Turn your iPhone into an iOcarina with new app

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 8th 2008 at 3:00PM }

We've seen the iPhone used for a great deal of useless enterprises -- the drinking of virtual beers, the swinging of virtual lightsabers, the placing of actual telephone calls to other people, etc. However, a new application from Smule serves a rather legendary purpose -- the salvation of Hyrule. Yes, by downloading the Smule Ocarina (now available on the iTunes App Store for $0.99), users can either travel seven years into the future to thwart the plans of an evil dictator, or three days into the past to prevent a lunar catastrophe.

Two demo videos of the iOcarina are posted after the break. The first shows a man blowing his way through the Legend of Zelda theme song. The second, when played in reverse, reveals hidden Satanist propaganda.

Tags: appstore, iphone, ocarina, smule

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Travis @ Nov 8th 2008 3:04PM

People realllly need to get lives

Gouglas @ Nov 8th 2008 3:16PM

yet you troll a video game blog.

0_______o

J-dog @ Nov 8th 2008 3:16PM

Thanks for taking the time out of your hobby curing cancer to let this internet blog about electronic entertainment know how you feel!

untitled @ Nov 8th 2008 3:16PM

Huh? What's wrong with making something creative and making money from it on very popular platform? Wish I thought of it. I think it's pretty cool.

Jakka @ Nov 8th 2008 3:18PM

@ J-Dog

Actually, I'm using BIONC to make some use of my computer when it's idle. Does that count?

bkirst90 @ Nov 8th 2008 3:21PM

To prevent numerous brains from exploding from an overload of irony, i'm just going to assume you included yourself in the category of "people"

ill trooper @ Nov 8th 2008 3:48PM

"People realllly need to get lives"

C'mon man, this is basically an electronic version of a recorder (the woodwind instrument), so when people learn to play a musical instrument, that qualifies as 'not having a life?' No. I think not.

shaddup

Travis @ Nov 8th 2008 6:58PM

seriously...you go pan flute it up like a queer on your iPhone...let me know how cool you get from doing so...

It's not trolling if it's fact. This idea is a waste of time, energy and probably money...

and I have no life because i comment? good one. I suppose the only way someone has a life is if they don't use a computer? Don't make comments? So who has a life? Sasquatches? that sounds about right. Fuck you and your diddly Ocarina playing iPhone app. I hope someone WITH a life punches you in the head while you play it

Nick8708 @ Nov 8th 2008 9:09PM

@Travis:
You're a douche.

j.howlett @ Nov 8th 2008 11:18PM

i thought the plural form of sasquatch was sasquatch

WRE @ Nov 9th 2008 12:12AM

I thought the plural form of sasquatch was Travises...

Blank-Mage @ Nov 9th 2008 1:10AM

Can't....read....comment....!

Bowser the Baptist @ Nov 9th 2008 7:00AM

I can play the recorder.

komamura @ Nov 8th 2008 3:44PM

/epicfacepalm

Jakka @ Nov 8th 2008 3:16PM

Bitch be not dissing my Stairway...

Seriously wtf thought it would be a good idea to use Stairway for such a shitty advert...

Sirch @ Nov 8th 2008 3:20PM

Hey, whatever floats your wind waker..

ill trooper @ Nov 8th 2008 3:48PM

There is no way that guy in the white headband is really being serious.

Asok @ Nov 8th 2008 3:48PM

I think it has a neat sound. It's not "ocarina" sounding, but it's still pretty cool. I'd get this if I had an iPhone. (Fat chance of that ever happening.) I wonder how well they could play the Song of Storms?

Max @ Nov 8th 2008 3:50PM

Hey... you never used the Ocarina of Time to travel seven years into the future! It was the pulling of the Master Sword that aged you seven years! Playing the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time was only used to open the door to the Master Sword in the Temple of Time.

Get your facts straight Joystiq! I thought you were journalists! Do some journaling!

ExMcCloud @ Nov 8th 2008 4:54PM

Damn Max told u guys....lmao

macgyver @ Nov 8th 2008 3:54PM

ocarina-playing, frisbee-throwing hippies!

oh wait...thats me.

Will @ Nov 8th 2008 3:56PM

iPhone so ridiculous =/

Will @ Nov 9th 2008 1:08AM

I got whited out for not liking a "smartphone" that can't send picture messages or transfer bluetooth files or use your own mp3s as ringtones.

