Nintendo remakes Zelda's Ocarina of Time for Switch 2

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 6 Nov, 01:21 · Archive

Nintendo has released a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time exclusively for the Switch 2 with updated graphics and modern gameplay.

Nintendo has released a fully remade version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time exclusively on the Switch 2. The game retains much of the original N64 experience from 1998 whilst updating it with modern graphics and gameplay that make it feel contemporary. The remake was led by producers Eiji Aonuma, a director on the original game who now stewards the franchise at Nintendo, and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, best known for directing Breath of the Wild and its sequel.

The development team mixed experienced and younger developers, including some who had never played the original. According to Fujibayashi, these younger voices provided valuable perspective that shaped the remake. He notes they approached the project 'very carefully' and were not 'pursuing something new for the sake of novelty when it might be unneeded and clutter the experience'. Instead, they focused on 'elegance', considering 'only what is needed, only what was important in the original, and how to carry that forward'.

Aonuma, who worked on both iterations of the game, observed that production scope has vastly expanded. 'We used to have maybe just one person designing the backgrounds, and that's something that you couldn't do nowadays,' he says. The Switch 2's larger storage capacity and higher memory bus speed have enabled designers to add details to characters that would not have been possible in the original cartridge-based N64 version.

The remake's aesthetic upgrades have drawn mixed reactions from players. Child Link's character design in particular has sparked discussion online, with his updated appearance featuring more detailed facial features than in the original. The changes contrast with background characters, who remain simpler and more reminiscent of the original game's design. The original Ocarina was limited to minimal polygonal shapes and textures because of N64 cartridge storage constraints, producing a visual style that became recognizable and beloved.

How it is being reported

• A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the ‘Zelda’ masterpieceAbove modern graphics and conveniences, the new remake proves that the original game's dynamics stand the test of time.The Japan Times · 6 Nov, 00:31
• The ‘Ocarina of Time’ Remake Is Finally Here, but Why Does Link Look so Yassified?Nintendo has prepped its classic game for a rerelease with a slew of aesthetic upgrades—none more extreme than the protagonist’s curled-eyelash, glossed-lip glow-up.Wired · 5 Nov, 11:30
• Nintendo’s designers strove for ‘elegance’ when remaking Ocarina of TimeThe Ocarina of Time remake on the Switch 2 smashes together the past and present. The game retains much of the original N64 experience while updating it with modern graphics and gameplay that make it feel contemporary. But the mingling of time periods also extends to the development team. While Ocarina's remake was led by […]The Verge · 5 Nov, 05:00

In this story: Nintendo · Eiji Aonuma · Hidemaro Fujibayashi · Switch 2 · The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

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