Zelda: Ocarina of Time is Actually A Horror Game. [Polygon]
From the article:
Skulltulas are frightening, but they're not the half of it. In Kakariko Village, you can make your way into an abandoned mansion festooned with cobwebs. This is inhabited by a rich family who have been cursed for their greed and turned into Skulltulas. They speak from distorted masks of their own faces on the spiders' backs, imploring Link to collect Gold Skulltulas to break the curse. This leads to the game's primary scavenger hunt, but more importantly, it's absolutely horrifying.
Kakariko Village is also home to a graveyard and its hunchbacked keeper, Dampé. It's spooky in there, and haunted by creepy Poes, but again, there's another level to the horror. Below the ground is the Royal Family's Tomb, which is inhabited by ReDeads — desiccated zombies who can freeze Link in place with their unearthly screams. In appearance, sound design, and game mechanics, these cursed creatures are the scariest monsters Nintendo has ever created.
Kind of a reach, imo.
6 replies
It's a horror game if you're a very young child
When I was young, I abandoned the first dungeon because the spider sounds scared me. It perfectly suits the theme of finding the courage to push forward.
The original Ocarina of Time is my favorite video game ever.
I am not buying the remake. Fuck Nintendo.
I played it recently and beat it for the first time. It's still scary. You lose a lot of progress when you die which makes it worse I think (compared to newer games)
Did you know you can save at any time?
The only progress you lose is being sent back to the start of a dungeon. Every door you unlocked stays unlocked, every item you acquired remains in your inventory. Stock up on red fairies and you get a full heal instead of dying, up to four times.
I can attest that the ReDeads scared the hell out of me as a kid
Zelda games like BotW and TotK flaunt a psychopath that ruthlessly kills every being around with no mercy and a blood toll higher than a world war - and all of that in the name of a monarchy that is not able to protect it's empire from some somber rebel.
It's propaganda for an imperialist horror regime.