Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Peer review/The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This article definitely has potential to be FA, and I just want some feedback as to what you guys think it needs. Thanks. Voyaging^(talk) 01:15, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Thearticle is quite solid in terms of scope coverage, personally I would like a reference or two on the Ura Zelda section. - Caribbean~H.Q. 01:24, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I worked the Ura Zelda section into the re-releases section. Thanks for the input! Voyaging^(talk) 04:34, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

• Overall, it's a pretty good article. It's very solid in its scope, and grammar seems to be fine. My main criticism is the reception section. Ocarina of Time is one of the best games in gaming history according to many gaming publications, and I feel the article does not fully reflect that. It's mentioned that reviewers praised the graphics, soundtrack, gameplay and story. Well, what did they say about it? I'd like to see more quotes from reviewers integrated into the prose, like in pretty much every CVG FA so far. I'd also like to see development covered in more depth. I'd also like to see a legacy section, if possible. Finally, I doubt that Image:GoldOoTn64Cart.jpg is low-resolution, so it wouldn't do very well with fair use. bibliomaniac15 Hey you! Stop lazing around and help fix this article instead! 01:43, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

• The reception section is nowhere near FA standard (and I don't mean to be blunt or anything! :) (Majora's Mask was better, but...) this is one of the best VG's out there, there must be more reviews than that. Otherwise, it looks good at a glance. Do some work on the reception section and I'll do a full read through, thus picking on prose and stuff. I have this page watchlisted. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 03:07, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Completely redid the reception section, lemme know what you think, and thanks for the input! Voyaging^(talk) 20:09, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

• The reception section is bigger now, though I do feel it could flow a little better. I also didn't see anything about its long standing reputation as one of the greatest games of all time. I believe a Legacy section should be implemented in the reception setting to house reader's choice polls and IGN top 100 lists and the like. Also, ref. [55] is broken and leaking all over the place in the references section. Anyway, this is my favorite game, I'm confident you can make it a great article. If you need anymore help, just call. Cheers. -- Noj r (talk) 20:29, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Comments from Matthewedwards (talk · contribs)

• "According to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto the game runs on the engine for Super Mario 64 but was so heavily modified it became an entirely different engine." This should be referenced
• "The only absent element is the rumble feature" What is the rumble feature?
• Can a reference be found for the audio CD that was "distributed through quarterly merchandise catalogs from Nintendo Power Magazine."?
• Not sure if the tracklisting is necessary.. Perhaps break it off into another article
• Ref 35 should have a retrieved on date attatched
• Ref 34 appears before the full stop, instead of after
• The image of the Boxart of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest needs fixing. It has been tagged as being in need of renaming, and it needs a proper summary and source.
• Are Wikias usually accepted in the External links? There's quite a few anyway, can some, such as the Financial Information at Insider, be used as references instead?

That's all for now. Otherwise nice. Let me know if you want a follow up/re-review, or have any questions. -- ṃ•α•Ł•ṭ•ʰ•Ə•Щ• @ 21:54, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

•  Done. Thanks! Voyaging^(talk) 15:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Comments from Judgesurreal777 (talk · contribs)

• You should get a PNG equivalent for the lead image.
• Trim the external links, some don't seem necessary
• The last paragraph in the Remakes section is unreferenced.
• Fair use rationales are exceedingly vague; say very specifically what the image demonstrates and why it is very important that the image be included.
• The second and fifth paragraph of the story section are unreferenced.
• The third and the second half of the fifth paragraph of the gameplay section is unreferenced.
• This sentence is unreferenced "Each race generally stays within its region of Hyrule and is led by its own ruler."
• There needs to be at least another paragraph in the development section; stuff to include is how did they come up with this game? What were the influences?
• Two sentences should be added talking about the music as I remember it being notably good.
• Look in the Legend of Zelda (series) article, and you'll see some Ocarina of time Audio/music information, including the interesting thing about how Ocarinas became popular because of this game, among other things.
• With such an expansive game, a characters section would be highly desirable.
• Copyedit it a lot to get brilliant prose

If you do all that, I think you have an FA :) Judgesurreal777 (talk) 01:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Comments from La Pianista (talk · contribs)

Here's the copyedit Judgesurreal was talking about...

