You're not wrong. I did give it another chance, like I mentioned above, and I'm really liking it now. Already completed the Hard missions and just going through all the stages, cleaning up, exploring, solving puzzles. It's really great. But yeah, between some unavoidable late 90s jank and the simple, brutal, timeless fact that the game just demands a lot of technical skill from you, you have to be very patient and very willing to learn the ropes and figure out how to get the best out of each vehicle, plan routes, figure out strategies, etc. Don't get me wrong, that's what makes it good in the first place, but you also have to be willing to meet the game halfway. Just learning how to properly handle Backlash is a big hurdle — and the time pressure doesn't exactly help. All that being said, I love, love how the levels so effortlessly accomodate both high-pressure timed missions and freefrom, chill exploration and navigational puzzling. It's quite impressive.
Unironically one of my most anticipated releases this year. I played a bit of the original and it's great, but Switch is my 90s shooter machine so I'm ready to start up again.
I'll give this one another chance. I found it clunky and frustrating as a kid, but I was an impatient kid. I thought the same thing about Wave Race 64 — but I loved it on NSO.
Playing through Dark Souls in the 2010s changed me. I'm more willing to just sit down and understand a game's mechanics now.
There are many more good cows in Ocarina of Time. Just great, helpful, mooing cows everywhere. In Gerudo Valley, down in the ravine. And in other grottos, too. One precisely by the entrance to the Valley. Something about that Gerudo music just attracts the cows. Real sad they keep falling into holes, though.
I think the Half Life comparisons are overblown. It starts out like that, but reverts to something closer to Quake 2 or Unreal by the second half. Interesting mix of 90s shooter styles.
The tech limitations are definitely part of it. That angular, simplified aesthetic allowed Nintendo to, uh, get away with some things.
Blood-soaked floors, men turned into spiders, shrieking zombies feasting on each other, walls topped with skulls, whatever Dead Hand is supposed to be.
Ocarina of Time: pretty far into my first 3-heart run. The game is intense again. I love it. Just the Shadow Temple left. (I'm doing Forest, Water, Spirit, Fire, Shadow order for adult Link.)
Half-Life: finished my second play-through. Love it. Didn't mind Xen this time and even had fun with Interloper (!) But Valve really should fix the bug in Gonarch's Lair. I can't believe that's still in even after the anniversary update.
Dead Space 2: finished for the first time. Pretty good, but goes a bit heavy on the enemy-waves-while-stuck-in-arena design. Bit unrelenting. I may prefer the 2008 original, which I played immediately before it. Tighter, slower, moodier.
I don't see the point. A lot of what makes Zelda 1 worth playing is that it was made in 1986. If you modernize it, it would just become a different game. The purity and relative simplicity is what makes it interesting.
And this isn't a Final Fantasy VII situation, where the remake could reimagine or reinterpret the original story and setting. Because that's what Zelda already does with every iteration.
At most, I could see a release of the game that brings all the info in the physical manual (item descriptions, the full color map) into the actual game.
@FishyS Well, depends on what you're looking for. Quake is definitely a 10 or at least a high 9 in my books. At least the Switch version, which is the only one I've played.
@Platinum-Bucket Came here to post this, but now I don't have to. Exactly that. I don't have that many issues with the game, but that climb... It's partly saved by the fact that the music and atmosphere are on point, but still.
1) Spend time in the tutorial area getting used to the controls and camera. They work for the game, but they're decidedly not modern. A mix of centering the camera, trusting the camera scripting, or moving into first-person view gets the job done — wherever you want to look — nearly always.
2) If you're playing the NSO version, practice holding down ZR to turn the face buttons into C buttons. Using the right stick for items is going to feel weird. You're supposed to be clicking buttons when using, say, the boomerang or slingshot.
3) Talk to every NPC. Nearly every character holds a clue to something else in the game. This is a very 90s thing. You really are expected to talk to everyone to figure out what to do. Towns aren't really that populated, though, so don't worry. There are only ever five to seven people you can talk to in a given space, and they have like two lines of dialogue each.
4) Use Z-targeting. I don't know what it is, but a lot of new players just ignore one of the game's famous, trademark mechanics. So they end up randomly swinging their sword everywhere. Once you get really good at the game, you can maybe pull off fighting without Z-targeting. But until then, just rely on it. The whole battle system is built with it in mind.
5) If a Great Fairy tells you to visit her friend near Hyrule Castle, she's not kidding and it's not a sidequest. Trust me on this one.
I think if you're a first-timer, the best thing you can do is just forget all these articles and try it like any other game.
Most people who hold Ocarina in high regard sort of worked their way up to it. They didn't sit down and go, "Alright, this has to be the most amazing gaming experience ever." No game can live up to that.
I didn't even hold Ocarina in high regard for much of my life. It was only in the past few years that I realized how good it is. But what makes it good is also the fact that it's from the 90s.
I don't mean nostalgia, which I don't care about. It's just that Ocarina — by virtue of having to use smoke and mirrors to make you feel like Hyrule is vast even when it's really not, because of technical limitations — is very compact and tightlly built. It's like a greatest hits compilation, one dungeon after another. (And there's a lot of them.) Unless you get stuck somewhere, it legit has some of the best pacing in the series. And it only gets better in replays. (Probably why it's so speedrunner-friendly.) It also packs a lot of personality and mystery into little nooks and crannies that modern games would just gloss over. Mostly because in the 90s you had to make every square foot count.
