Ocarina of Time Might Be Getting a Remake, and I’m Really Torn About It

The Legend of Zelda franchise is one of the most enduring titles in gaming. Going back to the earliest entries in the series for the NES all the way to more modern approaches to the concept for the Switch, The Legend of Zelda often represents highlights of their respective generations of game design. This is perhaps best recognized with 1998’s The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time for the N64.

The first 3D entry in the series, Ocarina of Time, remains one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, with a nearly flawless Metacritic score. It’s regarded as a classic of the medium, an unassailable contender for the title of greatest video game ever made. With all that in mind, it’s no surprise that Nintendo is considering remaking it — it would likely be a massive hit just on pedigree alone. However, as much as I love the original game, I really hope Nintendo goes a different route and that recent leaks about the Ocarina of Time remake turn out to be false.

Ocarina Of Time Might Finally Be Getting A Modern Remake

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time is potentially getting a modern remake, according to reported leaks from Nintendo. While it hasn’t been officially announced by Nintendo, the reliability of the reporting from Nintendo insider Nate the Hate suggests that Nintendo has a lot of big games coming down the pipeline, including new entries in the Mario, Pikmin, and Star Fox franchises. Beyond that, Nate has also claimed that Ocarina of Time will be getting a remake in the latter half of the year.

This would pay off the enduring rumors about such a project that have been circulating for a while, with many arguing that it would be an ideal way for Nintendo to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda‘s debut on the NES. Given the popularity of Ocarina of Time and its place within the echelons of gaming history, it makes sense that the game was eventually going to get a remake. It’s even gotten some remasters and reimaginings in the past, such as the Master Quest release for the GameCube or the revamped The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, so this move wouldn’t be unprecedented. However, a full remake with modern graphics and touches could be coming.

Ocarina Of Time Is Crucial To Gaming History, But We Don’t Need A Remake

Make no mistake, Ocarina of Time remains one of the most important games in not just the Legend of Zelda franchise but the larger gaming space. The success of that title helped pioneer many of the fundamentals of adventure game design in the early 3D era, inspiring plenty of developers across decades of work. It’s a game that still holds up today in terms of gameplay, with the blocky visuals retaining enough distinctive charm and color to be effective even if they seem outdated. There’s a lot to still love about Ocarina of Time, which is one of the reasons I don’t really see the need to remake it.

There’s little to be done to Ocarina of Time‘s mechanics without radically changing the game into something that it isn’t. Reshaping Hyrule would feel frustrating to fans who memorized that classic landscape through exploration, but it wouldn’t work with a different control scheme or approach. The puzzles, combat, and exploration are attuned to the limitations and strengths of the N64 design. Changing it in any major way could undercut some of the effect of the game. It could even brush away some of the individual spirit that naturally separates this game from other entries in the franchise, which would be a shame. Even a remaster, similar to the 3DS remake, would feel like updating a classic for the sake of updating it instead of any actual reason.

Instead, I wish the time and resources being potentially put into that remake were instead directed towards crafting a new game, whether that be a more ground-up remake of a forgotten classic like Link’s Awakening or just delivering on the next mainline Zelda title. With the Nintendo Classics online service, anyone who wants to revisit the history of Nintendo and replay Ocarina of Time can do so right now. There’s no need to invest the time, money, and effort into a remake of a game that still holds up and can be played right now.

Even beyond that, a remake of Ocarina of Time will highlight just how much the franchise has evolved in the years since it came out. Over the years, Ocarina of Time‘s influence has been felt in dozens of games, even just in the franchise. In turn, many of those games took that formula and improved upon it in different ways. Wind Waker embraced the open-world presentation of Hyrule in Ocarina to create the Great Sea. Twilight Princess took on a more cinematic approach, reflecting the way Ocarina of Time‘s cut-scenes brought the epic to life. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom expanded on everything Ocarina did and arguably improved upon them in every way, benefiting from twenty years of game design advancements and enhanced technology.

All of those advances would leave an Ocarina of Time remake in the undesirable position of appeasing older fans who grew up with the original while appealing to newer players who are used to the improvements to game design that Ocarina of Time helped spur on. None of this is to say there isn’t a part of me that would be thrilled to play a gorgeously rendered new version of Ocarina of Time. I love that game and have since I first found the Kokiri Sword. However, I worry that trying to update it for the modern style would lose some of the magic of the original or just highlight how far the series has soared thanks to the running start this game gave it. I love that I can play the classic right now through my Switch, but I’d rather Nintendo continue to build on the foundations they established with Ocarina of Time rather than revisit it.