The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
North American box art for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka
Engine	Rewritten Super Mario 64 engine
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, GameCube, iQue, Wii Virtual Console.
Release	November 21, 1998 November 23, 1998 December 18, 1998 November, 2003 (iQue)
Genre(s)	Action Adventure, Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ, Zeruda no Densetsu: Toki no Okarina) is a video game for the Nintendo 64 console. It is the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series, the first of the series to be released on the Nintendo 64 and the first to be made in 3D. It was released in Japan on 21 November 1998. It was followed by a sequel, Majora's Mask.

Within six months of its release, Ocarina of Time sold over five million copies, and a total of 7.6 million copies have been sold worldwide. In addition to its commercial success, Ocarina of Time is also frequently ranked among the greatest videogames ever made.

In 2003, Ocarina of Time was re-released as a bonus disc for those who pre-ordered The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The bonus disc also included the Ocarina of Time Master Quest, a version of Ocarina of Time previously unreleased outside of Japan, with redesigned dungeons and an increased overall difficulty. Later that year it was also included as part of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for the Nintendo GameCube, given as a limited-time promotion. This disc also included The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, as well as the first two games in the series, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, originally made for the 8-bit NES.

Plot

File:Greatdekutreeoot.jpg

In the outset of his journey, Link approaches the Great Deku Tree.

The Boy Without a Fairy

The game opens in the depths of the Kokiri Forest with Link being summoned to the Great Deku Tree by the fairy guardian Navi. Upon his arrival, Link is told about how a curse has been laid upon the Great Deku Tree by a mysterious stranger. The only person who can help to save the tree is Link, due in no small part to his extraordinary courage. He enters the Tree through its trunk and battles many foul creatures, including an enormous monster named Queen Gohma. The curse is now broken, but it is too late and The Great Deku Tree admits that he was doomed before Link even began. Before dying, the Tree tells Link of a man in black armor who cast the dreadful curse upon him. He gives Link the Kokiri Emerald, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, and sends him to meet Princess Zelda, the "princess of destiny", at Hyrule Castle. As Link begins his journey, his closest friend, Saria, wishes him luck and gives him a Fairy Ocarina, a magical instrument that will help him in his journey.

Link sneaks past the guards in the castle's courtyard in order to reach Zelda, who tells him that she has been having dreams about the future of Hyrule that she believes are prophetic, and that she foresaw Link's arrival. She believes (correctly) that Ganondorf, the king of the Gerudo thieves, has evil intentions. The princess believes that Ganondorf's true intention is to obtain an item known as the Triforce, a legendary item rumored to be so powerful that anyone who possesses it can control the world. It is also revealed that it was he who laid a curse on the Deku Tree, causing his death. To obtain the sacred Triforce, however, Link must first obtain all three Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time. Zelda possesses the ocarina, and asks Link to obtain the other two Spiritual Stones so that they have a chance of getting to the Sacred Realm (and thus the Triforce) before Ganondorf does.

The Spiritual Stones

Link decides to head first to Goron City, where he believes the Spiritual Stone of Fire is. The city's leader, Darunia, tells him that Ganondorf had already visited the Gorons and their city, and that he has filled the Dodongo's Cavern (the source of the Gorons' food) with monsters and sealed the cave's entrance, causing the Gorons to starve. Link manages to break the seal and enters the cavern, where, he destroys some of the many creatures, and also slays the mighty King Dodongo. Darunia is so relieved when he hears that the Gorons can eat again that he hands over the spiritual stone of fire, the Goron's Ruby. He also becomes Link's sworn brother.

With only one stone left to collect, Link heads to Zora's Domain, where the third and final spiritual stone can be found. Upon arrival, however, he discovers that the Zora princess, Ruto, has disappeared. After investigating the matter further, Link discovers a note in a bottle at Lake Hylia describing how Ruto has been swallowed by Lord Jabu-Jabu, the Zora god and protector. The note's explicit instructions ask for help, so Link enters Jabu Jabu's belly.

