/vr/ - Retro Games

I guarantee you that if you bring over friends who've never played an N64 game, they're going to be far more enthralled by Mystical Ninja than they would by OoT. That's just how it is.

But here's the thing, OoT is objectively the better game. It has tenfold the gameplay depth that Mystical Ninja does. Mystical Ninja's gameplay is some barebones Mario-combined-with-Zelda thing that doesn't really succeed at being anything other than the stuff that occupies your time while you're traveling from Point A to Point B in the game. And all the other design elements are just done with more effort in OoT.

Yet Mystical Ninja holds up better as a game these days because it's just so fucking bizarre with its flamboyant feudal Japan setting. I'm sure there are plenty of games out that do this thing, but Mystical Ninja is king. So for what it aims to do (weird you out and fascinate you) it hasn't really been surpassed. While OoT is just one of thousands of games that have tried to be the most badass and fun adventure game out there. It succeeded, but the endless competition guaranteed it was going to be overtaken one day.

So I guess OoT suffers from its own success. It was THE adventure game, but once the actual gameplay elements had been surpassed by its successors, it was only left with the artistic elements. While that keeps it on its pedestal for many people, it's caused the game to feel dated and unworthy of all of its praise by others.

Yet fucking Mystical Ninja, which could imitate the glory that was Zelda, has come down to us as an immortal gem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRj7XVFd3Ic