Bass Masterson @ Nov 9th 2008 5:39AM

Dude, it's called the Cult of Apple. Seriously, all this company does is put out crap and use its adopters as guinea pigs to generate slightly higher-quality crap. Apple just has the most amazing public image campaign the world has ever seen.

ill trooper @ Nov 8th 2008 4:13PM

I just downloaded it and tried it. I haven't felt so light-headed since I used to play flute in the 5th grade. When I started it, the phone asked if 'Ocarina' can use my location, something usually only asked by apps that find restaurants in your area or something, like the Yelp app. So that seemed strange that a musical app would want that permission.

But it turns out this app has a pretty cool feature where it you can view a globe, and it plays melodies from other people on the planet who are playing at the moment - I just listened to some intercontinental noodling from the UK and Japan, as well as a very well-played 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' from someone in California. And obviously you can opt to beam your own magical melodies out too.

Chase @ Nov 8th 2008 4:26PM

That sounds very neat. :o

Asok @ Nov 8th 2008 4:56PM

Wow, that is amazing. It's a shame the app probably won't get very much use, then, seeing as how its more of a novelty than anything. :(

Julian Weisser @ Nov 8th 2008 9:34PM

That is really cool. I am going to get an iphone eventually and when I do I will dl this for sure just for fun. I am a musician and there are times I wish I could just play an instrument but there are none around me. At least I could fool around with this...

Kael @ Nov 8th 2008 4:16PM

I thought that was going to be really stupid, but it turned out looking pretty cool. I think it would be really cool to play the Zelda tune at a party if I took the time to become really good at it.

Can you imagine sending this video back in time? I imagine people from the early 1900s would gather that real instruments had been made obsolete in our fantastical sci-fi future world.

Blank-Mage @ Nov 9th 2008 1:14AM

Two words:

Guitar Hero.

EMaster @ Nov 8th 2008 4:18PM

As soon as I get signal I'm buying that! For 99 cents?? How can you go wrong considering there is tons of garbage apps that cost far more. I think this is pretty cool and I always wanted to give woodwind instrument a try.

wiredknight @ Nov 8th 2008 4:22PM

Yea, but it won't turn back time. Or make it rain. Or any of the things typically associated with ocarinas and the Legend of Zelda.

Lekko @ Nov 9th 2008 5:33AM

In fact, it actually frightens horses.

Obie @ Nov 8th 2008 4:26PM

LOL what a bunch of losers!
...
How much is this app again??

MowDownJoe @ Nov 8th 2008 4:38PM

99 cents.
I'd get it, but the closest thing I'll ever get to an iPhone is an iPod Touch, and this wouldn't work there due to the lack of a mic.

Obie @ Nov 8th 2008 5:50PM

The touch has a mic, but it's internal and will only work with the headset accessory.

Oh well.

toledosuperman @ Nov 9th 2008 6:00PM

So who is the loser, an individual who creates an app interesting enough to get it posted on a popular website, or the individual too lazy to read the entire post to find the answer he so eloquently asked?

ExMcCloud @ Nov 8th 2008 4:50PM

When I used it it made all the chicks avoid me....Except for some fat chick named Epona....She just wouldn't leave me alone....damn

Sackolantern PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Nov 8th 2008 5:21PM

if you have an iPhone you need the game called fieldrunners. It's my favorite iPhone game yet and is honestly better than most Ds & PSP games IMO.

ill trooper @ Nov 8th 2008 9:13PM

I checked out 'Fieldrunners' after reading your post earlier - really good. It's like 'lemmings' in reverse - kill anything that tries to run. So fun.

I've been playing a game called 'Trace' on my iPhone which is good too. And free.

kinshadow @ Nov 9th 2008 1:28AM

It's an overpriced version of Desktop Tower Defense.

Move along.

#28 @ Nov 8th 2008 6:16PM

Nice invention. A lot of MIDI simulation instruments have real trouble with tone, but these sound really good.

Stairway was nice.

sam @ Nov 8th 2008 7:45PM

Awesome. Nintendo should put this trick into the next DS Zelda game although the layout (position of face/shoulder buttons relative to mic for blowing into) wouldn't be so nice.

WiNG [Life in a Game] @ Nov 8th 2008 8:08PM

I hate apple but I have to admit this is friggin amazing.

nensondubois @ Nov 8th 2008 8:35PM

This is good findings for the pointless topic on a forums. How about curing AIDS instead?

Nick8708 @ Nov 8th 2008 9:17PM

Since most forms of entertainment don't really find cures for AIDs or cancer, I wouldn't be too harsh on such a product. Games are a huge waste of time and money when you think about how little they generally do to further AIDs and cancer research, yet people still buy them. Making games is almost abhorrent in the face of the fact that the developers are typically well educated, passionate people who could be put to better use studying medicine and curing disease.

Why are there games and other forms of entertainment then? Oh yeah, because people want them.