Games Inbox: Is Zelda: Ocarina Of Time the top game this year?

Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the best game of the year so far Thursday’s letters page responds to the reviews of the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, while one reader has finally completed Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave. Games Inbox is a selection of letters, comments, and opinions from our readers. If you want to join the discussion, email us.

Great review of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, GC, and I’m delighted to see it score 96 on Metacritic. It’s number one for the year and now the highest-rated remake ever! I imagine Nintendo must be thrilled with that reaction, especially since the producer seemed worried about how people would respond to it.

I was already convinced by the positive previews, and I don’t really think the complaints about it being 1:1 hold much water. Sure, you can tweak things a little, and maybe they could have added an extra dungeon or something, but if you turn it into a huge open-world game like Breath of the Wild, then it becomes a completely different experience. If you’re making a remake, it should stay very close to the original.

If you’re making a reboot or a homage, then go wild and make it only loosely similar. But you don’t change one of the greatest games ever made for no reason. I’m glad Nintendo’s approach worked, and hopefully this means Majora’s Mask is already in the works.

Now imagine if GTA 6 ends up disappointing, even slightly, and Ocarina of Time becomes the best game of the year for the third time! Onibee Want GTA 6 news? Sign up for the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 updates, reviews of new games worth playing, and exclusive analysis of the week’s biggest stories.

Two at once I’ve just read your review, and it sounds like the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is exactly what I wanted it to be. Basically a 1:1 version with better graphics, although I think getting used to the jump button will be a little odd at first. I’m really happy with the rest of it, and with everything left intact instead of being changed.

If they were going to overhaul the mechanics, I would have preferred they just made a brand-new Zelda instead. I’m almost tempted to save it for Christmas, the way I first played the original back in 1998. I remember the day after Boxing Day going into Bromley to try to buy a copy with my Christmas money, and finding a small independent shop that still had a few copies left.

Old memories for an old man! Simon GC: Using the second analogue stick to control the camera is almost always the hardest thing for casual and non-gamers to get used to, even in otherwise simple games. Try it with a relative or a friend.

Pros and cons I was somewhat surprised by your score for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I only played it briefly at midnight, so I can’t judge the game as a whole or its quality-of-life improvements. But it looks gorgeous, the orchestrated music is excellent, and everything feels smooth and seamless.

I have no problem with how Link looks or with the limited voice acting. Scoring it is difficult. I do understand your point that Nintendo could have added a few more changes, such as more enemies or even additional areas.

So it is a little disappointing in that respect. Is that why you gave it 9/10? Or, as much as possible given its legacy and influence, did you judge it on its own merits compared with games today?

If so, and knowing the original inside out, I’d definitely give it a 10. Great review regardless. Ciara GC: We thought the cons section made that clear enough.

It’s almost absurdly easy, and the lack of any Master Quest content, despite it being in the 3DS version, is disappointing. And of course, not being able to rename Link is unforgivable; we should have given it 1/10 for that. Email your comments to: email You know his name I was surprised to see 007 First Light already discounted by 50%, although I suppose it did come out earlier in the year.

I just want to strongly recommend it to other readers, because for me it’s easily the best game of the year. I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as good as it is, but it surprised and impressed me at every turn, especially in how willing it was to slow down for quieter, more conversational moments that let you get to know the characters better and see they weren’t just one-dimensional. I know there’s no chance of it winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards, but the actor playing Bond would be robbed if he doesn’t win best actor.

He’s perfect, and I’m not convinced he won’t end up being better than the new film actor once they announce him. Zeiss Instant buy Ubisoft seems like an unlikely saviour, but I really hope they manage to buy Arkane from Microsoft and let them finish Marvel’s Blade. I know we have no idea what it’s like, but Arkane is one of those developers whose games I’d buy without needing to know anything else.

I realise most people probably don’t feel that way, but I’ve loved everything they’ve made since Dishonored. I feel Deathloop was underrated, and they deserve to be mentioned alongside the greats. Gauntlett Good Fortune Re: Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave.

It’s finished. Nearly two months later, I’ve finally beaten this absolute behemoth of a game, just in time for the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake too, which is nice. Anyway, Fortune’s Weave.

What a game. I’m giving it 9/10 here rather than a straight 10, but honestly I’m somewhere around 9.5 to 9.7 because the final section has some real narrative problems. I won’t go into every single detail, but I’ll give brief thoughts on each major part.

I think the Part 1 routes are easily the strongest part of the game; the way the stories and characters weave together is really impressive. Part 2 is a slight step down, although what it loses in narrative depth it makes up for with excellent combat, except that all the routes are basically the same apart from a few changed lines. Then Part 3 is where the game’s issues really start to show.

Eshmel. Bringing together all the other four lords, if you’ve completed all their routes, is of course fantastic, but the biggest problem is our player character. Eshmel just feels underwhelming.

