"The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is one of the best games I've never completed My excuse is that I used to get stuck a lot and it took me a long time to figure out the dungeons Growing up in rural West Wales with no internet and with sports and school taking up most of my time, the progression of "Ocarina of Time" was glacial

As I slowly progressed through this N64 game, PC and original Xbox games began to catch my attention I then moved out of my childhood home, leaving my N64 behind, along with Link, who was waiting to take on the bosses in the Temple of the Spirits It was near the end, but still far away I always played games in fits and starts until college life gave me relative freedom But despite my strange approach, Ocarina of Time is burned into my memory

And so it should be At the time, Ocarina was a phenomenal game Even today, the experience is different from many modern games inspired by it

I probably remember, with nostalgia, walking out of the Kokiri Forest into the Hyrule Fields To my young mind, which had never been exposed to the open world of "The Witcher 3" or "Skyrim," that green space with its bright blue sky and multiple routes to explore seemed vast

The sheer amount of things to eyeball, explore, chop up, and hook-shot at, seemed incredible at the time And, arguably, it still is incredible

I remember zipping over the roofs of houses in the village of Kakariko more than a decade before I blinked on the roof of a townhouse in Dunwall in Dishonored

"Ocarina of Time" is packed with a zora of memorable moments From the acquisition of the horse Epona, to the zombie horror of Hyrule Castle Town after pulling the Master Sword from the Temple of Time, to the impossibly catchy theme song of the Gerudo Valley

But more than that, "Ocarina of Time" felt like a properly evolved game In addition to using items to solve dungeon riddles, players were able to use a variety of tools and even defeat enemies with the tapped song "Ocarina of Time," which is also the title of the game A single hook shot could stun and cut up an enemy, especially one that was moving around

The tone of "Ocarina of Time" was also fantastically varied, but it made sense without feeling disjointed The refreshing brightness of the Hyrule Field during the day turned into a menacing expanse at night, with skeletal enemies rising from the ground at every turn

To a young Link, Hyrule Castle Town is a cheerful and colorful place But to an adult Link, it is a ghost town filled with redead zombies, which still sends shivers down the 34-year-old author's spine (And it reminded me of Wall Master That one is even scarier)

A series of exciting and smart boss fights and a challenge to get the Sword of Bigoron sprinkle more magic into Ocarina of Time

While "The Legend of Zelda" has a rich history and legacy that newer titles like "Breath of the Wild 2" should draw upon, I would argue that "Ocarina of Time" is one of the most influential Zelda games From "Ocarina" to "Breath of the Wild," there is a clear through-line that makes it another contender for the best of all time

Thanks to Eon Gaming's Super 64 unit, you can now run the N64 on your 4K TV Now that we're celebrating Zelda's 35th anniversary, it's time to play Ocarina of Time once again Now, we may finally be able to complete it