I’m not sure exactly how many times I’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but it’s a lot. Back in the days of the Nintendo 64, we weren’t drowning in new releases or free-to-play forever games. You played what you had. And if what you had was good, you played it again and again.
Ocarina of Time was very good and I probably played it a couple of times a year. The remake is gorgeous. It’s also more faithful than I was expecting. I’ve gone through these motions before. Never like this, but enough to not feel as impressed as I should be.
I’m currently making my way through the Gerudo Fortress. My kids and I took turns throughout most of the weekend (I may have had a habit of passing the controller every time we had to go back to the Temple of Time, transform back into Young Link, and run back across Hyrule Field to unlock the next step in a quest). I’ve shown them the original game, but they still feel like this is something completely different. I wish I could feel the same.
I don’t remember every secret in the game and I was never much of a completionist. I would be useless trying to unlock the Biggoron Sword without a guide. But all of the beats along the critical path remain surprisingly familiar, pushed to the forefront of my mind as I encounter each one in the remake. The many ways in which the new version has been streamlined have only served to further that feeling of going back through the motions. The tightly orchestrated logic of the puzzles also reinforces that.
These motions should not be underestimated. The controls are responsive and satisfying. The landscapes are beautiful. And the fundamental gameplay loops remain beyond reproach. Ocarina of Time serves as the foundational blueprint for 3D dungeon puzzles in Zelda. Nearly 30 years later, they still feel remarkably clever, but my fondness for them is closer to the kind of nostalgic recognition I might feel while looking back through the handwritten notes in an old yearbook. You kinda had to be there back in 1998 to get the full effect.
Being there in 2026 with the remake, I’m surprised just how much of the original has been kept intact. While fans pore over all of the minute differences and pick apart the changes, I’m just a little bit disappointed by how much doesn’t feel new. The combat is mostly the same. The enemies function very similarly. And the side content appears to be more or less the same from the original.
If I didn’t already know the contours of everything you can do in the game, I’m sure it would be thrilling to be discovering all of the arcane secrets and connections for the first time (my kids would rather play friendslop). But with no Master Quest mode at launch, or additional bonus dungeons that iterate on modern design sensibilities and all of the lessons Nintendo has taught players in the intervening 28 years, the overall experience has been a bit hollow for me.
Nintendo may be planning to add that type of thing in future DLC. I’m not sure there’s any benefit to waiting, especially when the magic of sweeping millennial nostalgia is in full force at launch. For now I’m delighted but conflicted. I’d recommend the Ocarina of Time remake as the best way to play the game without reservation. I just wish more of it felt like the first time playing Ocarina of Time. But that’s my problem, not the game’s.