The mid to late 90s was a golden age for Nintendo. They were finally bringing their flagship characters into the 3D landscape. Anyone around during that time remembers the look of awe at seeing Mario fly through the clouds or Star Fox lead his team through space in 3D. Besides Super Mario 64, no game has inspired nostalgia and reverence in gamers everywhere than The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. For the first time, players saw Link in all his 3D and cone-shaped glory. Dungeons were multileveled and detailed, while the story involved a time-tested tale of David vs. Goliath, a young village boy fighting an evil king. Who can’t get behind that? Who can’t be inspired by the story OoT was created to tell?
But every masterpiece has its flaws. No video game is developed without some crazy glitches or glaring plot holes. There has to be one misinterpreted typo that changes the meaning of a situation. If Link is not falling through the floor or glitching into an area, he should not be in…then it almost is not a video game at all. Finding glitches and mistakes is nearly as much fun as the game itself because it humanizes the experience and makes it relatable. OoT will always be one of the greatest games of all time. However, there are still some glaring errors in this game that makes it imperfect. Here are the 20 craziest mistakes in the Ocarina of Time.
20 Well Come Or Welcome
Typos can completely change the meaning of a phrase and mess with our understanding of what people are trying to say in a game. In the N64 version of OoT, the Carpet Merchant greets Link by saying “Well Come” instead of “Welcome.” It does not seem like a big deal, but the first one signifies that the player needs to go somewhere with the Merchant, while the second is just a greeting. Many players were probably wondering if they missed something on this one. One could only imagine gamers attempting to follow this guy or searching the area for a secret door. Hmm, some of these mistakes lead to more exciting plotlines than the original story. As a result, there may still be some secrets to uncover in OoT.
19 Believing A Stranger Over Your Daughter
This may also be a continuity mistake, but Zelda did try to warn her father of the evil committed by Ganondorf, but for some reason that does not make any sense at all he refused to listen to her. In the Child Link timeline, Link goes back in time to warn Zelda and her father about what is coming from the evil king. However, what does not make any sense is why the King would believe a strange boy he never met in the first place; especially when his daughter echoed a similar sentiment. That’s like someone believing the Terminator over their own kid. One would hope that a person in this situation would have more trust in their offspring than a raging killing machine from the future.
18 Link Should Be Trapped For All Eternity
This is more than likely a plot hole the developers overlooked, but when young Link arrives in the Temple of Time, he would have had to be sealed inside since he prevented the adverse events of Ganondorf from happening. No one would have collected the Spiritual Stones or played the song of time to open the door. So logically, he should be sealed away in the Temple. While this paints a depressing picture of a young Link spending the rest of his days in a stone temple, it would have also been a fitting ending for the game. It shows that this hero is willing to take on the ultimate sacrifice of saving everyone around him. It would have also been an excellent cliffhanger to transition into Majora’s Mask, and Link’s eventual escape.
17 The Invisible Link
Again, OoT fans are relentless in finding this glitch missteps of the developers. Players can turn Link invisible if they ride Epona into one of the tents in the Gerudo valley. Once Link reaches a loading dock after going through the tents and plays the Serenade of Water to warp to Lake Hylia, Link will not show up in the next city. Creepily enough, Link is there, but he is not visible. He is still riding Epona, and players can control him, but the warp from that specific area in Gerudo valley renders him invisible. The next game in the franchise should include an amusing Easter Egg that nods to this glitch. There are tons of creepy things in the Zelda universe, so this would not be out of place.
16 Soooo, The Master Sword Is Now In The Adult Timeline?
The Legend of Zelda franchise has a history of convoluted plots, weird alternate timelines, and a confusing history after the first few games in the series. As a result, there is no surprise that they would get some details a little fuzzy in their first 3D outing. In OoT, after Link defeats Gannon, Zelda sends Link back to his original timeline. The only problem is that the Master Sword was seemingly never returned to its resting place. It vanishes. We know this because Young Link goes into the Temple of Time and the sword is still gone. Was this an error in the game or a serious plot hole? One would think that a sword with this much value in the game would not be treated to frivolously in the story.
