link enter the tower, where he battles and defeats Ganondorf, thereby freeing Zelda. After escaping the collapsing castle, Link is trapped in the castle area by a ring of fire and forced to battle Ganondorf once again; this time, using the power of the Triforce of Power, he transforms from his human form into a boar-like monster named Ganon. After fighting Ganon without the Master Sword, Link eventually retrieves it, and, with the aid of Zelda’s paralyzing light, delivers the final blow, which defeats Ganon. The seven sages trap Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm; still holding the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf vows to take revenge on their descendants. Zelda uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link to his original time to live out his childhood. The game ends with Link and Zelda looking at each other in the castle garden.
(Source: Wikipedia)
