Okay so I'm picking this game back up for the third time, finally trying to finish it. Just completed Forest Temple last night, so I think I'm about 75% of the way there.
I will say though, even though I haven't enjoyed the game all that much so far, I can see how people love it so much -- especially at the time of its release. I feel like it introduced a shitton of mechanics and concepts in a 3D game before any other did.
I think what makes the game so "poorly aged" to some is just that newer generations of people (myself included) have just gotten used to more straightforward, or walkthrough-handy video games. Thinking about it, I never really allowed myself to just sit back and figure things out *inside* the game rather than out.
All this being said, it's so crazy to me how a fairly long and complex game like this could fit on an N64 cartridge, especially since my standards of an N64 game were originally just Mario 64. Not dunking on that game either, it's just a simple 3D Mario game with not much emphasis on story or characters.
Is it just me or does this game feel semi-unfinished too? Like the fact Zora’s Domain stays frozen for no good reason and a lot of the main areas have like nothing to do - like I get that this was like one of the first 3D adventure games of its kind but as I get older I just start to notice these oddities. The game was amazing to me as a kid (still is now) and I am not from the generation when 3D games were new so I find it even more impressive that it put me in such a state of awe even though I could have easily turned to newer more advanced games instead.
I always thought Zora's domain stayed frozen because all of the evil still had yet to be vanquished (it wasn't totally fine until Ganondorf was defeated) but maybe you're right
The game is awesome until you reach the Water Temple. I found it way too confusing. I'm at the Shadow Temple now and I'm not having a good time. Maybe I'm finally hitting the age where I can no longer enjoy anything but what I grew up playing.
Water temple is amazing but only if you go into it prepared to keep close track of every room you've visited. It kind of needs to be played in a single session as well. As a kid I autopiloted the dungeon until I got stuck, and ended up having a very bad time running around for a solution. Replaying it a decade later (with basically no memory of the layout/puzzles), I went in with a mindset of extra attentiveness and I was able to really appreciate the challenge.
I will say though, even though I haven't enjoyed the game all that much so far, I can see how people love it so much -- especially at the time of its release. I feel like it introduced a shitton of mechanics and concepts in a 3D game before any other did.
I think what makes the game so "poorly aged" to some is just that newer generations of people (myself included) have just gotten used to more straightforward, or walkthrough-handy video games. Thinking about it, I never really allowed myself to just sit back and figure things out *inside* the game rather than out.
All this being said, it's so crazy to me how a fairly long and complex game like this could fit on an N64 cartridge, especially since my standards of an N64 game were originally just Mario 64. Not dunking on that game either, it's just a simple 3D Mario game with not much emphasis on story or characters.
Like the fact Zora’s Domain stays frozen for no good reason and a lot of the main areas have like nothing to do - like I get that this was like one of the first 3D adventure games of its kind but as I get older I just start to notice these oddities. The game was amazing to me as a kid (still is now) and I am not from the generation when 3D games were new so I find it even more impressive that it put me in such a state of awe even though I could have easily turned to newer more advanced games instead.