Zelda Runthrough: Ocarina of Time

Surprisingly, this runthrough marks the second time I've played this game all the way through.  In fact, before I started this game, Ocarina of Time was actually fairly low on my list of Zelda favorites, just because there was nothing in it that really stood out for me.  I've heard it said more than once that every Zelda game after Ocarina is just a pale attempt to capture the same magic, but that seems pretty untrue to me.  In fact, if any game copies its predecessor too much, it's this game, which cannot unfairly be called a 3D remake of Link to the Past.  (One could try to say something similar about Majora's Mask, but all in good time.)  It's pretty clear why I don't replay it very often, because it takes a frustratingly long time to get to the good parts, like riding Epona.

But, yeah, this game is pretty amazing, and I needed to be reminded of that fact.  As a remake, it adds the heart and soul that the developers discovered in Link's Awakening; the same cannot be said for the rather dry Super Mario 64.  The gameplay is also incredibly fun and addictive, and remarkably simple when compared to the modern collect-athons.  There's a reason that Majora's Mask would rehash every single minigame from Ocarina (and not really come off any worse for it).

So now I have no idea what my favorite Zelda game is.  From Link to the Past through Majora's Mask, and continuing to Wind Waker), Nintendo found ways to surprise people with every new incarnation.  Were the Beatles that lucky?