Every once in a while a game comes along that forces you to redefine what video games are all about. Sometimes it just looks better than everything else on the market. Sometimes it just plays better that a lot of games. And sometimes it's just so different that it defies comparison to anything else. Zelda: The Ocarina of Time does all of the above, living up to the hype and proving itself to be the pinnacle of Nintendo 64 gaming.

Places to Explore
Here is a brief run-down of some the places you'll explore early in the game:

Kokiri Village - Link's home town where he discovers some things about himself. About how he needs a fairy to be a real man. Also, Kokiri Village serves as a training ground for our young, green friend. After a while of Link wondering around town, neighbors start to train him for his quest...

Objectives: Talk to Saria, Collect the Piece of Heart on the shop's roof, buy the Deku shield, and find the Corker sword.

Deku Tree - After the training schinanagins, Link is summoned to speak with this tree where he learns the basics of puzzles and combat. Again, more training of the controls and more learning about what's coming up in the game. Here, you get to climb some more and jump through holes.

Objectives: Get the map, get the slingshot, get the compass, leap to the floating heart to land on the web on the ground floor, shoot the eye above the door, dive to hit the switch, push the block and then torch the floor web to reach the 2nd basement.

Hyrule Castle - Link will now travel to the castle where young princess Zelda will set our young hero to find the three spirit stones of the Tri-Force. Here, if you let a palace guard throw you out, Malon will give you an egg!

Objectives: Visit the market's shops and villagers, talk to Malon in the market, get the egg from Malon near the castle gate, slip past the guards to reach the right side of the moat, wake Talon in the morning with the hatched egg, slip past the guards in the courtyard, get the letter from Princess Zelda and learn Zelda's lullaby from Impa.

Lost Woods - You can enter the woods through the hollow long on the ledge overlooking Mido's house. In the Lost Woods, a wrong turn will send you to Corker Forest. Here, you will have to let your ears play a major role (unfortunately, if you're deaf or the sound on your TV is out, you're screwed).

Objectives: Navigate though the woods to the Sacred Forest Meadow, battle the wolves for a purple rupee, learn Saria's song.

Kakariko Village - This village is a modest town, but it has a dark side. Ghosts haunt the graveyard, and buried beneath it is Royal Family's Tomb. You must destroy the walking undead and must also perform some grand tasks.

Objectives: Corral the woman's six chickens, move a tombstone in the graveyard to reach the Hylian Shield, enter Royal Family's Tomb to learn Sun's song, exterminate the spiders of the cursed family in the House of Skulltula at night, present Zelda's letter to the guard.

Goron City - Here's where the tricky puzzles start to play a role in the game. It may take you a long time to figure these out...

Objectives: Follow Death Mountain Trail to Goron City, play Zelda's lullaby to enter Darunia's chamber, and play Saria's song for Darunia to receive Goron's bracelet.

Dodongo's Cavern - Here, there's lots of rocks. Better hope that the auto-jumping is working...

Objectives: Throw a bomb over the cliff near the entrance to Goron City, move the statue to a weigh down the door switch, set your Deku Stick on fire to light the unlit torches, drop a bomb in the middle of the bomb flowers to activate the stairs, move the statue to reach the ladder and the switch above, pull the stone block from the wall to climb the ladder, extinguish the fire by shooting the eye, shoot the eye at the end of the hall and face left to shoot the second eye, drop bombs from the suspended bridge into the skull's eye sockets, push the blocks to reach the other blocks until you've reached the next point, push the block into the hole to weigh down the door switch inside, and bomb the shadowy square in the middle of the room.

Zora's River - Here you will find the third spiritual stone so you can unlock the Temple of Time. There is a lot of water and strange creatures around here.

Objectives: Leap from the left bank to the right, cross the shallow water and head for the waterfall, find the underwater shortcut to the Lost Woods, and play Zelda's lullaby to enter Zora's Domain.

Zora's Domain - Here you will learn some more things. For example, you'll learn to become a better diver. And you can thank the nice Zoras for that.

