Gameplay for the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake was finally revealed during the recent Zelda 40th anniversary Direct, and while opinions have been somewhat divided on its visuals, I am personally very pleased. Clearly, an incredible amount of detail has been poured into the remake, and somehow, Ocarina of Time also managed to sidestep Breath of the Wild‘s open-world formula and still look bigger. However, despite how amazing it looks, and regardless of how enthralled I was by the entire presentation, one thing I noticed that I’m not quite sure how I feel about yet is that the dungeons look almost identical to the original game. When it comes to remakes, one might consider that degree of faithfulness a positive. But for players like me, who have replayed Ocarina of Time more times than we can count, it could be a negative.
And herein lies the truth about the greatest test of any classic remake: where does one draw the line between faithfulness and evolution? Is it better to keep a beloved classic’s remake as close as possible to the original game in order to do right by its most dedicated fans, or should that remake change certain aspects of its gameplay that those fans might otherwise become bored with due to copious familiarity? It’s a difficult balance to strike, and Nintendo has already proven with Star Fox on the Switch 2 that some remakes are better when they still feel like the original. Is that the case for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, though? As I said, I can’t decide how I feel about it yet, and I also don’t even know whether the upcoming remake has truly kept its dungeon layouts exactly the same.
Ocarina of Time’s Dungeons Are Where Familiarity Could Become a Problem
Again, I can’t emphasize enough how pleased I was with the Ocarina of Time gameplay footage shown off during the Legend of Zelda 40th anniversary Direct. I had a massive smile on my face pretty much throughout, and I repeatedly teared up at the thought of playing one of my favorite games of all time again in 2026. Even when series producer Eiji Aonuma took young Link into the Great Deku Tree to show off its combat and the game’s opening dungeon, I was in utter disbelief that the remake is actually real and that I would be playing it very soon. However, that didn’t stop me from asking the question, “Wait, is this going to be exactly like the original dungeon?”
Put the consoles in the correct order.
The reason I asked that is because, based on what I saw, it was. Sure, there were a few very minor structural differences shown off during the preview, but nothing that would make me wonder where I needed to go or what I was supposed to do next once I actually tackle the dungeon myself. See, I have replayed the original N64 Ocarina of Time so many times that I have every single dungeon memorized, I would say, more than the birthdays of some of my closest friends. Maybe that makes me sound like a horrible person, or maybe that just means I have a lot of close friends. Either way, my point is that I can get through the original Ocarina of Time‘s dungeons, without speed-running glitches, very quickly.
Where does one draw the line between faithfulness and evolution?
At this point in my life, were I to pick up the Ocarina of Time remake today and its dungeons were exactly how I remember them, my muscle memory would kick in, and I would just float through each one of them without a hitch. Would I still have a ton of fun? You better believe I would. Why would I have replayed the original N64 game so many times if I didn’t love it? If the remake is just like the original, only with massively improved visuals, better performance, and some much-needed quality-of-life improvements, I’m bound to love it just as much, if not more.
At the same time, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind if the remake’s dungeons were laid out differently, as it would challenge me and make the game feel even fresher than it already looks. I’m sure there are some longtime fans out there who might agree with me too, because while we want our favorite Zelda game back in renewed form, we also want a new Zelda game. And if the Ocarina of Time remake feels like little more than an enhanced version of the original on the Switch 2, it won’t feel like a new Zelda game, but simply an updated version of the one we distinctly remember.
Ocarina of Time Doesn’t Need to Change Everything to Feel New
Of course, there is a workaround for this that other video game remakes have implemented, and it involves giving players the option of choosing between the classic experience and a much different experience designed specifically for the remake. Perhaps Nintendo thought to include both the original Ocarina of Time‘s dungeons and the overhauled dungeons it introduced in Ocarina of Time Master Quest, but even then, I, and likely many other hardcore fans, have played through Master Quest plenty of times already as well. If this is the direction Nintendo went, though, I’d be happy if there were three options: one for classic dungeons, one for Master Quest dungeons, and one for dungeons specifically made for the remake. I realize that would require a lot of work on Nintendo’s part, however, and I’ll say again that I’ll be happy regardless.
Ocarina of Time‘s boss fights are something else worth mentioning here, too. If they all function exactly as they used to, then it won’t be challenging for veterans in the slightest. We all know the workarounds for getting bosses to stay in stun states for as long as possible, and we know the mechanics for each one like the backs of our hands. If the mechanics for each boss fight were significantly altered to make them more challenging, I actually think I could live with the same (or close to the same) dungeon layout. That would at least give me something unique to look forward to at the end of every dungeon.
I wouldn’t mind if the remake’s dungeons were laid out differently, as it would challenge me and make the game feel even fresher than it already looks.
I should emphasize again, though, that I’m basing all of this entirely on what Nintendo has shown so far. We haven’t seen anywhere near enough of the remake for me to say with any certainty that its dungeons really are going to be almost identical to the original game’s, and Nintendo could very well be hiding some major changes for us to discover ourselves. Still, it wasn’t only Aonuma’s trip through the Great Deku Tree that got me thinking about this. The official trailer shown separately from his gameplay featured glimpses of several other Ocarina of Time dungeons as well, and every one of them looked almost exactly as I remember it. Again, that doesn’t necessarily mean the layouts, puzzles, or boss fights haven’t changed in significant ways, but based strictly on what Nintendo has chosen to show us, the remake certainly appears to be leaning heavily toward familiarity.
And maybe that’s exactly what Ocarina of Time should be. I genuinely don’t know yet, and I think that’s what makes this remake so interesting to me in the first place. I want to walk into the Forest Temple and immediately recognize it, but I also wouldn’t mind turning a corner and suddenly realizing I have no idea what Nintendo expects me to do next. For someone who has spent nearly 30 years with this game, that balance between knowing exactly where I am and occasionally being completely caught off guard could make all the difference. Ocarina of Time doesn’t have to become an entirely different game to feel new again, but if Nintendo can somehow preserve everything I love about it while still finding a few ways to make me feel like I’m discovering Hyrule for the first time, then I think it will have passed the most important test any remake of a classic this beloved could possibly face.
- 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
