Title: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Legendary Edition)

Story and art by:  Akira Himekawa

Positives:

• Good story
• Good art style
• Good characters

Negatives:

• Writing sucks
• Lackluster characters

Plot: The story follows the young boy Link who must stop the evil lord Ganondorf from getting the sacred Triforce.  The story is pretty cut-and-paste with little to no deviation from the game.  It does feel bland with no twists or nothing interesting going on in the background (aside from the two side stories about Link encountering the evil Deku tree and the Skull Kid as well as the bird people which were interesting as hell).  There surely could’ve been more little side stories to fill in the gaps. Perhaps some side stories focusing on the other characters. (3 out of 5)

Characters:  Link is the main protagonist and journeys to put an end to Ganondorfs’ rule.  He is likable but he does come off as a dry hero.  The guy has personality but he’s good for the sake of being good and not actually having motivation, which kind of makes him flat.  Ganondorf is the typical asshole of the story and not really a memorable one.  Sure he’s cool but nothing really sticks out about him other than he’s an asshole.  Zelda is a cool character but she literally doesn’t really do anything.  A problem I have with the characters is that none are as fleshed out or as prevalent as they could’ve been.  When they do finally step up to the plate they get snatched away for some reason ..cough..cough the sages.  The biggest example is when Nabooru decides to aid Link on his quest to take on Ganondorf and its all good and epic and she just gets snatched away with the other sages.  Saria, Darunia, Nabooru, Ruto, Impa; all of them could’ve have better roles, more prominent roles. (3 out of 5)

Art Style:  The art style looks pretty freakin’ sweet and the character designs do look on point with their video game counterparts.  Was a bit worried about the anime-ish design but it actually suits it. (3 out of 5)

Writing:  Honestly, one of the biggest problems I had with the writing is the fact that Link is in it by himself despite how high the stakes are.  Where are the Hyrulian rebels trying to take on the evil king? No one even tries to help Link on his journey.  Even the climatic battle feels lackluster due to this.  A land in oppression and there is no one fighting along side him.  Even when he travels to the future he saves a bunch of soldiers (don’t know how when there were more soldiers and are more experienced).  This is perhaps the biggest pitfall of the manga.  It feels entirely too much like the game.  There should’ve been some organized faction trying to repel the forces of Ganondorf as well as a purpose of the sages.  Even in the “boss” battles Link is fighting and someone throws him a weapon instead of actually using it themselves.  The writing surely could’ve been a better.  The “boss” battles don’t feel urgent.  Look at how easily Link defeats the “bosses”.  Again, for as nostalgic as some of these moments are there are far more that seem like wasted opportunities. (2 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Legendary Edition) is a good read and an interesting adaptation of the Ocarina of Time.  It does have its share of shortcomings; such as good characters with lackluster roles, generic story with no twists, and the writing that makes the world feel like a video game.  But the story is written well, the characters are nice, and the manga art style looks excellent.  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Legendary Edition) gets 3 out of 5.