Upon searching the inside of the gigantic fish, he finds that Jabu-Jabu was also cursed by Ganondorf, and that he, like the Deku Tree, has been filled with enemies. Link finds the princess, and kills the monster poisoning Lord Jabu-Jabu, a large sea anemone like animal called Barinade. Ruto is so impressed by Link's abilities that she hands over her mother's stone, the Zora's Sapphire (Spiritual Stone of Water). Ruto's mother, however, instructed her that the stone should be given only to her fiancé, and so Ruto gives it to Link as a symbol of their engagement. However, Link does not really understand that Ruto wishes to marry him, and is just glad he has obtained the third and final stone.

The Hero of Time

With all three stones, Link heads back to the castle, only to find trouble. Ganondorf has shown his true identity and is after the Ocarina of Time. Link sees Zelda and her attendant, Impa, fleeing the castle on horseback, with Ganondorf following close behind. While fleeing, Zelda throws the Ocarina of Time into the moat surrounding the town and disappears into the night. Link then sees Ganondorf for the first time, and threatens to fight him. However, he is no match for the evil wizard, and is struck down by a torrent of dark magic which Ganondorf produces. Ganondorf laughs at Link's weakness, and then continues his pursuit of Zelda and Impa. Link then retrieves the Ocarina from the moat and heads to the Temple of Time, the resting place of the Triforce. Using the three stones and the ocarina, he opens the Door of Time. Inside however, instead of finding the Triforce, he finds the legendary Master Sword. Link pulls the sword from its pedestal, and is transported to another world (the Sacred Realm), where he is frozen in time. But the opening of the door of time opens the Sacred Realm to Ganondorf, and he then claims the Triforce for himself, and wreaks havoc upon the world for 7 years.

File:Drawingthemastersword.JPG

Link drawing the Master Sword from its pedestal.

Link awakens to find himself in late adolesence. (Generally believed to be 17, however, in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the story befalls that a young man will come of the age as "the legendary hero" when he is twelve. This leads to the evidence that Link may have been twelve when he pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. This may lead one to conclude that Link in his adolescence is 19.) He is met by a mysterious man named Rauru, who tells Link that he is the Hero of Time, and that only he can destroy the evil by wielding the Master Sword. However, seeing as he was too young, he was frozen in time for seven years until he was old enough to wield the mighty sword. Rauru then reveals himself as the ancient Sage of Light, part of the seven sages that protect the Triforce and tells Link that if he can find the five other sages, they can defeat Ganondorf and imprison him within the Sacred Realm. According the Rauru, each Sage has a temple of residency. However, each is unaware of his or her true identity because of the evil now in the world, which clouds the spiritual resonance within the Sages.

Link returns to Hyrule to find a completely different land. Ganondorf, with the power of the Triforce, has been free to roam the country and has transformed it into a land of pure darkness. Seeing how the world has changed is all Link needs to devote himself to the enormous task of slaying the evil king and redeeming his homeland. With the occasional help of a mysterious young man named Sheik, Link locates and travels to each spiritual temple in order to awaken the Sages.

He heads first to the Kokiri Forest to find that his childhood friend, Saria, has entered the Forest Temple in order to try and defeat the evil which has manifested itself inside its walls. He journeys through the Forest Temple, kills the boss, a puppet named Phantom Ganon,and also earns himself the new weapon, the bow and arrow, and is transported back to the Temple of Sages where he is re-acquainted with Saria. She tells him that she is the Forest Sage and gives him the Forest Medallion. He returns to the Deku Tree's resting place to find a Deku Sprout has started to grow. The sprout informs him that he is actually a Hylian, who was entrusted to the Great Deku Tree's care briefly before his mother's death. This explains why Link has grown up, while all of the other Kokiri have remained children.

Next, Link heads to Death Mountain. He finds that all of the Gorons, except Darunia's son (named Link after the hero who liberated Dodongo's Cavern), have been rounded up by Ganondorf's minions and are going to be fed to an ancient dragon named Volvagia. The son tells Link how Darunia entered the temple to save them, but has not been seen since. Link enters the temple, frees the Gorons, kills Volvagia and eventually discovers that Darunia is the Fire Sage. The Goron King then gives Link the Fire Medallion.

