The Zelda 64 Re-experinence

[Beitel]

Twilight Princess is coming in six months, so I thought it was time to replay every 3D Zelda game, ofcourse starting with Ocarina of Time. I thought back to an old thread from Cyhwuhx about re-experiencing Mario Sunshine, so why shouldn't we try it with Ocarina of Time?

Let's try to finish it again, experiencing Gohma, Death Mountain, Zora's Domain, Gerudo Valley and Lost Woods all over again. I'm ready for the task, so who's with me. Let's post here all our experiences, things you didn't notice before or that you have forgotten.

To make sure people keep playing this game, let's set the rule that everyone who starts this 'quest' tries to finish a dungeon a week or maybe two weeks. Maybe it's not always possible, but at least try to do it so we can avoid starting with Twilight Princess before we've finished Ocarina of Time. And if you can do more in one week, that's fine. And oh, spoilers are obviously allowed here.

I'll start:

Chapter One: Kokiri Forest

That music... It makes me all weak and nostalgic again. Running around, talking to the Kokiri. Dear old grumpy Mido. I just ignored talking to him first and went straight to getting the sword. It's always great to smash that signpost near the entrance on the cave (the first one that you see in that path with bushes and fences leading to the cave) where one piece stays stuck on the fence and you can stand on it. Playing, jumping, talking and then buying my shield to get to the Deku Tree. After hearing/reading Mido doing his childish rant I went to the Deku Tree.

The music! Too bad that this piece of music only pops up three times in the game or so. Okay, let's enter the Deku Tree's mouth.

I've done this dungeon many times, but it stays fun. The controls feel a little bit iffy, you can do a bit less experimenting than I'm used to in modern games. But playing through the dungeon still feels like a routine. A fun bit: jumping on the spider-web on the floor. I always miss it the first time, and one time I wasn't landing precisely in the middle. Navi flipped when I was bouncing on the web: "HeyHeyHeyHeyHeyHeHey!" That was fun.

After five times I did it. Getting those two Skulluta's was also like I remembered. But a few rooms from that I found something I had completely forgotten: a wall that you can bomb (it's in the room just after crawling through the hole). I hope I won't forget it so I can finally discover what's behind it.

And then Gohma. Insanely easy: she couldn't move before I stunned here and when she had crawled on the roof I hit her again with the slingshot. Piece of cake, but it just feels right. My first heart container and then back to Kokiri Forest. The last time I will here that beautiful piece of music.... And now I'm heading to Hyrule Field. Ah, I can't wait!

(PS: I'm playing the Collector's disc version, just because the game looks so pretty now. You can also choose to do Master Quest if you want, but I want to play the game how it was meant. )

Edit: Because nobody wants to play Ocarina of Time again but haven't play Majora's Mask for a long time (or yet). So, let's travel back to that parallel dimension. This game is a bit more tricky, so I'm not going to apply the 'one dungeon' a week rule, it's just not handy. This is the perfect time to start over again, you can help eachother with the game, because it's quite hard. Meanwhile I'm going to continue writing about my new findings in Ocarina of Time, and I'm trying to catch up soon enough.

[joeplus]

don't mean to but in on yr thread, but i think during the wait i'll be playing Majora's Mask from that pack-thing on the gamecube. once my mate's finished it and lent it to me.

already played through OOT twice - three would be just that bit too much...

[FargalEX]

I already played through in preparation last year...still, it was fantastic.

[Yasawas]

I bought that Collector's Edition off eBay a wee while ago just for Majora's Mask, which I've never played. I might start that now, it's so long since I played my OoT save I can't remember the last thing I did or where I was suppposed to go when I load it.

[donpeartree]

I bought that Collector's Edition off eBay a wee while ago just for Majora's Mask, which I've never played. I might start that now, it's so long since I played my OoT save I can't remember the last thing I did or where I was suppposed to go when I load it.

Play Saria's song. She'll tell ya.

