The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Preview

Published Oct 14, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT I played the Ocarina of Time remake weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Makes The Best Game Ever Even Better Nintendo I played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. Phew, it feels good to finally say that out loud. Comfortably the most anticipated and talked-about game so far on Switch 2, and I have the opportunity to tell you a little more about what you can expect from it. Ocarina of Time is one of the most critically acclaimed and influential games of all time. There has arguably never been more on the line for a remake. Thankfully, I can confirm, based on what I played, that this game is going to be everything everyone wants it to be. Where In Hyrule We Were Allowed To Go Nintendo Usually when covering a preview for a game, I don’t need to specifically call out the names of the levels I played or areas I explored. Since they’re in an entirely new game, they won’t really mean much to anyone. Here, I realize detailing exactly where I was allowed to go in the Ocarina remake needs to be done before I go any further. The preview was split into three sections. First, we played from the start of the game up until you jump from a ledge while inside the Great Deku Tree to break through a web at its base. We then jumped forward to leaving Kokiri Forest, where we had the chance to explore Hyrule Field and Castle Town. Thirdly, and finally, we played through the Forest Temple in its entirety, the only part of the preview where we played as adult Link. Don’t Worry About The Way Link Looks Nintendo Speaking of Link, now that I’ve told you where I went, I want to address the Jabu-Jabu in the room. One of the biggest talking points after being shown extended footage from the Ocarina of Time remake was child Link’s new look. It didn’t bother me at the time, but I can see why people got hung up on it and have maybe been a little concerned about the rest of the game. I can assure you, the way Link looks in this game will almost certainly not bother you 30 seconds after you first see him. I started that first section, was reminded of the discourse surrounding how he looks, and by the time I was off to find the Kokiri Sword, I had already forgotten all about it. His look fittingly matches the art style, trust me. The best comparison I can make is to the Star Fox remake. The one big takeaway from the world’s first look at that revival was that the characters didn’t look the way fans might have expected them to look. That discourse ceased to exist once the game had been released. I don’t recall a single person voicing their concerns about the characters’ new looks after they had actually played the game, and I foresee the same happening here for Ocarina of Time. This Game Is Gorgeous Nintendo That aside, as everything else you’ve already been shown suggests, this game is absolutely stunning. Seeing areas that you’re not just familiar with, but are among some of the most iconic backdrops in video game history and etched into people’s minds to create core memories, reimagined this way, but still instantly recognizable, is incredible. It’s used so often when talking about remakes these days that it has almost become cliché, but this is one of the best examples of it I have ever experienced. This version of Ocarina of Time looks how it looked in your head when you were playing the game in 1998. You still get that breathtaking feeling when you walk out into Hyrule Field for the first time because the Hyrule Field you imagined back then is now a reality. The only other remake that has made me feel that feeling quite so intensely is Final Fantasy 7. As much as the way this game looks will take your breath away, the way it feels will blow your Kokiri socks off too. I know there’s some apprehension when it comes to that. A jump button in my Ocarina of Time? Perish the thought. It Feels As Good As It Looks Nintendo The way this game feels due to its new quality-of-life mechanics will linger with you a little longer than the way Link looks. Not because it doesn’t feel right, but because you’ll wonder how you ever played Ocarina of Time any other way. The jump button is neat and has stolen all the headlines so far, but the freecam is what really makes this game feel different. Not only that, but again, this game is gorgeous. I want to see and admire as much of it as I can. A camera I control makes that possible. There were some expectations that the Ocarina remake would be the old game with a Breath of the Wild skin. It’s clear that’s not the case, and this remake is, for the most part, its own thing. The elements of the modern Zelda games the remake does borrow, though, are incorporated well and, again, much like the changes to its controls, improve the experience and make it more palatable for new Zelda fans. Cycling through objects as you do in BOTW and Tears of the Kingdom is a welcome change. It’s not like you ever have much in your inventory in Ocarina either, which means the system will never require long periods of scrolling as was the case when the feature was used in Echoes of Wisdom. I also cannot stress enough how much better it feels to use the slingshot. This Is Not A 1:1 Remake Nintendo Exploring Kokiri Forest, Hyrule Field, and Castle Town is a lot of fun. There were reasons to really explore those areas in the original game, and that has been expanded on in the remake, particularly in Castle Town. Sure, all of the stuff from the original is still there - the mask shop, the shooting gallery, the Bombchu Bowling Alley - but everything is so much more detailed. You’ll see the town’s residents like never before, plus there are new nooks and crannies to explore. That brings me on to the main event of the preview, the Forest Temple, largely because this was the part of the game we played that has barely been shown in clips and trailers so far. It’s also where you’ll find the most evidence that, even though this new version of Ocarina of Time is an incredibly faithful remake, it is not a 1:1 polished and upscaled replica of the original game. Nintendo Take the Time Block inside the Forest Temple’s main hall. That is still there, and the method used to move it remains the same. The room inside, however, is a little different. At first glance, it looks identical. However, head up the vines to the right, and the doorway you enter in the original game has been blocked by falling rocks. You can’t move them; you have to find a different path forward, which I won’t tell you here. I don’t want to ruin that discovery for you. There are other small differences between the original Forest Temple and the remake’s version that I assume mean we’ll see these sorts of things throughout the whole game. I hope that’s the case anyway. As much as I’d be over the moon to simply play through a better-looking, better-feeling version of one of the best games ever made, discovering those subtle differences, and not being able to breeze through a temple I know so well because of them, were the best parts of my Forest Temple playthrough. Much Like The Original, This Remake Is In A League Of Its Own Nintendo I’ve been fortunate enough to preview quite a few games before they release, mostly Nintendo titles, but I’ve never felt the way I did after playing Ocarina of Time on any of those other occasions. It has been weeks since the event, and I have thought about it extensively every day since, in awe at - again, based on the relatively small chunk of the game I played - how they’ve managed to recapture the essence of what made Ocarina of Time one of the greatest games ever made. It really does feel like more than just a remake too. I love the Star Fox remake, but when I played it for the first time, my initial thought was “Neat, this is Star Fox”. Ocarina of Time feels like more than that in a way that’s difficult to distill. The look of the game and the way you feel when you play it haven’t just been replicated and polished; they’ve been elevated. Nintendo I don’t doubt for a second that some Ocarina fans won’t feel that way about this remake. Not everyone, mind you. The vast majority of Zelda fans who visit Ocarina’s new Hyrule, young and old, are going to love what Nintendo has done with the place. Therein lies the key. As much as older fans like myself are going to enjoy this remake, the entire reason Nintendo is doing this is so it can continue to foster a new generation of gamers. With all the love in the world, not many ten-year-olds are going to agree with you when you try to convince them the 30-year-old game you’re chasing pointy triangular chickens - sorry, Cuccos - is the greatest thing to ever happen to the industry. This Ocarina of Time remake, for the most part, is for them. It’s the same reason why Star Fox got a Switch 2 remake. Hell, I’ll say it: after experiencing what Nintendo has done with Ocarina, I think it should remake Super Mario 64 to complete the trilogy. This remake is fantastic, and just remember, whether you like it, love it, or hate it, unlike some other studios, Nintendo isn’t taking the original away from you. It’s right there waiting for you on NSO if you prefer your Ocarina to be a little more polygonal. Systems Released November 5, 2026 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Nintendo Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise The Legend of Zelda Genre(s) RPG, Action, Adventure