Ranking Every Legend Of Zelda Game From Worst To Best
3. Ocarina Of Time
This is it: Zelda's Triforce of transcendence. It's at this stage where choosing between them is like picking your favourite child.
Ocarina of Time, then. It's impossible to describe the feeling of playing Shigeru Miyamoto's N64 magnum opus for the first time to those who weren't there. This wasn't just a brilliant game, a flawlessly designed adventure which set the benchmark for every 3D title which would follow. No: it was a momentous occasion, one to savour, one to cherish. Those first magical moments spent with Link as he began his journey amongst the faeries and the fireflies of Kokiri Forest remain indelibly etched on the memories of a whole generation of gamers, who knew from those opening piano chords this was something different, something special.
Link's first N64 outing set the benchmark for how to structure a video game in a 3D world, breaking all the barriers hitherto considered unsurpassable and inspiring the whole industry to follow suit. It also introduced the ocarina as the instrument of choice for would-be woodwindists.
Flute manufacturers may have lamented, but when Ocarina of Time was released, the gaming media rightly regarded it as the greatest game ever produced. Yet it's only third on this list. Why? As every 3D game which followed flattered through imitation, Zelda's N64 bow has gradually been rendered old-hat, making it impossible to refill that original magic meter. Nevertheless, that doesn't abnegate the Miyamoto masterpiece's claim to the highest plinth in video game's pantheon of perfection. A timeless, time-travelling treasure.