The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [1998]

After over a decade and hundreds of awards, I finally got around to finishing what many people consider the greatest game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, it quickly wooed audiences and critics alike, earning between a 9 or a 10 out of 10 on almost every review it got. Playing it again for the first time in nearly ten years (I only got halfway through when I was 8) I can safely say it is one of my personal favorite games, probably in top 5. My first playthrough was on N64, but my recent venture was on the Gamecube via The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition, and nothing had really changed, (besides the controller) mainly because nothing needed to. Everything from waking up to Navi to destroying Gannon is incredibly done with fun and finesse.

I think that one of the reasons the game is so good is because of the pacing, it's never too hard, but it's still challenging. You get new items often enough to be interesting, but it never becomes overwhelming. There's always a goal, but there is also always something to explore. The leveling system works great, they start you off pretty easy in order to give you a feel for the gameplay and combat but it doesn't feel like you're being babied.

Another element of OoT that makes it great is the musical aspect. The ocarina was so well incorporated, making it a key item and the game's namesake. From teleportation to making it rain to changing whether it's day or night, the ocarina has many uses that are all very important to succeed in beating the game. Not to mention it helped create on the best and most memorable video game soundtracks in recent memory.

Though there are slight annoyances (see "HEY! LISTEN!!" ad nauseum), this entry in the Legend of Zelda mythos is an amazing contribution. It's not everyday that a game comes along that makes you immediately want to re-play it, so thank you Ocarina of Time for all the memories I got and all those I'll continue to get.

10/10

-A

Dampe's Inferno

Just one little tidbit before I bonk out for the night. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is great, Ballas' (the name used by my character in this go) quest is coming to an end but we're going for 100% so it's coming down to getting those heart containers. Not sure if we're gonna grab the skulltulas or not since all it gets you is 200 rupees and bragging rights. Even if we avoid the skullbros, the heart containers are a pain in the ass. Luckily, there's only one left, and getting it has absolutely nothing to do with skill. Dampe the Gravekeeper has a "fun" little game he plays called Dampe's Heart-Pounding Grave-Digging tour in which he circles around his graveyard then you pay him 10 rupees and pray to God he finds the piece of heart. Unfortunately, finding the piece depends solely on if the game likes you or not, and after 1200 rupees I've come to the conclusion that Dampe hates me.

But anyways, we're almost done, just gotta grab that up then kill Gannondorf. After I finish I'll probably get a review up, so I guess that's exciting. Stay tuned!

-A

The Show and Other Stuff

The show was great. SKSK was incredible as always. It's an honor to be part of their very last show, and it was so much fun. Saosin was good too, but should have gone on before SKSK.

So anyways, other stuff. As we said before, this is also for video games and the like. So might as well give you an update. I bought a PS2 a little while back so I've been playing that a lot. Currently I'm hitting up Ico but I have quite a few others I want to beat.

Oh, and other other stuff. We'll be updating this blog with new tunes about once or twice a day until we run out of material. If you have any requests for CDs to be reviewed or found and uploaded, let us know, we'll do our best to find that mofo.

-A