Ollie Reynolds, editor
I never owned an N64, but I spent the late 90s and early 2000s playing Metal Gear Solid, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, and Medievil on my PS1.
It wasn’t until The Wind Waker launched on the GameCube that I first discovered Ocarina of Time, with the UK version containing a bonus disc containing the original game and its Master Quest iteration. I played WW and OoT in tandem, jumping between the two every other day or so.
Hyrule Field understandably seemed somewhat quaint compared to The Great Sea, but I could still see why OoT had earned its solid reputation. In fact, I remember enjoying its opening hours more than WW’s, thanks in large part to the latter’s horrific Forsaken Fortress dungeon. After squeezing through that damn barrel, Dodongo Cave seemed like a welcome change of pace.
Gavin Lane, editor
I want to say that I played Ocarina for the first time, like many people, at Christmas 1998, after unboxing it. However, I’m pretty sure I received it for my birthday the following February.
The memory of my grandfather saying “Violent little guy, aren’t you?” while watching me jump into the Kokiri Forest, swinging my new sword with several “hyup!” », “huh! » and “hyah!” » does not include the Christmas tree next to the TV. So I played my very first Zelda game a few months after its release, in early 1999.
There’s nothing to add to my first impressions that hasn’t been said a thousand times before, but let’s talk about the title screen one more time. After all the scale of Press Start screens in other games – even other Zelda games, as I would later discover – OoT’s plaintive intro signaled a very different type of adventure than anything I had played before. Simply wonderful.
Mai Ladyman, video producer
My experience with OOT is a bit funny. Back when I worked at GAME, I acquired a 3DS XL, so I decided to dabble in a few games, and one of them was the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time. At that time, my only experience with Zelda was binge-playing my friend’s copy of Link’s Awakening on my trusty GBC at lunchtime. I didn’t get very far. I think I got into the Deku tree and didn’t know what to do next, so I gave up and traded it in (with the 3DS XL) a few years later when I needed to dosh it.
Fast forward a few years later, when my obsession with Switch was in full swing alongside my love for Breath of the Wild. I found the Master Quest GameCube version in a charity shop for a super low price and thought it was time to try again… Shortly afterwards we were hit by the COVID-19 lockdowns here in the UK, and I bought a 2DS XL for £20 and OOT on 3DS. I decided at that point that I wanted to play the games side by side for comparison, and I’ve never looked back. Some say I was just torturing myself; I say it was research and something that was useful for the job I have today!
Matthew Reynolds, Acting Associate Editor
My first exposure to Ocarina of Time was the same as almost every other ’90s game: via CVG magazine, where – as a PlayStation owner – I read its 5/5 review with a considerable level of jealousy.
It wasn’t until I had an N64 (and enough credit at my local used game store to pay for it) that I was finally able to ask for Ocarina of Time’s gleaming gold cartridge from behind a counter. And it was better than I expected! As someone on a diet of mostly pre-rendered RPGs like Final Fantasy, experiencing an adventure as dynamic and filled with so many clever details and secrets as this was mind-blowing.
After that, I had to play future Legend of Zelda games from day one. Unfortunately, I had to skip Majora’s Mask at the time – I couldn’t really afford an Expansion Pak – but I absolutely made sure to get a GameCube well in time for Wind Waker, which also remains an all-time favorite.
These are all our firsts, but what about you? You can let us know where you first encountered Ocarina of Time in the following poll, then use the comments to share the full story.
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