Nintendo revealed new details about its upcoming remake of Nintendo 64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time during a new Nintendo Direct dedicated to all things Zelda. The Switch 2 remake got its first real trailer, a release date, and new gameplay details during the show, confirming just how far Nintendo will go with its plan to revive the 1998 Zelda game.
Zelda fans won’t have to wait long for Link’s return: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is coming to Switch 2 this November.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time first gameplay
Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma revealed a first look at The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake with gameplay of Link exploring Kokiri Forest and chatting with NPCs like Saria. Aonuma explained that Nintendo has graphically redesigned Ocarina of Time “in a way that invokes nostalgia for the original game.” The game’s look is a blend of photorealism and stylized graphics; it’s highly detailed.
Aonuma also included some gameplay changes, including that Link can manually jump in the remake. Aonuma also showed the Great Deku Tree, combat, Link discovering an early-game item, the slingshot, and areas beyond Kokiri Forest, including the open-world Hyrule Field and Hyrule Castle Town. Link will have a dash move that will help him move around the vastness of Hyrule faster.
Threads of Time, at any point you can see the progress you’ve made in the story and what your next adventure is. Threads of Time will fill out an in-game tapestry that visually tells the story of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Aonuma also showed off other new features, including audio detection for playing the game’s ocarina.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time release date
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be released on Nov. 5 on Nintendo Switch 2.
Nintendo originally announced The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake in June. The first teaser for the Switch 2 game was brief and featured narration from the Great Deku Tree similar to the opening scene of the original game. Link, the lone Kokiri villager without a fairy, is shown sleeping restlessly. In the original Ocarina of Time, Link has a vision of Sheik and Zelda escaping Hyrule Castle while being pursued by Ganondorf.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64. The follow-up to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Ocarina of Time radically changed the series from a 2D, top-down perspective to full 3D environments. The game also introduced concepts like the target-lock system (aka Z-targeting) and context-sensitive buttons, which have since become commonplace in 3D adventure games.
Nintendo re-released Ocarina of Time for the GameCube in 2003, bundling it with the harder Master Quest game mode as part of a pre-order bonus for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. A remake that featured stereoscopic 3D effects and quality of life improvements was released for Nintendo 3DS in 2011.
Other games in the Zelda franchise have been rereleased with “HD” or “DX” visual updates, including The Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Twilight Princess. Perhaps the most radical reimagining to date has been the Switch version of Link’s Awakening, which was rereleased in 2019 with a bold new graphical style.