Ocarina of Time Hits Differently as an Adult

School has finished, but I won't start my Summer job for another week or so, so I haven't had much to do. I've found myself replaying The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Even though I'm a little zoomer, this game was a big part of my childhood. My brother is substantially older than I am, and he'd grown up with an N64. I probably spent hours playing on it as a kid, it was my first introduction to video games. I'm a bit more than halfway through the game, and I've been enjoying it--partly because of nostalgia, partly because it's just a good game. But, I think I've come to appreciate the story in a way I didn't really as a child. And it feels far more melancholy. You begin the game as a Kokiri, a race of eternal children. You venture out into the wider world, and you find it to be a good and wholesome place. The castle town is lively and filled with happy people. Kakariko Village is a sleepy town at the foot of the mountains. The guy who runs Lon Lon Ranch is a doofus, but he's a…