Seems like the author never played A Link To The Past. Not that there weren't a lot of firsts in Occarina of Time, but wow, there is just so much they attribute to it here that it didn't do first ...

... and a lot of what they mention are experiences available in the later games if you just ignore the available game guides and discover the mechanics organically. Sure, I had the tools to access this area I've gone back to after 30+ hours of play time as soon as I made it off The Great Plateau, or dropped off the Sky Islands in TOTK, but I didn't know that yet, until the game forced me to learn it or literally taught me via a random shrine or riddle.