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Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time n64 Game Reviews
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Critic Score
Metascore: 99 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.2 out of 10
based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 444 votes
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Considered by many to be the greatest single-player video game ever created in any genre, Ocarina of Time features young Link who lives in a magical forest populated by elf children. Link must defeat strange monsters lurking in the area and stop a growing evil spreading in the complex land.

PUBLISHER: Nintendo
DEVELOPER: Nintendo
GENRE(S): Adventure
PLAYERS: 1
ESRB RATING: E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE: October 31, 1998

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
GameSpot
A game that can't be called anything other than flawless...This is the masterpiece that people will still be talking about ten years down the road.
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100
Weekly Famitsu
10 / 10 / 10 / 10 - platinum [first ever perfect score]
100
GameShark
This is, without a doubt, one of the all-time greatest games made. 50 years from now people will still be playing and enjoying this game... thoroughly.
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100
IGN
Call us crazy, but when the final version of Zelda 64 arrived in the IGN64 offices, we stopped working, locked ourselves into a room with a big-screen TV and a surround system and played 17 hours straight. After only a few hours of sleep, we were back for more and we couldn't stop until we finished the game. Then, we started over again to find all the secrets.
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100
All Game Guide
The amount of secrets and little things will astound you if you take the time to fully appreciate the vast world that lies before you. No matter how skeptical you are, do yourself a favor and try this title for five minutes. That's about how long it will take to get you completely drawn into this incredible adventure.
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100
Electronic Gaming Monthly
An epic adventure that is among the best N64 games. [Jan 2004, p.189]
100
Games Domain
A truly remarkable achievement. Nintendo have created a beautiful game world and breathed life into it with puzzles, secrets, enemies, and loveable characters that will completely engross gamers around the globe. Stunning attention to detail is present throughout the game and is constantly evident in the visuals, audio and gameplay.
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100
Game Revolution
The N64 is a 3D workhorse, and Zelda proves it with great textures, lighting, tons of little environmental effects, and smooooth framerates with no slowdown. Faces, the toughest graphical challenge on 3D characters, are fantastic in Zelda. Characters blink, look around and change expressions with surprising grace.
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100
Nintendojo
[Review Score = 110] What’s significant about this convergence of audio, graphics and gameplay is that you are COMPLETELY IMMERSED in Zelda’s world. Why? Because everything is meticulously thought out. Each character and event plays a role in a storyline that sprawls like a J.R. Tolkien masterpiece...It's certainly the game of the decade.
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100
Adrenaline Vault
Ocarina of Time is the complete package appealing to one and all, and is the definitive accomplishment in game design.
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100
Gaming Maxx
Nothing but pure 100% fun, challenging, and lengthy.
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100
GamePro
This is Zelda supreme. It's fun. One hitch, however, is that the skill level gets progressively harder - so hard that casual gamers might give up rather quickly.
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100
Cincinnati Enquirer
This Zelda adventure will undoubtedly withstand the test of time and take its place as one of the best games to ever grace a home system.
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100
Game Critics
High praise goes to them for also managing to fit joy, creativity and discovery into the game and doing so without the use of Full-Motion Video (FMV) and the CD soundtrack his critics said was needed. This game is simply the most complete experience of any game ever made making Ocarina Of Time the game I've always dreamed of playing.
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100
Nintendophiles
My favorite game of all Time. It is the perfect example of a perfect and polished game. Every aspect of the game is virtually flawless.
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100
Electric Playground
Perfect. Epic. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. Irresistible. Sensational...The best videogame I have ever played. It is the crowning jewel of the industry. It is Nintendo's finest achievement.
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100
Hot Games
A slightly flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless.
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100
Nintendorks
The biggest, most heartpounding and awe-inspiring quest of all. Oh yes, Zelda 64 does indeed own your soul.
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98
TotalGames.net
When it comes to what people will now demand of a top videogame, Nintendo has moved the goalposts off the pitch, into a lorry, down the road, into the airport, onto a plane and halfway round the world to a different continent entirely.
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95
Gaming Age
Featuring unparalleled 3D environments, a deep and involved quest, brilliant and intuitive play controls, and a well-developed cinematic quality that enhances rather than overwhelms the whole game experience, Miyamoto's latest soon-to-be-classic title deserves to be played by each and every person who might deign to consider themselves a fan of great games.
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94
My Gamer
The player will be drawn into the Zelda fantasy world from the moment the opening sequence bursts onto the screen, and the game won’t let go—not even after finishing the quest.
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90
Happy Puppy
Realism is one of the major reasons this title is so amazing. After playing for a while it feels as though you have actually been to Hyrule.

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 444 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

John B. gave it an8:
Good, but I don't see how this is the greatest game of all time. I don't even think it's the best Zelda game. I have to say I'm disappointed. I bought this on the Virtual Console because I heard great things about it, but it was a real disappointment. It's not a bad game, but it fails to live up to all the hype.

John E. gave it a10:
If I could give this game a 12, that wouldn't be high enough. One of the very first games I played on an actual console, this game is the epitome of creative design, story, and overall gameplay excellence. I continue to play this after all these years and I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Anyone who has any kind of remote interest in games should buy this and play it, it is the cornerstone of Action/RPG gaming and deserves nothing more than to be the highest rated game on Metacritic still today.

Jason K. gave it a10:
This is the first Zelda game I ever played when I first played it I fell in love with it. Even after ten years I still consider it the best game of all time. I remmber how intimidated I was when I first fought Ganon I thought'Theres no way I can beat that!'.I truly did not want this game to end. It revolutionized gaming and without it gaming would'nt be like it is now.The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time is truly a master piece.

Phillip M. gave it a10:
I am playing OoT even nearly ten years after it released. Graphics don't matter (ten years ago it was the best graphic I've ever seen). But today the atmosphere is the same and I love playing this game through the tenth time (one time each year^^). It is really the best game of all times, no game is better today. Every gamer should have played it (If not your not a gamer!). A terrific game, a perfect game. P.S. Those ones who gave 0 points are stupid anti-Nintendo bashers.

Shane K. gave it a10:
Truly, not a single Adventure/RPG can compare to this game. It may look dated now but graphics do not add or subtract anything from gameplay. Possibly the best game of the last century. If you hate this game, you hate gaming.

Brad W. gave it a10:
This truly is the greatest game of all time. I got this game 9 years ago for Christmas and i still believe this to be true. It did so many things right and nothing wrong. People will try and down play it or degrade it, let em. I just hope they realize that without this games, any games they play now wouldn't exist the way they do. Enjoy the free roam that GTA series gives you? Thank Ocarina of Time. How bout that sweet aim mechanism that allows you to lock onto an enemy? Once again, thank Ocarina of Time. For me though, its a 10 because no matter what game i play(its been ALOT since I first got OoT) no game has left me in awe like this one. This is the only game that i didnt want to beat because I didn't want it to end. This is the pinnacle of video games. Masterpiece is the word.

J H. gave it a9:
To be honest, there are few games in the Zelda chronology that deserve less than tops. The people who say this is boring are more likely into the tedious sort like Halo and San Andreas. This game, particularly for its time, was and is a graphical masterpiece. However, the only reason I bring down to a 9 is because I believe this, and older Zelda games, really depend on nostalgia. However, it's backed up by it's great history, storyline, capacity to be never-ending, and general amazingness. My girlfriend will kill me for giving it a 9, not a 10, but oh well. I prefered Wind Waker more, and A Link To The Past, but these ratings are more based on opinions, than hard facts at the end of the day.

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