The first time Link swings his sword in the new Ocarina of Time, little particles burst off the enemy he hits. Then you try the Spin Attack, and waves of energy roll out from our hero like he’s finally getting the entrance music he deserved in 1998.
That’s the moment I knew Nintendo understood the assignment.
I’ve played a preview of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for the Switch 2. The new look is going to get most of the attention, and fair enough. But the better story is how it feels in your hands. This thing plays even better than it looks.
Hyrule got a glow up, and the small stuff is the best part
Some context for the uninitiated. Ocarina of Time is one of the best video games ever made, full stop. It took the franchise from 2D to 3D after A Link to the Past and redefined what Zelda could be. So when Nintendo announced a remake of the 1998 classic, the hype made sense.
The original looked great for a 3D game in the late ’90s, when most games were still stuck in two dimensions. But the N64 had limits, and more than 20 years later, it shows. Nintendo has completely reshaped Hyrule here, giving it a loving makeover that fits a 2026 release.
Everything feels so full of life now. Kokiri Forest is lush and overgrown. The main square in Hyrule Castle Town is packed with people and pets, and taller buildings and new alleys give it a depth the original never had.
The textures are where it gets fun, though. Kaepora Gaebora, the wise old owl, is now wonderfully fluffy while still looking distinguished. The Deku Shield no longer looks like a thick piece of cardboard with a swirl on it. You can see the bark it’s carved from, which makes it feel like it belongs to the forest as much as the rest of the village does.
And Link’s nose finally has a natural shape. (Previously it looked sharp enough to cut glass.)
The water is the one weak spot
Go exploring and the upgrades keep coming. In the Forest Temple, low fog swirls around rooms while you hunt for items, which makes the place properly spooky.
My one gripe is the water. After a swim, Link looks like he’s been dipped in high-fructose corn syrup. Streams and rivers look like they’re filled with light blue Jell-O instead of good old H2O.
But plenty of modern games still struggle with water, and it’s easy to forgive when everything else looks this good.
Nintendo finally gave Link a jump button
Smartly, Nintendo didn’t mess much with the original formula. You still lean heavily on Z-targeting (locking onto nearby enemies by pressing one of the Z shoulder buttons), which feels a bit quaint now.
There’s now a dedicated jump button for platforms and obstacles, though, and it makes moving around feel much more natural. A new sprint button gets you places faster. If you’d rather pretend it’s 1998 and roll everywhere, go for it. Running, fighting and traversing the world all feel smoother and less clunky than they did back in the day.
Cutscenes now come with full voice acting, which gives moments like meeting the Great Deku Tree for the first time some extra weight. Navi is still yelling “Hey, Listen!” at you. It might grate after a while, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The catch is that talking to lower-level NPCs around town is still mostly text-based. With Link saying so little himself, it can feel like something’s missing.
The quality of life fixes keep stacking up
The new Threads of Time system adds story summaries and tool tips, so you can remember what you were doing and pick up where you left off. You also get full control of the camera if you wind up in an awkward spot, though I rarely needed it.
Swimming is much improved. The inventory screen has been reworked too, so swapping tools and weapons is faster than ever.
Those are just the obvious changes. There are lots of quieter ones, too: Link physically pushes doors open, there are full day/night cycles and the map and terrain have been tweaked. You can even hum or sing into the Switch 2 to play notes on the in-game ocarina if buttons aren’t your thing.
I played this game when it first came out almost 30 years ago, and there’s still so much here that feels fresh. It keeps everything that made it a classic. Longtime fans and total newcomers both have plenty to dig into, and I want to see how deep Nintendo’s changes go.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2 is available to pre-order now for $60, with its official release on Nov. 5. Hearing the Song of Time again still hits hard.