• No biggie, but a comma should be after "1998" in "North America on 23 November 1998 and in Europe..."
• "Ocarina of Time is the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series, and the first with 3D graphics..." is a bit troublesome because the comma here is not qualified, as it is normally used to merge two sentences (hence requiring a second subject). To put it bluntly...remove the comma.
• "It has enjoyed wide critical acclaim..." If I were you, I would use "received" instead of "enjoyed," but this is optional.
• "7.6 million copies, and was the best-selling game..." Another case of the unnecessary comma.
• I think it should be 3-D instead of 3D when used as an adjective. Revise it them, if you will. :)
• "at the time, but is now common..." No comma, please.
• "imprisoned, and thus forced to start over..." Instead of removing the comma here, try inserting "is" between "and" and "thus."
• "the collection of items" could be rephrased as "collecting items." This is so that the phrase emphasizes that Link is the one doing the collecting business.
• In "optional side quests, minor objectives..." "or" could be inserted between "quests" and "minor." This way, "minor objectives" is used to define "side quests."
• "himself, among non-player characters" Please, no comma.
• Since an article about the "Biggoron Sword" no longer exists (see here), maybe a word or two about it can help non-gamers understand what it is, besides the fact that it is two-handed.
• "conquer the land of Hyrule, and that Link" You know what to do.
• "man that killed the Great Deku Tree" could be "man who killed the Great Deku Tree." As evil as he is, he's still a human subject.
• I'm not familiar with this, but should it be "gives him the Goron's Ruby"?
• "After this event, Link dives into the castle moat... After Link retrieves the Ocarina..." As engaging as this paragraph is, it is sometimes choppy and redundant. Try merging a few sentences together; I trust ya! :)
• "ethereal room..." Hm? Do you mean "atmospherical" or something of the like? As it stands, it looks like the room is short-lived.
• "Seven years later, an older Link awakens in an ethereal room and is met by the elderly sage Rauru. ... Rauru is the ancient Sage of Light, one of seven sages who protect the location of the Triforce." These two sentences could be merged into "Seven years later, an older Link awakens in an ethereal room and is met by the elderly Rauru, who is the ancient Sage of Light, one of seven sages who protect the location of the Triforce." (note that "sage" was removed after "elderly" to avoid redundance)
• "numerous disasters happen..." could be "numerous disasters occur..."
• "Ganondorf's monsters and henchmen, so that..." AA! It's the return of the Comma!
• "The five sages are:" My grammar textbook says that it isn't generally accepted to put a colon after a verb. Quite frankly, the colon isn't needed here, and no other modifications to the sentence are needed.
• "Link battles Ganondorf and the seven sages..." Now, a comma is needed between "Ganondorf" and "and."
• "Zelda then takes the Ocarina of Time from Link, and uses it to send him back to his original time so he can live out his childhood naturally, but the ending cut scene implies that Link goes to visit Zelda again as a child (possibly using the same methods he had in the beginning of the game)." This is an exceptionally long sentence, added onto the fact that there is another unneeded comma here. Try "Zelda then takes the Ocarina of Time from Link and uses it to send him back to his original time so that he can live out his childhood naturally. However, the ending cut scene implies that Link goes to visit Zelda again as a child (possibly using the same methods he had in the beginning of the game)."
• "...The Wind Waker, plus a video demo of the GBA version of A Link to the Past." "Plus" isn't generally accepted in formal use in this context. Try an alternative by consulting a thesaurus.
• "Criticisms for Ocarina of Time appeared on the game's re-releases," could be "Criticism of Ocarina of Time appeared on the game's re-releases,"

Heh heh...a truly exceptional article, aside, of course, from a few tiny, tiny, stylistic tweaks. And if I sound like a beefing grammar teacher with a whiny voice, ruthlessly picking apart at your hard work...well, I really can't apologize, but I can't be mean, either. =) *Looking into the depths of my crystal ball...I see FA in your near future...*

 Done. Thanks so much! Voyaging^(talk) 23:55, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Comments from Guyinblack25 (talk · contribs)

I didn't read through the other comments so I apologize if I repeated some.

The Lead-

• The release dates should be wikilinked. I would also use the YYYY-MM-DD format, so user preferences will display them accordingly.
• The second paragraph in the lead seems a bit sparse. I would mention something about where in the Zelda timeline this takes place and maybe what new features this added to the series.
• I would wikilink 3D graphics the first time it is used.

