Top 50 Games - #24

24: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Developer: Nintendo EAD

Publisher: Nintendo

Year: 1998

Format: GameCube, iQue, Nintendo 64

Yes, one of the best games ever, as agreed by everyone, is a relatively pathetic #24 on my list.  But as you can see from the format ordering, I first played it on the GameCube, via the special edition of The Wind Waker that came with Ocarina on a bonus disc (looked all over for that, eventually found it in the Aldershot branch of WH Smith, of all places) and thus some of its technological advancements were lost on me ‘cos I’d already played games it had influenced.  Nae matter, it’s still a masterful piece of software.  Galloping over Hyrule Field, diving into Lake Hylia, meeting Biggoron, quietly backing away from that weird Song of Storms guy...it’s no wonder many people hold it up as gaming’s finest moment.

    Still hate the Forest Temple though.

MAGIC MOMENT: the end sequence.  Gorgeous.