So that's kind of what makes Ocarina work, in my opinion. If you walk from point A to point B, you'll experience several vibes: every room and stretch of land has its own music, color, and even traversal dynamic. It's very, very different from how a modern game would do it. Because a modern game would prioritize consistency over (potentially disjointed) variety. Which is cool, too. But I appreciate what Ocarina was doing 25 years ago, as well. It's a different approach.
I'm not sure its reputation is that bad, honestly.
It has a couple of navigational annoyances, like having to constantly equip and unequip the Iron Boots, and having to change the water level with Zelda's Lullaby at least six times.
But in terms of pure design and vibe, it's clearly one of the best dungeons in the game, if not the best. It's Ocarina of Time's version of Eagle's Tower, a conceptually challenging dungeon that may not be as fun to traverse as some of the others but boasts the best challenge for the Zelda veteran.
@gamerswereamistake Winback is already on the service. Hybrid Heave isn't, though. But it was rated T, so it doesn't need a new M-rated tier to be on NSO.
I'm curious about the controls, too. We'll see. I have a Goldeneye preset on my Switch and the game is more than playable with it. I actually like it more now than I did back in the day. But yeah, Jet Force Jemini is arguably more idiosyncratic. I remember when it came out, some reviewers were even confused whether to play it as a third-person action platformer or a first-person shooter.
Kakariko Village is unbeatable, in my opinion. Especially if you count the Graveyard as part of it.
It's so compact. You have a dungeon, a minidungeon, two extended grottos (and a few regular ones), minigames, chickens, a house with a mutated rich family. You can hookshot onto roofs. You can drive a musician crazy inside a windmill. There's a cow in a cage in a living room.
It's one of the first places you visit. It seems so cheerful. But if you're replaying the game, you know things. For example, there's a bloody torture chamber below the town. It's hiding a darkness the color of a dead channel. Gibson would be proud.
It's also a lot of fun to traverse and everything is really tightly put together. It highlights the benefits of Ocarina's late 90s approach to world design.
Yes, it's a great opening. And the first dungeon is also magisterial.
One thing that doesn't get talked about much: it's also really short. Or rather, as short as you want it to be.
You can spend an hour or more in Kokiri Forest, first time through. Then on replays, you can be inside the first dungeon in five minutes.
That flexibility, in terms of pacing, is absolutely amazing and extremely uncommon these days. And all without sacrificing immersion, storytelling, and worldbuilding.
No, I still play it regularly. I'm playing it right now. Going for my first 3-heart run.
It "shows its age," I guess. But part of what makes it work is also a product of its time: the compactness of the world design, the artful workarounds to deal with technical limitations (use of fog, etc).
If you want to remake it, I'd go for a full reimaginig, like Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I like that, because then the "remake" doesn't really compete with the original. It's basically a new game. And that's cool. I played both FF7s in 2021 for the first time, back to back. Fantastic experience. Actually preferred the original, but both were great in their own ways.
I have no hope for it. Zelda can't get by on charm, like Mario. You need real artists behind it to make it work as film. Audiences need to feel feelings. That's what sets Zelda apart. You go back to the N64 Zeldas and they're a blurry mess. Everything from Kirby to Banjo and Mario had a more polished visual presentation. But Zelda beats them all, audiovisually. Why? Because it's more soulful. It's got vibes. It's got zombies eating each other. It's got fog pooling by the waters of the lake. It's got Spanish guitars strumming down a canyon. It's got that transition, as you walk from the market to the Temple of Time, where the voices of the crowd die down and you realize, intuitively, that this church-like building is worthy of reverence. And that's just one Zelda game. All the best ones are like that. You need someone with a good handle on film language to translate the appeal of the franchise. It's not just fun. No one who loves Zelda loves it because it's just fun. It operates on another level. That's why it's got more GOAT contenders than virtually any other franchise out there.
That depends on whether you want to 100% it or not, do every level, try to get all the collectibles, and so on. It never gets as challenging as, I don't know, Celeste. But it's not a total pushover either if you really want to complete everything, including the special and challenge stages. It's a lot like World in that sense.
I grew up with the SNES version, but now I prefer the NES. The color palette and overall vibe are unique to that game and no other Mario game looks or feels like it.
To be honest, though, I don't really like the art direction in any of the All Stars remakes. I prefer the originals now.
I'm not making a case against the 99 games. I was actually agreeing with you.
You asked this: "What kind of game is worth coming back to again and again if you dont love the gameplay?" And that's what I responded to, with the example of games that keep you hooked by offering a continuous reward loop for relatively low-effort grinding, taking cues from gambling, mobile games, and social media. I don't know if that makes them "worth" coming back to. It is what it is.
I wasn't suggesting this the case with the 99 games, though their social systems do add a thin layer of the above.
Gonna get Wonder on Switch, but MGS collection on PC. I have the latter on PS3 already, but would rather not have to dust that console off every time I want to play those games.
It's a chemistry brain hack. Lots of games keep you coming back to grind for digital trinkets and stat boosts. It's not money or anything, but your brian interprets it as an achievement, like you earned something. And most of the time, these games are fairly easy, so as long as you just keep playing, you'll get the thing. So that motivates you to keep going and keep grinding.
