The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) Video Game Review

This is my favorite video game of all time. It's very special to me. I didn't have a Nintendo 64 as a kid as I instead had a Playstation. Initially, my favorite video game was Spyro the Dragon (1998) on Playstation, from when I was 6 years old in 1999, up until I was 10 in 2003. By that time, I got a Gamecube for Christmas, and what came with it was a Legend of Zelda compilation disc called The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition. 

It featured four "classic" Zelda games: The first two Zelda games on NES, The Legend of Zelda (1987) and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, as well as the two on N64, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask (2000). The first Zelda game I ever played was actually Majora's Mask. I played Majora's mask at a friend's house back in 2nd grade, and I was quite impressed by the world building and gameplay. Not so much the time limit though. In fourth Grade, when I was 9 years old, I got A Link to the Past on Gameboy Advance and played that quite often. But my Zelda fandom really started when I started playing Ocarina of Time on the Zelda compilation disc on Gamecube. This game blew my mind. It made me realize I'd been missing out on a classic.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) is a 3D open world action/adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo and originally released exclusively on the Nintendo 64. It's set in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule, ruled by an unnamed king and his daughter the titular Princess Zelda. You play as Link, a young warrior who resides in the Kokiri forest and was raised by the Kokiri, a race of child-like elf people dressed in green. They're watched over by a guardian called the Great Deku Tree, a wise and elderly anthropomorphic tree who speaks. The Deku Tree, near death, summons Link to go on a quest to save the kingdom of Hyrule from a great evil and sends Navi the fairy to accompany him. After leaving the Kokiri Forest, you explore an overworld consisting of different areas. 

There's Death Mountain, a fire-themed area, Zora's Domain, a water-themed area, and Gerudo Valley, a desert-themed area. There's also the graveyard, where you encounter ghosts and zombies. Along your quest, you fight a variety of enemies ranging from skeletons and spiders to fire-breathing dinosaurs and more. Your main weapon is a sword, but you get other weapons, like a sling shot as well as bombs and a bow and arrow. Your health meter consists of hearts. If you get hit a couple of times, you lose a heart. Lose all of your hearts and you die and the game's over. You can catch a fairy in a bottle that can revive you after you die. 

You can collect key items by exploring dungeons and defeating bosses. You meet a set of different quirky characters. There's Navi, the fairy who accompanies you. She gives you hints on what you're supposed to do. Every now and then, she'll call you by going "Hey! Listen!" (this has become a meme). There's Darunia, the leader of the Gorons, and Ruto, princess of the Zora. They become important to your quest. There's also Saria, who you become good friends with, and Mido, the bossy leader of the Kokiri.

There's Princess Zelda, who summons you to assist her on her plan to save Hyrule. Then there's the main villain Ganondorf. Ganondorf is the king of the Gerudo, a race of gypsy thieves who reside in the desert. He has a lust for power and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Ganondorf kidnaps Zelda, and you have to save her.

That's about the gist of it.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) is an excellent game. It's got great and fun gameplay and a great narrative as far as "video game storyline" go. It's visually stunning and the graphics, while blocky, are impressive for the time. It's very imaginative in terms of the world building and characters. Its also got great music. There's not a single thing I didn't like about it. 

It does have some tough spots here and there, but they can be overcome with strategy. The combat system is unique and has paved the way for hack and slash games in the future. This game has left a huge impact on me, as it inspired me to go on real life adventures and to become a fiction writer (haven't gone anywhere with those lol). I can also identify with Link, as he's left-handed and a silent protagonist. I'm also left-handed and I'm a man of few words. Those are the reasons The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) is my favorite video game of all time. I look at this game as not only a classic, but in fact a masterpiece.

I give The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) a solid 10/10.

Have you ever played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

As I post this, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) is currently available to play on the Nintendo 64 app as part of the Nintendo online membership + expansion for Nintendo Switch.

Nerve (2016) Movie Review

Nerve (2016) is a sci-fi techno thriller adventure flick directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schuman and written by Jessica Sharzer. It’s based on the young adult novel by Jeanne Ryan. It stars Emma Roberts, Dave Franco and Juliette Lewis in major roles.

It’s centered on an online “truth or dare” type game called “Nerve” where you choose to be a watcher or a player. The players take on all kinds of dares, each more dangerous than the last, and get rewarded with money. The watchers, well, pay to watch the players. The plot follows our protagonist Venus Delmonaco (Emma Roberts). Venus (or “Vee” for short) is a senior in high school who lives in Staten Island. 

She wants to leave town and go to college, but since her older brother had just died tragically, she and her mom are mourning their loss so she doesn’t tell her. Vee finds out about this Nerve thing while scrolling through her emails on her laptop, but at first refuses to participate. Her best friend Sydney is a player on Nerve and has become very popular in the game. Sydney criticizes Vee for not being very adventurous, which drives Vee into becoming a player. Vee’s first dare is to kiss a complete stranger, which is when we’re introduced to our deuteragonist Ian (Dave Franco). 

