If you’ve been following the site for a while, you know that I have had a rocky relationship with the 3DS since its inception (cue boomy Inception music.) I’ve never been a fan of 3D, not even Avatar could make rise to some sort of three Dimensional boner. Mine exists mostly in sprite form, but there is a port on the way. When we saw the 3DS announced at Nintendo’s Press Conferance in 2010, I was incredibly enamored with the game lineup that was supposed to come out.
Fast forward a year later and there were still no games that I was dying to play and the thing was still too damn expensive. E3 rolled around and my eyes fall down to my motherfucking toes. Super Mario 3DS changed everything. What I was playing felt like a true successor to the 80s and 90s 2d Mario games in a way I haven’t
felt since playing Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
I liked that the run button was back, I liked that the tail was back, but most importantly I was glad that the gameplay feel was back. I loved Mario 64 and the Galaxies, but having a new game that felt like this was amazing. New Super Mario Bros. was kinda close but never really hit the target. This was a bulls eye.
This made me start considering a 3DS and then when the price drop happened I was sold. I bought Ocarina 3D which is NOT a port as it has redesigned graphics (not just updated, they are made to look like the storyboards,) tweaked gameplay, and a new control scheme. Then, of course, there is the 3D. I started playing it with 3D on very skeptically. After about 15 minutes my eyes felt like they had melted so I turned it off. I played it again and this time I noticed my eyes didn’t feel weird. And then I noticed that looking at the 3DS screen made it look like you were looking through a window into the world rather than the screen. My brain felt that if I stuck my hand around it, I would see it in Hyrule. After beating the first dungeon, I was sold. 3D on the 3DS is for real and I am excited to play more games in 3D on it. This is coming from the man that didn’t think Avatar was impressive in 3D
It should come as no surprise that Ocarina is still as good as it ever was. For comparison purposes, I popped my cartridge into my N64 and played a bit and couldn’t believe how badly the graphics had aged. They looked blurry, dark, and incredibly ancient. I love old games, old traditional 3D polygonal games too, but Ocarina had really aged poorly in the graphical department. Playing the 3DS version is actually like playing the game exactly as I remember it since the graphics upgrade reminds me of my first play through with the then amazing graphics.
It doesn’t really matter what I say. Ocarina of Time consistently ranks up there on people’s favorite game lists, and rightfully so, the game is amazing. It blows Twilight Princess out of the water in all regards, despite the Gamecube/Wii’s technical upgrade. If you haven’t played it, play it, if you have a 3DS it is the best game on the system and definitely worth playing through again if its been awhile for you (for me December 1998.)
So, here I am, converted to both the 3DS and 3D in general. In fact, I also invested in a 3D TV. Our old TV was acting up and eventually became unable to display anything from our cable company due to their security provisions, so we took the opportunity to get something new. We ended up getting a Panasonic 3D TV and I can say that the 3D blows away 3D in the theater. No comparison.
I still don’t like 3D in the theater, but 3D on TV and 3D on the 3DS are great and enhance the experience. They are the salt that the dish doesn’t need, but makes it more and more delicious.
Port Authority out.
For more comparison images go to: http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/2977757.html
4 Comments
Great job Break
OoT has lost it’s N64 charm.
Who cares about graphics anyway.
Yaay, Ocarina!
Great games never lose their charm.
Its not about the technical with graphics, its about the fact that it matches the storyboards now which is what the artists intended.
As for any aspect of a game, I don’t dismiss it or laud it. It all depends on how its used. I play games with shitty graphics (VVVVVV for example), shitty sound, shitty whatever, all that matters is how it comes together in the end.