Link then moves on to Zora's Domain and finds it has been completely frozen over. All the Zoras, spare Princess Ruto, have been frozen in the ice. First, Link thaws out the King of the Zora, Princess Ruto's father, and finds she went to the temple alone. Link then heads to Lake Hylia, where the Water Temple resides. He enters, fighting an anti-form of himself (commonly called "Shadow Link" ) and with help from his iron boots and longshot, kills the evil creature Morpha and discovers that Princess Ruto is the Water Sage. She gives him the Water Medallion and sends him on his way.

After that he heads to the village of Kakariko. A dark presence is coming up from the depths of the well and is terrorizing the people. Link learns that he needs something valuable from inside the well to defeat the evil, but the well is inaccessible. He returns to the Temple of Time and places the Master Sword back into the pedestal. He finds that by doing this, he can travel back and forth between the two time periods. He enters the Kakariko well as a child and finds the Lens of Truth, a tool devised to show invisible things. He retrieves the Master Sword and enters the Shadow Temple. He kills the evil creature in the temple, Bongo Bongo, and finds the Shadow Sage, Impa, princess Zelda's former attendant. She gives him the Shadow Medallion and he heads to the final temple.

Link goes to the desert and finds the fortress of the Gerudo thieves. At first they imprison him because they are a strict female-only group, except for their leader. He breaks free and gains their acceptance. They let him continue through the desert to the Spirit Temple. He discovers that he cannot enter the depths of the temple unless he has the "power of silver". He leaves and returns as a child to find Nabooru, the second in command of the Gerudos. She tells him that she disagrees with Ganondorf's style and wants to stop him. She asks him to enter the left side of the temple, because only he can fit, and bring back the Silver Gauntlets. She tells him to bring them to her so she can use them to get to the other side of the temple. Of course, he is too small to use them, so they agree to work together. Link enters and kills an Iron Knuckle, the guardian of the gauntlets. After finding them, he witnesses a pair of witches kidnap Nabooru. With no other options, he turns back to an adult and uses the gauntlets himself to enter the other side of the temple. The two witches confront him and send another Iron Knuckle on him, who turns out to be Nabooru under a spell. He kills the witches, who form a being called Twinrova, and finds that Nabooru is the Spirit Sage. She gives him the Spirit Medallion and he prepares for the final battle with Ganondorf.

(It should be noted that the Shadow and Spirit Temples are interchangeable in order of completion.)

The Final Conflict

Eventually, Link returns to the Temple of Time in the future, where Sheik meets him once more. Sheik reveals that she is actually Princess Zelda in disguise. Zelda is also the seventh sage and the leader of all Sages. She tells Link that when Ganondorf took the Triforce, his heart was not in balance, so the Triforce split into three pieces. He kept the Triforce of Power, while Zelda gained the Triforce of Wisdom. Finally, through his perseverance, Link has been assigned the Triforce of Courage. Zelda also gives Link the magical Light Arrows needed to defeat the Lord of Darkness. Unfortunately, the meeting is observed by Ganondorf, who captures Zelda before she can give Link another reward. Ganondorf takes her prisoner in his huge dark tower "Ganon's Castle", which has replaced Hyrule Castle, hoping to lure Link there, reunite all three Triforce pieces and thus gain unlimited power.

The remaining six Sages help Link enter the tower by creating a bridge. Link then destroys the barrier that is preventing entrance into Ganondorf's Lair by completing a mini-dungeon in each room and freeing each Sage completely. Link then finds Ganondorf and engages him in battle. With all of his strength, Link defeats Ganondorf and rescues Zelda. Although he is seemingly defeated, Ganondorf uses the last of his power to bring the tower down around them, trapping the three Triforce holders forever. Link and Zelda still manage to escape, and stand back to watch the castle collapse. While among the fallen rubble, the two view Ganondorf rise again and reveal his malformed state: Ganon. He would be known as Ganon for the rest of the series. Link engages his nemesis, and with the help of Zelda and the other Sages, he defeats Ganon. Zelda and the Sages then use their power to lock Ganon away in the Sacred Realm where he will supposedly stay for the rest of time. Ganon vows, however, that he will one day destroy or corrupt the seal and thus return to exterminate their descendants.

