No game has left a stronger impression on me than Zelda.

Stepping into a Newsagency in '98 was like being confronted with a family photo album of Link. It seemed like every magazine was covering Ocarina of Time and how Nintendo had brought the kingdom to Hyrule to life. As soon as I was able to come across a demo station at one of the boutiques. It's easy to take it for granted now, but very few games captured the atmosphere of OoT. Walking around Hyrule at night was the closest it felt to exploring a kingdom. From visiting all the homes, to checking out the lesiure activities and the temple it was truly jaw-dropping stuff.

After spending a few hours with a rented copy, naturally I asked Santa for a copy and for the next year, Ocarina of Time was the last home console game I bought.

What was your experience like coming across the game? Were you following the development from launch, or just when the game appeared?

Also let's go through some categories

Best Town:

Best Dungeon:

Best Boss:

Best Item/Weapon:

Best Guardian:

Best Song:

After SNES I went to PS1 and didn't get an N64 until X-Mas 2001. Or it may have been 2000, basically towards the end of it's run. I think OOT, much like FF7, was my exposure to the series. I mean, I had heard of LTTP and played the opening of LA a lot of times but I never really got into it until OOT. My favorite parts are really just the absurd reactions that Young Link had. Plus I always liked how he had to dive into those chests whereas Adult Link had to break his back bending over. I guess it was fanservice for the laydeeez.

Water Temple caused me to restart my original save. Dunno if you get to a point where you are fucked due to rising levels, but even with a guide I was stuck so I just started over. That final fight with Ganon, while generally easy, is a lot of fun. Back then I'd usually just start the game and play through the final boss just for funsies.

I kinda wish Bonesaw was still part of our community because I always marked out whenever this topic comes up and he posts the same complaints. How the overworld was basically barren with the same enemies. And he'd probably still be bitching about the Wii...

Best Town: Goron Village - Ordinarily I would say Hyrule or Kakiriko are considered the best for good reason, but it was Goron Village that really sold me on the charm of the game. From the friendly albeit lazy Gorons (I love how the groan when they have to get up) to the bomb rocks, Goron Village was the first town to have any real personality.

Best Dungeon: Forest Temple - No matter how many times I play through OoT, I always find the Forest Temple to be the most challenging. After the relatively simple designs of the previous three dungeons, the Forest Temple amps everything up by a couple of notches making it a real trial by fire. What stands out most to me is the gothic atmosphere of the level. It almost feels related to the Shadow Temple in that there's a lot of gothic themes to it and the music has a strange vibe to it.

Best Boss: Volvagia - I feel like there's only two real options here, Volvagia and Twinrova. The rest are either just giant versions of enemies you've come across before or just random beings that require the key item you got from the dungeon. Volvagia is one of the few boss' who rates a mention before the fight and the threat of him eating Gorons makes the fight much more serious. The fight itself is also a little less tedious than the Twinrova fight, with the option of being able to take it out with the Megaton arrows or shooting it down while it's in the air.

Best Item/Weapon: Hover Boots, I just about keep those bad boys on regardless of whether or not I need to float. I don't mind Link walking like he's on ice.

Best Guardian: Saria, that scene where you like Kokiri Village for the first time is still one of the best cutscenes in video games. That's every 'I'm moving on' scenario wrapped up in just a series of glances.

Best Song: Zora's Domain just makes me want to put my feet up with a cold smoothie in my hands and bask in the sheer elegance of the track.

Water Temple caused me to restart my original save. Dunno if you get to a point where you are fucked due to rising levels, but even with a guide I was stuck so I just started over. That final fight with Ganon, while generally easy, is a lot of fun. Back then I'd usually just start the game and play through the final boss just for funsies.

The Forest Temple was my biggest hurdle. I believe I got up to the section with the wallmaster and it bugged me so much, I'd opt to play through new saves before continuing. I can relate to that last part as well, a cousin of mine actually beat most of the adult dungeons on my original save, so I'd continually replay the final encounter over and over again.

In recent years, I've seen a ton of water temple apologists sprout up defending the design of the dungeon. While it really isn't that confusing, what makes the dungeon so painful is the boss fights. I still don't know how the Shadow Link fight really works after all these years and rely more on exploits. Meanwhile Morpha is easily the worst boss fight in the game.