Mostafa Salem
Head of Content
Introduction
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake has a harder job than simply making Hyrule look newer. Nintendo's 1998 adventure helped establish the language of 3D action-adventure games, but some of its controls and room designs belong firmly to that hardware. This ground-up rebuild preserves the dungeon-led adventure while making sensible changes to how Link moves through it.
Developed and published by Nintendo, the remake releases exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5, 2026, priced at $59.99 digitally and $69.99 physically. Its biggest limitation is familiarity: returning players get a much smoother version of a journey they already know, with relatively few surprises.
Gameplay
Modern movement, reconsidered rooms
Someone's finally looking for us bearded guys
The free camera on the right stick and Link's dedicated jump button are the most consequential control changes. Movement now sits closer to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, but Nintendo has also reconsidered spaces built around the original restrictions. The remake does more than attach modern inputs to old rooms.
The Kokiri Sword maze provides an early example. Its original layout taught players to recenter the camera, a lesson that no longer serves the same purpose. The remake puts the chest on a raised platform and turns the room into an introduction to jumping. It preserves the location's teaching role while changing the skill being taught.
Other revisions make the environments more coherent. The Great Deku Tree replaces a floating platform with a crumbling bridge built into the room. In the Forest Temple, the Stalfos arena swaps its floor opening for a shallow acid pool. The skeletons can walk through it, but Link cannot, making the arena's movement restrictions easier to understand within the setting.
The ocarina also gets an optional new input method. You can hum its songs or play them on a real instrument into the Switch 2 microphone. Standard button controls remain available, so this addition does not force a different way to use an essential tool.
Dungeons and replay value
Hall of Fallen Foes is a nice new addition to the game
The dungeon-led structure remains Ocarina of Time's strongest argument among modern adventure games. Its dungeons combine connected spaces, distinct ideas, and challenges that make understanding a room part of progressing through it. The remake's best changes clarify that design without replacing it.
Side quests, minigames, and hidden grottos support the same focused approach. These activities feel individually designed, not repeated to fill a larger map. Hyrule does not need the size of a modern open world to make its optional discoveries worth seeking out.
Faithfulness also sets a ceiling on the surprises. Players who remember the Nintendo 64 or 3DS versions will recognize much of the adventure. Smoother dungeon flow can occasionally make a solution feel less earned, even when the change removes an awkward restriction. Returning players may miss the satisfaction of working through those rougher spaces.
There is no Master Quest or dedicated hard mode at launch. That omission is the clearest missed opportunity for veterans who want familiar locations to demand something different from them. The main adventure remains excellent, but it offers no separate challenge option to offset that familiarity.
For help with dungeon progression or optional discoveries, the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake guides provide a place to start.
Graphics and audio
Exploring Hyrule never looked this good before
Kokiri Forest, Hyrule Field, Kakariko Village, and the dungeons have rebuilt environments, character models, and lighting. This is a substantial visual reconstruction, although the art direction is not an unqualified improvement. Some locations benefit from greater scale and detail; others lose a little of the character that made their older designs recognizably Zelda.
Performance is a clearer success. The remake holds 60fps in both docked and handheld modes, compared with the Nintendo 64 original's 20fps. Combat, platforming, and exploration benefit from the smoother motion. Loading screens remain an interruption, although the option to disable the HUD entirely gives players more control over the presentation during play.
The reorchestrated soundtrack is one of the strongest reasons to return. Live instruments replace the original MIDI arrangements, giving familiar themes greater presence without changing their role in the adventure. The music supports both Hyrule's welcoming spaces and the quieter sadness running through the story.
Story and narrative
Ocarina of Time still builds its emotional weight around Link's lost childhood and the passage of time. The remake keeps that melancholy focus instead of using its expanded presentation to turn the story into a different kind of adventure.
Fully voiced cutscenes and expanded dialogue give major story moments more dramatic weight. Their value is in strengthening the existing emotional thread, not in providing a new plot for returning players. Voice coverage remains limited in places outside those fully voiced scenes.
The restraint suits this story. Link's journey does not need a different emotional center to justify the remake, and the added drama does not erase its quiet sadness. The narrative benefits from fuller presentation while remaining recognizably the same tale.
Verdict
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake is the best way to play one of the most important action-adventure games ever made. It offers exceptional dungeon design, thoughtful controls and room revisions, reliable performance, and a soundtrack that makes returning to Hyrule especially rewarding.
Where it (barely) falls short is in giving experienced players a new challenge. Familiar solutions, occasionally over-smoothed progression, and the absence of Master Quest or a hard mode limit its replay appeal. Uneven art direction and lingering convenience issues also keep this from being a remake without reservations.
Newcomers get an easy 10/10 recommendation from me. But veterans should expect to return for the rebuilt world, improved movement, and richer presentation, not for a substantially different adventure. Nintendo has changed enough to make Ocarina of Time feel at home on Switch 2 while leaving its best ideas intact.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Review
9.5/10
Ocarina of Time Remake earns its 9.5 through the quality of its dungeons and the care taken to update how Link moves through them. Free camera control, dedicated jumping, and thoughtful room changes remove old restrictions without replacing the adventure's identity. The orchestral soundtrack and voiced cutscenes also support a story whose sadness still carries weight. Its limits are clearest on a return visit: familiar solutions, no Master Quest or hard mode, and an art direction that occasionally loses some character. Loading screens and the inability to finish side quests after the ending are smaller frustrations. Even with those reservations, this is the best way to play Ocarina of Time. Newcomers get an exceptional dungeon-led adventure, while veterans get a carefully rebuilt version that values the original's strongest ideas.
9.5
Pros
Connected dungeons and handcrafted side activities retain their appeal
Free camera, dedicated jumping, and redesigned rooms modernize movement
Rebuilt environments run at 60fps docked and handheld
Live orchestral music gives familiar themes greater presence
Voiced cutscenes strengthen the story
Cons
No Master Quest or dedicated hard mode at launch
Some redesigned locations lose the original art direction's character
Smoother dungeon flow occasionally reduces the satisfaction of solving puzzles
Loading screens and post-ending side quest restrictions add some friction