In the aftermath, Zelda plays the Ocarina of Time one last time to send Link back in time to become his child self, the way he was supposed to be, before any of the events of the game took place. Navi says good-bye to Link, and the plot is undone, giving Link his own loophole in time in which to exist peacefully. Link goes to meet the younger Zelda in the castle courtyard once more, and there the game ends, which would start The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Ocarina of Time is arguably a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, its predecessor in the series. That game makes references to seven wise men sealing Ganon in the Sacred Realm, and also describes how he started out as a thief named Ganondorf. In A Link to the Past, Ganon's henchman, Agahnim, sends descendants of the seven wise men into the Golden Realm, now the Dark World due to Ganon's corruption, in order to break the seal between Hyrule and the Golden Realm. Ultimately, Link saves the seven descendants, and defeats a form of Ganon that resembles the second form of the final battle in Ocarina of Time. Template:Endspoiler

Gameplay

Ocarina of Time is a third-person adventure game which takes place in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule. As in previous Zelda games, Hyrule takes the form of a large, fully connected overworld containing several dungeons — large self-contained areas with a single entrance in the overworld. Within most dungeons, Link must battle and puzzle his way though, finding items such as a Dungeon Map and Compass to aid him. A dungeon typically contains a special weapon, often needed to defeat the boss at the end, which can be reached by finding the Boss Key and using it on the door to the boss's lair.

Ocarina has nine major dungeons (ten if you split the Spirit Temple into present and future): Inside the Deku Tree, Dodongo's Cavern, Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly, the Forest Temple, the Fire Temple, the Water Temple, the Shadow Temple, the Spirit Temple, and Ganon's Castle, in intended order of completion. The first three dungeons each yield a Spiritual Stone; the next five, a Medallion representing an awakened Sage. There are also three mini-dungeons: the Ice Cavern, the Bottom of the Well, and the Gerudo Training Ground, which yield useful items. However, it is not necessary to complete the Gerudo Training Ground, or even enter.

Items

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Ocarina of Time: Ura title screen (Aka Master Quest, released on the GameCube).

Main article: The Legend of Zelda series weapons and items

The titular Ocarina of Time is a magical wind instrument on which melodies can be played at any time to various effects - changing day to night, causing rain to fall, warping to new locations and so on. A total of thirteen songs can be found throughout the game.

Reappearing from "A Link to the Past" is the Master Sword, a legendary blade with the power to repel evil. In this game it can be used to travel through time in the Temple of Time, though it is primarily used for regular combat.

Many less important items appear. Link is able to use different tunics, boots, swords and shields. Items re-used from other Zelda games, including magic arrows (fire, ice and light), bombs, and the Hookshot, appear alongside new items such as the Lens of Truth, which shows things which are otherwise invisible and the Longshot, a longer reaching version of the hookshot.

Locations, races and characters

Further information: [[:Ocarina of Time places, The Legend of Zelda series races, Ocarina of Time characters, Ocarina of Time enemies]]

The Kingdom of Hyrule is inhabited by six different humanoid races.