[Yasawas]

Oh, so the Collector's Edition version of OoT with Majora's Mask and so on it apparently won't load my OoT save from the Wind Waker bonus disc?

FFS, I'm not buying a fourth copy. A first run at Majora's Mask for me then.

[Distinct muttering]

I have tried to replay this so mnay times, but for the shame I never make it much further than into hyrule forest again before giving up I dunno why, I loved it first time, but its never grabbed me the same since.

[Zero]

Funnily enough, I started replaying Wind Waker and Ocarina last week (the Master Quest version though). Just about to enter Death Mountain but I'm putting it on hold until I get my coursework done. Easily my favorite game evar!!.

I need to get around to picking up the Zelda bonus disc so I can take another crack at Majoras Mask, only proper Zelda game I havent finished.

[Hawkeye]

It's by far my favourite game of all time, sadly I can't join you in the re-experience just yet as all my gear is going in to storage for the next six weeks due to moving house.

That game just came at the perfect time for me. I was totally blown away, hooked from start to finish and taken hold of like no game did before and none have done since. I can happily sit at the title sceen listening to the music and watching Epona ride across Hyrule field with a big grin on my face. I really don't think any game will mean as much to me again as Ocarina of Time did. To me it was (and still is) gaming perfection.

I think once I've gotten all his moving house crap out the way I can see me having a OOT/Majoras Mask love-in. Just reading the first post in this thread has me itching to start a wonderful adventure all over again.

[A Hen]

Strange one for me, Ocarina. It's my favourite game, yet I have only completed it once. I have tried twice - once on the N64 and once on the Gamecube - to play it through again, got about halfway and lost interest. I'm not sure why.

However, I would still say, that without question, it is my favourite game.

[Gique]

I really need to play majora at some point.. its been on my shelf for years,,,

[moosegrinder]

I clocked the water temple and never played it again for some reason. Then I sold my N64 and got it on the collectors ed for GC but couldnt find it in me to start again

[Garwoofoo]

Is there any difference between the versions of OOT on the Zelda Collectors Edition and the Wind Waker disk? (Apart from the fact that one has the Master Quest?)

[Zero]

Is there any difference between the versions of OOT on the Zelda Collectors Edition and the Wind Waker disk? (Apart from the fact that one has the Master Quest?)

Not to my knowledge. I think they're both just the original NTSC version.

[Metallichick]

I'm already playing OoT, just got the Shadow and Spirit Temples to do Also playing Majora's Mask too, which I've only just started really.

I could be up for restarting OoT though. But god damn that Water Temple!

[Beitel]

Hmmm, maybe it wasn't such a great idea. Ofcourse, we can make it an overall Zelda re-experience thread, because many people want to play through Majora's Mask again, which is also fine.

[Rayn]

Ok, Majora for me too. Finally I get to know what all the hype surrounding that one is about

[John0]

Another one who hasn't played Majora's Mask here. Someone start a thread already! (Although not yet I haven't got time right now)

ALttP is an all-time top five game of mine, but OoT didn't captivate me; it was somehow hollow.

It's a tedious experience occasionally interrupted by moments of absolute, shining brilliance.

I wanted to play through the great bits, without the burden of drudgery inbetween.

You are me and I want my girlfriend back, you scam.

Hmm really? Other way around for me, although I still enjoyed LttP. Perhaps it makes a difference which game you play first.

[drkbfhmmr]

I finally completed Ocarina last week, on the N64, after pre-ordering in '98 for £50.

ALttP is an all-time top five game of mine, but OoT didn't captivate me; it was somehow hollow.

It's a tedious experience occasionally interrupted by moments of absolute, shining brilliance.

I wanted to play through the great bits, without the burden of drudgery inbetween.

So it took me, what, over seven years to finish.

I agree. I find OoT to be a bit overrated.

