The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

The events of Ocarina of Time are set in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule, the setting of most The Legend of Zelda games. Hyrule Field serves as the central hub connected to several outlying areas with diverse topography. Most of these areas are populated by the races of Hyrule: Hylians, Kokiri, Gorons, Zoras, Gerudo, and Sheikah.

The fairy Navi awakens Link from a nightmare in which he witnesses a man in black armor pursuing a young girl on horseback. Navi brings Link to the Great Deku Tree, who is cursed and near death. The Deku Tree tells Link a "wicked man of the desert" cursed him and seeks to conquer the world, and that Link must stop him. Before dying, the Great Deku Tree gives Link the Spiritual Stone of the Forest and sends him to Hyrule Castle to speak with Hyrule's princess.

At the Hyrule Castle garden, Link meets Princess Zelda, who believes Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo, is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic that gives its holder godlike power. Zelda asks Link to obtain the three Spiritual Stones so he can enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce before Ganondorf reaches it.[33] Link collects the other two stones: the first from Darunia, leader of the Gorons, and the second from Ruto, princess of the Zoras. Link returns to Hyrule Castle, where he sees Ganondorf chase Zelda and her caretaker Impa on horseback, and unsuccessfully attempts to stop him.[34] Inside the Temple of Time, he uses the Ocarina of Time, a gift from Zelda, and the Spiritual Stones to open the door to the Sacred Realm. There he finds the Master Sword, but as he pulls it from its pedestal, Ganondorf appears and claims the Triforce.

Seven years later, an older Link awakens in an area of the Sacred Realm known as the Chamber of Sages and is met by Rauru, one of the seven sages who protect the entrance to the Sacred Realm. Rauru explains that Link's spirit was sealed for seven years until he was old enough to wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf, who has now taken over Hyrule.[35] The seven sages can imprison Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm, but five are unaware of their identities as sages. Link is returned to the Temple of Time; there he meets the mysterious Sheik, who guides him to free five temples from Ganondorf's control, allowing each temple's sage to awaken.[36] Link befriended all five sages as a child: Saria, the Sage of the Forest Temple; Darunia, the Sage of the Fire Temple; Ruto, the Sage of the Water Temple; Impa, the Sage of the Shadow Temple; and Nabooru, the Sage of the Spirit Temple. After the five sages awaken, Sheik reveals herself to be Zelda in disguise, and the seventh sage. She tells Link that Ganondorf's heart was unbalanced, causing the Triforce to split into three pieces. Ganondorf acquired only the Triforce of Power, while Zelda received the Triforce of Wisdom and Link the Triforce of Courage.

Ganondorf kidnaps Zelda and imprisons her in his castle. The other six sages help Link infiltrate the stronghold, where he frees Zelda after nearly defeating Ganondorf, who destroys the castle in an attempt to kill Link and Zelda. After they escape the collapsing castle, Ganondorf emerges from the rubble and, using the Triforce of Power, transforms into a boar-like monster named Ganon and knocks the Master Sword from Link's hand. With Zelda's aid, Link retrieves the Master Sword and defeats Ganon. The seven sages seal Ganondorf in the Dark Realm; still holding the Triforce of Power, he vows to take revenge on their descendants.[38] Zelda uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link back to his childhood. Navi departs and young Link meets Zelda in the castle garden once more.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an action-adventure game with role-playing and puzzle elements set in an open-world environment. The player controls series protagonist Link from a third-person perspective, in a three-dimensional space. Link primarily fights with a sword and shield, but he can also use other weapons such as projectiles, bombs, and magic spells. The control scheme introduced techniques such as context-sensitive actions and a targeting system called "Z-targeting". In combat, Z-targeting allows the player to have Link focus and latch onto an enemy or other objects. When using this technique, the camera follows the target and Link constantly faces it. Projectile attacks are automatically directed at the target and do not require manual aiming. Context-sensitive actions allow multiple tasks to be assigned to one button, simplifying the control scheme. The on-screen display shows what will happen when the button is pushed and changes depending on what the character is doing. For example, the same button that causes Link to push a box if he is standing next to it will have him climb on the box if the analog stick is pushed toward it. Much of the game is spent in battle, but some parts require the use of stealth. Exploration is another important aspect of gameplay; the player may notice inaccessible areas and return later to find them explorable after obtaining a new item, such as the bomb, to blast through walls, or the hookshot, to reach far places.

The adult version of Link, armed with a sword and shield and wearing a green tunic, is fighting a bipedal wolf in front of the Forest Temple. Link's fairy companion, Navi, has turned yellow and hovers above the creature which is now surrounded by yellow crosshair-like arrows.
When the player uses Z-targeting, the view shifts to a letterbox format and arrows indicate the targeted enemy. The player can then circle strafe around the enemy to keep their sight on them.
Link collects items and weapons throughout the game, whose abilities allow him to access, navigate and complete dungeons to advance the story. Each dungeon is a dense, self-contained area in which Link solves puzzles and defeats enemies, and ends in a battle with a boss, a powerful unique enemy. Each dungeon and its boss share a major item and common theme; for example Link must use the Fairy Bow to complete the Forest Temple and defeat its boss, Phantom Ganon, both of which involve trickery and misdirection. Defeat of a dungeon's boss grants Link a special item and advances the main quest.

Ocarina of Time has several optional side-quests, or minor objectives, that the player can choose to complete or ignore. Completing the side-quests usually results in rewards, normally in the form of weapons or abilities. In one side-quest, Link trades items he cannot use himself among non-player characters. This trading sequence features ten items and ends with Link receiving an item he can use, the two-handed Biggoron Sword, the largest and strongest sword in the game. In another side-quest, Link can acquire a horse named Epona. This allows him to travel faster, but attacking while riding is restricted to arrows.[30]:38 In order to get Epona, Link must learn her song while he is a child. However, he is only able to ride her seven years later when he and Epona are both adults.

Link can travel between two points in time. Part way through the main quest, Link claims the Master Sword in the Temple of Time; when Link takes the sword, he is sealed for seven years, until he becomes an adult, and therefore strong enough to wield the Master Sword. Young Link and adult Link have different abilities. For example, only adult Link can use the Fairy Bow and only young Link can fit through certain small passages. After completing the Forest Temple, Link can travel freely between the two time periods by replacing or taking the sword.

Link is given the Fairy Ocarina near the beginning of the game, which is later replaced by the Ocarina of Time, given to him by Princess Zelda. Throughout the game, Link learns twelve melodies that allow him to solve various puzzles and teleport to previously visited locations in the game. The melodies and notes are played with the C and A buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller or the C analog stick on the GameCube controller.