Yep! For most of the N64 NSO games, if you hold down ZR, the face buttons temporarily map 1-to-1 with the C buttons. Of course, you have to let go of ZR to press A or B, but I'm pretty quick at that now. Ocarina of Time was unplayable for me using the right stick as C buttons, frankly. Using items wasn't feeling right.
As someone who played the remake first and is now playing the original, I'd say: play both.
The remake has more quality of life, as @Not_Soos already mentioned. The original game was built around the Game Boy's lack of buttons, so you're constantly going into the Start screen and assigning items to A and B. It's kind of annoying. And you're also getting constant text boxes every time you so much as glance at a boulder that you can't move yet, which is incredibly aggravating. It wouldn't be so bad if you could just close the text boxes immediately, but you can't. (At least, not in the DX version, which is the one I'm playing on NSO and, admittedly, is not technically the real OG.)
On other hand, the original has its own vibe. It's not replaceable. The remake doesn't look "better," it looks completely different. It's very pretty, mind you. But the art style and material work, in the remake, makes everything look like an actual plastic toy set that you can reach in and touch. Which is neat. But it's also a different vibe from the original, which you just interpret as pixel art abstraction. It sends your mind into a completely different place. I'm not talking about nostalgia or anything like that. It's just a fundamentally different experience.
Another benefit of the original: the game and level design makes more sense, because you're experiencing the actual audiovisual context that the game was built around. So the reason certain rooms are built the way they are is just more immediately and intuitively understandable.
My solve for this was just getting used to pressing down ZR (on the Pro controller) and using the face buttons as C buttons. It's second nature to me now, because I've played Ocarina and Majora a lot on NSO, beating them several times. Using the stick for inputs that are supposed to be button presses is just always going to feel weird. (I did the same ZR solve with Banjo. In that game, controlling the camera with the stick seems like it should work, and it kinda does, but those were really button presses back in the day and it shows.)
Generational shifts are relative. Back in the late 90s, when I came of age, I thought everything 2D was old and dated. NES felt archaeological. When I caught images of the first Zelda from 1986, they seemed like moving cave paintings to me.
20 years later, my whole mentality has changed. The original Zelda is one of my favorite games now. My favorite game, full stop, is Super Metroid, a 2D game I didn't even know existed in the 90s.
I've never played any of the Tomb Raider games. I watched a speedrun of the first one a few weeks ago and loved what I saw. Very Zelda-ish and definitely an Ocarina of Time precursor. Tank controls were never my bag, though, but if they work for the game, I'll try to get used to them.
Obviously the highlight of the Direct. This gives me time to play the first Paper Mario... and Mario RPG... for the first time before actually trying this one out.
Historically, yes, of course. They've been all over the entertainment and gaming map. But readers of the Washington Post don't know Nintendo started out doing playing cards. To them, and to most of the culture, Nintendo is synonymous with videogames. So, from that perspective, Doug's comments make sense.
On the one hand, the DLC shrines and dungeon were some of the best parts of Breath of the Wild, so I was looking forward to something similar for Tears of the Kingdom.
On the other hand, Tears is already so vast and filled with sidequests that I'm not sure DLC is strictly necessary. I'm also not exactly pining for the return of Master Mode, if it's going to be the same regen sponge-fest from last time.
I found this game so frustrating back in the early aughts — and booting it up again, I now remember why.
It's a very exacting game. You have to be pretty good right from the get-go to get anything out of it. You really have to understand the handling and the physics or you'll barely be able to make a single turn. I spent about two hours with it last night and only started having fun at the very end of my session. I definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel, because the game is clearly well-designed. But it's tough. Mistakes are easy to make and can cost you a whole race.
Great, great game. Controls and camera are so-so and always have been, but the world, the aesthetic, the characters, the vibe, it's all awesome. (And the game's really easy anyway, so the camera and controls are only annoying up to a point.)
It's one of those early adventure games that couldn't give you an actual open 3D world but wanted to make you feel like you were in one, so it employs storytelling, progression, and smoke-and-mirrors to make the playable area seem bigger than it is. Which actually aged really well because from a modern perspective (which is the only perspective I have, since I never played it back in the day) it's like an antidote to present-day bloat and open-world emptiness.
I mean, I notice these games are 25 years old. But I also don't really agree with most people on what has "held up" or not.
I definitely struggle with, say, the camera in Mario 64, just like everyone does. Not so much the controls, which I think are great once you learn them.
But then , for instance, I don't mind the PS1 aesthetic, because to me that's just a unique vibe. I didn't own a PS1, so it's not nostalgia. It's just, well, games today look a certain way and that's great. But when I sit down with, I don't know, Parasite Eve or MGS, that's a unique look to me. And I know that's what I'm getting into before I even turn on the console.
Same with, say, the controls in Ocarina of Time. They're certainly stiffer than modern Zelda, but the controls are also perfectly built around what the game's asking you to do. So I just learn them, whatever. Not a big deal. Easier than Tears of the Kingdom, even!
@electrolite77 Other than, I don't know, Winback, I haven't had this experience with any of the N64 games featured. Most play exactly like I remember them, if I played them at all back in the day. Some play better because the framerate doesn't suck. (I like Goldeneye more now.)
Great news. I do remember finding this game very frustrating back in the day, but then again I was a kid and I found a lot of things frustrating. I even bounced off Wave Race 64, a game I found to be phenomenal on NSO.
