The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Released: 2/2003

Publisher: Nintendo

Going Price: $39.99 at GameStop (Used)

Price Per Game: $20 (2000 Wii Points)

Total Cost For VC Equivalent: 2000 Wii Points ($20)

40 bucks for two N64 games you can play on your GameCube (and Wii)? What kind of rip-off is that? Well, the special GameCube port of Ocarina of Time was an enticing pre-order bonus if you plunked down a deposit toward the purchase of Wind Waker, so it was basically free back then. The reason why the going price is so high for such an archaic game is because it contains the never-before-seen (in the U.S.) Ocarina of Time Master Quest dungeon remix mode, also known as Ura Zelda in Japan. That was great to see, until we actually started playing through those dungeons. Holy crap, were they hard.

There is only one reason why you should seek out this game if you don't yet have it: To tackle the Ocarina Master Quest dungeons. Even then, it's a steep price to pay for the privilege to do so. It's actually not a terribly rare game (more than 500,000 pre-ordered Wind Waker to get it), but the price would indicate that it's still highly valuable. It may be worth owning from a collector's standpoint, but given how likely it is we'll see Ocarina on Virtual Console (and perhaps even MQ, for that matter), you'd be better off waiting for that to happen instead. It'll be cheaper that way, too.

The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition

Released: 11/2003

Publisher: Nintendo

Going Price: $44.99 at GameStop, or press your luck on eBay

Price Per Game: $11.25 (1125 Wii Points)

Total Cost for VC Equivalent: 3000 Wii Points ($30)

The Collector's Edition disc was also only available through a Nintendo promotion, this time being given away for free to those that registered games at Nintendo.com or subscribed to Nintendo Power magazine. The disc includes four Zelda games: The NES original, its sequel Link's Adventure, the N64's Ocarina of Time (again), and its sequel Majora's Mask. Also included is a demo of Wind Waker, for those who didn't get a chance to try it out yet.

Even though all four games on the disc are bound for VC—indeed, Zelda I is already on the service—we're giving a recommendation for fans to find this game...but only just. It's a question of how soon you want to play Zelda II, Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask. Actually, scratch that; it's really about how soon Nintendo will make the games available for download. If you think it's going to be a long wait, Collector's Edition may be worth your while. You're going to be spending the money to get these Zelda greats, regardless of you go about getting them. You might as well spend the dough for this and proudly display it as a nice trophy piece.

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