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<title>The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time</title>
<authors>Wikipedia</authors>
<publisher>wikipedia.org</publisher>
<publishedplace>network</publishedplace>
<publishedyear>2010</publishedyear>
<edition></edition>
<category>Featured articles</category>
<section id="15369" fatherid="0" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="1">
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 in terms of release date, but is thought to be set before the first four games. 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, 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 Times 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 800,000 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. Although IGN places Ocarina of Time second on this particular list of the greatest games of all time, the description of the game explicitly states that it is "considered by many critics to be the greatest 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 , 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 by modern standards,http://cube.ign.com/articles/387/387479p2.html Quote: "The 640x480p upgrade makes the game look a lot sharper, but compared to other GameCube titles the textures, models, and framerate are definitely dated." most felt that the game has held up well over the years.http://gc.kombo.com/article.php?artid=51

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<section id="15370" fatherid="0" title="Gameplay" lv="" priority="2" level="1">
Ocarina of Time is an action-adventure game with role-playing and puzzle elements. The player controls Link from a third-person perspective in a three-dimensional space. Link primarily fights with a sword and shield; he can also use projectile weapons, bombs, and magic spells.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet, pp. 22–25. The control scheme introduced techniques such as context-sensitive actions and a targeting system called "Z-targeting"So named because it was executed by the Z button, Z-targeting is referred to as L-targeting in the GameCube re-releases. See  and  In combat, Z-targeting allows the player to have Link focus and latch onto an enemy or other objects.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet, pp. 11–12. When using this technique, the camera follows the target and Link constantly faces it. Projectile attacks are automatically directed at the target and do not require manual aiming. Context-sensitive actions allow multiple tasks to be assigned to one button, simplifying the control scheme. The on-screen display shows what will happen when the button is pushed and changes depending on what the character is doing. For example, the same button that causes Link to push a box if he is standing next to it will have him climb on the box if the analog stick is pushed toward it. Much of the game is spent in battle, but some parts require the use of stealth. Exploration is another important aspect of gameplay; the player may notice inaccessible areas and return later to find them explorable after obtaining a new item.
Link gains new abilities by collecting items and weapons found in dungeons or in the overworld. Not all are required. Ocarina of Time has several optional side-quests, or minor objectives that the player can choose to complete or ignore. Completing the side-quests usually results in rewards, normally in the form of weapons or abilities. In one side-quest, Link trades items he cannot use himself among non-player characters. This trading sequence features ten items and ends with Link receiving an item he can use, the two-handed Biggoron Sword, the largest sword in the game. In another side-quest, Link can acquire a horse named Epona. This allows him to travel faster, but attacking while riding is restricted to arrows.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet, p. 38.  In order to get Epona, Link must learn her song while he is a child.  However, he is only able to ride her when he and Epona are both adults.
Link is given the Fairy Ocarina near the beginning of the game, which is later replaced by the Ocarina of Time. Throughout the game, Link learns twelve melodies that allow him to solve various puzzles and teleport to previously visited locations in the game.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet, p. 30. The Ocarina of Time is also used to claim the Master Sword in the Temple of Time. When Link takes the sword, he is sealed for seven years, until he becomes an adult, and therefore strong enough to wield the Master Sword. Young Link and adult Link have different abilities. For example, only adult Link can use the Fairy Bow and only young Link can fit through certain small passages. After completing the Forest Temple, Link can travel freely between the two time periods by replacing or taking the sword.

