For years gamers have waited for the release of Zelda 5. When a new Zelda game comes out, everybody crosses their fingers and hopes it lives up to the hype. Zelda 5 lives up to the hype and then some! This is the first time the series has been in 3D.

Nintendo of Japan's Miyamoto and Co. have proven that they can successfully move a 2D series into 3D. What some gamers were wondering is whether or not Zelda 5 would be able to keep the atmosphere of previous Zelda games. Nintendo went all-out on this one. Almost everything from the previous games can be found in Zelda 5. Nintendo didn't stop there, however, they improved every aspect of the game.

The graphics really manage to stand out when you see the game. Nintendo only makes a new Zelda title when there are technilogical advancements they can use for the next game. This is very clear when you see Zelda 5. It has some of the most polished graphics ever seen in a Nintendo 64 game. You can tell the Zelda 5 graphics engine was based on the one from Mario 64. You can tell just by looking at some of the effects and so on in the game.

The graphics engine actually took about half of the development time of Zelda 5! Zelda 5 has some of the most complex character models yet. Even the cows look great! A really nice effect is the real time lighting. When you walk by a cow and you fairy is flying around giving off light, she will light up walls and even the cows! Now that's detail!

With Zelda 5 using the largest cartidge in existence (32 MByte, 265 Mbit), it stores some of the most textures ever! Every place in the game has its own distinct look and feel. Some of these places are the Kokiri Forest, Zora's Domain, Hyrule Town, Kakariko Village, ect.

With the realtime lighting effects, Nintendo has also included a really cool day-night feature. Time only passes when you on the Hyrule Field or an extension of it. As time passes, the sun or moon will literally hover from one side of the sky to the other. The effect of going from day to night is really neat to look at.

The sound in Zelda games has always been good, but Zelda 5 raises the bar on sound when compared to some of the other games in the series. It is hard to review music, it has to be heard.

The controls is the game are extremely simple. The B-Button is to use your sword, the A-Button is talk to people and dash forward. The Top C-Button is for first person view and talking to your fairy. The other C-Buttons let you assign items and weapons to them. The R-Button draws your shield. The control changes when you enter mini-games.

Even after you beat Zelda 5, which wouldn't be too hard for the average gamer, there are tons of things left to do. There are mini-games, hidden items, and secrets throughout the game. The hidden energy hearts make a return to Zelda 5. There are 11 hearts without finding any of the hidden ones, but you may want to go all out and get the 9 hidden ones. This inceases your life to 20 hearts! There are also many hidden items such as bottles you can store items in. You can catch red fairies in a bottle and when your life runs out, they bring you back to life. These are just a few of the things you can do after you beat the game.

If you own a Nintendo 64, get this game at all costs.