Gameplay section-

• The first three paragraphs in the "Gameplay" section look a bit small. I would combine them into one large paragraph.
• The gameplay image looks a bit too generic. Would it be possible to get an image showing the "Z targeting"?
• I would tweak this sentence some: "Throughout the game, Link learns twelve melodies that allow him to solve music-based puzzles and to teleport to previously visited locations in the game."

Plot section-

• I would expand the "Setting" section by calling it "Setting and characters", and then, of course, introduce the main characters of the game.
• The "Story" section uses the word "that" a lot. I would remove some of them as they really aren't needed. For example:
  • The Deku Tree tells Link that a "wicked man of the desert" has cursed him and seeks to conquer the land of Hyrule, and that Link must stop him.
  • At Hyrule Castle, Link meets Princess Zelda, who explains that she has been having dreams about the future of Hyrule and that she foresaw Link's arrival.
  • She believes that Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves, is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic in the Sacred Realm that gives its holder god-like power.
  • Link returns to Hyrule and is met by the mysterious Sheik, who guides Link to rid five temples of Ganondorf's monsters and henchmen, so that the power of the temples can awaken the sages who will in turn help Link liberate Hyrule from Ganondorf's tyrannical rule. Etc.
• The part about Link getting the Ocarina has a bit too much detail. Though is a pivotal scene, it doesn't really add much to the article and could be more concise. Try this:
  "...throws the Ocarina of Time into the castle moat. Ganondorf appears soon after. When Link refuses to tell Ganondorf where Zelda went, Ganondorf, and blasts Link with Dark Magic, knocking him down. After Ganondorf then laughs and rides off into the distance. After this event, Link retrieves the Ocarina fromdives into the castle moat to retrieve the Ocarina. After Link retrieves the Ocarina, Zelda then telepathically teaches himLink the "Song of Time", which, combined with the Spiritual Stones, allows Linkhim to open the door that leads to the Sacred Realm. Just tThrough the door, Link finds the Master Sword, a magical sword forged to fight evil."
• The switch to the "Seven years later..." is kind of abrupt. Though it is explained in the next sentence, it breaks the flow some. I don't really have a suggestion to fix this, but something to keep in mind.
• The info about the five sages should be added to the paragraph before it.
• I would cut the last part of the last sentence. No need to go into too much detail. Also the wording implies original research.
  "Zelda then takes the Ocarina of Time from Link, and uses it to send him back to his original time so he can live out his childhood naturally, but the ending cut scene implies that Link goes to visit Zelda again as a child (possibly using the same methods he had in the beginning of the game)."

Development section-

• "December, 1995" No comma is needed.
• The following sentence could be tweaked and should be sourced. "According to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, the game runsoriginally ran on the engine for Super Mario 64, but was so heavily modified it became an entirely different engine."
• Wouldn't hurt to wikilink Super Mario 64 and pre-order.
• The second and third paragraphs in the "Re-releases and sequels" section makes some claims that really should have a citation.
• The second paragraph of the "Audio" section should be the opener of the section because it talks about the audio in a general manner. Having the soundtrack info follow this makes more sense to me.
• This sentence sounds like original research. "It may be noted that some points in the game, particularly Hyrule Field, sound like remixes of other popular Nintendo games, Star Fox 64 in particular." Is there a source that explicitly states this?

Reception section-

• The flow of this section seems a bit disjointed. I think a little bit of rearranging and few intro sentences would help.
• I would add an introductory sentence to this section to help establish the main idea. Some thing like "Ocarina of Time has received positive reviews and been commercially successful."
• I would move the comments about being at the top of gaming lists and awards to the first paragraph. This should fill out the first paragraph more and help with the flow.
• This sentence needs some more backing. "Virtually all aspects of the game were praised." There should be more comments from other reviews that help back this up.
• The quote from Game Revolution seems kind of long. I would summarize some of it.

It's pretty late for me right now. I'll read through the reception content later. The article definitely has FA potential. Hope this helps some. (Guyinblack25 ^talk 06:19, 5 April 2008 (UTC))
Update- Finished reading the reception and posted comments. (Guyinblack25 ^talk 06:17, 6 April 2008 (UTC))