• The Hylians look basically human, except for their pointed, elf-like ears. They mostly live in Hyrule Castle Town, though some live in nearby Kakariko Village and others are scattered sporadically throughout Hyrule. They are ruled by a king (unseen in the game), whose daughter is Princess Zelda.
• The Kokiri are forest children who were created by the guardian spirit of Kokiri Forest, the Great Deku Tree. They never age and can never leave the forest. Link, the hero of the game, lives among them at the start of the game. His closest friend is a Kokiri named Saria. Link is not a true Kokiri but a Hylian, orphaned in the forest as a baby, and raised by the Great Deku Tree, who sensed Link to be a child of destiny. The Kokiri are led by Mido.
• The Gorons are large, brown, rock-eating creatures that vary immensely in size and live in Goron City, halfway up Death Mountain, an active volcano. They are led by Darunia.
• The Zoras are blue fish-like creatures, who live at the top of Zora's River, the kingdom's source of water. The river runs all the way through Hyrule to Lake Hylia at the very opposite end of the kingdom. The Zoras are ruled by King Zora (which, unlike most Zoras, happens to be enormously fat) who has a daughter, Princess Ruto. The guardian spirit of Zora's River is Lord Jabu-Jabu, an immense fish.
• The Sheikah, sworn "shadow guardians" of the royal family, appear to be Hylian with red eyes. They possess various magical abilities and are known to operate from within the shadows. Impa, Zelda's childhood nanny and bodyguard, is said to be the last remaining Sheikah. She helped establish Kakariko Village, at the base of Death Mountain.
• The Gerudo are an almost entirely female race of thieves who live in the desert to the west. Only one man is born to the Gerudo every hundred years, and he is supposed to become their king. The most recent of these is Ganondorf, a man with black armour and "evil eyes" who acts as advisor to the king of Hyrule. Ganondorf is the primary antagonist of the game. The Gerudo, however, are supposedly led by Nabooru, who refuses to acknowledge Ganondorf as her king.

Other notable characters in the game include Link's fairy companion Navi, his horse Epona, the twin witches Twinrova (Koume and Kotake), and ranch hands Talon, Malon and Ingo. Talon and Malon are highly reminiscent of the characters Marin and Tarin in the previous title in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

The kingdom of Hyrule is connected to a mythical Sacred Realm which holds the Triforce, an object left behind by the creator goddesses of Hyrule after they finished creating it. The Triforce is capable of granting whoever holds it their heart's every desire. The Triforce, and Hyrule's door into the Sacred Realm, are protected by the Door of Time in the Temple of Time, which was built many ages ago by a group of ancient Sages.

Music

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Link playing the Ocarina.

See also: The Legend of Zelda series songs

Ocarina of Time's music was composed by Koji Kondo, Nintendo's famed in-house composer. Music plays a considerably large part in Ocarina - aside from the background themes in the overworld and the dungeons, Link is also able to learn to play songs with his musical instrument, the ocarina itself. These songs can be played at almost any time during the game, with effects which vary from teleportation to communication with animals.

In addition, the gamer is free to play any notes they wish with the ocarina. The ocarina was able to play most musical notes with considerable accuracy. Magazines at the time, including Nintendo Official Magazine routinely published combinations to mimic famous theme tunes such as The Simpsons.

The background music from the temples and dungeons of the game is, for the most part, nameless. The Hyrule overworld theme from past Zelda games, which is considered by most fans as the "official" Zelda tune, is not in Ocarina of Time in its entirety, although its opening phrase is subtly present in the Hyrule Field theme. This marks the only time in the series when the overworld theme has been absent.

Sometimes, in specific locations, the music is a variation on the most important ocarina tune for that place. For example, on Lon Lon Ranch, the theme is Epona's Song, with small and large variations.

The music is world inspired, from cartoonish music for Kokiri Forest to Spanish flamenco in Gerudo Valley/Fortress.

One of the songs, the original theme for the Fire Temple, angered some members of the Muslim community, as it resembled an Islamic prayer call. In response, Nintendo re-recorded the Fire Temple theme for later cartridges releases (though the newer song was generally regarded as poorer by comparison).

