I've been playing Ocarina of Time and I have mixed feelings. I like it's charm and silliness, but I'm not cut out for some of these older games. I've had to look at a walk through a lot more than I've wanted to. It's still enjoyable. Plus Navi is really not as bad as every one says.
That's one of my favorite games ever, but it doesn't hold up well. I haven't been able to play it on anything but the N64 because it was so dependent on the layout of that bonkers controller. Everything else they've ported it to has felt like they had to cram it onto the controller. It really solidified the format for Zelda games--between that and Link to the Past on SNES. You're right. Back in the days those old games didn't hold your hand. I was stuck for a LONG time on the water temple with those iron boots. I didn't use the guide and didn't have the internet when I first beat it, I just had all the time in the world to search EVERYWHERE and do EVERYTHING.