We learn that Ian is also a player. Ian serves as Vee’s love interest and the two form a dynamic. Vee and Ian take on all kinds of dangerous dares together. There’s also Ty, who’s basically the villain of the movie for the majority of it. Ty appears to take drastic measures to win the game and get himself out, even if it means sabotaging the main characters.

We learn that Ian and Ty have a past and have both been trapped in the game after a tragedy occurred in which a friend of theirs was killed in a dare. Since then, they’ve both been trying to get themselves out of the game. Sydney appears to be jealous of Vee throughout, but eventually drops out and helps the latter afterward. That’s about the gist of it without giving too much away.

I watched Nerve (2016) back when it came out on DVD, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I rewatched last weekend on Amazon Prime, and I’d say I enjoyed it overall. It’s pretty intriguing and entertaining and has some intense moments. I liked Vee and Ian’s dynamic. I liked the scene where Vee and Ian had to run out of the department store in their underwear. That was a fun scene. I think Emma Roberts and Dave Franco both did a pretty good job with their roles.

I do have a few minor nitpicks. There were parts where it tried to be funny but didn’t make me laugh or anything (not a comedy, obviously). I thought the part where Isn’t danced and sang at the diner was a little cheesy. I felt it got a bit too political in the climax, and I won’t tell you what happens in the end, but it made me go “huh”? I’d also like to comment about the tattoo scene. As Vee is getting her tattoo, there’s death metal music play and she makes a comment about the music saying, “I really don’t like that noise at all!” (direct quote), and as a metal head myself, I’m a tiny bit offended. Those are minor nitpicks though.

All in all, I think Nerve (2016) is pretty good as far as young adult techno thrillers go.

I give Nerve (2016) a solid 7/10.

So, have you seen Nerve (2016)? What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Did you think it was okay? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoy my posts, you can follow my blog and/or check out (as well as follow) my Letterboxd.

Blog

Letterboxd

As I post this, Nerve (2016) is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and MGM+.

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) Movie Review

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) is a romantic sex comedy about the porn industry. It stars Nick Swardson in the leading title role, as well as Christina Ricci and Stephen Dorff in supporting roles. It was directed by Tom Brady and written and produced by Nick Swardson and Adam Sandler.

It follows our protagonist Bucky Larson (Nick Swardson), a mentally challenged man who has buck teeth and a small “you know what” and lives with his parents. After being fired from his job at the local grocery store, Bucky hangs out at his best friend’s house where they watch pornography flicks to cheer him up. While watching these films with his friends, Bucky recognizes his mother and father and learn that they were porn stars. This is when Bucky finds his destiny and aspires to be a movie star. So, Bucky moves to California to pursue an acting career in the porn industry.

Along the way, Bucky meets a nice girl named Kathy (Christina Ricci) who works as a waitress at a sketchy local diner. Kathy serves as Bucky’s love interest and the two form a dynamic. We learn that Kathy was once a five star waitress until an incident occurred where she accidentally spilt hot soup on an elderly woman’s lap and put her in the hospital. Kathy helps Bucky find a place to stay and has him move in with a mean roommate who yells at him. Bucky helps Kathy regain confidence in chasing her dream of being a five star waitress.

There’s the porn director Miles Deep, whom Bucky works for. While filming, Bucky gets an uncontrollable orgasm and ejaculates on set. This initially makes Miles reluctant towards having Bucky act in his films again. But after seeing the film go viral on the internet, Miles gets an idea for the future of his films. There’s also Dick Shadow (Stephen Dorff) who’s basically the villain of the movie. He’s a professional porn actor whom Bucky encounters. He bullies Bucky and is even seen flirting with Kathy. Dick invites Bucky to his party only to humiliate him by stripping him naked and pushing him into the pool. He also tries to outdo Miles Deep when making deals with the same producer.

I won’t tell you exactly what happens at the end, but I’ll say that it’s “about the journey, not the destination”. This movie was marketed as an over-the-top sex comedy about the porn industry, which it kind of is, but it’s really more of a romantic comedy.

I watched Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) for the first time over the past weekend after seeing it on Amazon Prime. I know this movie was panned by critics when it debuted and even bombed at the box office (grossing only $2.5 million against a budget of $10 million). It has its defenders but it’s still hated by pretty much everyone to this day (it currently holds a 3% critic score on RT with a 25% audience score). 

That being said, I actually enjoyed this movie. It’s stupid and absurd, yes, but I think I enjoyed it for that. I found it quite funny and laughed quite a bit throughout. I also liked Bucky and Kathy’s dynamic. I thought it was sweet. I’ll say though I found the villain Dick Shadow rather underdeveloped as he wasn’t really of that much threat to our main characters.

Overall, I thought Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) was pretty decent as far as raunchy romantic comedies go.

I give Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) a solid 7/10.

So, have you seen Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011)? What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Did you think it was okay? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoy my posts, you can follow my blog and/or check out (as well as follow) my Letterboxd.

Blog

Letterboxd

As I post this, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi.