I'm barely half way through, partly because I'm slow at Zelda games, partly because I would rather take it slowly and live the experience rather than speedrun through and get another game going, and also because I'm sharing it with my sister since she isn't good enough to go it alone, yet loves Zelda as much as me. So I let her get to experience it too.
See, this may just be Ocarina 2.0 from a gameplay perspective (or 3.0 if you count Wind Waker). I'm not seeing that. I look at the greater picture. I'm not here to judge the graphics. I'm not here to analyze the 44Khz sample rate of the music. I don't worry myself with analyzing if this is the same engine as the last game, or how much innovation has been pumped into the gameplay (I mean, you guys complain about the game feeling old, yet you put Ocarina on a pillar of perfection.....wtf?), or how some challenges drag on (and quit complaining. The wolf stuff was eeeasy). I'm here for the story, character interaction, and to get lost in another world. Zelda stories are simple, but they way they immerse you into it is unmatched. All the other stuff falls into place for me. I'm also not going to post my final completion time. Call me embarrassed for being so slow at it, or whatever. Simply put, I don't care how I rank to everyone else, because that's not why I'm playing it, and I don't care how I measure up in result. I don't play games to rank myself against everyone else. When did that become the qualifying stigma for a gamer? No thanks. I'm here to immerse myself, not "play the game, then jump into another one". I waited three and a half years for this experience to take one more trip into that mystical land the N64 tried to show me through it's blurry cataract ridden eyesight, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to take my time and soak it all up, because this is probably, if not definitely, the last time I'll ever see it before we move on to something totally new.
Another little thing about the music. I think this is Koji Kondo's masterpiece. I met him at E3 during a simi-interview, and he said that this has been the toughest challenge of his career...then he signed my Ocarina of Time Master Quest case, right next to Miyamoto's, Iwata's, and Charles Martinet's signiture. FTW. I can see how it must have been difficult, but the results astound me. I love VGM of all kinds, but TP is now at the top of my list. When the
played during the appearance of the
, I almost broke down. I always adored that beautiful song (and the rest of the Ocarina melodies), but the fact that it/they was limited to 20 seconds was frustrating. I always tried to play with the song on the piano and make it longer. Now it's a full song, and a damned beautiful one at that. Uniquely enough, it almost sounds exactly how I arranged a full version in my mind all those years ago. I got the same feeling when the
gently played as the sun rose. Chills went down my spine. The field music is better than Ocarina, and makes me feel like I'm doing something important. I actually went to sleep last night with the Lake Hilya theme playing in Winamp last night. You get the point. And the way they used the classic Zelda lead in as the title theme? Fu*king priceless.
Also, I don't see how it can be considered a "remake" in any way. It's a direct continuation of Ocarina, in a different time (200 years or so forward), but in the same general place. You can see the remains of places that once were, and things you once knew. Things move, the world changes, but it is obviously a continuation, while not lying on historical reference to tell the story. It's darned subtle, and you wouldn't catch the references unless you played Ocarina, through it's certainly not a requirement in any way. All Zelda games (except Majora and Link's Awakening) stand alone in the timeline, but this one definitely has some optional roots to explorer. Continuation? Yes. Sequel? Maaaaybe, depending on how you look at it, though it can still stand along, again, depending on how you want to view it. Remake? No way.
Obviously the game is a love letter to Zelda fans who love Ocarina and wanted to experience a completely new adventure, yet also quietly see their personal favorite Zelda be honored, while getting it's ass kicked in every department. It has more personality and feeling than any game I've played, and it also is the most immersive, and cinematic Zelda in the series as far as I'm concerned (though Wind Waker is a damned high second). Being the insane Zelda fan I am, I love to see it honor the past in so many subtle ways, but it does not use them as a crutch and stands as it's own game. You can perfectly enjoy the game just fine without any knowledge of the past whatsoever.
To sum it up, I think you're all become too jaded and judgmental.
Don't worry. I still love all of you jaded bastards.
