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As a remake of my very first Legend of Zelda title, Ocarina of Time 3D was a really hard game for me to review. That's part of the reason why this assessment waited until almost a week after launch: I needed my experience with the game to settle and churn a bit before I could boil it down and put it into words. But, of course, it's Friday so Zelda needs some love. While Nate's review focused exclusively on the new features, I'm going to take a slightly broader approach and also rate how well the original game has held up as well as this game's faithfulness to the N64 edition. See what I think after the jump....

America really seems to be getting the shaft lately! European and Japanese copies of Ocarina of Time 3D came with a neat little decorative touch on the inside lining of the game box that showed Rupees inside of each of the small square holes in the plastic box casing. This liner was absent in the American releases, but someone put together a printable scan that you can use if you want to give your packaging a similar treatment. If I had a better printer, I'd be totally all over this. But, alas... Look inside for a direct link to the scanned image....

Here's a pair of neat little Zelda comics for ya'll to take a peek at. The first provides a possible scenario of what happened to Link during his 7 year slumber in Ocarina of Time. The second hints at the perils(or pleasures, if that's how you feel) of 3D Zelda. Hop inside to check out the comics....

The original Ocarina of Time had one of the most famous speedrunning communities on the net due to a number of interesting glitches that allowed players to skip sizable sections of the game, and it looks like that tradition might just continue with Ocarina of Time 3D. Youtube user Kazooie discovered a couple of very late-game tricks that you can use to sneak your way into and through the final dungeon. Needless to say, spoilers are everywhere, so if you haven't played the game before and/or want to keep as much of it a secret as possible in terms of overhauled visuals, click at your own risk....

I had a hard time thinking of how best to celebrate the impending release of Ocarina of Time 3D. I've already done the cheesy retrospective - oddly enough, its title, "Back through the Door of Time," may have unintentionally predicted the Ocarina of Time 3DS remake - and my last timeline-related article on the game debuted just a couple months ago. Of course, I also just completed the Ocarina of Time 3D walkthrough and after completing the game I'm going to do a full review of the game as a companion to Nate's review of the new features. So rather than simply spew out more same-old article content, I decided to do something new - at least for me. That's right, I'm giving the old three-heart minimalist challenge a try. I'm doing it on the original - I wouldn't spoil my first playthrough of the new version by doing it the quick and dirty way. Can I complete the game before the 3D edition comes out in the U.S. tomorrow? I'll be busy chugging away, but check back here this evening and I'll let you know how it goes. 1:45- Follow my updates inside! I'll be adding a new...

Look, reviewing a Zelda game at a Zelda focused Nintendo site is always tough. For starters, we can't even claim to not be biased towards the series in any fashion even if we would like to say so. Add on the fact that this is a remake of arguably the greatest game of all time and it makes doing such a review at this site even harder. What is there to say about the game that you don't already know? If you were going to buy the game, or are still on the fence, what can I say to sway you one way or another? It's a tough question, but ultimately reviews serve one purpose and one purpose only: To tell you if a game is worth purchasing. Despite the biased nature of this site, it's a difficult question in the approach to this game. In this writer's humble opinion, whether or not you should purchase this game really comes down to a select few factors. Was there anything new in the game? What about Master Quest? Are the graphics really that much better? In the end, should I buy this game?...

I was never really big on stereoscopic 3D. 3D movies just didn't do anything for me, probably because when I ran into one it usually meant a bunch of cheesy gimmicks tossed in to take advantage of 3D viewing rather than a solid film experience. Even though I was pretty darn impressed with the way 3D was implemented in Pilotwings Resort thanks to the 3DS's use of pop-in 3D as opposed to the simple pop-out features I was used to, I still maintained a healthy amount of skepticism about how 3D could be incorporated into Ocarina of Time 3D - a game that wasn't designed with it in the first place. Then I got a chance to experience the game in 3D at E3, and my tune totally changed. Hop inside for why I think the 3D effect plus the updated graphics make Ocarina of Time 3D a totally different visual experience from the original....

I was never really big on stereoscopic 3D. 3D movies just didn't do anything for me, probably because when I ran into one it usually meant a bunch of cheesy gimmicks tossed in to take advantage of 3D viewing rather than a solid film experience. Even though I was pretty darn impressed with the way 3D was implemented in Pilotwings Resort thanks to the 3DS's use of pop-in 3D as opposed to the simple pop-out features I was used to, I still maintained a healthy amount of skepticism about how 3D could be incorporated into Ocarina of Time 3D - a game that wasn't designed with it in the first place. Then I got a chance to experience the game in 3D at E3, and my tune totally changed. Hop inside for why I think the 3D effect plus the updated graphics make Ocarina of Time 3D a totally different visual experience from the original....

By now, everyone is aware of the Iwata Asks series. The most recent one has to do with the development of Ocarina of Time, and all the hard work and innovation that went into it. Many of the things discussed in the session are things that Miyamoto has mentioned in a few interviews with various media outlets. The most common one is that Miyamoto wanted Ocarina of Time to be a first person experience. I usually never question Miyamoto's brilliance or anything, but I for one am glad that Ocarina stayed in third person. It gives the game an overall cinematic quality to it. Oh, and speaking of cinematic quality, did you know that Shiggy (Miyamoto) didn't like the cinematic sequences in the game? Jump inside for more!...

Ah, the Water Temple - isn't it everyone's favorite dungeon in Ocarina of Time? Wait...it's not? I guess I must be one of the few. I'm totally serious - writing up these two chapters for our Ocarina of Time 3D walkthrough was probably the most fun for me out of all of the updates presented so far. Head into the eternal winter now gripping Zora's Domain in Chapter 17, then sink down to the famed temple at the floor of Lake Hylia in Chapter 18. If you're a new player who's just picked up Ocarina of Time for the first time with the 3DS edition and have never experienced this dungeon before, this particular part of the guide was adjusted a little bit from the typical dungeon order norms to make the going a little easier. Today's featured fanart depicts the battle against Dark Link, drawn and colored by TsaoShin at deviantART. This guy was also behind another of our recent fanart features: "The Final Boss" from the original The Legend of Zelda. Check out more of his work at his deviantART gallery, including a number of other Nintendo-related pieces....