I don’t mean to say that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is too hard for me. That would just be shameful. I mean that somehow, no matter what I do, something interferes with my completing of this game.

Part of it may simply be because I’ve never favored the 3D Zelda over the isometric (S)NES variations. They were more snappy, combat was more interesting and there was just something inherently Zelda about them. Wandering across Hyrule in the first and third games felt like a world full of life, where every turn brought you to something new. Going from Kakariko Village to the Eastern Palace in A Link to the Past meant you may become curious about the graveyard over there, or wondering where the river leads. Oh, hey, is that a cave? What secret is that hiding, I wonder?

Meanwhile, in Ocarina of Time, wandering Hyrule was a lot more like, well, the Adventure of Link. It’s a big expanse of nothing that occasionally bothers you with random enemies trying to take you out. Hyrule field does nothing more than pad the length of the game, increasing the amount of time it takes to get anywhere that’s actually interesting. It’s not pretty (even for the time period it originally released), it’s not interesting and since it acts as nothing more than an ever-stretching hallway to your destination any combat is nothing more than tedious and annoying.

These are just some of my problems with 3D Zelda.

Yet it is not such problems that keep me from completing the N64 “masterpiece”, that which some foolishly claim to be the “greatest game of all time” (please. It may be on the same level as, say, Final Fantasy VII, but it hardly surpasses the excellence of Final Fantasy Tactics). The truth is divine intervention prohibits me from finishing Ocarina of Time.

My first exposure to the game was in middle school. I had recently moved, and while I purchased a Playstation for the ability to play Final Fantasy VII it was my friend Brandon who had procured an N64. When the latest Zelda had hit shelves he had obtained a copy and, some days later, brought it to my house to show off. While I got to play a decent amount with him over, his stays were rare and far apart. I don’t even know if I made it to the Forest Temple, the first location as an adult. Hardly halfway through.

Years later I found myself in High School and working at GameStop, so for a cheap price I grabbed a Nintendo 64 game console with a copy of Ocarina of Time. I would finish it this time, surely! While I did make it further through, the Water Temple and Gerudo Fortress killed my love of the game. It felt less like a fun adventure and more like a journey of tedium. I never made it to the Shadow Temple or Desert Colossus, and thus the game had remained unfinished.

Fast forward well past College, to finally having a career of my own. Ocarina of Time 3DS was the first truly fleshed out game to grace my Nintendo 3DS, providing hours of addictive enjoyment. For some reason, so many of my issues with 3D Zelda games had washed away. Sure, it wasn’t always responsive. True, you had to be in just the right spot in front of people or objects in order to interact with them. Yet it was still a fun game, and after years of more advanced games the dungeons suddenly felt rather short and linear. Though the Water Temple was still frustrating and the Gerudo Fortress hid the final captured Carpenter well, I still stuck with it.

Finally, I had reached the Shadow Temple (which, after doing things out of order, was the final temple before Ganon’s Fortress for me). I was so close to completing the game. This weekend was going to be my opportunity! I’d be done with it, and maybe even move on to Twilight Princess after (another game I never finished).

Last night I had been in a bit of a hurry to get to my friend’s birthday party. I stuffed the game in my pocket, thinking nothing of it. It was as simple as closing the lid and letting my 3DS fall asleep. I hadn’t saved since I first entered the Temple of Time and retrieved the Master Sword, but I didn’t care. I’d yet to die in the game and it looked like I’d easily be able to beat it without a single death.

I did not foresee what would happen, as I withdrew the game system from my pocket. At some point something must have pressed down on the cartridge, as the game had been ejected from the sleeping system. Rather frantically I pressed the cartridge back in, hoping the system wouldn’t need it while asleep. I lifted the lid, praying it would load its spot in the Shadow Temple back up.

Instead, I read an error telling me that the cartridge was ejected and that I had to return to the Home screen. I loaded the game up, checked the save file, and there it was. One row of Hearts, adult Link, none of the Temples completed. I lost my progress, my time spent collecting treasures, the time consumed in the Water Temple. All gone.

God simply doesn’t want me to beat Ocarina of Time.