15 Don’t Have An Ocarina? Who Cares!
A perfect button formula will render any object the features of the OoT. If players get a bottled fish or bug, they can equip it and throw in a couple of backflips for good measure. Link will then play whatever item players want just like it was the Ocarina. There is also a glitch that allows players to play the Ocarina without having it equipped. This is interesting because, for a game that has a lot of dependence on the Ocarina (the word is in the title for crying out loud), there was not much put in place to keep these types of things from happening to it. Come to think of it; it is pretty entertaining to see Link play a fish.
14 Fall Into Nothingness
There is nothing like a 90s N64 glitch. The thing about these is how obscure they are. You could have jumped a little too high in a room and are transported to a weird scene of half the character’s face missing, and a dark area you never knew existed. The emerging horizon of 3D gaming and its newness to developers created many moments where these weird glitches occurred. Many of these glitches and design errors have been exploited by speedrunners far and wide, but this first entry on the list seems like it is more for fun than for speed running. In Goron City, if Link goes to the third floor and stands near a wooden plank and torch he will go right through the level and seemingly fade into nothingness.
13 These Editing Departments Are Asleep At The Wheel….
Time and time again, we have seen editing departments drop the ball. These materials are seen by tons of people who have a stake in the success of the game. It is almost hard to believe that things like this get right by them. Much like with Resident Evil’s Revelation debacle, the Legend of Zelda also experienced a significant typo on the back of the video game’s box. On the back of OoT, the word "environments" is misspelled as "enivironments." Something that would make anyone with OCD go a little insane. Hmmm, these two things are bound to start happening with these situations: editing departments will get a little stricter about checking for this things, and some gamers have some rare boxes that may be worth something with the mistake.
12 Shouldn’t This Sword Be Locked Away?
There is something to be said for developers who put the extra time into various details of a game, but they are bound to miss some crucial ones. When Link battles Ganondorf, for the first half of the final battle, the Master Sword is locked away, but for some weird reason, the sword can still be seen on Link’s model. Also, even when another sword is equipped the model defaults to the Master Sword. Was the sword supposed to be available to use but the developers forgot to provide it? This is a common mistake that happens in many video games because there is so much detail to cover. However, seeing the sword on the model could be confusing to someone playing the game. They may presume it is still possible to use the sword before the halfway point.
11 Developers Did Not Patch This Game-Ending Glitch
There is always a “granddaddy of them all” when it comes to glitches. The one that gets you to the final boss fight faster, or turns one of your items into something you need much earlier in the game. Well, for speedrunners, this is the one that helped break some new records and have the mouths of gamer’s watering everywhere. There is a glitch that players can exploit that can take them from the Deku Tree all the way to Ganondorf's castle. If players combine a menu shift with the player side jumping into a door inside the Deku Tree, they will eventually fall through the door and get transported all the way to Ganondorf’s castle for the final battle. Who knew OoT had the potential to be such a shorter game?
10 A Frustrating Save Feature
If there is one thing game developers should get right, it should be the save feature. This can make or break the gaming experience for anyone. Imagine saving after an impossible quest to find out the "save" did not take. When Nintendo decided to make the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 3DS, there were a couple of features they wanted to improve upon and some they wanted to leave behind. In an interview, a Nintendo executive discusses how the original "save" feature defaulted to “Do Not Save,” even if players chose to save the game. Players were doing things they could not take back which is a real bummer for people who may like to experiment in the game. So they decided to change this around for the 3DS version and create more reliable save features.
9 This One Comes With A Warning…
You know a glitch is the real deal when a red “Warning” label comes up right before the description. Tread carefully with this one. This glitch mistake in OoT can corrupt a save file or even damage the N64, but this still did not stop a well-known website from listing it. If a player physically lifts the left side of the cartridge up while Link is running, it allows him to run through various structures including trees, NPCs, and signs. If this is done for too long at a time, it will crash the game. Imagine taking on Ganondorf with one hand on the joystick and the other on the cartridge. Honestly, was there any way developers could have seen this one coming?
8 Cows Are Awesome Tree Climbers
OoT has a village and old country farm vibe to it. Who doesn’t remember the chickens? Oh, and that part about the cow climbing up trees. Never heard of that one? Well, according to OoT, cows are just as good as monkeys in the tree climbing department. After completing some challenges at Lon Lon Ranch, Link is awarded a dairy cow. However, the cow does not come with Link at the conclusion of the challenge. At that point, things get a little weird; once Link arrives at his Treehouse the cow is mysteriously standing in the middle of the home. How in the world did it get there since the Treehouse is only accessible by ladder? Did it climb? Did a magic song lift it up there? Inquiring minds would like to know.
