Is Zelda:OoT overrated?

[Zeh Don]

Two ways to answer this:

1. At the Release of the N64 version.
OoT was a masterpiece of game design, and basically schooled the industry in how to make this stuff work in 3D. Considering the near lack of story sequences, the game packed an enormous amount of emotion - thanks mostly to the legendary soundtrack - and told a fairly large scale tale, considering the limitations it had. A lot of more modern day adventures, like Shadow of the Colossus, owe their entire existence to OoT. For its time, under those circumstances, OoT is a 5 star game that you'll never forget playing.

2. Now.
The N64 version is a mess of ugly textures and low polygon environments, and distance fog to further mask the limitations. The gameplay, however, remains nearly as solid as it was - though the controls and some of the dungeon designs can frustrate.
The 3DS version shows that OoT, with today's tech, still rocks pretty damn hard. However, compared to the RPGs and Adventure titles of today, its not quite as epic as it once was. Games have far surpassed these design principles, and the lack of a real, in-depth story can make the experience feel hollow. Its a 4 star game, that survives thanks to the rock solid gameplay.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

I think it gets its praise the same way FF7 did, because it was the first in the series to be in 3D, as well as being most peoples first foray into the series, it was for me anyways, I had a Sega genesis growing up and OoT was the game that got me into the entire series.

I'm going to agree with that. I played OoT on the Gamecube (the Master Edition, or whatever it's called) and while I had fun, it was far from a life changing experience. Same as FF7, really. Maybe it's just that I missed the right time to play them (i.e. at launch) and by the time I did I had played better games? Or maybe it's because I'd heard so many good things about them that my expectations where too high, and the games obviously didn't meet them.

In any case, I'd say take the "best game ever" description with a grain of salt, since nostalgia and personal tastes play a huge part in it.

 

[blushmoe]

Yes it is. In the same way Hal-life 1 is overrated. They are both amazing experiences but they have been emulated in rival games so many times it doesn't seem like anything new. However gather around and listen to the wisdom of me.

I was in my first year of high school when I got my hands on a Nintendo 64. I owned a Snes AND a nes but I didn't have any other gaming friends because of how isolated I was from city life. When I first put in Super Mario 64 and moving around in 3-D was amazing. However Ocarina of time wasn't a game for me. It was an experience. I can't remember a time were I felt as if My world wasn't real and this world was something new. I remember coming home from dinner with my family at about 9 having it on my mind the whole time (I had just had become adult link) And playing until the sun came up having no idea how many hours has passed on me.

Same happen with HL1. First ever First-person-shooter I had ever played. It was late at night and I literally remember moving my neck at one point thinking it would move Gordan on the game. (That may just have been to lack of sleep)

What i'm trying to say really, is we can't compare games from "experiences" due to the fact that every game gives someone a different experience. For many of us, this was our first "epic" experience. And a true fan, i believe, can appreciate the games for what they mean to us and not posting everywhere "OmGz OOT IZ DA BES GAME EVAR AN IF U DONT FINK SO U MUST BE STUPIDZ"

 

[Shameless]

Overrated is an arrogant term that I don't like to use, it literally says that I don't like this game and you shouldn't either.

However what I'd like to say is this, the only Zelda game I bothered to finish was Wind Waker so yes I don't care about OOT.

 

[Aean]

At the time of its release, OoT was groundbreaking and unparalled. Now, a good many years later, its not really as far ahead as the pack as it was. I think when people call it "The best game ever" they mean for its time, because there has been no other game that truly dominated its generation quite like it. Personally, I prefer Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask, but if OoT was released today (that is to say, if the game was redone from scratch) it would probably make those two pale in comparison.