Objectives: Use an empty bottle to catch a fish, use a Deku stick torch to light the torches behind the waterfall, practice diving to earn the Silver Scale, talk to King Zora, and dive through the underwater cavern to Lake Hylia.

Lake Hylia - Here you will find out that apparently the princess, Zelda was swallowed by the all-mighty Lord Jabu-Jabu. Here, you will get into some fishing action, finally.

Objectives: Pick up the bottle as you emerge from Zora's Domain underwater tunnel, reel in a fish with record weight at the pond, and dive to the opening to reenter Zora's Domain.

Jabu-Jabu - Jabu-Jabu eats Zelda, and you must save her in this giant fish... The adventure here is truly brilliant. The transparent effects in the bubbles are hypnotic.

Objectives: Enter Jabu-Jabu by offering the fish in the bottle, meet Ruto and follow her through the hole, talk to Ruto twice, then carry her, throw Ruto to the opposite ledge and step on the switch, ride the elevator from point to point, get the Boomerang, place Ruto on the switch and then throw the Boomerang on the tentacle to earn the map, get the compass, destroy the tentacle, destroy another tentacle, take Ruto through a hole, throw Ruto onto a platform; defeat Bigocto; then ride the elevator, throw the boomerang at the platforms, ride the elevator and place a crate on a switch, shoot the uvula.

Temple of Time - This plays a big role in the game. If you want to get older, you got to first get to the Temple of Time.

Objectives: Exterminate any leftover gold spiders, blow up any conspicuous boulders, go to Death Mountain, go to Hyrule Castle, dive for the Ocarina of Time in the moat, learn the Song of Time, enter the Temple of Time, play the Song of Time at the altar, and enter the Door of Time, and draw the master sword.

These are just the locations young Link travels to, but since you're probably just starting the game, I won't reveal what Link does later. Besides, don't want me to give everything away, do you?

Items
As you would expect, there are many weapons to help you on your quest. Here is a run-down of the weapons:

1. Sword - When you press the A Button, Link draws out his sword and carries it in his hand. Press A a second time and Link swings the blade horizontally. Pressing the button three times performs two swings and one downward slash. Press B and A and Link lurches forward and attacks with his sword. Pressing and holding the A button makes the sword glow. When you release the button, Link swings the blade around himself with a cool helicopter slash. You can also turn the analog stick in a full circle and press A for a similar, but less powerful attack. Note that some of these moves are slightly different for the younger version of Link, who carries a dagger, rather than a sword.
2. Shield - Press the R-Button, and Link blocks enemy attacks with his shield. While he is protecting himself, he cannot swing his blade. The shield is upgradable, and certain shields can't take the hits like other shields.
3. Bombs - You can assign the bomb function to C-Left, C-Right, or C-Down. When you press one of the C-Buttons you assigned it to, Link takes out the bomb and ignites it. He can still walk around with it, but it may blow up in your hands! There are two actions Link can perform: Either put down the bomb on the ground in front of him, or walk in a certain direction to toss it. You can buy these bombs in Hyrulian stores, but there are also some weird plants in Hyrule that produce bombs and offer an unlimited supply.
4. Bow and Arrow - You can assign this weapon to a C-Button as well. Once again, C-Left, C-Right, or C-Down. There are 2 ways to shoot arrows at the enemies: From the lock-on mode, simply press the appropriate C-Button you assigned this action to and Link sends an arrow whizzing through the air. But if the button is pressed during regular gameplay, the camera zooms in for a behind the bow perspective (think of the Rocket Camera in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire). Link can now aim accurately and fire at will.
5. Stick - Link can use a stick just like the sword and hit things that are far away.
6. Hammer - Pound things into the ground. It works as a weapon. but you have to get in close.
7. Magic Nuts - Press the appropriate C-Button (C-Left, C-Right, or C-Down) to throw a magic nut that explodes in a flash of light and blinds your enemies. Link can now easily attack them without getting hurt.
8. Boomerang - You throw the boomerang, and then it comes back to Link afterwards. But be careful, if he's in the middle of a jump and not ready to catch the boomerang, it may actually hurt Link.
9. Slingshot - Basically, young Link puts a pebble into the slingshot and let's it go.
10. Eyeglasses of Truth - These glasses let Link see things that are pretty much invisible.
11. Bottles - Empty bottles are here for storing things in (you'll find out exactly what later).
12. Medicine - Medicine is used to help strengthen Link in the game and it boosts his strength.
13. Hookshot - The hookshot consists of a barrel, a chain, and a triangular shaped piece of metal, that when shot out of the barrel, attaches itself to walls or other items pulling you across gaps or water.
14. Ocarina - You may remember the ocarina as musical instrument in A Link to the Past. But the ocarina holds a larger purpose in this installment of the legend. When Link blows into the Ocarina, it magically transports him to the "Tower of Time" where he transforms into older Link. The ocarina will also be the key that unlocks the realm where the Triforce is hidden. Link will receive the ocarina very early in the game, but will not be able to use it until finding three sacred stones called Soul Stones.