I tried this a few years ago on PC and it's a lot of fun. It plays lot like Doom, except with actual missions and a story. Definitely a precursor to what Goldeneye would do a little later.
Can't wait to get it and actually finish it on my 90s shooter machine, the Switch.
Mm, I was gonna get this for the convenience, but if it runs worse than the PS3 collection...
I don't mind the old graphics on MGS, though. That's a game that utilized the limitations of the time to brilliant aesthetic effect. You lose a lot of the grit and vibe if you "update" it too much.
Can't wait. I'm definitely getting this. The Quake 1 Remaster was brilliant. And while I already played Quake 2 earlier this year on PC, I don't mind going through it all over again with Nightdive's tweaks. I love these people so much.
I haven't tried the new Doom games, only played the classics on Switch. I loved those, except for 3. I can't get into it and how enemy encounters are scripted there.
The original Zelda's Master Mode set an unrealistic precedent for what a Master Mode should be, significantly shaking up the game, the layout of the dungeons, the location of items, etc. Ocarina of Time enjoyed the same treatment, though I haven't played that yet. (Would make a nice NSO treat, Nintendo...)
But Breath of the Wild's Master Mode, to be honest, kind of sucked. Battles in these new Zelda games can already get tedious and protracted enough unless you're playing at a very high level or, in Tears, building flying fortresses of doom. So adding regenerating enemy health and higher enemy tiers with even spongier HP counts is... not ideal.
Played it this year on PC. It's pretty great. Not quite as good as the first Quake, and it does kind of feel like a transitional game, between the more compact level-based approach of Doom and Quake to the long interconnected maps of Unreal and Half-Life. Quake 2 ends up being neither. But it's an important game and a lot of fun.
I'd like Twilight Princess because it's the only major Zelda I haven't completed, after Adventure of Link. Of course, the reason I didn't complete it is that I got bored with it, but I'm willing to give it another chance.
I don't care that much about remakes. I'd rather have legal access. You can't keep remaking games forever. It's not a sustainable mindset, in my opinion.
In general, though, I like sidequests that feel bespoke. Like, don't make me go back to a place I've already been to pick up some mushrooms. Send me on an adventure. Give me a new dungeon or place to explore. And if I do go back somewhere, make it new and fresh, resignify that space. Like, in Tears of the Kingdom, I started doing the quest where you go fetch the eyes of the big, creepy statue under the Great Abandoned Central Mine. I had already been to the mine, but had no idea that humongous altar was down below. Moreover, the level design and mine cart rails around the Central Mine make a lot more sense now. All of that was carefully designed FOR this optional quest line. That's what I'm looking for.
From a story standpoint, I haven't seen better sidequest design than Witcher 3. You can start doing something and all of a sudden you're several hours in and you've experienced what amounts to a self-contained TV episode. Some 90s RPGs like Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment manage that too, at times, albeit without the cinematic flair.
Comments 753
Re: Review: Blast Corps - An Absurd, Exhilarating, Explosive Gem From Rare's N64 Days
@N64-ROX
You're not wrong. I did give it another chance, like I mentioned above, and I'm really liking it now. Already completed the Hard missions and just going through all the stages, cleaning up, exploring, solving puzzles. It's really great. But yeah, between some unavoidable late 90s jank and the simple, brutal, timeless fact that the game just demands a lot of technical skill from you, you have to be very patient and very willing to learn the ropes and figure out how to get the best out of each vehicle, plan routes, figure out strategies, etc. Don't get me wrong, that's what makes it good in the first place, but you also have to be willing to meet the game halfway. Just learning how to properly handle Backlash is a big hurdle — and the time pressure doesn't exactly help. All that being said, I love, love how the levels so effortlessly accomodate both high-pressure timed missions and freefrom, chill exploration and navigational puzzling. It's quite impressive.
Re: Video: Digital Foundry's Technical Analysis Of Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster
Unironically one of my most anticipated releases this year. I played a bit of the original and it's great, but Switch is my 90s shooter machine so I'm ready to start up again.
Re: Review: Blast Corps - An Absurd, Exhilarating, Explosive Gem From Rare's N64 Days
I'll give this one another chance. I found it clunky and frustrating as a kid, but I was an impatient kid. I thought the same thing about Wave Race 64 — but I loved it on NSO.
Playing through Dark Souls in the 2010s changed me. I'm more willing to just sit down and understand a game's mechanics now.
Re: Back Page: The Best Cows On The Nintendo Switch
There are many more good cows in Ocarina of Time. Just great, helpful, mooing cows everywhere. In Gerudo Valley, down in the ravine. And in other grottos, too. One precisely by the entrance to the Valley. Something about that Gerudo music just attracts the cows. Real sad they keep falling into holes, though.
Re: Turok 3: Shadow Of Oblivion Remastered Receives A New Update
I think the Half Life comparisons are overblown. It starts out like that, but reverts to something closer to Quake 2 or Unreal by the second half. Interesting mix of 90s shooter styles.
Re: Review: Alisa Developer's Cut (Switch) - An Excellent RE Homage That Nails The '90s Vibe
@Bobb
The tech limitations are definitely part of it. That angular, simplified aesthetic allowed Nintendo to, uh, get away with some things.
