There’s a lot of tight-knit cohesion in Ocarina of Time which gives it a feeling of surprise and discovery later 3d Zeldas don’t. There are huge rnvironmental changes which make the time skip impactful on multiple layers — Death Mountain on fire, castle town destroyed, Saria missing, Ganon’s Castle, Deku Forest poisoned, Lake Hylia drained, Zora’s domain frozen, Lon Lon Ranch under corrupt rule.
All of these places you visited before have been changed dramatically and it’s up to you to right the wrongs. You get a sense of responsibility and heroism that you don’t in WW, TP, and SS because you usually only visit places once. You get the experience of a child exploring the world and an Adult burdened with duty. You explore every inch of Hyrule and save your childhood friend from the grasp of a megalomaniacal wizard on the destroyed ruins of his fortress, the final blow being struck as he’s held in place by your the princess magic. It is a complete and total adventure — a classic fairy tale of a boy becoming a hero and ends with him giving a bittersweet goodbye to the fame and glory promised with it.
Why is Ocarina of Time considered the greatest game of all time when Twilight Princess is just better?