1. Navi - Link’s fairy hovers over his head and greets townsfolk and enemies by flying up to them. When locking on to an enemy with Z, Navi buzzes over to the target and points out its location while assuming a different red color.
2. Horse - You meet the horse early in the game, but you can't ride it until you're a little older. Jump on the horse with the B-Button. With the 3D stick Link can ride into any direction (varying speeds). The animation and sound effects are dead-on. The horse can be whipped to run faster, but each time you do that you deplete one carrot from a little carrot meter at the top of the screen.
3. Townspeople - Though it's quite a chore, make sure to talk to ever single person you see. They can provide valuable tips, and if they say a lot, make sure to write it down. You may have to use it later...
4. Zelda - Of course she's one of your friends even if she constantly is getting you into some major trouble!
5. Saria - Saria is Link's best friend in Kokiri Forest, a never never land where its elfin inhabitants have guardian fairies and never grow old.
6. Talon - Talon is the owner of Lon Lon ranch.
7. Malon - Malon is Talon's daughter who helps out around the ranch.
8. Ingo - Ingo is the farmhand that manages Lon Lon Ranch. As the years go by in the game Ingo will become a new, but nevertheless bitter man.
9. Sheik - Sheik carries a mysterious golden harp with which he plays melodies that Link has to learn.

Control
You were probably like me and didn't read the manual. You probably just hurried up and started the game. But at first, I'm sure everything seemed foreign to you-- that's because the controls are pretty weird. First of all, there's no jump button. While this seems odd, the control system is actually revolutionary. Let me explain in better detail:

Many of Link's commands differ depending on your situation. Approach a narrow tunnel, for instance, and the A button switches from its standard attack function to a specific duck-down-and-enter-tunnel command. Or say Link stands beside a stone block. The A button converts to the grab button and lets Link tug or push a block. Or he can climb atop the block or another obstacle, if you wanted him to. The climbing aspect takes place of the jumping ability in this game.

Next, the most revolutionary button in this control scheme would have to be the Z button. Taps of the Z Trigger cycle at the focus of Link's attention between enemies, characters, objects, chickens, whatever, in his area. If you hit the Z button while surrounded by enemies, Link will face one of the enemies until you have pressed this button again or until you kill the enemy you a facing. When I first heard about this, I thought that the Z button would be hard to get used to. I mean, tap it to face something/somebody nearby? You would think you would just slightly turn the analog stick to move. But, using this method, you can quickly turn to an enemy without moving and risking yourself getting killed in the process. However, think of the game Quake. There's an enemy in front of you and enemy behind you. You kill the enemy in front of you. However, the one behind you is about ready to you with a rocket. So, you hit a button (probably Backspace on the PC version) and you turn in a 180-degree angle and blow the other enemy away. The Z Button is sort of like that in a way. Additional combat commands open once you've locked on with the Z button.