Blood-soaked floors, men turned into spiders, shrieking zombies feasting on each other, walls topped with skulls, whatever Dead Hand is supposed to be.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 3rd)
All over the place, but:
Ocarina of Time: pretty far into my first 3-heart run. The game is intense again. I love it. Just the Shadow Temple left. (I'm doing Forest, Water, Spirit, Fire, Shadow order for adult Link.)
Half-Life: finished my second play-through. Love it. Didn't mind Xen this time and even had fun with Interloper (!) But Valve really should fix the bug in Gonarch's Lair. I can't believe that's still in even after the anniversary update.
Dead Space 2: finished for the first time. Pretty good, but goes a bit heavy on the enemy-waves-while-stuck-in-arena design. Bit unrelenting. I may prefer the 2008 original, which I played immediately before it. Tighter, slower, moodier.
Re: Soapbox: It's Time For A Zelda 1 Remake, Please
I don't see the point. A lot of what makes Zelda 1 worth playing is that it was made in 1986. If you modernize it, it would just become a different game. The purity and relative simplicity is what makes it interesting.
And this isn't a Final Fantasy VII situation, where the remake could reimagine or reinterpret the original story and setting. Because that's what Zelda already does with every iteration.
At most, I could see a release of the game that brings all the info in the physical manual (item descriptions, the full color map) into the actual game.
Re: Review: Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Blissful Death Re:Incarnation (Switch) - Poetic Bullet-Hell Perfection
@FishyS Well, depends on what you're looking for. Quake is definitely a 10 or at least a high 9 in my books. At least the Switch version, which is the only one I've played.
Re: Talking Point: What Are The Worst Parts Of Your Favourite Games?
@Platinum-Bucket Came here to post this, but now I don't have to. Exactly that. I don't have that many issues with the game, but that climb... It's partly saved by the fact that the music and atmosphere are on point, but still.
Re: Soapbox: Ocarina Of Time's Deku Tree Dungeon Is Still My All-Time Top Gaming Moment
@TanaDax
Glad to hear it! Only tips I'd give you are:
1) Spend time in the tutorial area getting used to the controls and camera. They work for the game, but they're decidedly not modern. A mix of centering the camera, trusting the camera scripting, or moving into first-person view gets the job done — wherever you want to look — nearly always.
2) If you're playing the NSO version, practice holding down ZR to turn the face buttons into C buttons. Using the right stick for items is going to feel weird. You're supposed to be clicking buttons when using, say, the boomerang or slingshot.
3) Talk to every NPC. Nearly every character holds a clue to something else in the game. This is a very 90s thing. You really are expected to talk to everyone to figure out what to do. Towns aren't really that populated, though, so don't worry. There are only ever five to seven people you can talk to in a given space, and they have like two lines of dialogue each.
4) Use Z-targeting. I don't know what it is, but a lot of new players just ignore one of the game's famous, trademark mechanics. So they end up randomly swinging their sword everywhere. Once you get really good at the game, you can maybe pull off fighting without Z-targeting. But until then, just rely on it. The whole battle system is built with it in mind.
5) If a Great Fairy tells you to visit her friend near Hyrule Castle, she's not kidding and it's not a sidequest. Trust me on this one.
Re: Soapbox: Ocarina Of Time's Deku Tree Dungeon Is Still My All-Time Top Gaming Moment
@TanaDax
I think if you're a first-timer, the best thing you can do is just forget all these articles and try it like any other game.
Most people who hold Ocarina in high regard sort of worked their way up to it. They didn't sit down and go, "Alright, this has to be the most amazing gaming experience ever." No game can live up to that.
I didn't even hold Ocarina in high regard for much of my life. It was only in the past few years that I realized how good it is. But what makes it good is also the fact that it's from the 90s.
I don't mean nostalgia, which I don't care about. It's just that Ocarina — by virtue of having to use smoke and mirrors to make you feel like Hyrule is vast even when it's really not, because of technical limitations — is very compact and tightlly built. It's like a greatest hits compilation, one dungeon after another. (And there's a lot of them.) Unless you get stuck somewhere, it legit has some of the best pacing in the series. And it only gets better in replays. (Probably why it's so speedrunner-friendly.) It also packs a lot of personality and mystery into little nooks and crannies that modern games would just gloss over. Mostly because in the 90s you had to make every square foot count.
So that's kind of what makes Ocarina work, in my opinion. If you walk from point A to point B, you'll experience several vibes: every room and stretch of land has its own music, color, and even traversal dynamic. It's very, very different from how a modern game would do it. Because a modern game would prioritize consistency over (potentially disjointed) variety. Which is cool, too. But I appreciate what Ocarina was doing 25 years ago, as well. It's a different approach.
Re: Soapbox: Ocarina Of Time's Water Temple Was Tough, But It Doesn't Deserve Its Reputation
I'm not sure its reputation is that bad, honestly.
It has a couple of navigational annoyances, like having to constantly equip and unequip the Iron Boots, and having to change the water level with Zelda's Lullaby at least six times.
But in terms of pure design and vibe, it's clearly one of the best dungeons in the game, if not the best. It's Ocarina of Time's version of Eagle's Tower, a conceptually challenging dungeon that may not be as fun to traverse as some of the others but boasts the best challenge for the Zelda veteran.
Re: Nintendo Is Launching An 18+ N64 Switch Online App In Japan
@gamerswereamistake Winback is already on the service. Hybrid Heave isn't, though. But it was rated T, so it doesn't need a new M-rated tier to be on NSO.
