Remember when Nintendo was not attempting to lure your mum and grandparents into playing video games by using Olivia Newton-John and a glorified set of bathroom scales? Those were the days – Nintendo was pushing state-of-the-art console hardware, and developing groundbreaking titles like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Fortunately, Nintendo likes to use its classics to demonstrate the technological advantages of its new hardware, hence the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

Sneer all you want about rose tinted specs and endless re-releases, but this is a trip down memory lane that you need to take. Ocarina of Time 3D feels like the first real showcase game on the 3DS, illustrating the advantages of 3D display technology. The game world really pops out at you, providing the opportunity to marvel at the vast expanses of Hyrule Field, or appreciate the finer details of the game’s atmospheric dungeons.

The core of the game is untouched – time has done little to dull its charm, even after a decade of Nintendo recycling the formula in sequels. Even if you’ve played the game before, it has this way of drawing you in – the sense of being on a grand adventure in a fully realised game world has not been diminished by age. That chilling atmosphere, particularly in the game’s darker second half, is just as effective now as it was thirteen years ago.

If anything, these aspects of the game are enhanced, as developer Grezzo has focused its efforts on improving the technology driving the experience. That muddy textured look that was the N64’s trademark is gone, having been replaced with beautifully detailed, crisp and clear textures. Character models have been cleaned up, now offering up far more detail – with the unfortunate side effect of showcasing just how ugly some of the game’s NPCs are (Hyrule Plaza is a freak show – they should charge two bits a gander!). The pre-rendered areas have been remodelled in real-time, and are just gorgeous. The frame rate has also been dramatically improved.

The game has been adapted to better suit a portable interface. Inventory management is now effortless having shifted to the touch screen – you also get four slots, rather than three. First person aiming is handled by both the slide pad and the gyroscope, allowing for greater accuracy. The Master Quest mode from the GameCube version of the game is included, along with a new boss re-match feature, accessible from Link’s hut.

The experience is by no means perfect. Ocarina of Time 3D occupies an uncomfortable middle ground between port and remake. Grezzo’s visual enhancements are built on top of the same geometry of the N64 version – extremely blocky by today’s standards – except in scenes that were previously pre-rendered which can be quite jarring. It’s kind of like putting fresh cheese and pepperoni on three day old pizza. The game’s brilliant score has merely been upsampled, not re-recorded. Lock-on targeting, now handled by the L button, is fiddly and drops out. Gyroscopic aiming is affected by focus loss when playing in 3D mode. And Navi, that pesky little mosquito, will constantly remind you to put the console down and take a break - it’s like they had to go all the way with recreating one’s adolescence by including the nagging parent element.

These issues aside, Ocarina of Time 3D provides the perfect justification for revisiting this classic, along with offering up a showcase for the benefits of 3D technology.

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