Zelda no Densetsu: Toki no Ocarina
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

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Ah, the Legend of Zelda series. When people typically hear that particular name being said in any conversation, usually the first few thoughts that enters one's mind are Link, Zelda, Nintendo, epic and Ocarina of Time. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released in 1998 for the N64 system and was quickly hailed as one of the best games in video game history. It received many perfect and near-perfect scores on gaming sites and was known for its well told plot and the use of time travel, where you were able to ... play as young and adult Link.

For all the Zelda fans out there, this information is pretty much as standard as knowing your own name. It comes hand in hand. That's why when I first saw that the game was going to be ported over to manga format, I will admit that I was one of the skeptics out there. For starters, Link does not talk. How would they incorporate Link's muteness in a manga that would inevitably be centralized around him? As I will explain, as far as manga adapted video games go, they did a fine job with it.

Since the story is pretty much the same as from the game, there was no way that I could give it any less than a nine. Because of a few changes within the storyline that they presented in the manga (some changes for better and some for worse), I avoided giving it that perfect score in that department. For example, some negative changes that they incorporated were some of the events in the manga occur a tad bit out of order than what you would have encountered in the game. However, a positive change was that they adapted a history behind Link's earing. We are given a legitimate reason as to why he wears them on his ears, and suffice to say, its a pretty neat thing to read up on.

The art is very well done. All of the characters look like themselves and are pretty close to what the official game art drew them as. However, there are at times throughout the chapters that some of the characters will look a tad bit odd and make you wonder what kind of body proportions did the mangaka use. A lot of the environments are well detailed while others are plain as rice. So it varies and I scored it as such.

The big question mark revolving around the manga is how they were able to pin down the characters and their personalities, especially with the case of Link. Let me say that the mangaka did a wonderful job on Link's personality. He is portrayed as a young, innocent and curious youth who gets flustered easily but holds an enviable about of courage for a ten-year old lad. In his adult self, long gone are the days of his cute youth, replaced by a hardened, steel-faced hero of time, yet still remain are the innocence and curiosity that defined him as a young child. Zelda and Link are shown to have a close bond of friendship when they meet each other while in their childhood and still hold onto that bond as adults, but clearly, there is something more between them that's hinted on but never clearly expressed. All the sages are well done as well and stick to their personalities of what was portrayed in the game, so you never have the sense of "what the hell - that's not what they were in the game" feeling. And that is something that is needed when making this kind of transition.

If you enjoyed playing the game Ocarina of Time and are one of the supporters out there that would love to see Link talk in an upcoming Zelda game, there is almost an inevitable chance that you'll love this manga to pieces. A close resemblance of the storyline in the game and a great personality of Link, Zelda and the sages will almost make you breathe a sigh of relief that they did not mess this up completely, which could have easily been done (i.e., the Legend of Zelda cartoon).

However, a big part of what the game is all about is the epic story-telling of the plot and as you read this manga, you get a different feel of it from when you played the game. For me, the story felt much more epic in the game than in the manga. In addition, the puzzle-ridden dungeons that Link traverses are really overlooked and not included as much in the manga.

It is these above criteria that hold the manga from receiving that perfect ten-point-zero score, but then again, if there was anything that could emulate the feeling of playing through Ocarina of Time, we wouldn't still be talking about the game to this very day, eh?

First off, you should know that for the most part, this manga is a retelling of the story in the Ocarina of Time game; there aren't a lot of changes that are made in the storyline and not a lot of filler which some may or may not like but it is what it is.

Overall, I loved this manga and its portrayal of the characters from a personality standpoint. One of the few things that the video game didn't focus much on was the personalities and emotional development of the characters (due in part to the fact that OoT was already pushing the limits of ... what the Nintendo 64 had to offer). This manga gives a bit of insight as to how many of the characters, especially Link and Navi, may have acted between moments of action; and many of these are sensible given the characters personalities in the game. Also, I enjoyed the detail they put in the art, making the characters' features less exaggerated (and in some cases less goofy looking) than the video game counterpart (ex: Nabooru's nose which drove me insane in the game).

I have one gripe about this series however, which makes a large impact on my score (I would've given this a 9) because it irritated me so much; it moved way too fast. The entire series took a total of 18 chapters, and that includes 3 bonus chapters not related to the story. That means the entire Ocarina of Time story which took hundreds if not thousands of gamers hours upon hours to complete, took only 15 chapters to get through (maybe half a night of sitting down and reading). Link went through entire sections of the game within a few pages, which as you could imagine put some major holes in the story that would utterly confuse anybody who has not attentively played through the entire game. I desperately wish they had slowed the pace of the manga down significantly and, though they showed the development of Link himself adequately, they should have put a bit more spotlight on some of the minor characters that had a connection with Link and made a a major impact on the story (ex: Saria, Ruto, Malon, etc).

All in all, I would recommend this series to anybody who loved the Ocarina of Time video game (and really who doesn't?) and if you're not bothered by the rushed feeling of the manga, then this is definitely a great choice for a good read.

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is a game often recomended to me. Unfortunately I lack the drive to play games on my 3DS (I do not own an N64) that aren't fighting games so I decided that I would read the manga instead.

The story centers on a young boy named Link who goes on a quest to save the world from the villainous Ganondorf. It's pretty generic fantasy stuff but I wasn't expecting an amazing story so I wasn't too bummed down.

The characters are all very quickly realised and this sets them up properly for what appears to be a rather ... quick adventure. Link very quickly dispatches of his various enemies with fights lasting roughly three pages. This is dissapointing as the art for these battles is actually very good and it would be nice to see more action.

Overall the first volume is a blast, albeit a bit pacy and with poor action, the characters are likeable and the story is bouncy. The second book on the overhand is a complete dismall. The plot points last barely any time at all and although some mystery is brought up it is very quickly dispersed. The second book does however have more action and redeems itself through this.

In conclusion the books are just above mediocre due to the on-par art and the characterization, worth a read if you are looking for light hearted fun but don't expect a masterpiece.