You can swing your sword with the analog stick, or Link can perform some neat backflips, cartwheels, or side flips. If you mix some analog combos up with your Attack button, you can change the way you use your weapon. If you're using your sword, for example, and you perform a combo, your sword slashes change from horizontal to vertical slashes.

The R button (Right shoulder button) is used to get Link's shield out. Link can actually aim the shield up or down, left or right. It's like the block button in a fighting game. After a few hits, your shield will take damage -- but there are different, stronger shields to get in the game.

With the L button, you can switch the transparent map of the area you're in on the bottom right corner of the screen on and off. The map is a pretty handy feature, even if it's not full of a lot of information.

Link still has his awesome charge-up attacks. Hold the Attack button for about 3-5 seconds, then release the button for Link to spin his sword in a 360-degree slash that can destroy all the enemies around you.

Now, the most surprising part of all is this: As I stated earlier in this review, there is no jump button! Here's the innovative part, though: If you start to step off of a ledge, Link jumps. The auto-jump, while it sounds annoying, is actually convenient and can save you from near-death. Still, in a way, I wish they would have let us still use the jump button, but it's no big complaint.

Next, the C-buttons. You would think that these would be used in conjunction. Maybe they are all used as camera buttons? No, they are all used differently, in fact! First, the C-Up button: The top C-button can be used for different things. When locked onto an enemy, you can use it to get info on the enemy from Navi. When in some rooms, you can use it to get a top-down view. When in normal environments, you can use it to get a first person perspective. C-Left, C-Right, and C-Down all let you use an item.

The Start button brings you into the menu, a cube from the inside. There's 4 option screens around you, and you can save at any time. The option screens are: Select item, Quest status, Equipment and Map.

Now, if all these commands seem hard to remember, don't worry about a thing. Similar to Banjo-Kazooie, there's a place to train at the very beginning in Kokiri Village. At this village, you will be made to do tricks, and you'll get rupees as rewards for your efforts.

Enemies
Many of the enemies from past Zelda games return in this game. Still, at the same time, there are some new enemies as well. A few enemies you will be seeing on your quest are:

1. Baby Dodongo - It's like a regular Dodongo. However, it's much smaller.
2. Lizalfos - These are big green lizards with red eyes who are combat-ready with a sword and a shield. When you fight one, the game almost seems to turn into a sword-fighting game. He also jumps around like crazy, across platforms in the lava. That's where you start realizing how incredibly good the invention of the automatic jumping is. Now you can focus on the action, without having to worry about pressing that jump button on the right moment.
3. Gold Skulltula - Basically, a regular Skulltula that is stronger and gold-plated.
4. Skullwalltula - A skeleton that carries a sword and has red eyes.
5. Big Skulltula - It's a much larger version of a Skulltula. Remember the Big World from Super Mario Bros. 3 and how everything was larger? Basically, this is the same thing.
6. Octarok - These things are very popular in the Zelda series -- and even a bit annoying. These guys are red all over except for their glowing yellow eyes. They have a big nose that they shoot things out of. They have really little feet, as well.
7. Chicken - OK, not a 100% enemy. However, it pecks at you and can hurt you a little bit.
8. Iron Knuckle - This monster wields a ball and chain. He tries to attack you very often with it.
9. Leever - In the original Legend of Zelda, the Leevers popped out of the ground and when you came close, they'd disappear. Now, they are back.
10. Stalfos - Stalfos are skeletons that come back after they are slashed. Their bones are come together again.
11. Re-Dead - These guys were once dead, but magic made them "lively" again. Now, you're here to kill these zombies.