7 This Bug Is A Waste of Time
One of the most magical and enchanting characters of the game is Navi. She is the Nintendo version of Tinkerbell in OoT. She is a guide to Link and a resource for helping him find items. On the N64 and Nintendo 3DS versions, Link can go to Gerudo Valley and stand next to a boiling pot. Navi will turn green indicating that the player can pick up an item if a song is played on the Ocarina, but to the dismay of players nothing is there to pick up. One can only imagine how long players have searched this area for a secret item just to find that it is a false alert. However, maybe there is something there, and the developers have been keeping a secret this whole time.
6 Fado Is Evil
Weird laughter aside, Fado seems kinda harmless. She warns Link about the Lost Woods and seems to have the heart for her friends. However, a glitch may show Fado’s true evil intentions. The developers probably did not see this one coming, but someone found something they may have left behind. If Child Link goes to see Fado and stands a little too close to the edge of the platform where he is speaking to her, Fado will turn right around and knock Link right off the platform while continuing the dialogue like normal. Not only might she possibly be evil, but she apparently has no feeling about what she has done since she goes on talking like nothing happened. All speculation and assumptions aside, this is one funny glitch.
5 Ummm Is This The Tortoise Vs. The Hare?
There are some continuity errors in OoT which is normal. With an expansive story involving time travel, it is not hard to think that some wires could become crossed. One of these errors concerns the race between Link and a guy who has a fondness for Rabbit masks. Link gives this weird guy a Rabbit Hood mask. After he receives the mask, he will challenge Link to race. Once the race begins, the Rabbit Hood Mask guy will disappear. Regardless of whether you win or lose you never see him again. As someone pointed out on game mistakes, shouldn’t you pass this guy on the way if you win? Does he like disintegrate if he loses because he is so ashamed of losing to you? What’s the deal?
4 Shouldn’t Link Be An Archery Expert By Now?
Nothing is more embarrassing than looking like you know how to do something, but failing miserably. That time you tried to look like a hotshot at a new sport didn’t work out so well huh? Well, Link is no exception. In OoT, some eagle-eyed viewers noticed that Link might not be as swift with the bow as he would seem to be. When Link draws his bow, the arrow shows up on the underside of the string instead of the top. This shows that the developers may not have been used to the new 3D design of Link in OoT compared to his top-down and pixelated model, or they could be telling us that Link has no idea how to shoot an arrow, and the fact that he can kill anyone is pure luck.
3 Popping Bottles Everywhere!
Like bottles in OoT? Feel like you can never have enough? Well, this is the perfect glitch for you. If gamers stand in front of a bug or fish and press "start" right after swinging at it, they can put another item in its place and turn it into another bottle. The item will be lost forever, but the bottle will retain the same attributes of the original item that was replaced. This also connects to the Deku Tree to Gannon Castle glitch. OoT has glitches that would be incredibly valuable in other games. Imagine being able to do the same thing in Call of Duty, Destiny, Resident Evil, or Friday the 13th (can never have too many firecrackers in that game.) Maybe someone should do some digging around in these games.
2 We All Float In OoT
Again, there is an unpatched glitch gamers can exploit in the game. Remember when Pennywise from the film It told those kids that they could “float” where he was? Link was a part of the group. If players jump on the block in the Fire Temple and wait for it to enter the tunnel and jump off the platform at the right time, he will float. Not only will he float but players can make Link run around freely in the room while suspended in mid-air. In the Nintendo 3DS version, the developers caught a bit of this one and prevented Link from running openly, but he still was able to float. Link might need an invitation the Loser’s Club in the next installment of It.
1 Having To Restart In The Middle Of A Battle Is Unforgivable
We have all had that ultimate rage-inducing moment. You are on the 50th try of taking down a boss. You are fatigued, but to your surprise, you are starting to win and take them down. That health bar is getting to their last ten percent, and you finally see the light at the end of this challenging tunnel. Just when you are preparing to hit that final blow, the game glitches up, and it is impossible to finish the fight. Unfortunately, this scenario can happen in OoT. While battling Queen Gohma, there may be times that she disappears. The door will be locked, and the music will play, but Link will not be able to finish the battle to defeat her. The only remedy for this glitch is to restart the Nintendo 64.