Nintendo has finally revealed its The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake with a lengthy gameplay demonstration and luscious release date trailer. This long-awaited revival of the seminal masterpiece looks incredible, and is poised to be a very faithful take on Link’s first 3D adventure.
But this dedication doesn’t mean that Nintendo isn’t introducing a bunch of new features to the game or updating aspects of the experience so it looks and plays better than ever. Here are eight major changes coming to the Ocarina of Time remake and why they might impact how the game looks, plays, and departs from the 1998 masterpiece.
The jump button changes everything
In the original Ocarina of Time, and several iterations of Zelda afterward, there was no dedicated jump button. Instead, Link simply had to run toward a ledge and hopefully use this momentum to land on a nearby platform without plummeting to oblivion.
While the game was ahead of its time several decades ago, the lack of a jump button is awfully frustrating to anyone hoping to revisit it in 2026. Unless the angle was just right or you had wrestled with the camera ahead of time, there was always a chance of Link accidentally yeeting himself in the wrong direction. You could die or end up back at a much earlier point in a dungeon all because the controls refused to play ball.
The remake is going to be much more fun to play in the moment with a jump button that offers more control over Link’s movement, not to mention when trying to reach treasures that sit just out of reach. Heck, I wouldn’t say no to a platforming challenge or two.
Free camera movement transforms our vision of Hyrule
While Ocarina of Time didn’t have a completely fixed camera like Resident Evil or Dino Crisis, the original game did limit exactly how the player could view certain locations. It prevented the player from moving around some of its three-dimensional spaces with an absolute sense of freedom, meaning places like Castle Town or the Temple of Time housing the Master Sword were designed to be viewed from one perspective alone.
The remake removes that restriction entirely and gives players the freedom to move the camera around however they like in presumably every single location in the game. This really excites me, and should utterly transform how we approach places like Castle Town, which previously left so much up to the imagination. With any luck, Nintendo will fill these additional nooks and crannies with secrets that weren’t present in the original game.
Threads of Time adds more depth to Link’s journey
One of the major new features introduced by Nintendo for the remake is Threads of Time, which on the surface kind of sounds like a glorified quest log. It’s described as a means of figuring out where to go next and checking how far you’ve progressed in the story. Ocarina of Time isn’t the most complicated game in the world, but it also didn’t tell you where to go outright back on the Nintendo 64, so it makes sense to introduce something that does.
We’re used to AAA games holding our hands and chances are this remake will be the first time millions of players have experienced the classic, so why not modernise it? The minimap is also significantly more detailed this time around, making it easy for Threads of Time to pop down a pin and show players exactly where their next objective is. I’m most excited for some of the additional flavour text alongside the visually arresting tapestry that slowly builds out as you progress. If you’re a lore nerd, this is one new feature worth paying attention to.
Castle town will invite more exploration than ever before
I’ve always considered Castle Town to be the core location in Ocarina of Time. It’s a hub Link will return to again and again as the plot progresses in order to see exactly what has changed as he picks up new items, meets new characters, and watches how the passage of time comes to ravage a once bustling bastion of civilization. But the aforementioned fixed camera angles made it difficult to appreciate sometimes, not to mention the size of Castle Town was also a smidge limited.
In the remake however, Nintendo has confirmed that it will be bigger than ever. Parts of town that were once pre-rendered backdrops are now living, breathing spaces with new faces and dialogue that add an extra layer of depth to what was already one of the game’s densest locations. It’s described as a place where you can take a break during your adventures, and to me this suggests that the game will actively encourage you to revisit Castle Town several times to see exactly what’s changed and whether new avenues of exploration have opened up.
Listening to gossip and playing minigames gives the game more life
Speaking of Castle Town, the expanded dialogue in the remake also extends to the NPCs there, who will often possess new gossip for Link to listen in on or minigames that weren’t present in the original game. We don’t yet know what these are, but Ocarina of Time loves forcing Link to catch chickens or jump into a shooting range, so expect more things along those lines.
I’m also willing to bet this improved world building will also extend to the Goron and Zora towns as well. Can we expect expanded map design and additional supporting characters there too, with a smattering of gossip and minigames to discover that will offer those who have played through Ocarina of Time countless times over the years a reason to care? It would make a whole lot of sense.
Voice acting is going to have a massive impact on the narrative
As expected, Link will not have a voice in the Ocarina of Time remake that goes beyond excessive grunts and triumphant cheers, but the same can’t be said for everyone else. In quite a surprising move, it seems the majority of characters will be fully voiced and come with updated dialogue to boot. We only hear a handful of performances in the gameplay demonstration and reveal trailer, but the delivery seems quite similar to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Navi sounds endearing with the potential to become incredibly grating, while Zelda has the adorable naivety of a monarch in way over her head. It feels like a modern anime dub with the enthusiasm of a Saturday-morning cartoon. With the original game lacking voice acting entirely, it goes without saying that the remake adopting it so passionately is going to bring substantial pacing changes to the narrative. Perhaps we’ll spend more time with some of the characters or even receive greater depth and context to certain events?
Dashing could risk making its open world feel small
While it blew our socks off back in 1998, compared to modern games, the open world in Ocarina of Time isn’t very big. You can ride across the entirety of Hyrule Field on Epona in just a few minutes, while there isn’t a whole lot to discover on it beyond random enemies and the occasional item drops. It was a means of connecting Castle Town, the neighbouring civilizations, and dungeons in a way that made Hyrule feel real.
But having to march across it again and again in order to explore became a bit of a slog, which explains why Nintendo is introducing a dash option for Link. You don’t just run at a relatively slow speed now–you can rush across Hyrule Field with urgency, leaving all the monsters chasing you in your dust. One of my fears is that this will risk making the open world feel small, especially to new players who will come in expecting more.
Maybe it would have been wise to slow down the movement and let Link smell the roses …
Loading screen have changed, but aren’t gone
Loading screens are here to stay in the Ocarina of Time remake because Nintendo wants to keep the spirit of the original game intact. I understand this approach, since it would be a bit strange going straight from Kakariko Village into the Lost Woods and right onto Hyrule Field. In my head I always imagined there were other locations across Hyrule we simply didn’t see as the player, leaving my imagination to fill in the gaps. By removing loading screens, you’re confirming this illusion never existed.
But the loading screens have been removed in some instances, with Link going straight into local shops in the starting village without opening a door or vanishing into a black void. The world has been seamlessly connected in ways that make sense for the experience without sacrificing immersion. Removing the time it takes to step through a door in a dungeon or go into a building in Castle Town is a smart evolution of the original game that doesn’t change Ocarina into something unrecognisable.
