Few games of the last few console generations hold as many fond memories as Zelda's debut 64-bit installment Ocarina of Time. Perhaps it was seeing Link riding Epona over the grassy fields of Hyrule in then-dazzling 3D for the first time, or marveling at Miyamoto's ingenious auto-jumping mechanic. Or it could be the magic moment when young Link was transformed into grown-up Link, changing the direction and feel of the game for the better, forever cementing a typical grown-up model of Zelda's iconic hero. It could even just be trying to beat the Water Temple. The notion is probably different for every gamer, but there's no doubt that Ocarina had a huge effect on anyone who played it.

My Ocarina moment is much simpler. It's not any particular scene or memorable visual; it's encapsulated entirely within a single phrase: "Hey, listen!"

It's not that Navi herself was all that revolutionary by today's standards. In the still burgeoning era of what would eventually become the handholding tutorials and waypoints of contemporary game design, she was simply one of the first in-game guides. And man, was she annoying. I'm sure we can all relate to wanting to mute the game whenever her shrill voice came blaring through the television speakers. Yet not even Navi's grating voice could keep Ocarina of Time from being something special. Its basic design has more or less become a benchmark by which we have come to judge what a "realistic" Zelda should be. (I would argue that fans have basically been clamoring for a new Ocarina of Time ever since Ocarina of Time, much the same way that every new Castlevania is measured up to Symphony of the Night.) Still, even with Navi screeching in your ear, it was impossible not to have your breath taken away by Ocarina's 3D reimagining of a classic series. Now Nintendo is set to release the 3DS remake next month. Will Ocarina still hold up? And if so, how well?

The answer, of course, is yes—at least for a vast majority of fans that have been waiting for this moment for over a decade. Skyward Sword may be the next "realistic" Zelda title—though with Project Café set to debut around E3 next month, I wouldn't be surprised if it's delayed and overhauled for the new system—but there's no better guarantee for a surefire hit than a straight-up revival. Especially with all the new bells and whistles Nintendo is adding to this definitive version of Ocarina. The new graphical overhaul and touchscreen additions to the controls and inventory system are a given. The original Ocarina—try as we might to paint over its blemishes with the brush of nostalgia—is as hard and rough as sandpaper in one's eye. As much as I still adore the N64, most of its games are sadly now cringe-worthy. Nintendo knew that releasing a more or less straight port with added 3D effects would make fans cry foul, and the result looks to be a game that's smoother, better-looking, and simply more up to par with today's offerings. I suspect if they had just released an exact port without touching up the graphics, people still would have played it. Since it's the series' 25th birthday this year, however, this would have been a major disservice to what most would consider to be Zelda's crown jewel.

In true Nintendo fashion, not a whole lot else is being said about what's going to make Ocarina different from the original version. The promise of the Master Quest and a boss rush mode will add some bonus content to Ocarina's spruced-up visuals and added 3D, but I wonder how well the game's core design will hold up after all these years. After all, this is a remake of a thirteen year-old game—how much is going to be original and how much will be "remade?" Common sense and previous industry dealings (not to mention the weight of legacy) suggest that the game will be familiar, just with some twists, changes, or additions. Ninety-nine percent of game remakes do this, and I have no reason to think it's going to change in this case. Still, design itself has changed, whether through streamlining or just the varying influence of different gameplay trends.

That being said, it seems just as likely that Nintendo is in some ways betting that Ocarina's nostalgia will be the wave the game can ride to commercial and critical success. Let's not mince words here: Nintendo is repackaging what for many of us is an important and lasting piece not just of gaming history, but of our childhoods. That's fine. They're being completely honest about it, and really, who hasn't wanted to see Ocarina re-imagined for the modern age? This may well be Nintendo's personal Final Fantasy VII (sorry, Square fans). I doubt if anyone would even care much if it wasn't in 3D. However, the inclusion of a first-person mode that lets players look around with the gyroscope seems like a nice addition. The more 3DS-centric content the game packs, the better—even if it may seem like a challenge to come up with innovative ways to overlay other 3D design with Ocarina's basic blueprints while still maintaining the basic gameplay and feel of the original game.

Nintendo of Japan's president Satoru Iwata also recently promised there will be a "celebration" of Zelda's 25th birthday. So here's hoping we can look forward to something big overall for the series—at least bigger than Nintendo of America's downright pathetic showing for Mario's 25th anniversary last year. Whatever the case, we'll likely find out just what they have up their sleeve sometime next month.

By Steve Haske
CCC Contributing Writer

*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*