Join us as we journey back to re-examine the immortal epic, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This is a researched, partly scripted and partly conversational podcast about some of our favorite video games ever. Our next episode is on Bioshock on June 30! EMAIL us any questions or thoughts for future episodes or mailbags here: [email protected]

(00:00) Intro (02:02) Our history with Ocarina and Zelda (14:56) The Hero’s Journey (20:25) Story and development deep dive retrospective (25:26) Meeting Navi and the Kokiri Forest development (28:10) Being placed firmly into Link’s shoes (37:48) Learning game mechanics through exploration and Nintendo’s design decisions (39:22) The Inception of Navi (43:45) Meeting Daddy Deku (45:25) Inside the Deku Tree (49:44) Queen Gohma and Nintendo’s creative use cutscenes (54:00) Lore, Ganondorf and the greatness of the Creation Myth (01:01:05) Miyamoto and Co. building the story as they go (01:05:36) Hyrule Historia and timeline madness Discussion (01:11:35) The cinematic brilliance of leaving Kokiri and entering Hyrule Field (01:19:18) Hero’s Journey Steps 2 through 5 (01:26:24) The lively and bustling Hyrule Castle Town (01:30:08) Meeting the Princess of Destiny (01:33:33) Spying on Ganondorf (01:36:30) Kakariko Village and Nintendo’s village design (01:41:30) Death Mountain and Yoshiki Haruhana’s Goron design (01:48:40) Dodongo’s Cavern (01:54:03) Development of Chanbara style fighting and Z-Targeting (02:05:55) Entering Zora’s River and discussing Ocarina’s modular open world (02:08:48) Zora’s Domain and the cryptic mission design (02:16:58) Miyamoto’s obssession w/ Autojump and cinematic storytelling (02:24:32) Lord Jabu Jabu’s Belly (02:33:28) Zelda’s Desperate Escape and all hell break’s loose (02:37:51) The absolute majesty of the Master Sword Scene (02:39:40) We’re seven years older?! (02:45:13) How Nintendo decided and achieved the Young/Adult Link dynamic (02:49:05) Importance of N64's ROM Cartridges to achieving Ocarina’s Mechanics (02:53:27) Adult Link’s Influence on gamers and the Zelda franchise (02:57:48) Meeting Sheik (03:06:52) The importance and magic of the Ocarina instrument (03:09:39) The poet laureate Sheik, and the Forest Temple (03:23:39) Getting Epona and Ocarina’s brilliant side mission design 03:38:04 The genesis of Epona and Hyrule Field (03:41:40) Ganon’s Wrath on Goron City and the Fire Temple (03:52:11) The infamous Water Temple (04:00:00) The Shadow Temple and the power of environmental storytelling (04:10:35) The “high security jail” in the Gerudo Desert (04:15:43) Koji Kondo’s music design and how it influenced the game experience (04:22:20) Nabooru, Ganondorf and the lore of the Gerudo people (04:29:58) The Spirit Temple (04:35:56) The Holy Trinity plus Destiny vs. Fate (04:44:09) Ganon’s Castle (04:45:44) THE FINAL CONFRONTATION!!! (04:58:20) Ending the Hero’s Journey (05:06:30) Loremaster: Creation Myth of the Zelda Universe (05:15:38) What Has Stood the Test of Time (05:26:04) What Hasn’t Stood the Test of Time (05:38:01) What would you rather have: Remake, remaster or reboot? (05:40:32) Describe a Sequel or Prequel You’d Like to see (05:50:14) Inexplicable Mysteries (05:58:19) AWARDS SHOW (06:51:08) Random Trivia! (07:01:24) What would you score the game if it came out today?