I've tried to play OoT many times in the past, and never got to adult link. Not because I hated the game, but because I'd get stuck or something IRL would come up and I'd lose interest.
(Side note: I have played many many Zelda games, most of them, but only finished a few.)
Not this time. This time I finally decided to actually play the game. I coulda played on SoH or 3DS (I do own it and did play it before) but I stuck with the N64 version on NSO - and I think that was the right decision.
Why? Because it sold the context and the time this game was released to me so much more. People have spoken about this game at length in so many ways, so I won't go too in depth BUT the fact a game with this amount of ambition came out in 1998 is mindblowing.
I had a PS1 growing up, and I know for a fact there's no game like Ocarina of Time on that console, or even the N64 for that matter. I would genuinely love to hear about people who were adults/teens at the time who played OoT on release and what you thought of it.
Anyway, in terms of the game itself. Obviously certain aspects have aged a little, but that's what made me love it more. The less-handholdy nature of the game combined with the more modern aspects (z-targeting and all that) give you a package that kinda just succeeds in what its trying to achieve. It felt like an adventure, y'know? Cringe as that sounds. Obviously the menus and some controls are a bit wonky, and the water temple really is tedious as people made out - but overall it has aged amazingly. Although I did encounter two bugs in the last stretch which dampened the final fight and zelda escort but whatever. Oh, and some of the bosses are kinda lame. ANYWAY...
I love the music. I love the atmosphere. I love the contrast between the old and new world. I love the secrets. I love getting new items. I love the dungeons. I love the puzzles. I love getting Epona. I love speaking to the characters. And I love that despite knowing the "Zelda formula" so well, and how many of the games effectively used this as a base - I still enjoyed it immensley.
If I had to give it a rating, it'd be 9.5/10. Despite its flaws, it's a masterpiece.
Also I love the ending.