This is perhaps the greatest preorder oppotunity in the history of videogaming. If you preorder The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker before your store runs out, you'll recieve a free bonus disk containing The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, and the ultra-difficult Ocarina of Time Master Quest(The expansion pack for OOT that never made it out of Nintendo's door). To clear up a couple issues; the only and I mean only things changed in Master Quest are the puzzles in-dungeon and some skultulla locales, and you can chose to play plain old Ocarina of Time witout Master Quest. This game has already given millions of people hours of gaming goodness, and I think it's great that Nintendo released this classic title anew for future generations to enjoy.

Graphics

First things first, this is a port of an N64 game, so naturally the graphics aren't on-par with todays games. Don't order this game expecting to be amazed by cutting age graphics because all you'll get is dissapointment. That being said, the port is running on a much more powerfull system; so the frame rates are improved and the edges are much better looking.

A complaint I always had about OOT was shadows. When you jump on a fence, the shadow is still at your feet, and the shadow is just a couple of triangles coming out of your legs. It doesn't take away any, and the N64 probably couldn't handle more realistic shadows, but It just was an irk of mine. Other than that I have no complaints.

Gameplay

When Zelda Ocarina of Time was released, it was a revolution in the gaming world. Many of the gaming conventions that we see in 3D adventure games today come from this game. Targeting, camera movements, and the general feel of 3D adeventure games come from Ocarina of Time; and for good reason to. The controls, camera and pretty much everything are wonderfull.

I was worried about the controls for this game, I'll admit. The C-button for items and z-button for targeting was just so perfect in the original, and we all know you can't improve upon perfection. I was also very sceptical about having to move the c-stick to activate items. Much to my surprise, Nintendo did improve upon perfection! When I started playing, I realised you could use the x and y buttons for left and right c(much like in the upcoming Wind Waker) which I thought to be very smooth; using L for targeting also works out very well. Overall for controls, Ported very nicely and still as wonderful as ever.

Concerning storyline, if you haven't played it before, this is a game that will pull you in and not let go until you've finished it, and trust me you won't mind. This is a game that you care about, you want to save Hyrule and you want to save the princess Zelda. It gives such an epic feeling and new life to the classic story of Good vs. Evil.

For those of you who made all three of your save files on the original completed games with all of the hearts, skultullas and extra goodies(you know who you are). Master Quest will bring a new and suprisingly difficult challenge to you. Every single puzzle in the all of the dungeons has been redesigned and presents a great challenge. It was desinged to be a challenge for people who had 'mastered' Ocarina of Time, hence the name Master Quest.

Sound

Like I said before, this is a port of an N64 game on a much more powerfull system(Gamecube). The game doen't sound any better, but it is a bit smoother. Sound effects are still right on cue, and the music as epic as ever. Again, as I said before, don't get this game expecting cutting edge sound, you'll just get dissapointment. You will be getting the quality of an above average N64 game.

Backround music in Zelda has always been great but OOT is even better. I always liked the way the music would reflect the time of day. When the suns atarts to rise you get a sort of a light springing noise, then it goes into an adventurous booming tune, then it slows down again as it goes into evening and stops for a while. When you get into Nightime, the music gets desperate as the ever-annoying ghoulish characters attack you and the cycle begins again. Overall, this game has great sound, for what it is.

Replayability

As this is literally two games in one, it is even more replayable than usual for Zelda titles. I know from experience that it is still fun to go through OOT several times, and now that there are two OOTs, you can play through it twice as much! Trust me, with both this and Wind Waker, you should be able to play with them well into summer(if you chose to do so).

Overall

A must-buy wether you scratch your head when you hear Zelda, or you played through the original game several time, but sadly it may be too late to pick up a copy. It took me 4 tries to find a store that had it and that was the day it came out, but if all else fails, there's always Ebay. Considered by many people to be the best game ever made, this is definitely worth your time to find a copy. It doesn't even cost any extra money. So what are you waiting for? It may already be to late! Hurry, and you might find one! Go on, I'll wait...