What made The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time great for you? Was it the graphics? The hot 3D game play? It surely wasn't the underwater sections [grumble], was it? No, it was probably Epona, Link's horse. No?
Nintendo's game designer Eiji Aonuma told Nintendo Power the real story behind Epona in an interview. When Aonuma was asked about how Epona came to be, he gave a very non-technical answer:
If I said we included Epona because Miyamoto likes horses, that would be oversimplifying it, but that was actually the biggest factor. He wanted Ocarina to be unique, and realized that there weren’t any other games that involved riding a horse….
If you're not counting Barbie's Horse Adventures, I think they're right. Shadow of the Colossus wasn't out yet, but Argo is a worthless animal when compared to Epona anyway.
The interview excerpt at GoNintendo also talks about why Ocarina had such a lasting impact, and there's even a hint of a new upcoming Zelda adventure.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
10:43 AM on 11.21.2008
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As much as a grown man can love a virtual horse.
I'm going to assume you didn't fight the bosses where argo was practically required.
The emotional connection to argo was so much greater than epona, who coul have been any generic horse.
Epona was what cars were in GTA required transportation.
Argo was an actual character by the end of his game.
More seriously, I'm playing through SotC just now, and I have to say that Argo is a more effective part of the story than Epona, prowess as a warhorse aside.
(On an even more unrelated note, why is Epona such an effective warhorse? In Ocarina, Epona is raised on a ranch, trained for racing, but she's fine in heated combat immediately afterwards. In Twilight Princess, Epona's work mostly consists of helping you herd sheep, but then she has no problem staying calm while running through a volley of flaming arrows.)
Also am I the only one that thinks Barbie horse adventures has become some what of a meme by now? it's like the epitome of bad games and poor marketing.
These are days to praise the greatness of Ocarina of Time (which to me is hands down the best game of all time, but I realize these things called "opinions" exist) so let's all just concentrate on the goodness that Epona brought.
I <3 Epona
Now I feel like playing the game again...
Anywho, Epona was the shit. When I was little I would leave her somewhere when I went to battle a temple or something and I'd tell her not to move, but everytime when I came back she was gone and I would freak out and call her back just to make sure she was okay.
Argo has more personality as a horse than Epona ever did. Argo just useful for transportation? Try switching that around.
Epona--->female
Oh the possibilities
See what i did there and all that shit
@falinter > i had a dtoid account for about 6 months before i added my avatar.
Horses, serious business.
Agro is better because he wasn't a tool. Not walking in a straight line was kind of the point, since he's supposed to be real, and not just a mechanical means of transportation. And not running in a straight line DID save his life. A real horse wouldn't jump of a cliff just because you told it to run in that direction.
Agro is better. I'd say it's just because of the better tech, but Epona hasn't evolved at all in the other Zelda games. Epona is still simply a mode of transportation, and not a real companion.
Curse you, HAWP...
Anyway, both of them are good characters but what we care the most about this is that riding a horse in a game is fuuuun!
Argo gets overrated many times...I've read things close to (if not altogether)stupid. emotional connection? both were horses without much character development. you called them, mounted them, and got to places faster. both horses were required in certain parts of their respective games too.
Anyway, both of them are good characters but what we care the most about this is that riding a horse in a game is fuuuun!
Argo gets overrated many times...I've read things close to (if not altogether)stupid. emotional connection? both were horses without much character development. you called them, mounted them, and got to places faster. both horses were required in certain parts of their respective games too.
These are days to praise the greatness of Ocarina of Time (which to me is hands down the best game of all time, but I realize these things called "opinions" exist) so let's all just concentrate on the goodness that Epona brought.
I <3 Epona
Also F the water temple.
Incorrect...