 

[HeroKing89]

OoT is a good game although it is definitely overrated. With that said, for it's time the game was the best you could get and as a result it has such a large fan base. Still though compared to the more modern games it kind of falls apart. The world is sparse and even saving it dtill feels like you are only saving it for less then 30 people. Characters didn't have much in terms of personalities with a few notable exceptions. Personally i find this moot since it's successor (Majora's Mask) was better in just about every way and is still a testament to how good we can get our games. It is always weird because i never understood the hate for MM all things considering.

 

[RedOniBlueOni]

They are overrated because they are, in essence, the entire Final Fantasy series and Legend of Zelda series, respectively. Every game that has come after them has barely changed anything from the basic formula. Sure, the graphics get swapped about or upgraded a bit, but at the core aren't we just playing the same game over and over? Save the world from effeminate lady-man destruction or rescue the princess from Ganon/evil dark force and the job is done. All the while utilizing special turn-based RPG elements/fuckload of level grinding/summons/magic or solving puzzles, fishing, doing mini-games for items, collecting hearts, collecting items and COLLECTING in general.

They are overrated. But they should be. They represent what is essentially the Final Fantasy/Legend of Zelda series are. They have not been improved since. When they improve one area, say graphics and voice acting, they lose something in another area like a decent battle system or clever level design or ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
No Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda game can claim to be overly dramatic or story-driven, not anymore. These games are now like epics, long poems or stories retold over the generations, bed-time stories for children of a man and his team who battled to save the world, or of a young boy dressed in green who vanquished evil with the Master Sword.

Nothing changes really, which makes them timeless. They are rapidly becoming the "classical mythology" of video gaming for JRPG and Action-Puzzle/Adventure games. Thanks to these two games, we now have a whole slough of sequels, imitators and prequels. Is that a good thing? For the die-hard fans, I suppose. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of something big and popular provided one can admit that their fantastic game isn't perfect, and that there are indeed other games beyond the "unmistakably godlike" FF7 and OoT.

Honestly, I've never finished OoT. I got bored after Link becomes an adult and got tired of hunting down heart pieces and gold skulltulas and all that shit. For FF7 I used a GameShark to fly through the game but got bored and didn't even finish it, and that was just prior to the big final Sephiroth fight.

Personally, I preferred Wind Waker. I enjoy that silly little cel-shaded game and no one gave it a chance because no one wants to sail about for hours exploring tiny islands across a vacuuous expanse of ocean. I never played Majora's Mask, but have a friend who has and says he prefers it to OoT.
I prefer Final Fantasy X to FF7, not because it has better graphics or a better story, or even because of the voice acting. I just like the battle system and the nodes with the spheres and such. I also like how FFX is a simple linear game that essentially hand-holds for the rookie RPG player. (I'm not intense about it) FFXII pissed me off to no fucking end and there's no way I'll ever finish that license-board loving son of a b-- never mind! I have no desire to play FFXIII based off of the things I've heard, I've more or less given up on the franchise. A friend of mine highly recommends FF9, the one with Zidane Tribal, Dagger, Vivi, Steiner and crew.

All this being said, YES THE GAMES ARE OVERRATED. But there's not a damn thing any of us can do about that. Fans will be fans and people will enjoy a game tantamount based upon the amount of nostalgia it induces. In my personal opinion Super Metroid is not only one of, if not THE best games on SNES, it also blows fucking FF7 and OoT out of the water. This doesn't make it the truth, it's simply one person's perspective biased by nostalgia that influences my decision.
Plus that game was scary for its time, has awesome music, and looks awesome. Also is a franchise that doesn't change at all and I've given up on it more or less, since Metroid:Other M came out.

 

[trsmassive]

I also played the hell out of Link To The Past, I still consider it the best game ever made, I didn't like Ocarina Of Time, it just felt like I had less control compared to Link To The Past, it was slower, it had no particular high quality or artistic feel to it that the last game had, but I feel this way mainly because I first played this game about 3 years ago, had I have sat around twiddling my thumbs after completing Link To The Past for 8 years like everybody else, i'm sure I would have loved it, but probably not as much as LTTP.