Because he's yet to make a game that's better than Ocarina.

Speaking with Nintendo Power magazine, Aonuma said:

I’m happy that a title I worked on some time ago remains highly praised to this day, but that also shows how none of the subsequent games in the series have surpassed it. As someone who is still working on the series, I have mixed feelings about that. Because I haven’t yet surpassed it, I can’t quit. Surprisingly, that simply motivation may be the reason I continue to work on the Zelda series.

Don't get so down on yourself, Eiji! You know...and I fully understand the ramifications of saying this...I thought Wind Waker was better than Ocarina. Yes. Really. That oughta cheer you up!

Nintendo Power [via Go Nintendo] [Image]

In this video you get a glimpse of a new iPhone-driven digital Ocarina and a guy using it to play a very familiar theme. Hit the jump to check out a chorus of these things playing Stairway to Heaven.

The Ocarina of iPhone? [Make]

GamerRankings' Top Ten Ranked Games List [GameRankings]

Bio-Hazard Battle (800 Wii points) is a pretty standard shmup featuring your Bioship fightercraft verses genetic mutants. The original box featured a sleek fighter jet that was never actually seen in the game. Go packaging department!

Chew Man Fu (600 Wii points) is an action puzzler in the Pengo vein, where you try to get four colored orbs on to matching colored tiles while evil tries to stop you. Also featuring a stage editor and a kickball minigame, the press release blurb ends with a rather blunt, "The fun is endless." I, of course, have my doubts.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1000 Wii points) really doesn't need any explanation. Zelda Zelda Zelda Zelda Zelda. There. All done.

Be warned, my VC purchasing friends...two of these titles aren't worth the points. I'll leave which ones a mystery for you to figure out. Michael Fahey

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL

Feb. 26, 2007

Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii video game system's Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64 , 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time reveals the genesis of the fantasy land of Hyrule, the origin of the Triforce and the tale of the first exploits of Princess Zelda and the heroic adventurer Link. Vibrant, real-time 3-D graphics transport players into the fantasy world of Hyrule. The quest takes them through dense forests and across wind-whipped deserts. Players swim raging rivers, climb treacherous mountains, dash on horseback across rolling hills and delve into dungeons full of creatures that fight to the finish to put an end to their adventures. With immersive graphics, a sweeping story line, swashbuckling adventure, mind-bending puzzles and a touch of humor, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of Nintendo's most epic challenges ever.

Bio-Hazard Battle (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): An army of biogenetic mutants has gone haywire, terrorizing the world and putting the future of the planet in jeopardy. In Bio-Hazard Battle, players must take on the mutant menace and restore order and harmony to the planet Avaron before it's too late. Through eight levels of intense action, they'll be up against some of the nastiest, most vile creatures they've ever seen, including things like mega amoebas, nuclear crabs, electroworms and gut-grabbing insects. They have four different Bioship fightercraft to choose from, each with unique handling capabilities and weapons systems. Hop into a fightercraft and save Avaron from certain doom in Bio-Hazard Battle.

Chew Man Fu (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points): A novel action-puzzle game set in the sacred towers taken over by the evil sorcerer, Chew Man Fu. It's up to an apprentice female monk to free the towers and lift Chew's curse to bring peace and fried rice back to the land once ruled by the Egg Roll Dynasty. The rules are simple. The objective is to clear each round by pushing or pulling four colored orbs onto their matching colored tiles. Beware the sorcerer's minions in the tower who stand in the way. Players kick the orbs to take enemies out or to break down walls. They must overcome the obstacles and place the orbs on their respective tiles. Chew Man Fu also features the two-player Kick Ball minigame, as well as an Edit Mode for creating unique stages. The fun is endless.

###

If you were to look at the top of GameRankings list of best games of all time, heck almost anyone's list, what would you see? Hint, it's coming to the Wii's virtual console on Monday.

That's right, Nintendo just dropped the bomb. Ocarina of Time is coming to the Wii's virtual console in North America too. So there Europe. The game will be on the site Monday for 1,000 points or $10 in real money. Hit the jump for the short but sweet release. Brian Crecente

Every form of entertainment has its artistic pinnacles. On Monday, Nintendo will make The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time available for download in the Wii Shop Channel of the hot new Wii video game system. Originally released in November 1998 for the Nintendo 64 console, the game is widely considered by critics and industry observers to be one of the greatest video games of all time.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time inspired millions of players around the world with its in-depth game play, rich 3-D visuals and memorable adventures. It set the standard by which all other games have been judged. And now it's available once again, both for veteran gamers to relive their gaming glory days and for younger players to discover it for the first time.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be available for 1,000 Wii Points when it goes live at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Feb. 26. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. The Wii Shop Channel now boasts more than 55 downloadable classic games, in addition to the dozens of new disc-based games available for Wii.

Again limited to 2500 pieces, the third statue in First4Figures Legend of Zelda line will be available for pre-order tomorrow, December 8 for a cheap $109.99. More pics are available at the official site. Michael McWhertor

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Adult Link Statue From First 4 Figures

This neat statue depicts young LInk donning the Fierce Deity Mask, which allows him to harness its power with being corrupted. Basically, it makes him a super tough dude. The figurine is 14.5 inches, hand finished, hand painted and limited to 2,500 pieces worldwide. Fierce, indeed.

More Here [First 4 Figures]

A few years back there was a PC program called Zelda Classic that allowed anyone to not only play Zelda on their PC (with updated BS Zelda style graphics), but also to design their own scenarios, including items from the Game Boy and N64 Zeldas. It was pretty cool... then, all of a sudden, it disappeared into the murky ether of the Internet's past, only to ever be glimpsed again by the random Archive.org browser. Hey! Just checked it out! It's still around, and active again after a 15 month hiatus!

But this project, Ocarina of Time 2D, really reminds me a lot of Zelda Classic. The aim is to take Ocarina of Time and to recreate it in full using BS Zelda style graphics on the PC. The project isn't completed yet, but there's a demo available for download. And if that tickles your fancy, you can check out an Ocarina of Time Remake for Zelda Classic as well. Florian Eckhardt

Ocarina of Time 2D [Lunatic Gaming]

The Legend of Zelda Statues [First4Figures]

Think of it as Hot Coffee, but without all of the lawsuits and sex. Looks like some goofy Nintendo programmers slipped an Arwing fighter from Starfox into Ocarina of Time. A reader sent me this screen cap along with a link to the video. In it you can see Link spotting the spaceship.

Just in case you absolutely need to check this out for yourself, run out and buy a Gameshark and use this code to unlock the space-time anomaly.

Replace Kokiri boy lifting rock in Kokiri Forest (as young Link) with an Arwing from Lyrat Wars!!

OoT (europe) PAL V1.0
81242e26 0009
81242eb4 013b
81242ec2 0000

OoT (europe) PAL V1.1
8124b456 0009
8124b4e4 013b
8124b4f2 0000

OoT (US) NTSC V1.0
81244096 0009
81244124 013b
81244132 0000

OoT (US) NTSC V1.1
8124c806 0009
8124c894 013b
8124c8a2 0000

OoT (US) NTSC V1.2
8124cd06 0009
8124cd94 013b
8124cda2 0000

OK, that was your retro homework for the day. Class dismissed.

Video [Thanks Sinner]

Nintendo fans, always looking to improve on their favorite titles, are giving Ocarina of Time the cel-shade treatment. The results so far are pretty amazing. The Game Brink Forums, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite game sites, has some nice screenshots as well as images from a Mario cel-shading project.

Zelda Emulation Modders Get Creative OoT Cell Shaded! [Gamebrink, thanks Jeromy]