Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Japan

Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 console in Japan on 21 November 1998. Releases in North America and Europe followed within weeks.

The game was the first 3D entry in the Zelda series. It was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the franchise, and developed by Nintendo's internal team. Players controlled Link, a young hero who travels between two time periods to stop the villain Ganondorf and save the kingdom of Hyrule.

Ocarina of Time introduced design ideas that many later games adopted, notably a lock-on targeting system for combat in 3D spaces and context-sensitive button actions. Critics gave it near-perfect scores, and it is often named among the best video games ever made. It also sold millions of copies and helped define what an adventure game could be in three dimensions.

Its lasting reputation is why later re-releases and remakes of the game draw such strong interest from fans and from the games industry.