1. King Dodongo - This guy looks like a big dinosaur. Once you beat him, you get Goron's Ruby.
2. Parasitic Armored Arachnid - Otherwise known as "Ghoma", this is another popular boss-type character. It's basically a spider with one eye and a lot of green and red colors.
3. Phantom Gannon - Definitely one of the most visually impressive bosses in any games, Phantom Gannon comes from out of nowhere, riding on his horse, jumping in and out of paintings.
4. Gannon - The main villain in Zelda 64, Gannon begins the game as Gannondorf Dragmire (or Mandrag Gannon which means Gannon of the Enchanted Thieves) and is an elf-like person just like everyone else in Hyrule. As the game progresses he will turn into the monster he is known as today, and by the time of the final battle, should resemble the Gannon we know today. It is one of Gannon’s henchmen that kidnaps Princess Zelda in the beginning of this epic adventure. Ganondorf, like Link, is able to ride a horse. The horse is colored black however.

1. Graphics:
   The scenery is such a sight to behold; even the sky is a sight to behold. The swirling clouds above you are a hypnotic sight that is quite unlike anything else. The whole land of Hyrule is unique, though. As you wander around, you can see miles ahead of you. No annoying fog. Nothing pops up out of nowhere. The whole place is idyllic. It all seems so real; while the town and locations are all fake, you can look at it as your own town in a way. You almost feel like you're actually there. And the details on Link and the bosses are unbelievably well-done. You thought Banjo- Kazooie or Super Mario 64 had good graphics? Well, wait until you see Zelda. While it's an old cliche, screenshots don't do this game justice.
2. Sound FX:
   The slashing sound of the sword against an enemy's chest sounds really good. All of the sound effects are done in great detail, and I really can't complain about anything in this category.
3. Music:
   I never thought that I'd give the music a high score, because Miyamato games have never really been known for their great music. But I'm happy to say that Zelda's music is well-orchestrated and offers some nice upbeat tunes that you can listen to. Some of the music is very dramatic, and all of it is near-perfection.
4. Control:
   As I stated early in this review, the control is surprisingly very good. The absence of the jump button bothered me at first, but I got used to it. The lock-on feature was a very good idea, surprisingly. It just all takes a while to get used to, but in the end, it's actually a revolutionary control scheme.
5. Fun Factor:
   I remember the first time I played Super Mario 64 in stores. It gave me an exhilarating feeling that was truly unmatched by any other game at the time. All the fun mini-games and extra adventures were unbearingly fun. However, now, Mario has met his match. Zelda 64 is unbelievably fun. Personally, I don't like RPG's or anything close to them. However, this game is different. Throw in the best and most fun elements of an RPG and the best elements of Super Mario 64, and the outcome is Zelda.
6. Innovative:
   Zelda 64 adds a lot of nice elements to the adventure genre, but there are too many Nintendo 64 adventure titles on our system. While the game throws in a clever mix of RPG elements and the idea of taking out a jump button detracts from the adventure genre formula, it will still draw many comparisons to Super Mario 64.
7. Replay Value:
   Shigeru Miyamato noted in an interview that Zelda would be 10 hours long. If that were true, there's no way that this game would have gotten a 10 in replay value from me. This game is simply enormous. Think Banjo-Kazooie, and multiply the length of that by 5, and you have the length of Zelda 64. I've heard many people say that they wouldn't get Zelda 64 until Christmas; but that's OK, because it may keep you playing until next Christmas.
8. Extras:
   Zelda 64 has many secrets. There are many hidden paths and hidden items. Collecting rupees means you can buy some more items. Talking to people is very helpful -- it's best to talk to them all, because you don't know what you might discover.
9. Presentation:
   While not too overly fancy, the game's menu screens gets straight to the point and are accurate. When you press Start, a lot of different information comes out that is helpful to your battle.
10. Balance:
    Since I'm an RPG newby, I figured the game would start off very hard. However, instead, as the game progresses, it gradually gets better and better and harder and harder. The game also rewards you on your efforts in some cases. In others, it just throws what you've done right back in your face.
11. Overall:
    Zelda is more than game; it's an experience. It's definitely the greatest Zelda game ever. It's definitely the greatest N64 game ever. And it ranks up there as one of the greatest games ever. After all that's been said and done, after all the delays, I've only got a few words to sum Zelda: The Ocarina of Time up: Miyamato, you've done it again!