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<section id="15371" fatherid="0" title="Plot" lv="" priority="-3" level="1">
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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet, pp. 7–8.
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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet, p. 6.
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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Princess Zelda:You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him! 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).
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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Rauru: Though you opened the Door of Time in the name of peace... Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves, used it to enter this forbidden Sacred Realm! He obtained the Triforce from the Temple of Light, and with its power, he became the King of Evil...
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 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Rauru: The Master Sword is a sacred blade which evil ones may never touch.... Only one worthy of the title of "Hero of Time" can pull it from the Pedestal of Time.... However, you were too young to be the Hero of Time.... Therefore, your spirit was sealed here for seven years. 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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Sheik: If you believe the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages.... One Sage is waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple. The Sage is a girl I am sure you know... Because of the evil power in the temple, she cannot hear the awakening call from the Sacred Realm...
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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Sheik: Seven years ago, Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, used the door you opened in the Temple of Time and entered the Sacred Realm. But when he laid his hands on the Triforce, the legend came true. The Triforce separated into three parts. Only the Triforce of Power remained in Ganondorf's hand as Power is what he most believed in, when compared to the other two pieces. 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 his 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.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Ganondorf: Someday... When this seal is broken.... That is when I will exterminate your descendants!! As long as the Triforce of Power is in my hand.... Zelda: Thank you, Link... Thanks to you, Ganondorf has been sealed inside the Evil Realm! Zelda uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link to his original time to live his childhood. The game ends with Link and Zelda looking at each other in the castle garden.

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<section id="15372" fatherid="0" title="Development" lv="" priority="4" level="1">
<section id="15373" fatherid="15372" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
First shown as a technical demo at Nintendo's Space World trade show in December 1995, Ocarina of Time was developed concurrently with Super Mario 64 by Nintendo's EAD division. Both were the first free-roaming 3D game in their respective series. Nintendo planned to release Super Mario 64 as a launch game for the Nintendo 64 and later release Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64DD, a disk drive peripheral for the system. Nintendo eventually decided to release Ocarina of Time on a cartridge instead and follow it with a 64DD expansion. At 32 megabytes, it was the largest game Nintendo had created.
Shigeru Miyamoto was the principal director of Super Mario 64, but was a producer of Ocarina of Time, in charge of several directors. Individual parts of Ocarina of Time were handled by multiple directors—a new strategy for Nintendo EAD. However, when things were progressing slower than expected, Miyamoto returned to the development team with a more hands-on directorial role. The team was new to 3D games, but assistant director Makoto Miyanaga recalls a sense of "passion for creating something new and unprecedented". Miyamoto initially intended Ocarina of Time to be played in a first-person perspective, so as to enable the players to take in the vast terrain of Hyrule Field better, as well as being able to focus more on developing enemies and environments. However, the development team did not go through with it once the idea of having a child Link was introduced, and Miyamoto felt it necessary for Link to be visible on screen. The development crew involved over 120 people, including stuntmen used to capture the effects of sword fighting and Link's movement. Some of Miyamoto's ideas for the new Zelda title were instead used in Super Mario 64, since it was to be released first. Other ideas were not used due to time constraints.
Ocarina of Time originally ran on the same engine as Super Mario 64, but was so heavily modified that designer Shigeru Miyamoto considers the final products entirely different engines. One major difference between the two is camera control. The player has much control over the camera in Super Mario 64, but the camera in Ocarina of Time is largely controlled by the game's AI. Miyamoto says the camera controls for Ocarina of Time are intended to reflect a focus on the game's world, whereas those of Super Mario 64 are centered on the character of Mario. Miyamoto wanted to make a game that was cinematic, but still separate from films. Takumi Kawagoe, who creates cut scenes for Nintendo, says that his top priority is to have the player feel in control of the action. To promote this feeling, cut scenes in Ocarina of Time are completely generated with real-time computing and do not use pre-recorded or full-motion video.
Customers in North America who pre-ordered the game received a limited edition box with a golden plastic card affixed, reading "Collector's Edition". This edition contains a gold-coloured cartridge, a tradition for the Zelda series that began with the original game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Demand was so great that Electronics Boutique stopped pre-selling the title on November 3, 1998. Later versions of Ocarina of Time featured minor changes, such as the removal of an Islamic chant from the Fire Temple and the alteration of Ganondorf's blood from red to green.

