What stands out in this remake is that almost everything was rebuilt, yet almost nothing was moved. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launches on Thursday (November 5), exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, 28 years after the Nintendo 64 original. The digital version costs $59.99 and takes up about 27 GB, according to Nintendo’s official page.
Built from scratch, with a puppet-show feel
In Nintendo’s Ask the Developer interview series (Vol. 24), the team explains that it did not port the Nintendo 64 code: everything was recreated from scratch and checked against the original, piece by piece. Art director Aya Shida says the visual keywords were “a puppet-show feel” and “the analog feel of practical effects films”, not plain realism. A lovely detail: for Young Link’s clothes, the team studied fabrics in museums and even made its own cloth from thread, so it would look like something the forest children wove themselves. The world is still split into separate areas, as in 1998, rather than one seamless map.
What changes in the controls
Auto-jump is gone: Link now jumps with a button, anywhere. The Jump Attack works both ways, with one press as in the original or in two steps as in Breath of the Wild. Holding the Roll Attack button makes Link dash, and the camera is free. You can aim long-range items such as the bow and hookshot with buttons or motion controls.
The Water Temple, famous for its difficulty, got friendlier: item toggling is easier and some walls became lattices, so you can see the rooms beyond. The boss Gohma now guards its weak point with its arms when it is immune to attacks. Warp points were tested, but the team removed them to keep the discoveries you make along the way.
Sound, voices and new features
Cutscenes are now fully voiced with expanded dialogue, and Navi’s “Listen!” was deliberately kept as it was. There are more than 150 tracks recorded with a full orchestra, some mixed with sounds recreated from the Nintendo 64 sound source, plus 5.1 surround sound. Through the Switch 2 microphone, you can hum the ocarina songs or play them on a real instrument.
New features include the Threads of Time, an illustrated tapestry that tells the story like a picture book and supports the adventure, and the Hall of Fallen Heroes, where statues of defeated monsters let you learn about them or take them on in a rematch. The game also supports ZELDA NOTES in the Nintendo Switch App and Zelda amiibo: the new Young Link and Young Zelda figures, due in 2027, unlock masks with a retro look. Buying the digital version before November 23 earns a Zelda 40th anniversary wallpaper.
A console restock and a trip back to 1998
Today is also restock day for the Switch 2 Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition in the US, which sold out within hours. And Joe Cartridge already covered the Google easter egg that takes search back to 1998: a perfect warm-up before you turn on the console.
See also this month’s game release calendar.
Where to buy
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo eShop ($59.99)
Source: Nintendo (official game page and Ask the Developer, Vol. 24).
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