Re: Switch Online Is Expanding The N64 Library With Rare's Jet Force Gemini
@mlt
I'm curious about the controls, too. We'll see. I have a Goldeneye preset on my Switch and the game is more than playable with it. I actually like it more now than I did back in the day. But yeah, Jet Force Jemini is arguably more idiosyncratic. I remember when it came out, some reviewers were even confused whether to play it as a third-person action platformer or a first-person shooter.
Re: Switch Online Is Expanding The N64 Library With Rare's Jet Force Gemini
Man, this game's neat. The controls were a struggle and the framerate was atrocious, but it was a unique experience. Can't wait to revisit it.
Re: Talking Point: Going Home - Ocarina Of Time's Best Locales
Kakariko Village is unbeatable, in my opinion. Especially if you count the Graveyard as part of it.
It's so compact. You have a dungeon, a minidungeon, two extended grottos (and a few regular ones), minigames, chickens, a house with a mutated rich family. You can hookshot onto roofs. You can drive a musician crazy inside a windmill. There's a cow in a cage in a living room.
It's one of the first places you visit. It seems so cheerful. But if you're replaying the game, you know things. For example, there's a bloody torture chamber below the town. It's hiding a darkness the color of a dead channel. Gibson would be proud.
It's also a lot of fun to traverse and everything is really tightly put together. It highlights the benefits of Ocarina's late 90s approach to world design.
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: Ocarina Of Time's Kokiri Forest Rivals World 1-1 As A Perfect Intro
Yes, it's a great opening. And the first dungeon is also magisterial.
One thing that doesn't get talked about much: it's also really short. Or rather, as short as you want it to be.
You can spend an hour or more in Kokiri Forest, first time through. Then on replays, you can be inside the first dungeon in five minutes.
That flexibility, in terms of pacing, is absolutely amazing and extremely uncommon these days. And all without sacrificing immersion, storytelling, and worldbuilding.
Re: Talking Point: Does Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Need A Full Remake?
No, I still play it regularly. I'm playing it right now. Going for my first 3-heart run.
It "shows its age," I guess. But part of what makes it work is also a product of its time: the compactness of the world design, the artful workarounds to deal with technical limitations (use of fog, etc).
If you want to remake it, I'd go for a full reimaginig, like Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I like that, because then the "remake" doesn't really compete with the original. It's basically a new game. And that's cool. I played both FF7s in 2021 for the first time, back to back. Fantastic experience. Actually preferred the original, but both were great in their own ways.
Re: Reaction: What's Your Gut Feeling On The Zelda Movie News?
I have no hope for it. Zelda can't get by on charm, like Mario. You need real artists behind it to make it work as film. Audiences need to feel feelings. That's what sets Zelda apart. You go back to the N64 Zeldas and they're a blurry mess. Everything from Kirby to Banjo and Mario had a more polished visual presentation. But Zelda beats them all, audiovisually. Why? Because it's more soulful. It's got vibes. It's got zombies eating each other. It's got fog pooling by the waters of the lake. It's got Spanish guitars strumming down a canyon. It's got that transition, as you walk from the market to the Temple of Time, where the voices of the crowd die down and you realize, intuitively, that this church-like building is worthy of reverence. And that's just one Zelda game. All the best ones are like that. You need someone with a good handle on film language to translate the appeal of the franchise. It's not just fun. No one who loves Zelda loves it because it's just fun. It operates on another level. That's why it's got more GOAT contenders than virtually any other franchise out there.
Re: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Is Officially The "Fastest-Selling" Super Mario Title Ever
@Ellie-Moo
That depends on whether you want to 100% it or not, do every level, try to get all the collectibles, and so on. It never gets as challenging as, I don't know, Celeste. But it's not a total pushover either if you really want to complete everything, including the special and challenge stages. It's a lot like World in that sense.
Re: Talking Point: Which Version Of Super Mario Bros. 3 Do You Prefer?
I grew up with the SNES version, but now I prefer the NES. The color palette and overall vibe are unique to that game and no other Mario game looks or feels like it.
To be honest, though, I don't really like the art direction in any of the All Stars remakes. I prefer the originals now.
Re: Switch Online Exclusive F-Zero 99 Adds King League And Three More Tracks
@-wc-
I'm not making a case against the 99 games. I was actually agreeing with you.
You asked this: "What kind of game is worth coming back to again and again if you dont love the gameplay?" And that's what I responded to, with the example of games that keep you hooked by offering a continuous reward loop for relatively low-effort grinding, taking cues from gambling, mobile games, and social media. I don't know if that makes them "worth" coming back to. It is what it is.
I wasn't suggesting this the case with the 99 games, though their social systems do add a thin layer of the above.
Re: Nintendo Download: 19th October (North America)
Gonna get Wonder on Switch, but MGS collection on PC. I have the latter on PS3 already, but would rather not have to dust that console off every time I want to play those games.
Re: Switch Online Exclusive F-Zero 99 Adds King League And Three More Tracks
@-wc-
It's a chemistry brain hack. Lots of games keep you coming back to grind for digital trinkets and stat boosts. It's not money or anything, but your brian interprets it as an achievement, like you earned something. And most of the time, these games are fairly easy, so as long as you just keep playing, you'll get the thing. So that motivates you to keep going and keep grinding.
