Remaking a game like The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time required Nintendo to nail a fine balance between staying faithful to the original and updating it where it mattered. The Ocarina of Time remake largely sticks to the original’s foundations while adding features like a dedicated jump button and updated controls. That was one of several changes, as Nintendo’s core design philosophy was to modernize execution and comfort while preserving the original emotional and narrative intent.
As Legend of Zelda producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi explained in an interview with GameSpot, early pre-production focused on setting clear boundaries for what would and wouldn’t change in the remake. “One of the first discussions we had leading up to the full-blown development of the title was really clearly establishing what it is we were going to change and what it is that we weren’t going to change,” Fujibayashi said via a translator. “Starting with the kind of stuff that we wanted to change, was really focused on leveraging the capabilities of the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware because it was going to be developed for that hardware. Leveraging all that capability so that we can remove any stress from the gameplay experience so that people can enjoy the game, fully.”
In addition to the changes in the game’s controls, Fujibayashi added that the updated graphics also allowed the team to “provide a lot more information” to players, and the sound design also got a big upgrade: 5.1-channel surround sound for the background music.
To reduce friction, the team concluded that a dedicated jump action would give players more agency to explore the world without changing the core experience. “There was a lot of heavy discussion, as you mentioned, about the jump button,” Fujibayashi said. “Ultimately, we ended up in the conclusion that being able to allow players to jump anywhere will make the gameplay experience a lot smoother and allow players to be really able to fully enjoy the experience that this game is trying to provide.”
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time launches for Switch 2 on November 5, and it’s already one of the year’s best-reviewed games.
“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a reverent remake with stellar presentation, letting the original greatness shine through,” Steve Watts wrote in GameSpot’s Ocarina of Time remake review.