After about an hour and a half with the Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2, my first impression is simple: this is not a reskin of an old game. It feels like a new game, even to someone who has played the original many times.
And I have played it many times. I got Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 when it came out in 1998, when I was about 16. Since then, I’ve replayed it several times on the N64, bought it again on the GameCube, and played it on an emulator. If I had to guess, I’ve finished it somewhere between eight and ten times. I don’t own an N64 copy anymore, unfortunately, but I still have my GameCube copy on the shelf.
Even with all that history, I didn’t remember much of the game off the top of my head before today. Once I picked up the controller, though, it came back quickly. It was a lot like riding a bike. It’s a fun mix of familiar and new.
What the first hour covers
The first hour takes you from Link waking up in Kokiri Forest through the end of the first dungeon. It opens the same way the original does. Navi, the fairy, is sent by the Great Deku Tree to wake Link up and bring him back so the Deku Tree can talk to him.
You’re supposed to head straight to the Deku Tree, but I didn’t. I walked around the village and talked to everyone first. I picked up the sword and shield and went through all the tutorial areas.
Then I went into the Great Deku Tree, worked through the dungeon, and beat Queen Gohma. That’s where I stopped, and it was hard to stop.
I was playing the game docked on a TV.
Right from the start, I could tell this was going to be good. The controls are responsive, the game looks great, and I liked the voice acting.
Jumping changes more than you’d expect
The biggest gameplay change I noticed is that Link can now jump. I knew about it going in, so I played around with it as soon as the game gave me control. What I didn’t expect was how much my muscle memory would fight it.
In the original, Link jumps automatically when he runs off a ledge. In the remake, he doesn’t. You have to press the button yourself. After eight to ten playthroughs, my brain still expects the old behavior.
The clearest example came early. In Kokiri Forest, there’s a spot where you cross a pond by hopping from platform to platform. I ran straight off the edge into the water because I expected Link to jump for me. Inside the Great Deku Tree, I had to think about jumping on purpose, because it’s a mechanic I’ve never had in this game.
For longtime players, that makes the remake a little harder in a good way. It’s a new challenge layered on top of a game you already know.
The graphics look better in your hands than in the trailers
When Nintendo showed the remake a couple of weeks ago, I was judgmental about the graphics. I think I was comparing it too much to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The footage still had a bit of that blocky look older games have. It wasn’t a lot, but it was there, and I was still picturing the original game.
Playing it changed my mind. Once I was in the game, I could see how much had been rebuilt. It’s a total revamp, not a new coat of paint. The style reminded me of the recent Zelda games that aren’t in the Breath of the Wild mold, like Echoes of Wisdom, and of the cartoony look of Wind Waker.
Some small details stood out. I love how the plants look when Link cuts them down. The characters look good. Inside the Deku Tree, the lighting is dark where it should be, the walls look like real rock with some shine, and the water looks great. My memory of the original is that it looked flat. This looks rich.
The Wind Waker comparison made me think of my daughter. When she was younger, she loved watching me play games, and Wind Waker was one of her favorites. It’s one of the games that got her to love video games and the Zelda series. This remake has that same kind of look, and I think kids are going to love it.
The controls feel like a modern game
Compared to the remake, the original feels clunky. Jumping is only part of the difference. Link moves smoothly and quickly. Cutting grass and plants feels good. You’re not bumping into walls or sliding off edges by accident. Link goes where you point the controller.
The best example for me was the Skulltulas. In the original, I remember how easy it was to take hits from them. In the remake, I had much more control over Link, and avoiding them was a lot easier.
The Great Deku Tree and Queen Gohma
It’s been long enough that I didn’t remember the dungeon’s map. I recognized some rooms as I found them, but the layout felt new again, which I enjoyed.
The puzzles start easy, and that’s how it should be for a first dungeon. The Deku Tree is teaching you the basics, like using Deku Sticks to light torches and burn through webs. You collect items quickly here: Deku Nuts, Deku Sticks, and the slingshot. You’re also pushing switches in the water. At one point, the pace started to feel a little too fast. Then the game slowed down and taught me how to use what I’d picked up. Overall, I think the pacing is very good.
Queen Gohma was a good first boss. She’s easy enough for the start of the game but still fun. Figuring out a boss’s weakness is one of the best parts of Zelda, and here the game tells you before you arrive that her eye is the weak spot. Knowing that doesn’t make it automatic, though. You still have to work out how to hit the eye. When she climbs to the ceiling, you get another chance to hit her. If you miss, she drops eggs that you have to fight before she comes back down, and you do it again.
If you know the pattern, you can beat her fast. I had forgotten some of it, so it took me a little longer, and it was challenging enough to be fun.
What could be better
I don’t have much to complain about after the first hour, but two things stood out.
First, I was hoping for full voice acting. A lot of the dialogue is voiced, but many of the smaller side conversations aren’t, so there’s still a fair amount of reading.
Second, a few cutscenes don’t look as good as the rest of the game. The scene of Ganondorf riding off on his horse was one of the shots in the preview that made me doubt the graphics, and I still feel that way about it. Ganondorf looks blockier than I think he should. Most of the game won me over, but that scene didn’t.
And there are still some elements that look a little outdated, like the webbing on the floor in the Deku Tree dungeon.
Is it worth full price?
I’m a frugal gamer, and I usually wait for sales. This time I paid full price: $60 for the pre-order. Part of the reason was the special foil cover that came with the pre-order. I’m a physical collector, and I didn’t want to miss it. I’m not sure whether the foil edition is still available. The other reason was that I love the original so much that I wasn’t worried about whether I’d like this one.
After the first hour, I think it’s worth full price, even for someone like me who already owns the GameCube version and knows the game well. Everything has been reworked. It controls differently, it plays smoothly, and it doesn’t feel clunky the way the original does now. I know what to do, and it still feels new to me.
Who it’s for, and what I’m looking forward to
I think this remake is for everybody:
- First-time Zelda players
- People who have never played Ocarina of Time
- Kids, including kids who are too young to play and just want to watch a parent play
- Longtime fans like me who have played the original many times
Next up, I’m leaving Kokiri Forest. From what I remember, Mido tells Link he’s not welcome back, and Saria stops him on the bridge to say goodbye. Then the game opens up into Hyrule Field. I can’t wait to see what the bigger world looks like, especially Death Mountain and Goron City, which I remember pretty vividly, and Lon Lon Ranch. I’m also curious about the Water Temple. I remember it being very frustrating, and I want to see whether it’s still just as frustrating.
I’m going to keep playing without guides, the same way I played the original. The downside is that I probably won’t find all the Gold Skulltulas. I didn’t find them all back then either. I may go back for them after I finish.
My verdict after one hour
This isn’t just a remake. It feels like a new game. If you’ve played the original many times, it will bring back some nostalgia, and you’ll still find plenty to love in the new graphics and controls. The fact that the first hour is this good says a lot about how good the original game was. I’m really happy I get to play it again, and I’d recommend picking it up.