There are plenty of games out there that have money problems, and when I say “money problems,” I don’t mean they lack money—I mean they have way too much of it. I can’t tell you how many times a game has given me a multitude of ways to earn money, and yet enough ways to spend that money on one hand, to the point that I end the game rich beyond my wildest dreams with absolutely nothing to do with it. But this isn’t just a problem in modern games. In fact, the original Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time had that very problem, where some of the most dedicated players would have far more rupees than they knew what to do with, and somehow, Link would defeat Ganon, only to emerge the triumphant hero who also happens to be a millionaire while everyone else in Hyrule struggles to make ends meet. Well, it looks like the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake may be fixing that by giving players an unlikely route to spend their wealth of rupees.
Switch 2’s Ocarina of Time remake is certainly bringing a lot of quality-of-life improvements to the table, and I’m not joking when I say that the addition of a jump button and free camera are some of the most significant of those improvements. In the original N64 game, we were forced to find a ledge if we wanted to jump, and that was just the easy part—actually getting the right angle to make sure you didn’t jump off that ledge and miss the platform you were aiming for was the challenge. And then, of course, the limited camera movement didn’t help with that either, nor did it help in combat. But while the Ocarina of Time remake’s jump button and free camera are two of its most notable quality-of-life changes, I’m excited to have another place to dump the rupees out of my Giant’s Wallet and into its new Ocarina of Time Quiz on the Zelda Notes app. The only problem is, I’m not quite sure if that’s the solution to the rupee problem that it sounds like.
Ocarina of Time Remake’s New Quiz Finally Gives Rupees Another Purpose
For anyone who missed it, Nintendo is introducing an Ocarina of Time Quiz through Zelda Notes, which players can access using the Nintendo Switch App on their phones. The quiz apparently has over 2,000 questions about Ocarina of Time, which is an absurd number of questions for a game that’s almost 30 years old. Nevertheless, as someone who has played it more times than I can count, I’m pretty excited to see just how much I actually remember. I’m sure Nintendo has come up with some ridiculously obscure questions that will make me question whether I even know the game as well as I think I do, but that’s part of the fun, I suppose.
Guess the games from the emojis.
What’s especially interesting about the quiz, though, is how players can participate in it. According to Nintendo’s reveal of the feature, players will get one free attempt at the quiz every day, but they’ll also be able to spend the rupees they’ve earned in the game on additional attempts. Now, I don’t know how many rupees I’m going to end up spending on something like this, but considering how competitive I can get with myself, I can already see my wallet taking a pretty big hit. Still, at least those rupees will finally be going toward something rather than sitting in my wallet for the rest of the game.
Nintendo is introducing an Ocarina of Time Quiz through Zelda Notes, which players can access using the Nintendo Switch App on their phones.
The original Ocarina of Time certainly wasn’t lacking in ways to earn rupees, but there eventually came a point where finding more money was about as exciting as finding another Recovery Heart when Link already had full health. Sure, players could purchase potions, shields, arrows, and other supplies, but most of those expenses eventually became unnecessary, especially once Link had acquired enough equipment to comfortably handle almost anything the game threw at him. Even the Giant’s Wallet, which allowed Link to carry up to 500 rupees, eventually felt a little pointless when there wasn’t anything worthwhile left to buy.
Ocarina of Time’s Rupees Deserve More Than an Activity Outside the Game
But my biggest issue with the quiz isn’t the quiz itself. I’m actually looking forward to it, and I think it’s a pretty clever way of connecting Zelda Notes to the game. What bothers me is the idea that, after all these years, one of the best reasons Nintendo has given me to collect rupees might involve pulling out my phone rather than spending them on something in Hyrule. I love Ocarina of Time too much to complain about getting more things to do, but I also think there’s a missed opportunity here if Nintendo doesn’t give players more worthwhile purchases within the game itself.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5, 2026.
With the remake expanding locations like Castle Town and introducing new side quests, I’d love to see some additional shops, equipment, or even more mini-games that give me a reason to keep my wallet full. I’m not asking Nintendo to turn Ocarina of Time into some massive RPG with hundreds of items to purchase, because I think that would take away from what makes it so special in the first place. But surely there are ways to make rupees feel more valuable without changing the game’s identity. Even something as simple as new cosmetic rewards or upgrades that require a substantial investment would be enough to make me excited about opening another chest full of rupees.
Of course, there’s a very real possibility that Nintendo has already addressed this and simply hasn’t shown us everything yet. The remake has surprised me more than once with changes I never expected to see, so I wouldn’t put it past Nintendo to have a few more ways for players to spend their money that we haven’t heard about. I certainly hope that’s the case, because as excited as I am to test my Ocarina of Time knowledge with the new quiz, I’d rather have a reason to keep collecting rupees while I’m actually playing the game. Otherwise, I guess Link can just use his considerable fortune to become the greatest Ocarina of Time trivia champion Hyrule has ever seen.
- Released
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November 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
