Experience the Ocarina of Time: Master Quest on 3DS

Yet another re-release of a Zelda game on the horizon and, as always, Nintendo is dropping in some bonus content to sweeten the pot.  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is considered the Stairway to Heaven of gaming by many people, but most haven’t touched the game in 10+ years.  Others have played it innumerable times, with the game never once being different.

Well, in 2003 Nintendo released an updated version of the game that was previously unreleased (presumably, it was originally designed for the N64 Disc Drive) called the Master Quest.  The catch was that it was only available as a pre-order bonus for the Gamecube title The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker.  After the Windwaker was released copies of the Master Quest pre-order disc became scarce and have been going for premium prices ever since (especially since ostensibly the game was free).

Seeing an untapped market, unlike usual, Nintendo has announced that the Master Quest will be playable in the 3DS version of the Ocarina of Time.  Content wise its not too different from the original Ocarina of Time, but the Master Quest does change the layouts of the Dungeons, thus creating a unique alternate playthrough.  Players that are extremely familiar with the puzzles in the original title would be doing themselves a favor playing the Master Quest, as it provides the classic experience with unique content.

Giant Bomb has a nice write up on the supposed origins of the Master Quest along with info on rumors and hacks that make the Master Quest a truly unique piece of Nintendo history.