Jacob Gutierrez
Columbia Basin College
English 102
06/30/25
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time vs. Breath of the Wild
When you think of Nintendo, what comes to mind? Super Mario? Donkey Kong? For me I think of The Legend of Zelda series. This series has many games, starting in 1986 the first Legend of Zelda game was released; this game was a starting point for the series and in the following years more games came out. Some of the most popular games are The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. These are very popular entries in the series and are widely loved by fans; we are going to be doing a side by side comparison of these two games.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out in 1998 on the Nintendo 64 (N64) and is a must play for many Zelda fans. The reason fans say this is because of its story, mechanics and it was also the very first 3d Legend of Zelda game. On the other side there is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which is a modern game that came out in 2017 on the Nintendo Switch. This is the most sold Zelda game of all time having sold over 33.5 million copies, It recently got a remaster on the Nintendo Switch 2 that came out recently and is gaining more traction once again. This game is widely loved for its take on an open world Zelda game and its freedom to do anything you want. The new combat system such as items breaking or being able to throw items adds a fun twist to the series.
A Classic Game
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is held in very high regard with many Legend of Zelda fans. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the first 3d Zelda game in the series, and was a hit among fans. The game is known for its great story, various missions outside of the main goal, and unique mechanics and dungeons. Many fans of the series have this as a must play for any Zelda fans.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the last popular 3d Zelda Game was The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword which came out in 2011. Skyward Sword was more focused on puzzles and straight to the point missions. However, in 2017 the Nintendo Switch was announced, and with that came The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This was a crazy new Zelda game with awesome visuals, a good story, and a vast open world with many things to explore. This was also the most sold game in the series and is still popular today.
Image from WellPlayedStory
Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild follow a similar trope, but also have some differences. First let's start with Ocarina of Time. You play as a young child named Link who lives with the Kokiri and the Great Deku Tree. Link is outcast for not having a fairy, but later the Great Deku Tree sends Link a fairy named Navi, and she joins Link on his quest. Turns out the great deku tree was poisoned by a man named Ganondorf. This man wants to be the ruler of Hyrule and get the Triforce to cast evil upon the land. After trying to save the Great Deku Tree, unfortunately he dies, but he sends Link on a quest through Hyrule to Princess Zelda and then she sends Link to save other areas such as the Gorons and Zora. After doing that, Link sees Zelda running away from Ganondorf, and she tells Link to open the temple of time with the items you have collected. After doing that Link is presented with the Master Sword, and as he lifts it up from the pedestal, he gets sealed in the sacred realm for 7 years, unfortunately Ganondorf snuck in and tried to steal the triforce, splitting it into 3 pieces. 7 years pass and Link is unsealed but Hyrule is in ruins. A mysterious stranger named Sheik greets Link and sends him back into Hyrule to save the world, and find the princess.
Breath of the Wild starts out a little differently, Link wakes up in some sort of temple, he hears Zelda's voice calling him and he walks out of the temple, unsure of what's going on. Turns out he is 100 years in the future and was in that temple healing as he almost died 100 years ago. Now the world has been taken over by monsters from Calamity Ganon, the embodiment of chaos. Zelda has been keeping him trapped for 100 years waiting for Link to wake up. Now that he has woken up he needs to find a way to defeat Ganon, he meets a mysterious stranger who turns out to be the ghost of the king of Hyrule. He tells Link he needs to take down the divine beasts and free the souls of the sages in order for them to aid him in battle. He also needs to go get the Sword that seals the darkness, the Master Sword. After doing all these things, Link has a huge battle with Calamity Ganon and saves the princess. Both of these stories have a similar plot with needing to save the land of Hyrule, however the context, and characters are the only real difference. The games are very similar to having a npc help you throughout your quest.
The World Differences
Both Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild have open world game play, however there are a few differences. For starters Ocarina of Time has a smaller map, and sectioned off areas, that you slowly unlock as you progress more in the game. Whereas in Breath of the Wild the map is huge with much to explore and you can explore anywhere and it's all free roam you don't need to unlock anything. You can get items to make your game easier but it's not necessary with all the mechanics in the game, such as free climb.
Ocarina of Time map
Breath of the Wild Map Items and Weapons
In Ocarina of Time, items are used in different stages of your gameplay when you start out you are able to use items like a small sword and 2 different shields however one of the shields you can't use until you progress more into the game and turn into an adult. Other items you have access to as a child are Deku Nuts used to stun enemies, a slingshot, a boomerang, and bombs. Later in the game when you turn into an adult, you are able to use the other shield and unlock additional items like a third shield, and you are able to use new items like the master sword and Biggoron's sword that were not available to use when you were a child additionally all these items are permanent, or easy to obtain again and do not have any item durability. Lastly you are given three different color tunics with different mechanics such as heat resistance, or breathing underwater.
Items and weapons from Ocarina of Time
On the other side there is Breath of the Wild, in which you play as an adult. In this game all weapons are usable, however weapons have durability, which means after a few uses the weapon breaks. Some weapons are easy to obtain again, but other weapons are harder to get and usually need certain requirements to get such as beating a mini boss. The game also has a vast amount of customization and outfits that are in three parts that gives the player the ability to wear different shirts, hats and pants. Similarly to Ocarina of Time some of these outfits have special abilities, but something different about the outfits is that in order to get the full ability you need all 3 pieces of the set.
Combat
The combat in both games have a similar style, and mechanics, however Breath of the Wild has a twist when it comes to the combat. When you perfectly time a flip or dodge, you unlock a mechanic called flurry rush, this gives the player the ability to slow time, and unleash a flurry or attacks. Additionally when in combat if the weapon is low on durability, you can throw it for increased damage however the weapon will break. Lastly when gliding in the air, if you draw your bow you slow time, and can shoot arrows however this takes up your stamina bar.
In Ocarina of Time, the combat is more basic, you have your slashing attacks on one button, and your down slam on another, the game still has the ability to flip over or dodge, but there is no flurry rush mechanic as this is an older game. You can't throw weapons, but you can throw things like Deku Nuts to blind enemies giving you an advantage.
Special Abilities
Both of these games have special abilities that the player can use; however, these abilities are different, but also similar. In Ocarina of Time you have the ability to play the ocarina with songs you learn from npcs and use for dungeons. These songs can be used to travel to a certain locations such as a dungeon entrance or lake hylia. Additionally you can play a song and summon your horse in almost any place for easier traversal, and lastly you can move a special time block by playing the song of time, allowing you to access the blocked place.
Breath of the Wild has one of these mechanics being the ability to travel, however its not limited to set place, in the game there are structures called shrines, and you can use these at points of travel. This gives you the ability to travel to any shrine in a matter of seconds. Some other mechanics are the stasis ability which allows you to freeze anything for a set amount of time, magnesis which allows you to pick up any metal object, cryonis which allows you to put up to three ice blocks in any kind of water, and bombs which come in square and round versions.
Conclusion
Both of these Zelda games are must plays for any fan and are easy to learn. It depends on what you the consumer likes more, if you like the older generation of games and want fun and simple mechanics The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the game for you. If you want a more modern game with more freedom to do whatever you want then The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the better option.
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