No game has been as impressive at the time of release as Ocarina of Time was back in 1998. Maybe Mario 64 has a case. Zelda never got another "Wow" moment like that one until BotW (which in 2017 which still didn't match Ocarina's mind-blowing experience in 1998). Even Metacritic agrees.

ocarina of time in terms of gameplay and story. ffvii in terms of atmosphere. if we're talking music, it's pretty much a tie for me.

overall i'd give it to ocarina of time, since gameplay is the most important aspect of a game to me. i just find ocarina of time's gameplay to be more immersive. i like a good jrpg grind every now and then, but it isn't always the most fun thing to do.

I rank my Zelda games by comparison to one another in terms of content, not by the impact of their release as a whole.  Their impact over 20 years ago means nothing in terms of gameplay if I fire it up right now.  As I have said many times, Ocarina revolutionized gaming as a whole with its release.  However in terms of gameplay, it is a mid tier Zelda game in my book.

Maybe it is due to the fact that I have replayed every mainline Zelda game within the past 5 years, but nostalgia and impact to the industry are non factors for me.  Now if you are comparing it to another game during the same gen (like FFVII), sure the impact at the time matters.  But when spanning several generations as a whole, it becomes more about the content and what I find more enjoyable.

Changing my stance purely on gameplay. I'm playing FF7 right now. Time has not been kind. Navigating in this game is trash. A lot of it is forgivable then but now..dear god. It has aged so poorly. Combat is fine. It's navigating anywhere on these pre-rendered backgrounds. I did not have this issue in IX recently. So by then they mainly had it figured out. You just have no real sense of what anything is and where you are. Movement def feels like a game designed around a Dpad. That sucks. I just do not like the Materia system. Not the crap Junction was but I am just not a fan. The motorcycle thing feels like a cool idea not executed well because of the tech. A lot of this game playing it feels like never made a 3D game before and it is just that. Story, Music, and characters are fine. I know they are about to release part 1 of a re-imagining of the game, not so much a remake. If it was just a remake that would still be fine as it would use modern game design to fix all these issues.

OoT feels dated but much more playable than this when it comes to navigating. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying my playthrough atm of FF7 but it is hindered to me by its age.

As I posted earlier in this thread, I sold my N64 in 1997 and kept my PS1 (despite being a huge Nintendo fan, the PS1 was just a better console with better games). I had to buy Brave Fencer Musashi and tell myself *It's basically Zelda."

As a result, I didn't actually get to play OoT until it was a free pre-order bonus on GameCube with... Wind Waker. My experience was that OoT was somehow much better! Again, it wasn't on the original hardware.

That's my story.

Microsoft should fund FFVIII Remake as Xbox Series X/W10 exclusive!

AsGryffynn said: Microsoft should fund FFVIII Remake as Xbox Series X/W10 exclusive!

Final fantasy is a typical Playstation franchise so it will not do all that well. Same with Tomb Raider. Also Square probably wants to release it on all platforms if FF 7 remake is done and sold well. We are also at the end of the gen by then if SE doesn't get to develop the sequels faster than the first installment. 

That "remastered" version kinda is a remake. They remade most of the assets.

Qwark said: AsGryffynn said: Microsoft should fund FFVIII Remake as Xbox Series X/W10 exclusive! Final fantasy is a typical Playstation franchise so it will not do all that well. Same with Tomb Raider. Also Square probably wants to release it on all platforms if FF 7 remake is done and sold well. We are also at the end of the gen by then if SE doesn't get to develop the sequels faster than the first installment.

FF is not a PlayStation franchise. It began on NES now it's on everything. Xbox. Nintendo. Phones. PC. Even back then it was on PC and WonderSwan.

Qwark said: AsGryffynn said: Microsoft should fund FFVIII Remake as Xbox Series X/W10 exclusive! Final fantasy is a typical Playstation franchise so it will not do all that well. Same with Tomb Raider. Also Square probably wants to release it on all platforms if FF 7 remake is done and sold well. We are also at the end of the gen by then if SE doesn't get to develop the sequels faster than the first installment.

Final Fantasy 1-6 started on NES/SNES.  FFVII through 12 (excluding XI) were exclusive to the PS1 and PS2.  After that, it releases on everything and even those former exclusive games are on all platforms.

In short, two generations of timed exclusive games does not make it a "typical Playstation franchise".