I never bothered to complete the game despite having owned it since launch and having started over from scratch several times. There are some fantastic moments in there (sneaking into the castle, acquiring the Master Sword, and of course riding Epona on Hyrule Field for the first time ) but also some really shit bits such as the forest in the beginning and a couple of tedious dungeons later on that kept me from going on (but at least I made it past the water temple).

I actually never played Majora's Mask afterwards. Should probably get around to it.

[Chosty]

Hmmm, maybe it wasn't such a great idea. Ofcourse, we can make it an overall Zelda re-experience thread, because many people want to play through Majora's Mask again, which is also fine.

I don't know about that - I don't have the time to replay OoT (and if I did it would probably be the Master Quest), but I enjoyed reading your first post.

It's definitely one of the those games that loses a little the second time you play it, especially if you first played it on release. The scale, the atmosphere, the astonishing 3D world, the dungeons - the sheer epic-ness of the game inevitably loses its freshness on subsequent plays.

[Distinct muttering]

The worst bit in the game was that Jub jub belly or whatever it was called. That was just awful!

[villenium]

I too bought this for the N64 when it was originally released. I never got to finish it because it was Christmas and I had a load of other stuff on.

I always told myself that I'd have to go back and finish it and when I picked up a silver Cube with Wind Waker, it was a great excuse.

The reason I'd never gone back to the N64 one is that I had convinced myself that it was so sprawling that I'd never be able to pick up where I left off but to be honest I found the game really tight, with very little aimless wandering. Unless, that's what you actually wanted to do of course.

It's a magnificent game. Nothing has really touched it in my opinion but I must say that I also enjoyed Wind Waker immensely too.

[Beitel]

But what should I do? Expanding this topic so we can re-experience Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, or changing the topic into a Majora's Mask re-experience, because that's what most people want? I want to tell my re-experience stories, but if that's not such a great idea then it's foolish to not change to topic.

[Hawkeye]

Hmm really? Other way around for me, although I still enjoyed LttP. Perhaps it makes a difference which game you play first.

Same here. I enjoyed LTTP, but I'd rate it as one of the worst Zelda games I've played. For me there isn't a single bad part of OOT, it's the only game I've ever played that captured me from start to end without me becoming bored at some point and starting to play other games before that one was finished. I spent four great months on OOT.

But what should I do? Expanding this topic so we can re-experience Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, or changing the topic into a Majora's Mask re-experience, because that's what most people want? I want to tell my re-experience stories, but if that's not such a great idea then it's foolish to not change to topic.

Do an OOT run through, then dive straight into MM. Let's face it most of the MM calls are from people who've had the game for years and haven't started it, what chance they'll start now?

[Marzipan Travolta]

I'm in the MM re-experience pool. Tried to get back into it the other week and couldn't work out what the hell was going on so I was planning to start it again next week when I'm on half term.

[Jack]

I'm jealous of all you people starting Majora's Mask for the first time. Bastards.

[Shoes]

I'm for Majora's Mask too. My second time, and I haven't played it since it was released, so things should be fresh again. I can't wait to start solving all the towns people's problems!

[Beitel]

Ok, this thread is now more about Majora's Mask, making it the perfect time to start again. I'm still posting my adventures in Ocarina of Time, but please, start with Majora's Mask again. I'm very curious in how everyone will think about it.

[noizu]

Been playing Master Quest for the first time over the past couple of weeks, and it's weird how much the puzzle-shuffling can throw you. Just starting on the Water Temple now, been ages since I've seen it - the animated water-reflection texture on the walls still looks really nice. Especially with that fantastic music.

And i always liked the Jabu-Jabu dungeon that people aren't too keen on.

The queasiest any game ever made me was doing that dungeon first time round, playing solidly for hours with the sound up - the pulsating walls and tunnels with blood corpuscle things streaming through them eventually made me really nauseous. Which never happens, even with FPSs.

And the music sounds really like Massive Attack's 'Teardrop'...

[vamecum]

I've never finished OOT. I'm down with this.-