10 BIG Ways Ocarina of Time Remake Changes the Original
Last night’s Nintendo Direct celebrating 40 years of The Legend of Zelda started in about the best way possible, with a montage of moments from across the history of the series playing alongside an orchestra performing a medley of some of Zelda’s most gorgeous music… chills. After a couple of surprises were announced, Nintendo turned its attention to the game I had been waiting to see, and suddenly we were getting another proper look at The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo Switch 2, and I wasn’t ready. So rather than simply run through everything Nintendo showed during the Direct, I thought it would be more interesting to look at the things that actually stood out to me, and the ways this new version could change how we experience one of the most important games in Zelda history. Here are 10 big ways Ocarina of Time is changing with the remake.
1. The Entire Game Has Been Rebuilt Visually
We start off in Kokiri Forest, and it is immediately clear that this isn’t a 1:1 remake of Ocarina of Time. Yes, you can still recognise the forest you remember, but everything around it has been completely reimagined, with gorgeous lighting, much more detailed environments and a more realistic-looking Link that feels a long way removed from the Nintendo 64 original. The actual shape of the world has also changed. Areas that were once largely flat now have undulating terrain, giving Hyrule a much greater sense of depth and making the environments feel like actual places rather than carefully constructed spaces designed around the limitations of the Nintendo 64.
Hyrule Castle Town is probably the best example of this. The original had areas that relied heavily on flat, pre-rendered imagery, whereas here Nintendo has rebuilt the town as a fully 3D environment that you can actually explore and look around in. It is still unmistakably Castle Town, but it feels like we’re finally seeing the place as the developers might have imagined it all those years ago if the technology had allowed them to build it this way. And that’s something that stood out throughout the footage. We see a lot of familiar locations during the trailer, but almost every one of them looks as though it has been lovingly rebuilt rather than simply recreated with higher-resolution textures. Nintendo has taken the foundations of Ocarina of Time and given Hyrule the kind of scale, detail and depth that simply wasn’t possible back in 1998.
2. The Camera Is Now Completely Free
Which leads us into another major change, because the camera is now completely free and controlled with the right stick. Nintendo even joked during the Direct that this seems like an obvious addition, but it is worth remembering just how different things were when Ocarina of Time first released. Back in 1998, there was no second analogue stick sitting underneath your thumb waiting to control the camera, so repositioning your view was handled with the Z button, while certain areas would take control of the camera entirely. This was particularly noticeable in locations that used fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, where the game was essentially deciding what it wanted you to see. That obviously isn’t how we play games today, and with Nintendo completely rebuilding Hyrule in 3D, giving players control of the camera feels like a natural evolution for the remake. It means you can actually stop and take in this new version of Hyrule from whatever angle you want. Being able to freely look around makes the world feel much more substantial than it ever could have on the Nintendo 64
3. Link Can Now Jump… And Sprint
Speaking of extra buttons, Nintendo has also added a couple of quality-of-life improvements to the way Link gets around Hyrule, and one of them is something that feels strange to even say about Ocarina of Time: Link can now jump whenever you want him to. Jumping has its own dedicated button, meaning you’re no longer relying on the game’s context-sensitive jumping when you’re walking towards a ledge. If you’ve played the original, you’ll probably remember those moments where you were absolutely certain Link was lined up correctly, onlyfall down somewhere for getting the angle wrong. Now, if there’s a gap you want to jump across, you can just press the button and do it yourself.
There’s also a dedicated sprint button, which might be an even bigger quality-of-life improvement once you’re spending a lot of time travelling around Hyrule. No longer do we have to repeatedly roll our way across Hyrule Field just to get somewhere a little bit quicker. You can simply hold the sprint button and let Link get on with it.
4. Ocarina Playing Has Been Completely Reworked
Sure, you can still use the buttons if that’s how you want to play, but Nintendo has added a couple of much more interesting ways to interact with the Ocarina this time around. The Switch 2’s built-in microphone can pick up your voice, meaning you can actually hum the song you want Link to play, and the game will recognise the melody and have Link play it for you. It’s a small addition, but I love the idea of sitting there humming Zelda’s Lullaby and watching Link respond to what you’re actually doing. Want to take that immersion one step further? Nintendo is also selling an actual Ocarina through the Nintendo Store, and if you happen to pick one up, you can play the song yourself and have the Switch 2’s microphone pick up the sound. Link will then mirror what you’re playing in the game.
5. Cutscenes Are Now Fully Voice-Acted
We only got a small glimpse of this during the Direct, but one of the biggest changes to the presentation is that the cutscenes are now fully voice-acted. The footage showed a short exchange between Saria and Link, with the characters actually speaking rather than relying on the text boxes we’ve been used to for almost three decades.
6. Threads of Time Changes How You’re Guided Through Hyrule
Ocarina of Time is also getting a completely new way of keeping track of your adventure, with Threads of Time acting as a sort of quest log that shows you what you’ve already done and where you need to go next. What I really like about this isn’t just having somewhere to check your objectives. As you progress through the adventure, more scenes are added to the tapestry in the menu, gradually building up a visual record of everything you’ve been through. It should also make it a lot easier to remember what you were doing if you put the game down for a few days, which is something we definitely didn’t have back in 1998. Back then, if you forgot where you were supposed to go next, you just got lost like a cool person.
7. The Day/Night Cycle Now Runs Continuously
One of the smaller changes that could have a surprisingly big impact on how Hyrule feels is that the day and night cycle now runs continuously, no matter where you are. In the original Ocarina of Time, time would stop in towns and certain other locations, meaning you could wander around for as long as you liked without the sun moving across the sky. That’s no longer the case in the remake, with time continuing to pass as you move between different areas.
8. Gyro Aiming Returns for Bows and Slingshots
If you’ve played Zelda on a modern Nintendo console, you’ll probably be familiar with this one, because gyro aiming is back for Link’s bow and slingshot. Rather than relying entirely on the analogue stick to line up your shots, you can use the motion controls to actually move your controller and adjust your aim. It should make firing arrows and using the slingshot feel much more immediate, particularly when you’re trying to hit something that isn’t sitting directly in front of you. The game shop owner won’t know what hit him… or his targets.
9. Zelda Notes Adds a Whole New Companion Experience
If you’ve used Zelda Notes with Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect here, but Ocarina of Time is getting its own set of features to make the app part of the adventure. You can use Zelda Notes to take part in quizzes, go sightseeing and explore different activities connected to your time in Hyrule, giving you something to do beyond simply playing through the main adventure. You can even transfer Rupees from the game into Zelda Notes, which can then be used to take part in the quizzes and other activities within the app. So rather than the app being completely separate from what you’re doing in Ocarina of Time, there is actually a little bit of interaction between the two.
10. The Remake Is Part of a Much Bigger Zelda Celebration
This remake is just one part of a much bigger celebration for 40 years of The Legend of Zelda. Alongside the game, Nintendo has announced new Zelda amiibo, a Zelda-themed Nintendo Switch 2, and a series of Zelda concerts celebrating the music that has become such an important part of the series. And then, of course, there’s the one that probably has the most people curious: the live-action Zelda movie, which is currently set to release on April 30, 2027.
Seeing this remake running on Switch 2 gave me such a strange feeling. I’m looking at something that is obviously very different from the game I remember, but underneath all of that new lighting, new environments, voice acting and modern controls is still the Ocarina of Time that I fell in love with. It doesn’t aim to replace the memories I have of the original, and honestly, I don’t think it could… I’ve played Ocarina of Time more times than I can remember, but somehow I’m already excited to get lost in Hyrule all over again.
November 5 can’t come soon enough.
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