When you’re constantly thinking about the games you haven’t played, it’s easy to forget about the ones you have.
As a child, I adored The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I have great memories of exploring Hyrule Field, wrapping my mind around the Forest Temple’s block puzzles and getting lost deep within the Water Temple. After beating the game more than a handful of times, I moved on. I saw everything to be seen in a standard playthrough.
While my time with the game has ended, I’ve been watching what others have been doing with it over the years. Fans have continued to data mine the game for unused and beta content. Every year there are new discoveries pulled from the cartridge that gives us a glimpse into Ocarina of Time’s long development history. Being the first 3D entry, the game changed drastically from its original announcement up until the final release. I visit The Cutting Room Floor every few months to see what’s been dug up. Immersing yourself in Ocarina of Time’s beta content is just a great way to kill your entire night.
From a gameplay perspective, speedrunners continue to break the game. They’ve reduced an epic adventure to less than 20 minutes, yet still somehow find improvements to shorten their time.
It’s amazing seeing what people do and find in this nearly 17-year-old game.