Re: Random: Footage Of Nintendo's Weird Zelda: Majora's Mask E3 Event Resurfaces
@-wc-
Yep! For most of the N64 NSO games, if you hold down ZR, the face buttons temporarily map 1-to-1 with the C buttons. Of course, you have to let go of ZR to press A or B, but I'm pretty quick at that now. Ocarina of Time was unplayable for me using the right stick as C buttons, frankly. Using items wasn't feeling right.
Re: Random: Footage Of Nintendo's Weird Zelda: Majora's Mask E3 Event Resurfaces
@Lady_Galadhiel
As someone who played the remake first and is now playing the original, I'd say: play both.
The remake has more quality of life, as @Not_Soos already mentioned. The original game was built around the Game Boy's lack of buttons, so you're constantly going into the Start screen and assigning items to A and B. It's kind of annoying. And you're also getting constant text boxes every time you so much as glance at a boulder that you can't move yet, which is incredibly aggravating. It wouldn't be so bad if you could just close the text boxes immediately, but you can't. (At least, not in the DX version, which is the one I'm playing on NSO and, admittedly, is not technically the real OG.)
On other hand, the original has its own vibe. It's not replaceable. The remake doesn't look "better," it looks completely different. It's very pretty, mind you. But the art style and material work, in the remake, makes everything look like an actual plastic toy set that you can reach in and touch. Which is neat. But it's also a different vibe from the original, which you just interpret as pixel art abstraction. It sends your mind into a completely different place. I'm not talking about nostalgia or anything like that. It's just a fundamentally different experience.
Another benefit of the original: the game and level design makes more sense, because you're experiencing the actual audiovisual context that the game was built around. So the reason certain rooms are built the way they are is just more immediately and intuitively understandable.
So, yeah, play both.
Re: Random: Footage Of Nintendo's Weird Zelda: Majora's Mask E3 Event Resurfaces
@-wc- @Snatcher
My solve for this was just getting used to pressing down ZR (on the Pro controller) and using the face buttons as C buttons. It's second nature to me now, because I've played Ocarina and Majora a lot on NSO, beating them several times. Using the stick for inputs that are supposed to be button presses is just always going to feel weird. (I did the same ZR solve with Banjo. In that game, controlling the camera with the stick seems like it should work, and it kinda does, but those were really button presses back in the day and it shows.)
Re: Mailbox: Missing Zelda Ports, Nerd Rage, 16-Bit Blowback - Nintendo Life Letters
Generational shifts are relative. Back in the late 90s, when I came of age, I thought everything 2D was old and dated. NES felt archaeological. When I caught images of the first Zelda from 1986, they seemed like moving cave paintings to me.
20 years later, my whole mentality has changed. The original Zelda is one of my favorite games now. My favorite game, full stop, is Super Metroid, a 2D game I didn't even know existed in the 90s.
Re: The Original Tomb Raider Trilogy Is Getting Remastered For Switch
I've never played any of the Tomb Raider games. I watched a speedrun of the first one a few weeks ago and loved what I saw. Very Zelda-ish and definitely an Ocarina of Time precursor. Tank controls were never my bag, though, but if they work for the game, I'll try to get used to them.
Re: GameCube Classic Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Is Heading To Switch
Obviously the highlight of the Direct. This gives me time to play the first Paper Mario... and Mario RPG... for the first time before actually trying this one out.
Re: Princess Peach: Showtime! Opens On Switch In March 2024
Alright, I had no interest in this, but I'm loving the gameplay variety and overall vibe. Really surprised by what they showed.
Re: Poll: Hasn't Nintendo Always Been An 'Entertainment' Company?
Historically, yes, of course. They've been all over the entertainment and gaming map. But readers of the Washington Post don't know Nintendo started out doing playing cards. To them, and to most of the culture, Nintendo is synonymous with videogames. So, from that perspective, Doug's comments make sense.
Re: New Interview With Zelda Boss Suggests There Are No Plans For TOTK DLC
On the one hand, the DLC shrines and dungeon were some of the best parts of Breath of the Wild, so I was looking forward to something similar for Tears of the Kingdom.
On the other hand, Tears is already so vast and filled with sidequests that I'm not sure DLC is strictly necessary. I'm also not exactly pining for the return of Master Mode, if it's going to be the same regen sponge-fest from last time.
Re: Review: Excitebike 64 - An Underrated Racer That Deserves To Ride With Its N64 Stablemates
I found this game so frustrating back in the early aughts — and booting it up again, I now remember why.
It's a very exacting game. You have to be pretty good right from the get-go to get anything out of it. You really have to understand the handling and the physics or you'll barely be able to make a single turn. I spent about two hours with it last night and only started having fun at the very end of my session. I definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel, because the game is clearly well-designed. But it's tough. Mistakes are easy to make and can cost you a whole race.
Re: Beyond Good And Evil 20th Anniversary Edition Has Been Rated For Switch
Great, great game. Controls and camera are so-so and always have been, but the world, the aesthetic, the characters, the vibe, it's all awesome. (And the game's really easy anyway, so the camera and controls are only annoying up to a point.)
It's one of those early adventure games that couldn't give you an actual open 3D world but wanted to make you feel like you were in one, so it employs storytelling, progression, and smoke-and-mirrors to make the playable area seem bigger than it is. Which actually aged really well because from a modern perspective (which is the only perspective I have, since I never played it back in the day) it's like an antidote to present-day bloat and open-world emptiness.
Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online N64 Library With Excitebike 64
@electrolite77
I mean, I notice these games are 25 years old. But I also don't really agree with most people on what has "held up" or not.
I definitely struggle with, say, the camera in Mario 64, just like everyone does. Not so much the controls, which I think are great once you learn them.
But then , for instance, I don't mind the PS1 aesthetic, because to me that's just a unique vibe. I didn't own a PS1, so it's not nostalgia. It's just, well, games today look a certain way and that's great. But when I sit down with, I don't know, Parasite Eve or MGS, that's a unique look to me. And I know that's what I'm getting into before I even turn on the console.
Same with, say, the controls in Ocarina of Time. They're certainly stiffer than modern Zelda, but the controls are also perfectly built around what the game's asking you to do. So I just learn them, whatever. Not a big deal. Easier than Tears of the Kingdom, even!
Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online N64 Library With Excitebike 64
@electrolite77 Other than, I don't know, Winback, I haven't had this experience with any of the N64 games featured. Most play exactly like I remember them, if I played them at all back in the day. Some play better because the framerate doesn't suck. (I like Goldeneye more now.)
Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online N64 Library With Another Game Next Week
Great news. I do remember finding this game very frustrating back in the day, but then again I was a kid and I found a lot of things frustrating. I even bounced off Wave Race 64, a game I found to be phenomenal on NSO.
Re: Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster Confirmed For Nintendo Switch
Oh, great!
I tried this a few years ago on PC and it's a lot of fun. It plays lot like Doom, except with actual missions and a story. Definitely a precursor to what Goldeneye would do a little later.
Can't wait to get it and actually finish it on my 90s shooter machine, the Switch.
Re: Hands On: Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 Could Be So Much More, But Isn't
Mm, I was gonna get this for the convenience, but if it runs worse than the PS3 collection...
I don't mind the old graphics on MGS, though. That's a game that utilized the limitations of the time to brilliant aesthetic effect. You lose a lot of the grit and vibe if you "update" it too much.
Re: Review: Quake II - Another Truly Outstanding Remaster Of An FPS Icon
Can't wait. I'm definitely getting this. The Quake 1 Remaster was brilliant. And while I already played Quake 2 earlier this year on PC, I don't mind going through it all over again with Nightdive's tweaks. I love these people so much.
Re: Talking Point: Will You Pay $50 For Red Dead Redemption On Switch?
I might, yeah. After I finish Zelda, anyway.
I never played the original. And I'm somewhat interested in the sequel, but might as well start with the first one.
Re: Switch eShop's Massive QuakeCon Sale Includes DOOM & More For "Lowest Prices Ever"
I haven't tried the new Doom games, only played the classics on Switch. I loved those, except for 3. I can't get into it and how enemy encounters are scripted there.
Re: Video: What Would A 'Master Mode' In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Be Like?
I don't know, frankly.
The original Zelda's Master Mode set an unrealistic precedent for what a Master Mode should be, significantly shaking up the game, the layout of the dungeons, the location of items, etc. Ocarina of Time enjoyed the same treatment, though I haven't played that yet. (Would make a nice NSO treat, Nintendo...)
But Breath of the Wild's Master Mode, to be honest, kind of sucked. Battles in these new Zelda games can already get tedious and protracted enough unless you're playing at a very high level or, in Tears, building flying fortresses of doom. So adding regenerating enemy health and higher enemy tiers with even spongier HP counts is... not ideal.
Re: More Quake II Rumours Point To An Imminent Switch Release
Played it this year on PC. It's pretty great. Not quite as good as the first Quake, and it does kind of feel like a transitional game, between the more compact level-based approach of Doom and Quake to the long interconnected maps of Unreal and Half-Life. Quake 2 ends up being neither. But it's an important game and a lot of fun.
Re: Feature: So, Which Zelda Games Aren't On Switch Yet?
I'd like Twilight Princess because it's the only major Zelda I haven't completed, after Adventure of Link. Of course, the reason I didn't complete it is that I got bored with it, but I'm willing to give it another chance.
I don't care that much about remakes. I'd rather have legal access. You can't keep remaking games forever. It's not a sustainable mindset, in my opinion.
Re: Poll: Super Mario All-Stars Is 30 Years Old - Do You Prefer The NES Or SNES Versions Of The Classics?
NES versions all the way. I grew up with All-Stars, but as an adult I prefer each game's original distinctive art style.
Re: Talking Point: What Makes A Good Sidequest, Anyway?
In general, though, I like sidequests that feel bespoke. Like, don't make me go back to a place I've already been to pick up some mushrooms. Send me on an adventure. Give me a new dungeon or place to explore. And if I do go back somewhere, make it new and fresh, resignify that space. Like, in Tears of the Kingdom, I started doing the quest where you go fetch the eyes of the big, creepy statue under the Great Abandoned Central Mine. I had already been to the mine, but had no idea that humongous altar was down below. Moreover, the level design and mine cart rails around the Central Mine make a lot more sense now. All of that was carefully designed FOR this optional quest line. That's what I'm looking for.
Re: Talking Point: What Makes A Good Sidequest, Anyway?
From a story standpoint, I haven't seen better sidequest design than Witcher 3. You can start doing something and all of a sudden you're several hours in and you've experienced what amounts to a self-contained TV episode. Some 90s RPGs like Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment manage that too, at times, albeit without the cinematic flair.