Critical reception

Reviews and awards

Publication	Score	Comment
Famitsu	40 of 40	First perfect score ever awarded by the publication
IGN.com	10 of 10	Editor's Choice First Perfect Score Awarded
GameSpot	10 of 10	Editor's Choice, first perfect score awarded
Electronic Gaming Monthly	10 of 10
Edge	10 of 10
Nintendo Power	10 of 10	Game of the Year (1998), Best game of all time on a Nintendo console (2005)
Compilations of multiple reviews
Game Rankings	98 of 100 (based on 31 reviews)
Metacritic	99 of 100 (based on 22 reviews)
Awards
2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards	Game of the Year Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering Console Game of the Year Console Adventure Game of the Year Console RPG of the Year

Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time. Ocarina of Time was ranked second in IGN's "Top 100 Games of All Time -behind only the original Super Mario Bros.- and second in its "Readers' Top 99 Games". Nintendo Power called Ocarina of Time the greatest game to ever appear on a Nintendo console.

As a result of these and other high scores, Ocarina is placed first on both Metacritic and Game Rankings sites which rank games by averaging review scores from many sources.

In addition, Nintendojo.com infamously originally gave Ocarina a score of 11/10. It has since been changed to 10.

When the UK's N64 Magazine reviewed Ocarina, they delayed the full review by one month in order to fully appreciate the game and its nuances. Finally, after an exhaustive review covering every reviewer in the magazine's favourite moments and some unmissable coverage of The Best Game Ever, the game was awarded 98% by the N64 staff.

Very few were disappointed with the game, something which is a startling rarity in gaming. Critically, the game was commended as a seamless transition from 2D to 3D in the Zelda series, since it supported the main feel and many details of the previous flagship Zelda: A Link to the Past. Many gamers, especially Nintendo fans, would argue that no game since Ocarina has matched its classic standard. Ocarina of Time immediately became the standard by which all future Zelda games were measured; Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker have both received comments that they fail to match the "newness" of Ocarina of Time, sometimes receiving lower scores as a result.

Ocarina of Time itself gained a ferocious amount of hype before release, the end result of which was that only those who had pre-ordered the game had any guarantee of receiving a copy. The game also gave the Nintendo 64 a lot of extra support, being released at a time in which the lack of games for the system was becoming a big problem for Nintendo. Much like A Link to the Past before it, it helped Nintendo sell more consoles after the hype from the launch game, in this case Super Mario 64, had finally died down.

Some notable minor flaws and annoyances in Ocarina which have kept the game from obtaining perfect scores from critics and gamers more generally include the inability to fast-forward text and cut scenes (which add up to over one entire hour in the game, and players often do not wish to rewatch them on a second playthrough) and also the inability to rematch defeated bosses and play through completed dungeons again, though the former is not possible in any of the Zelda games, except for Majora's Mask, and, to an extent, The Wind Waker.

Version differences

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Ocarina of Time Collectors Edition gold cartridge.

The first two Zelda games released for the NES had golden cartridges, rather than the standard grey-colored cartridges used for almost every other licensed game for the console. Keeping with the tradition, pre-ordered copies of Ocarina of Time were also golden. Also, the box cover had a thick, plastic card glued over the original cover. However, this was not the case in Europe where the game had a standard grey-cartridge owing to Nintendo of Europe (although there were actually some gold cartridges, they were only available very briefly). A possible incentive was an economic one, as standard grey cartridges are inexpensive compared to custom made golden models. It should be noted that Australia (which is, like Europe, part of the PAL region) had golden cartridges. Also, the sequel to Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, had a golden cartridge in Europe (and in North America).

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Ocarina of Time Collectors Edition box.

PAL cartridges are very noticeably different from NTSC cartridges. PAL, having a golden "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" picture with a black background on a grey cartridge, and NTSC having a normally colored "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" picture with a goldish background on the noted grey, or golden cartridges. The Australian (PAL) versions also come in either gold or grey cartridges.

The game also came out in different software release versions. All of the Gold Cartridge games that came out in November of 1998 are version 1.0, and some grey cartridges released soon after were also version 1.0. Version 1.1 grey cartridges began to be released in early 1999, in which Nintendo fixed a number of bugs and glitches from the first version. This was followed by a version 1.2, which has the Player's Choice Million Seller seal on the cartridge and box.