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<section id="15374" fatherid="15372" title="Re-releases" lv="" priority="-2" level="2">
Ocarina of Time was re-released for the Nintendo GameCube in the Ocarina of Time: Master Quest and The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition compilation discs as an emulated ROM. Ocarina of Time: Master Quest started as an expansion to Ocarina of Time to be used with the Nintendo 64DD under the working title Ura Zelda. The Master Quest compilation was given as a premium for pre-ordering The Wind Waker in Japan and North America, as well as in a special GameCube bundle at Wal-Mart, or by registering games and consoles at Nintendo's North American website. In Europe and Australia, the disc came in the same case as the initial pressings of The Wind Waker. In Europe, it was available for a limited time through a special offer on the Nintendo website. The Ocarina of Time: Master Quest box contains a single disc which includes the original game, the Master Quest version, and six video demos for various games for the GameCube including one for The Wind Waker and a video demo of the GBA re-release of A Link to the Past. Master Quest uses the same engine and plot of Ocarina of Time, but dungeons have been rearranged. Collector's Edition was available in GameCube bundles in Europe, Australia and North America, as well as by registering hardware and software, or by subscribing to official magazines or clubs. In addition to Ocarina of Time, the disc also contains the original The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Majora's Mask, a demo of The Wind Waker and a Zelda retrospective. The original game is displayed on the Nintendo 64 with a resolution of 320×240, but the GameCube ports run at 640 × 480 and support progressive scan. 
The game was released in Europe and Australia for the Virtual Console on Nintendo's Wii console on February 23, 2007 for 1000 Wii Points. It was released in North America on February 26, 2007 and Japan on February 27, 2007. This version is an emulation of the Nintendo 64 version, but does not support controller vibration. The Wii can play the GameCube compilation versions with this feature intact. A five minute demo of the game is included as an unlockable in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

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<section id="15375" fatherid="15372" title="Audio" lv="" priority="-3" level="2">
Ocarina of Times music was composed by Koji Kondo, the composer in charge of music for the Zelda series since the first game. In addition to characters having musical themes, areas of Hyrule are also associated with pieces of music. This has been called leitmotif in reverse—instead of music announcing an entering character, it now introduces a stationary environment as the player approaches. In some locations, the music is a variation of an ocarina tune the player learns, related to that area.
Beyond providing a backdrop for the setting, music plays an integral role in gameplay. The game is cited as the "first contemporary nondance title to feature music-making as part of its gameplay". The button layout of the Nintendo 64 controller resembles the holes of an ocarina, and players must learn to play several songs to complete the game. All songs are played using the five notes available on an ocarina, although by bending pitches via the analog stick, players can play additional tones. Kondo said that creating distinct themes on the limited scale was a "major challenge", but feels that the end result is very natural. The popularity of Ocarina of Time led to an increase in ocarina sales.
The soundtrack of Ocarina of Time was produced by Pony Canyon and released in Japan on December 18, 1998. It comprises one compact disc with 82 tracks. A US version was produced with the same tracks but different packaging artwork. Many critics praised the music in Ocarina of Time, although IGN was disappointed that the traditional Zelda overworld theme was not included. In 2001, GameSpot labelled it as one of the top ten video game soundtracks.

