see deal The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Nintendo 3DS $19.99 on Gamestop

Improving upon "perfection" is not exactly an easy job. Yet that's the task that falls before Nintendo and Grezzo, the co-developers of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D . The original Ocarina of Time

Loading

The+Hero+of+Time+arrives+on+the+3DS.

Is it even possible to remake a game as influential and revered as Ocarina of Time? Is it possible to satisfy all audiences, new and old? As it turns out, the answer is yes, for the most part. What the teams at Nintendo and Grezzo manage here is a spectacular yet conservative and respectful upgrade. There are a few minor issues, including some areas where graphics could have received an extra boost, but by and large this tows the line between enhancing a decade-old game and meddling with something that is by most accounts flawless.Graphics will be the core focus of anyone buying Ocarina 3D, as it's the biggest alteration made and Nintendo's biggest showcase for the young 3DS's abilities thus far. Fundamentally this is the same game it ever was. Locations, structures and characters have all been preserved. However, textures, models and animations are all built from the ground up, and have been significantly revised. You'll still recognize everything and everyone, but you'll see them as they were originally meant to be.Ever look at the behind-the-scenes art for Ocarina of Time and wonder where things went wrong for the Moblin or even Link himself? The in-game graphics never quite lived up to the concepts crafted by Nintendo's artists. Those discrepancies are now gone. What's remarkable about the work done for the 3DS version is that it respects its source. It goes to the line set by the game's original artists and absolutely no further. The result is a game that seems so familiar you'd swear it's always looked like this. (Trust me, it didn't.)The dedication in preserving what made the original game so iconic is admirable, but in some instances it might have been a bit much. While there's no doubt characters should only be revised so much, environments are another thing entirely. While the enhanced textures and backgrounds in the game are quite impressive, resulting in some truly stunning locales (Castle Town in particular comes to mind), the basic architecture of some of these areas is still a bit archaic. You'll certainly run into some blocky looking hills and cliffs, instantly recalling this game's rather dated origins. It makes me wonder why some of this couldn't have been touched up. More awkward examples of this come in the form of stairs and open fields, where the blocky nature of the ground combined with more detailed textures makes it painfully obvious you're running up a sparse, flat surface.The concept of Ocarina 3D is identical to what it was so many years ago. Link, a young elf in the Kokiri Forest, is tasked with helping Princess Zelda to save the world. Along the way he explores nearly a dozen dungeons, acquires powerful artifacts, faces off against some of the most epic enemies and bosses ever devised, and does it all while navigating the past, present and future to prevent the land of Hyrule from falling into darkness at the hands of the evil Ganon.