The most notable difference between version 1.0 and the following versions is that version 1.0 contains a trick that allows one to play the game without the Master Sword, which in turn allows one to use any item on Epona. Version 1.1 is very similar to Version 1.0 except that players cannot perform the above trick (there is a different known method that works on all versions, including Gamecube ones). Another difference between the two versions is the coloring of Ganon's blood at the end of the game. In Version 1.0, Ganon's blood is red; Version 1.1 is known to have two variations, one with green blood, and one with red blood. Meanwhile, Version 1.2 only has green blood. Finally, the original theme for the Fire Temple was considered offensive by the Muslim community, who felt that it was based on an Islamic prayer call. In response, Nintendo replaced it in Version 1.2 with a new theme in later cartridges, considered by many to be inferior. Nintendo was later forced to change the crescent moon and star symbol of the Gerudo to a design originally used to represent the Gerudo pirates in Majora's Mask for the GameCube re-release, again due to Muslim protest.

Additionally, it should be noted that on the back of the game box for the early shipments of the game, the word "environments" was infamously misspelled as "enviroinments". This was later corrected by Nintendo.

Triforce rumors

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The Triforce from a beta movie of Ocarina of Time

A very early work-in-progress screenshot of Ocarina of Time shows Link receiving the Triforce itself from a treasure chest. Such a scene never occurs anywhere in the final game, and the plot as it stands does not appear to allow for Link to gain the Triforce at any point. Despite this, there has been great speculation as to whether the Triforce exists in Ocarina of Time as an obtainable item, as it does in other Zelda games, rather than simply being referred to in the storyline.

Doctored screenshots and theories continue to appear every so often in the Zelda fan community, often displaying no small amount of creativity. Most notably, Nintendo themselves even claimed to have a way to do it, as part of a Nintendo Power April Fool's joke in 1999. One popular theory holds that while the Triforce is unobtainable in the final game, it was possible to obtain at one point during Ocarina's development history, and relevant code therefore still exists unused in the game's memory. This theory may be commonly suggested due to the appearance of a Triforce emblem on the Quest Status Subscreen within the game, leading some to believe that it may have once been an obtainable item. In fact, several people have made unverified claims to have found reference to the Triforce by using a GameShark.

One incident in which the Triforce was "found" was by Ariana Almandoz , who allegedly had a foolproof way to make it into the Sacred Realm as young Link, and access the Temple of Light. There, the sage Rauru would show the Triforce to the player, as she demonstrated with pictures. Amid some weeks of controversy, the pictures were found to be fakes, and statements made by employees of Nintendo of America refuted the story. Roughly one month later, Almandoz admitted her story was a hoax.

As of now, nobody has found an official way to find the Triforce in the game; that is, to find it without hacking. Three videos have emerged on the video-hosting website YouTube:

File:Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time finding the triforcea.jpg

The Triforce from the first video

Video one runs for 35 seconds [2] and was made by Andrew Connelly. In this video, Link is levitating in front of the Triforce, which makes a glowing sound. The camera comes close to him, and he is suddenly warped to a light blue area, where the dying scream is heard. This is the closest any one has come to obtaining the Triforce in OOT. Although it's still a mystery how the Connelly found the Triforce, it's believed that the beta world was used, which allows access areas of OOT not in the playing game.

Video two runs for only 13 seconds [3]. It's presumably of an early version. Link fights a skeleton enemy, runs forward through the scenery into another area. This area has the fire texture, with no ceiling, so sky is visible. Link then suddenly appears in an area with just 2 cement walls visible, then warps to standing on a grey platform with only the sky visible. Then it becomes the footage of Link opening the treasure chest and "getting" the Triforce. Given that the video closes with a brief "fireball" graphic and the N64 logo, one theory has been floated that it may have excerpted from a presentation shown only in-house at Nintendo.

