Pros: great game
Cons: washed out colors
The bottom line: Zelda oct is proably one of the best game on the N64
When Zelda OCT was first introduced back in 1998 it was the first Zelda game released in 5 years. It was the most anticipated games in the N64 life. So did I rush out to the store and get it, no in my hick town it took an entire month before they got it in stock.

Well on the Christmas eve of 1998 I was finally able to pick up a copy, and had to wait a day to play it after church and all the Christmas festivities it took me a while before I was able to play.

However I was hooked for the next two weeks, here is what the game is about.

Story.
Long ago when Hyrule was nothing but rocks three goddess came down and created, the land, the people, and the order of nature and Hyrule. After there work was done they left, leaving the triforce. The triforce has the power to grant any wish of it's holder. To keep the triforce safe the ancient sages kept it in the sacred realm, they build the temple of time has a gate to the sacred realm. In the temple of time they build a door of time to keep people out of the sacred realm. The only way to open the door is to get the sacred stones and the ocarina of time. Once these are required the final key to the realm will be the master sword, only one who is able to become the hero of time can pull it out it's pedestal.

Now jump to Link the Kokiri when Link is asked to break the curse of the Deku tree he is to late to stop it from dying. The deku tree last request is for him to visit the princess Zelda. After visiting Zelda; Link quest is to get the three stones before the geurdo King Gannondorf does, if Gannondorf gets his wish the entire world will become an evil nightmare. Link's quest doesn’t end with the three stones, disaster happens when Link pulls the master sword out of the pedestal. Link gets thrown 7 years into the future where Gannondorf rules all. The only way to stop the Gannondorf is to find 5 sages hidden in Hyrule.

Link's quest will take him across Hyrule, and even thorough time. However he will not be alone on his quest, he will have Navi the fairy, the horse Epona, and the mysterious Ninja Shiek who knows more about the sages then he's letting on to.

Graphics.
The graphics on the game are great considering it is three years old. While they pail to those of Majoras Mask the graphics still stand out. There is no fog anywhere, the animation is smooth and scrolls along nicely. The most amazing part of it is the lighting. Link's shadow changes has the sun crosses the sky. The torch flicker in the dungeons are seen, the light becomes brighter has Link gets closer to light, and darker has he walks away.

If there is any con to the graphics is that the colors are a little bland. Banjo Kazooie had better looking colors in it, the colors in OCT look like they have been washed out.

Sound.
OK I was disappointed at the fact that they left the Zelda theme out, however the current over world theme sets the mood up rather nicely, and you will find yourself humming along to the tune. A few other good musical scores in the game are Zelda's Lullabye, and the song of time are also songs that get stuck in your head.

The music in the game is also dynamic turning from normal to creepy battle music whenever you get close to an enemy. Not only does it make you aware that you are coming within attacking arange of an enemy it also helps you to know when an enemy is about to make a cheap at you from behind.

Gameplay.
All right for those of you who have never played Zelda you have to find 8 dungeons and complete them and get some item to help you complete the game. In this one it's stones and sages.

Overworld.
Every Zelda game has an overworld, in the overworld Link will go through town and plains to get the other dungeons, which have items for him to complete the game. However the over world in this game is the most baron over world in Zelda. I am not saying that there are no enemies to kill in the game, but in other games you can't take two steps without having to draw your sword to dispatch a moblin; this is not the case in OCT.

The size of the overworld is a decent size it won't take you forever to cross but it's not huge either. When Link becomes an adult he will be able to get his horse Epona and help traverse the land more quickly.

Dungeons.
The dungeons in this game depend on a lot on puzzles, there are still a lot of enemies to kill but a lot happen to do with puzzles. For example the water temple you have to drain and raise the water in order to get thorough it, in the fire temple you have to find the switches to let the gorons out to complete that one.

What does time travel do.
Zelda OCT has a lot of Zelda three darkworld to lightworld stuff in it. What Link does in the past can affect something has an adult, he might have to learn a skill has an adult and take it back to the past in order to complete an objective.

Z targeting.
Zelda brings to the table the Z targeting ability. Whenever an enemy comes near Navi will fly close and glow yellow, Link can press Z and face the enemy. Link can then move around with out turning his back on the enemy allowing him to dodge there attacks and counter attack. Link can also do a Jump attack in this mode that does double damage. Other helpful features is the auto aim, and the ability to ask advice from Navi.

Ocarina.
The Ocarina comes in use to cast spells or open doors. Certain things will happen when you play a song on the ocarina, a door will open, a person will move etc. You can also compose your own songs using the c buttons and the analog stick, this isn’t necessary but it’s a nice variety.

My recommendation.
If your into Zelda and haven't gotten this yet, what's wrong with you this is defiantly worth the 40 dollars to pick it up.