As someone who has been playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time since 1998, I’ve spent an awful lot of time with its dungeons over the years, to the point that I can still remember solutions to puzzles I haven’t encountered in ages. And while I can’t state enough how much I’ve enjoyed the Switch 2 remake, one of its more disappointing aspects is its lack of Master Quest, which has traditionally offered returning players a much more challenging version of the N64 classic. Fortunately, it looks like Nintendo might not be finished with Ocarina of Time just yet, as dataminers have reportedly discovered references to Master Quest buried in the remake’s files. However, there’s one particular detail about those discoveries that has me wondering whether Nintendo might end up charging players for something that was previously included at no additional cost.
According to a November 7 report from Nintendo Everything, dataminer MrCheeze discovered several references to Master Quest in the remake’s files, including strings labeled “HasMQ,” “IsMQModeExist,” “NewGameMQ,” and “ReleaseMQ.” Fellow dataminer OatmealDome subsequently claimed that the mode appears to be associated with DLC ownership, rather than something Nintendo intends to unlock through an ordinary game update. Of course, Nintendo hasn’t announced any DLC for Ocarina of Time, and there’s no guarantee those files will ever amount to anything players can actually download, let alone something they’ll be expected to purchase. But if Master Quest does eventually return as paid DLC, I think Nintendo will need to offer considerably more than the same rearranged dungeons we’ve already experienced in earlier versions of the game.
Ocarina of Time’s Master Quest Has Never Required a Separate Purchase
For those unfamiliar with Master Quest, it originally became available to players through a special GameCube bonus disc distributed alongside preorders of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in 2003. Rather than introducing a completely different game, Master Quest took the original Ocarina of Time and rearranged its dungeons, introducing different enemy placements and considerably more complicated puzzles while leaving the main story largely unchanged. The mode eventually returned in Ocarina of Time 3D on the Nintendo 3DS, where it could be unlocked simply by completing the main game. That version even mirrored the entire world and made enemies deal twice as much damage, giving returning players another reason to replay the game yet again.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
Considering how much Nintendo has done to modernize Ocarina of Time for Switch 2, I actually think Master Quest would be an excellent addition, especially for longtime players who already know where practically everything is located. However, I also have a hard time imagining Nintendo charging extra for what amounts to the same alternative campaign that came included with the 3DS remake more than 15 years ago. The Switch 2 version already costs $59.99, which I don’t necessarily consider unreasonable given how much work went into rebuilding the game, but I also don’t think players should have to purchase another expansion just to access a mode that was once considered part of the complete experience. And if Nintendo really does intend to sell Master Quest separately, I’d hope the developers have something considerably more ambitious in mind than simply bringing back the old dungeon layouts with updated graphics.
Interestingly, the datamined files don’t necessarily suggest Nintendo is planning anything particularly different from the Master Quest players already know. According to Video Games Chronicle’s coverage of the discoveries, OatmealDome found evidence of a mirrored world and modified dungeons, including the rather infamous cows appearing inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly. That certainly sounds familiar to anyone who remembers how strange some of the original Master Quest’s puzzles could be, although the files are reportedly incomplete, so there’s no way to know whether Nintendo has made more substantial changes. And while I wouldn’t complain about being able to experience those dungeons with the remake’s updated visuals and controls, I’m not convinced that alone would be enough to justify paying for them again.
Rather than introducing a completely different adventure, Master Quest took the original Ocarina of Time and rearranged its dungeons, introducing different enemy placements and considerably more complicated puzzles while leaving the main story largely unchanged.
What’s particularly interesting about all of this is that Master Quest’s history actually goes back much further than its GameCube release, with the mode originally being developed for the Nintendo 64DD. During a 2015 Iwata Asks interview about Majora’s Mask 3D, Eiji Aonuma explained that he had been tasked with rearranging Ocarina of Time‘s dungeons, but eventually became more interested in creating entirely new ones instead. That ultimately led to the development of Majora’s Mask, which I find especially interesting considering Nintendo is potentially preparing to revisit the very idea that encouraged Aonuma to pursue a different project in the first place. Obviously, I wouldn’t expect Master Quest DLC to become an entirely new Zelda game, but I do think there’s an opportunity to do more with its original concept than simply reproduce what players received on the GameCube.
A Paid Master Quest Would Need to Give Players More to Discover
Personally, I think the best approach would be for Nintendo to treat a potential Master Quest expansion as an opportunity to create a genuinely different version of Ocarina of Time, rather than simply making the existing adventure more difficult. Rearranging the dungeons would be a good starting point, but I’d love to see the developers introduce completely new puzzles, unexpected enemy encounters, and perhaps even additional secrets that weren’t present in any of the previous versions. The remake has already introduced modern movement controls, including manual jumping, and I imagine the developers could come up with some pretty creative challenges by designing puzzles specifically around those improvements. There’s also the possibility of expanding the optional content outside the dungeons, especially since the original Master Quest largely left those parts of the game untouched.
Of course, none of this will matter if Nintendo eventually decides to release Master Quest as a free update, which I’d be perfectly happy with, especially considering the mode’s history. And even the DLC-related references found in the remake’s files don’t necessarily mean Nintendo intends to charge for it, so there’s still a very real possibility that players won’t have to spend anything beyond the original purchase price. But if Master Quest does end up being sold separately, I think Nintendo needs to make sure it’s worth paying for rather than simply relying on how much people love Ocarina of Time. I’ve already spent nearly three decades waiting for yet another reason to play this game again, and I’d certainly welcome another one, but I’d much rather pay for an experience that gives me something new to figure out than one that simply has me solving the same rearranged puzzles I already did countless times on my 3DS.
- 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