His whole identity is strongly hinted at but never fully resolved, major moments for the other lords who aren’t playable characters are clearly cut, and the story quickly loses its way after the first few chapters. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time – best of the year, so far Thursday’s letters page responds to the reviews for the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake, while one reader finally wraps up Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave. Games Inbox is a roundup of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions.

To join the conversation yourself, email email. Next please Great review of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, GC, and I’m delighted to see it land a 96 on Metacritic. It’s number one game of the year and the highest-rated remake ever!

I imagine Nintendo must be thrilled with that reaction, especially since the producer was apparently worried about how people would respond to it. I was convinced by the positive previews, and I don’t really buy the complaints that it’s too 1:1. Sure, a few changes would’ve been fine, and maybe they could have added another dungeon or something, but if you turn it into a huge open-world game like Breath Of The Wild, then it becomes a completely different thing.

If you’re making a remake, it should stay close to the original. If you’re making a reboot or a tribute, then by all means go wild and only keep a vague resemblance, but you don’t alter one of the greatest games ever made for no reason. I’m glad to see Nintendo’s approach has paid off, and hopefully this means Majora’s Mask is already in development.

Now just imagine if GTA 6 ends up being a disappointment, even a small one, and Ocarina Of Time ends up being game of the year for the third time! Onibee Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play, and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.

Two at once I’ve just read your review, and it sounds like the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is exactly what I wanted it to be. Basically a 1:1 version with better graphics, although I think the jump button is going to feel a little odd at first. I’m really happy that the rest seems intact and that nothing has been changed for the sake of it.

If they were going to overhaul the mechanics, I’d have preferred they just made a brand new Zelda instead. I’m almost tempted to save it for Christmas, like when I first played the original back in 1998. I remember going into Bromley the day after Boxing Day, trying to use my Christmas money to buy a copy, and finding a small independent shop that had a couple left.

Old man, good memories! Simon GC: Controlling the camera with the second analogue stick is almost always the thing casual players and non-gamers struggle with most, even in otherwise simple games. Try it on a relative or a friend.

Pros and cons I was a bit surprised by your score for The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. I only had a quick go at midnight, so I can’t really judge the whole game or the quality-of-life changes. But it looks gorgeous, the orchestral music is excellent, and everything feels smooth and seamless.

I’ve got no problem with how Link looks or with the limited voice acting. It’s hard to score, because I do see your point that Nintendo could have added a few more changes, such as more enemies or even extra areas. So it is a little disappointing in that respect.

Is that why you gave it 9 out of 10? Or, as far as that’s possible with a game like this, did you score it on its own merits compared with modern games? If so, and considering how well I know the original, I’d definitely be giving it a 10.

Great review either way. Ciara GC: We thought we were clear in the cons section of the review. It’s almost insultingly easy, and the lack of any Master Quest content, despite it being in the 3DS version, is disappointing.

And of course, not being able to rename Link is unforgivable; we should have given it 1/10 for that. Email your comments to: email You know his name I was surprised to see 007 First Light already discounted by 50%, although I suppose it did come out earlier in the year. I just want to strongly recommend it to other readers, because for me it’s easily the best game of the year.

I wasn’t expecting it to be anywhere near this good, but it surprised and impressed me at every turn, especially in how it wasn’t afraid to slow down and spend time on quieter, more conversational moments where you got to know the characters better and see they weren’t just one-dimensional. I know it has no chance of winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards, but the actor playing Bond is going to be robbed blind if he doesn’t win best actor. He’s perfect, and I’m not convinced he won’t end up being better than the new film actor once they announce him.

Zeiss Instant buy Ubisoft seems like an unlikely saviour, but I really hope they do manage to buy Arkane from Microsoft and let them finish Marvel’s Blade. I know we have no idea what the game is actually like, but Arkane is one of those developers whose games I’d buy without needing to know anything else. I realise most people probably don’t feel that way, but I’ve loved everything they’ve made, starting with Dishonored.

I think Deathloop was very underrated, and they deserve to be up there with the greats. Gauntlett Good Fortune Re: Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave. It’s finally finished.

Nearly two months later, I’ve beaten this absolute behemoth of a game, just in time for the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake too, which is pretty cool. Anyway, Fortune’s Weave. What a game.

I’m giving it a 9/10 here rather than a straight 10, but honestly I’m somewhere in the 9.5 to 9.7 range because the final stretch has some serious narrative problems. I won’t go into every detail, but I’ll give the short version of each major section. I think the Part 1 routes are easily the strongest part of the game; the way the stories and characters weave together is fantastic.

Part 2 is a slight step down, though what it loses in narrative depth it makes up for with excellent combat, even if all the routes are basically the same apart from a few line changes. Part 3 is where the game’s problems really start to show. Eshmel.

Getting all four other lords together, if you’ve done all their routes, is absolutely phenomenal, but the biggest issue is that Eshmel, our player character, is just underwhelming. His whole identity is strongly hinted at but never properly resolved, key moments for the other lords who aren’t playable are clearly cut, and the story quickly loses itself after the first few chapters.