The final video runs for 56 seconds [4]. Link is in a hallway with a blue carpet (similar to the red carpet in the Temple of Time) that may or may not have originally been the hallway Ganondorf is briefly seen walking and knealing in when Link first meets Zelda. The video only shows two guards and an black void at the end of the hall. A moon jump is used by a GameShark and Link jumps into the black. He starts swimming into it. After swimming for a while, the texture of an area (Zelda's garden) comes into view. And Link starts swimming to it. Looking around, a 2D image of the Triforce with only one triangle glowing comes into view. The camera follows it for a few seconds, then the video ends. This Triforce is the one off Link's hand and can also be removed as shown in this video - [5]

Even when hacking the game, it is impossible to actually gain the Triforce, unless in the beta version. The only thing possible is to see it.

Leftovers

Ever since its release, Ocarina of Time has been examined by members of the ROM and emulation community to find any leftovers in the game. So far, several major items have been found. While some have been found only through a GameShark, the leftovers indicate that various revisions (older, incomplete areas) have been left in the game’s code, and can be accessed by hacking them back in the game (or at least temporarily, with the GameShark and other cheat devices). The following has been found inside the Ocarina ROM that shows proof of unfinished concepts that were lost over time.

• Leftover text (in Japanese) in the coding reveals that there were two usable medallions (à la A Link to the Past) called the Wind and Ice Medallions at one point in development (it appears on the item selection screen and in different slots).
• An ocarina pedestal (not found anywhere else) can be loaded into the area where Jabu-Jabu is if a specific GameShark code is used. However, the area around Jabu-Jabu itself is very buggy, and people cannot get close enough to do anything (due to a loading problem that causes four Jabu-Jabu actors to load, causing the game to freeze).
• A red ice platform (used to block access to a chest) can be found in the Ice Cavern by using a specific GameShark code. The same item can be found in the GCN release of Master Quest while doing the same dungeon. However, it does not appear in the same area it once was in.
• Various areas throughout the game that were slightly modified before release, or have various NPCs normally not seen in that area. The areas with minor differences are: Kakariko Village (Adult), Lon Lon Ranch (Kid), and Goron City (Either).
• By using the GameShark and the Expansion Pak, people can search through the data loaded into memory when playing the game. Several text strings are there, making reference to the Expansion Pak (which was required to use the Nintendo 64DD) and inserting an expansion disk (again referring to the planned 64DD expansion that became the "Master Quest" on the GameCube Zelda preorder disc).
• There is a path on one side of the Temple of Time which cannot normally be accessed, as it is blocked by four Gossip Stones. These could not be blown up because no item (other than the Mask of Truth) can be used in the area. Using the moonjump code, it is possible to go behind the gossip stones and walk around; however, nothing else will happen, and if the player makes it past an invisible wall in that area, the game will freeze. A theory as to why this happens is that at one time the player may have been able to go back there at one point in development but this idea was removed. There is a beta screenshot that looks similar to the back of the Temple of Time.

File:Awring oot.jpg

The hidden Star Fox Arwing.

• A Gameshark code was discovered that replaced one of the NPCs in Kokiri Forest with any other NPC in the game. Examples include various enemies, Ganondorf's organ, Dark Link, and even portions of Dark Link's "Illusion Room". Among these NPCS was found a fully coded Arwing enemy. The enemy has a full attack and movement AI programmed, shooting at Link with lasers with original sound effects. When destroyed, it crashes to the ground resulting in unpolished explosion and flame effects. A similar code can be found in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.,

See also

• List of best selling computer and video games
• Computer and video games that have been considered the greatest ever

External links

• Official site
• Ocarina of Time at Nintendo's Zelda Universe
• StrategyWiki's Ocarina of Time wiki guide
• Zelda's Secret Ocarina - dedicated to the Beta Quest and other lost regions of the Ocarina of Time game data (Site has some pages not working/missing)
• Zelda 64 Pro - Site dedicated to the many glitches and GameShark related issues with the game
• Financial information
• The Odyssey of Hyrule - glitches and gameshark codes for beta quest and other hacking adventures in the game.
• Speed Demos Archive - Ocarina of Time Speedruns
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at MobyGames
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at IMDb
• Template:GameFAQs
• Shigesato Itoi's Website(Japanese) - information by production team
• Ocarina of Time 2D