Cultural Impact: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Y'know, this game was originally going to be much lamer than it turned out. Back when it was tentatively titled The Legend of Zelda 64, it was basically going to be a Super Mario 64 rip-off with the whole game taking place in Ganon's Castle and you venturing to various dungeon-like areas within that framework like how Mario jumped into various paintings. That's the actual reason why Ganon's Castle is structured the way it is in the final game; some of the roots of the original plan were retained therein. I'm so glad that's not the game we wound up getting! Instead we got a full and majestic overworld and the game-defining time-hopping mechanic. In fact, it's really the passage of time in general and the player's impact on the flow of time that brings Ocarina of Time to life in a special way. The game employed details other games didn't back then to bring in added layers of realism, like a day/night cycle that has an impact on who's out and who's not, what collectibles are available, etc., like a kind of microcosm of the game's larger time travel mechanic vis-a-vis the Master Sword. The whole way that time and the magical ocarina songs work in this game lent to it the feeling of a world that was truly, if magically, alive...ya know, by the metrics of the time anyway. I couldn't help also appreciating the elevated role that Zelda enjoys in this game compared to prior entries in what theoretically is supposed to be her own franchise. Ocarina of Time was by far the most immersive entry in the series up to that point and was of tremendous influence upon the way games in its genre were often structured thereafter.
My Favorites: Although there's quite a lot good to say about Ocarina of Time, obviously, at the same time, I feel like while its cinematic presentation is strong and sometimes legitimately gripping, the underlying story itself is really pretty straightforward all in all and mostly boils down to a long series of cliched damsel-in-distress scenarios, and to which end, it's not quite my absolute favorite game of the year to replay anymore today, though with its lush visual detail for the time and large cast of loveable characters and absolutely brilliant level design and time-influencing mechanics and engrossing music, it remains high up there on the list.
Here's a list of my favorite titles from 1998. As you can see, it's fairly long because, as we well know, '98 was just a fantastic year in gaming. It really was. It becomes even more notable when you recall that it was actually in 1998 that Pokemon first launched here in the U.S., becoming an all-encompassing, utterly inescapable cultural phenomenon/madness within months. I felt a bit too old for it already at the time (16) and got bored with the Game Boy games quickly myself, but just mentioning it as something that was also of tremendous cultural impact that year.
Anyway, I'm kind of cheating with this list in two ways, I'll admit. I just learned now that Klonoa: Door to Phantomile was originally released in Japan in December of the previous year. Not realizing that it came out so much earlier in Japan than here, I neglected to include it in my 1997 list of favorites, so I'm choosing to add it here anyway because I have to. It cannot go without mention. Second thing that feels like cheating is including Sonic Adventure on my list for the opposite reason: it didn't actually get released until September of '99 here in the U.S., along with the Dreamcast. The pre-release marketing for the Dreamcast launch Stateside was downright brilliant, in fact. You could rent a Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure and I believe some other launch window games all summer long at video rental stores (which were a thing back then) leading up to the actual launch in September and you bet your ass I took advantage of that option to play Sonic Adventure all summer, "early"! It really felt like Sega was back. Felt like it anyway.
Well I'm getting sidetracked on period anecdotes. Here's my list of '98 favorites in the approximate order of how much I've enjoyed replaying them more recently.
1. Grim Fandango
2. Half-Life
3. Metal Gear Solid
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
5. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
6. Xenogears
7. Panzer Dragoon Saga
8. Resident Evil 2
9. Parasite Eve
10. Sonic Adventure
11. Banjo-Kazooie
12. Crash Bandicoot Warped
13. Vigilante 8
14. Spyro the Dragon
Final anecdote: Year the N64 Expansion Pak came out. Vigilante was among the earliest games that used it.
Last edited by Jaicee - on 15 October 2023
