Ocarina of Time was probably one of the top two best games for the 64 (up there with Smash Bro's). It had a nice, long story, tons of side quests, and plenty of secrets.
One thing that was new to Ocarina is a bit of a darker theme. Some of the enemies in this game looked like they were straight out of resident evil.
I still remember running around fishing, catching Poes, smashing random things with my sword trying to figure out what a secret was, etc. This game was a ton of fun.
Unfortunately future Zeldas haven't been as good. Majora's Mask came close, but all of them afterwards have been just terrible.