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<section id="15376" fatherid="0" title="Reception and legacy" lv="" priority="-5" level="1">
Ocarina of Time was released to overwhelmingly positive critical acclaim and commercial success. In 1998, it sold 2.5 million copies despite being released only 39 days before the end of the year. In Japan, it sold 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 sold 7.6 million copies worldwide. On its initial N64 release, Ocarina of Time received perfect review scores from gaming publications such as Famitsu, Edge, Electronic Gaming Monthly, GameSpot, and IGN. As of January 2010, review aggregators Game Rankings and Metacritic both rank the original as the best scoring game ever reviewed,, while TopTenReviews ranks it as the 75th-best scoring game ever reviewed. The reviews praised multiple aspects of the game, particularly its level design, gameplay mechanics and sound. Former GameSpot reviewer Jeff Gerstmann wrote that Ocarina of Time is "a game that can't be called anything other than flawless", and IGN called it "the new benchmark for interactive entertainment" that could "shape the action RPG genre for years to come". GameTrailers' editors called it a "walking patent office" due to the number of features that became "industry standard". After publication, Ocarina of Time was featured on a number of compiled lists of best or most influential games, including those of Electronic Gaming Monthly, IGN, and Nintendo Power. In June 2009, it was voted as the best game ever in GameFAQs' reader poll. However, the game's director, Eiji Aonuma, expressed in an interview that he believes the game has not aged well, stating "past things belong to our memories, and they grow bigger in there. If you play Ocarina of Time nowadays, you notice that it’s not that good. Sometimes it doesn’t move as fast as it should, graphics aren’t as beautiful as they should be; there are some confusing parts… Any present Zelda is technically superior."
The graphics were praised for their depth and detail, although reviewers noted they were not always the best the console had to offer. Game Revolution noted the characters' faces, the "toughest graphical challenge on 3D characters", saying that the characters' expressions and animation featured "surprising grace". IGN felt that Ocarina of Time improved on the graphics of Super Mario 64, giving a larger sense of scale. Impressive draw distances and large boss characters were also mentioned as graphical highlights. Although excelling in the use of color and the visibility and detail of the environment, reviewers noted that some graphical elements of Ocarina of Time did not perform as well as Banjo-Kazooie, a game released for the same platform earlier that year. IGN said that the frame rate and textures of Ocarina of Time were not as good as those of Banjo-Kazooie, particularly in the marketplace of Hyrule Castle, which was called "blurry".
Gameplay was generally praised as detailed, with many side quests to occupy players' time. IGN said players would be "amazed at the detail" of the environment and the "amount of thought that went into designing it". EGM enjoyed that Nintendo was able to take the elements of the older, 2D Zelda games and "translate it all into 3D flawlessly". The context-sensitive control system was seen as one of the strongest elements of the gameplay. Reviewers noted that it allowed for simpler control using fewer buttons, but that it occasionally caused the player to perform unintended actions. The camera control was quoted as making combat "second nature", although the new system took time for the player to get used to.
The game's audio was generally well-received, with IGN comparing some of Koji Kondo's pieces to the work of Philip Glass. Many atmospheric sounds and surround sound were said to effectively immerse the player in the game world. Some reviewers complained that the audio samples used in the game sounded dated; others considered this a benefit, calling them "retro". Game Revolution called the sound "good for the Nintendo, but not great in the larger scheme of things" and noted that the cartridge format necessitated "MIDI tunes that range from fair to terrible".
In 1998, Ocarina of Time won the Grand Prize in the Interactive Art division at the Japan Media Arts Festival. It also won six honors at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, including "Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design", "Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering", "Console Game of the Year", "Console Adventure Game of the Year" and "Console RPG of the Year". The game placed second in Official Nintendo Magazines "100 greatest Nintendo games of all time".
Reviews for the Master Quest and Virtual Console re-releases were positive; while some publications considered aspects of the graphics and audio to be outdated, it was ranked by Game Rankings as the 307th-best scoring game ever reviewed and the 38th-best scoring game of 2003, and Metacritic ranked it as the 225th-best scoring game ever reviewed. IGN said in their review, "Ocarina of Time has aged extremely well", and noted in regard to the game's graphics, "While the textures and models look dated, the game's wonderful visual presentation stood the test of time." Game Revolution said that although the game has "noticeably aged compared to brand new RPGs ... it's still a terrific game", awarding 91 out of 100. Former GameSpot editor Jeff Gerstmann gave the Virtual Console port 8.9 out of 10, writing, "Even after nine years, Ocarina of Time holds up surprisingly well, offering a lengthy and often-amazing adventure". Ocarina of Time has consistently been placed at number one in Edge magazine's "top 100 games" lists: a staff-voted list in January 2000, Reprinting material from Edge issue 80. a staff- and reader-voted list in July 2007, and a list of "The 100 Best Games to Play Today" for the publication's two-hundredth issue in March 2009. RPGamer editor Zachary Lewis gave Master Quest a 2 out of 5, writing in his official staff review, "Sadly, the game goes steadily downhill by today's standards after the well done menus, battle system, puzzles, and localization. … Because of the frustrating nature of the game in general, replaying the title will likely be distant in your mind."

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<section id="15377" fatherid="0" title="Notes" lv="" priority="-6" level="1">
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<section id="15378" fatherid="0" title="References" lv="" priority="-7" level="1">
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<section id="15379" fatherid="0" title="External links" lv="" priority="-8" level="1">
Category:1998 video games
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Category:Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development games
Ocarina of Time
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