Okay, so Ocarina of Time 3D was released worldwide by now and various reports and reviews flow in. And I want to be totally honest, I was hoping until the very last second, that there would be still some unannounced new content, like a secret bonus dungeon. But there's nothing of the sorts, this is most and all a graphical update of the game coming with a few tweaks in the interface and the gameplay. There is also Master Quest and the Boss Challenge and Gauntlet modes, but while both of this is really nice, it doesn't offer any real new content.
Don't get me wrong, I never had any unrealistic expectations about this. There are Zelda fans, who when they first heard about the remake instantly dreamt about getting all the originally planned content for the game and its Ura Zelda version, like the Temple of Light, the Unicorn Fountain, the Sword Beam, melting Zora's Domain or Horse Combat. I never expected any of this, I based my expectations entirely on the previous "remakes", Link's Awakening DX and the GameBoy Advance version of A Link to the Past. Both of these enhanced versions got a new sidequest and an extra dungeon with some new items as a reward. A Link to the Past got the Riddle Quest, which gets you the Hurricane Spin Attack, and the Palace of the Four Sword, which leads to a new dungeon. Link's Awakening DX got the Photo Quest, where you get funny pictures for your GameBoy Printer, and the Color Dungeon, where you can unlock different tunics. This is not much, but it is better than nothing. All of this was a nice bonus, in order that the remakes offer a little more than just better graphics or gameplay. And I expected something on these lines for Ocarina of Time 3D.
Actually there were only two things, which I wanted from this remake. That they include Master Quest and that they'll add some minor new content. And they did a great job with Master Quest, the even made it more challenging and confusing by mirroring the game and adding double damage. I like that. But they completely failed at the new content front. I would even go as far and qualify the Boss Challenge as the new sidequest, though there isn't really anything new here, for me this is more like the first step to a solid replay mode. But I would have liked at least a new dungeon. Even a freaking Cave of Ordeals clone would have been fine. This would have even made sense, after all you're now able to replay all the bosses. So, why not add something, where you can replay the minibosses like Dark Link as well? Maybe they feared, that new content would have destroyed how the game used to be. After all this is a faithful remake (except for the blood stains...). But I'm not talking about the Temple of Light here, they could have easily hidden the new and entirely optional dungeon somewhere. The Color Dungeon in Link's Awakening DX was hidden under a tombstone and for the Palace of the Four Sword they just added another hole to the Pyramid of Power. Even if there are people out there, who just happen to totally hate new content, they could easily ignore an hidden dungeon like that. I would have hidden it inside a secret grotto in the Desert Colossus area, because that's one of the last places, which you discover in the game and which you can both access as Young and Adult Link. Hiding some hardcore Cave of Ordeals type dungeon like that somewhere even makes it scarier. "Hey, I just found that really crazy hidden grotto, it scares the hell out of me! What is this thing?!"
And there should be one or two more items. Coincidentally there are even two free spots in the item menu and people are wondering why... There are many options. Pegasus Boots to run faster (like the Bunny Hood in Majora's Mask) for example would have been awesome and a nice option. I would like to try them for Dampé's grave race or the running man contest. Or a telescope / the Hawkeyes, so you can get an even better look at the 3D world. And even two more bottles would have been fine, it's better than nothing and I guess you could use those extra fairies well in Master Quest. By the way, I would have turned the Biggoron's Sword into a normal item, like the Great Fairy's Sword in Majora's Mask. I always liked that you could instantly switch back into sword & shield style by simply pressing B. And since there are two free spots, the Biggoron's Sword would have fit easily.
So, I'm disappointed, that there's no new content at all. Especially since I never expected much, just a small new dungeon, where you get some optional item and that's it. Was that too much to ask? I don't think so.
Don't get me wrong, I never had any unrealistic expectations about this. There are Zelda fans, who when they first heard about the remake instantly dreamt about getting all the originally planned content for the game and its Ura Zelda version, like the Temple of Light, the Unicorn Fountain, the Sword Beam, melting Zora's Domain or Horse Combat. I never expected any of this, I based my expectations entirely on the previous "remakes", Link's Awakening DX and the GameBoy Advance version of A Link to the Past. Both of these enhanced versions got a new sidequest and an extra dungeon with some new items as a reward. A Link to the Past got the Riddle Quest, which gets you the Hurricane Spin Attack, and the Palace of the Four Sword, which leads to a new dungeon. Link's Awakening DX got the Photo Quest, where you get funny pictures for your GameBoy Printer, and the Color Dungeon, where you can unlock different tunics. This is not much, but it is better than nothing. All of this was a nice bonus, in order that the remakes offer a little more than just better graphics or gameplay. And I expected something on these lines for Ocarina of Time 3D.
Actually there were only two things, which I wanted from this remake. That they include Master Quest and that they'll add some minor new content. And they did a great job with Master Quest, the even made it more challenging and confusing by mirroring the game and adding double damage. I like that. But they completely failed at the new content front. I would even go as far and qualify the Boss Challenge as the new sidequest, though there isn't really anything new here, for me this is more like the first step to a solid replay mode. But I would have liked at least a new dungeon. Even a freaking Cave of Ordeals clone would have been fine. This would have even made sense, after all you're now able to replay all the bosses. So, why not add something, where you can replay the minibosses like Dark Link as well? Maybe they feared, that new content would have destroyed how the game used to be. After all this is a faithful remake (except for the blood stains...). But I'm not talking about the Temple of Light here, they could have easily hidden the new and entirely optional dungeon somewhere. The Color Dungeon in Link's Awakening DX was hidden under a tombstone and for the Palace of the Four Sword they just added another hole to the Pyramid of Power. Even if there are people out there, who just happen to totally hate new content, they could easily ignore an hidden dungeon like that. I would have hidden it inside a secret grotto in the Desert Colossus area, because that's one of the last places, which you discover in the game and which you can both access as Young and Adult Link. Hiding some hardcore Cave of Ordeals type dungeon like that somewhere even makes it scarier. "Hey, I just found that really crazy hidden grotto, it scares the hell out of me! What is this thing?!"
And there should be one or two more items. Coincidentally there are even two free spots in the item menu and people are wondering why... There are many options. Pegasus Boots to run faster (like the Bunny Hood in Majora's Mask) for example would have been awesome and a nice option. I would like to try them for Dampé's grave race or the running man contest. Or a telescope / the Hawkeyes, so you can get an even better look at the 3D world. And even two more bottles would have been fine, it's better than nothing and I guess you could use those extra fairies well in Master Quest. By the way, I would have turned the Biggoron's Sword into a normal item, like the Great Fairy's Sword in Majora's Mask. I always liked that you could instantly switch back into sword & shield style by simply pressing B. And since there are two free spots, the Biggoron's Sword would have fit easily.
So, I'm disappointed, that there's no new content at all. Especially since I never expected much, just a small new dungeon, where you get some optional item and that's it. Was that too much to ask? I don't think so.
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