Even though Nintendo announced that it was remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 months ago, I’m still in disbelief that this new version of the game exists. Ever since I first experienced Ocarina of Time for myself at the age of five, Link’s timeless adventure across Hyrule has been my favorite game ever. I’ve revisited it countless times over the years to see if my adoration is still the same as before, and in each instance, I’ve only fallen deeper in love with it.
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As such, after going hands-on with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for myself at a recent event hosted by Nintendo, I was left both astounded and emotional. While everything on a visual level has been completely overhauled in this reimagining of Ocarina of Time, the game is still the same at its core, with some fantastic gameplay modernizations thrown in. It’s not only shaping up to be the new definitive version of Ocarina of Time to play moving forward, but Nintendo’s best release in the entirety of 2026.
The Level of Detail in Ocarina of Time Is Staggering
My time with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was spent across three sections of the game. The first was the early moments that included collecting the Kokiri Sword, Deku Shield, and adventuring into the Deku Tree. The second allowed me to run about in Hyrule Field before checking out Castle Town. The final, and most extensive part, was then spent in the Forest Temple as adult Link.
While Ocarina of Time looks fantastic at a glance, what left me even more impressed with the game the longer I played it was the ridiculous amount of detail that Nintendo has put into just about everything. Not only are environments, character models, and items more painstakingly crafted than the original game on Nintendo 64, but a variety of smaller tweaks help this world feel even more lived in. Link, for instance, tucking the Ocarina of Time itself on his back hip whenever it’s not in use, is one example of a very small change that Nintendo made that I thoroughly loved, amongst many others.
Environments in Ocarina of Time also feel much more dense than before. Although a location like Hyrule Field might be roughly the same scale as it was in the original, being able to see the region’s varying landscapes and points of interest adds far more depth to the locale. This is also true of the Kokiri Forest, which actually now feels much more like a location tucked away and hidden from the rest of Hyrule. These upgrades make me that much more excited to see how many of the varying environments in OoT end up looking in the final game.
Ocarina of Time’s Combat Is Much More Satisfying
Once I was actually let loose within the Forest Temple, I began to see more of the changes that Nintendo has made to Ocarina of Time on a gameplay front. One of my favorite tweaks was tied to the Master Sword, as this remake gives the iconic blade a greater heft when carrying out strikes. Upon connecting with blows against enemies, Ocarina of Time both visually and audibly makes these attacks look more vicious, with final blows against baddies feeling even more powerful. This makes the Master Sword come across more as a weapon that lives up to its namesake.
One thing that I couldn’t get used to, however, was the decision to get rid of three equippable items at once. Instead, Ocarina of Time incorporates the same style of inventory management that has been seen in recent Zelda entries like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. I’ve never cared for this system that forces you to toggle through a long line of every item that you own in order to equip what you want, and I fear it could prove to be even more annoying in later Temples that require you to swap between items more frequently.
As far as wholly new features go, I quickly found myself enjoying the implementation of a dedicated jump button and a dash option. Dashing proved to be particularly helpful when backtracking through certain areas of the Forest Temple, while jumping made gameplay just a bit more engaging than in previous versions of Ocarina of Time. Being able to jump when climbing on vines and ladders was another fantastic quality-of-life upgrade that I appreciated, as the slow nature in which Link would scale these structures in previous releases could become quite annoying.
Ocarina of Time Brings Its Classic Story to Life in New Ways
Although I didn’t see too many cutscenes in my time playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the decision to add voice acting is something that I really liked. While the full game isn’t entirely voice-acted and much is still conveyed via text alone, giving a voice to characters like Saria, the Deku Tree, and more is a nice alteration after simply wondering for decades what they might sound like. I also appreciated hearing the characters refer to Link by his own name in these cutscenes, rather than the game calling him whatever you chose to title your save file.
My main concern with this is that it could lead to more awkwardness with Link being a silent protagonist. Still, Nintendo has found ways around this in the aforementioned Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, so I’m hopeful it won’t end up being a big deal in Ocarina of Time, either. Instead, I can only see these overhauled cutscenes as something that makes the overall experience that much more captivating.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise whatsoever that Nintendo’s new recreation of Ocarina of Time is shaping up to be excellent. This is one of the most acclaimed games in history for good reason, and Nintendo hasn’t done anything that I’ve seen so far that would ruin the core of the game. Instead, going hands-on with Ocarina of Time has only ratcheted up my anticipation tenfold, as I’m now left counting down the days until I can play through it once again.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time releases next month on November 5th, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. Be sure to stay tuned to our upcoming coverage here on ComicBook in the weeks ahead to remain in the loop with everything tied to the game.
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