After nearly 30 years, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time finally has a proper remake on the way, and it’s headed straight for the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026. Currently, we don’t have much to go on as far as what all the remake will bring to the table apart from its confirmed overhauled visuals, but it’s nonetheless safe to say that this particular remake faces a unique problem that its cousin Star Fox, also a Switch 2 remake, didn’t have. Specifically, whereas Star Fox has succeeded despite being as close to a 1:1 remake as it could possibly be while still being a fully rebuilt and modernized version of its original N64 self, Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 probably won’t be given as much grace.
It has already been up for debate, whether Ocarina of Time‘s Switch 2 remake should be closer to what Nintendo did with Star Fox 64 or whether it should feel like a brand-new experience from top to bottom. However, the side of the debate that argues Ocarina of Time should be the same game in every way but with a polished surface, just as Star Fox ended up being, fails to see why that approach might work for Star Fox but wouldn’t work for Ocarina of Time. It would be far too easy to lose Star Fox 64 in the process of remaking it if Nintendo took things too far, but with Ocarina of Time, there’s quite a bit of space to work with that the developer should absolutely take advantage of.
Star Fox on Switch 2 Didn’t Need Much More Than a Facelift
The reason the Switch 2 Star Fox remake has seen such success is because, apart from its audio and visual presentation, and perhaps some minor quality-of-life issues, it is utterly timeless. To change its gameplay, rhythm, or even some of its iconic quirks in any way would mean effectively making it not Star Fox 64, and at that point, it wouldn’t be a remake but an entirely different game. Of course, there are plenty of fans out there who wanted a brand-new Star Fox game instead of the remake, so Nintendo very well could have gone that way instead. And yet, the remake has succeeded in spite of that.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
The thing about a game like Star Fox 64, and now its Switch 2 remake, is that it is meant to be replayed over and over and over again. It’s a rail shooter, an arcade flight combat game where the goal is always a higher score, a new path, or some other secret that can only be triggered in the right place at the right time. For those reasons, we all replayed Star Fox 64 a million times back in its heyday, and we’re now playing through it again on the Switch 2, repeatedly, with the same goals in mind. In other words, there is really no need for a game like Star Fox 64 to receive anything more than a facelift when it’s remade, because the whole point of the experience is to play it again and again anyway. Ocarina of Time, on the other hand, is a different story.
Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 Should Be More of a Remake Than Star Fox Was
Ocarina of Time accomplished a lot of things for the gaming industry at large when it launched in 1998, and the ripple effects of what it introduced and established are still being felt to this day. Generally speaking, Ocarina of Time gave developers a working language for 3D action-adventure games by showing how combat, puzzles, navigation, story scenes, items, dungeons, exploration, and even a camera could all work together to produce a compelling, complete, and thoroughly nuanced 3D adventure. Ocarina of Time still influenced the industry in a number of more specific ways, though, to the point that most modern action-adventure games wouldn’t know what to do unless they were the first ones to do it.
There is really no need for a game like Star Fox 64 to receive anything more than a facelift when it’s remade, because the whole point of the experience is to play it again and again anyway.
For example, Ocarina of Time‘s Z-targeting system basically solved 3D combat by allowing players to lock onto an enemy or character, keep the camera oriented, and then attack with much clearer spatial awareness. Before then, close-range combat in 3D was awkward because the player, enemy, and camera all had to line up. Ocarina of Time‘s use of the A button also helped revolutionize the industry by making context-sensitive controls feel normal. Essentially, the function of the A button would change depending on what Link was doing, and in a world where 3D games were suddenly asking controllers to handle dozens of different actions at once, that was groundbreaking.
Of course, those are far from the only ways Ocarina of Time influenced action-adventure games and 3D games in general, as it also helped establish 3D action-adventure design. Expectations for cinematic storytelling were also raised after Ocarina of Time, as it used real-time cutscenes rather than pre-rendered video, which ultimately ensured players stayed connected to what was going on at all times. It also made music a gameplay system by allowing players full manual control over the ocarina while simultaneously making it a tool that could influence the environment and world around Link.
Despite Its Influence on the Industry, Ocarina of Time Could Be Improved for the Modern Age
Still, Ocarina of Time‘s influence is precisely why its Switch 2 remake should be allowed to reach for more than visual fidelity alone. The original game taught the industry how to move through a 3D adventure, but the industry has now spent the last 30 years building on that foundation. If Nintendo brings Ocarina of Time back now, it has a chance to make the game feel as miraculous to modern players as it felt to those who played it in 1998, but it can only accomplish that by meeting modern standards where they’re at.
There are plenty of areas where Ocarina of Time can grow without losing itself. Hyrule Field could feel more like an actual kingdom, with more detail, more life, and more reasons to move through it, while still remaining a guided adventure rather than a sprawling open world. Castle Town, Kakariko Village, Goron City, Zora’s Domain, and Gerudo Valley could all benefit from more lifelike NPC routines, stronger environmental storytelling, and a clearer sense of how Ganondorf’s rule changes the world after Link pulls the Master Sword.
If Nintendo brings Ocarina of Time back now, it has a chance to make the game feel as miraculous to modern players as it felt to those who played it in 1998, but it can only accomplish that by meeting modern standards where they’re at.
The dungeons are another obvious place where a Switch 2 remake could go further. The Forest Temple, Fire Temple, Ocarina of Time‘s infamous Water Temple, Shadow Temple, and Spirit Temple already have some of the strongest identities in the series, but they could be expanded with new rooms, stronger enemy placement, richer puzzles, and more dramatic boss encounters. The goal shouldn’t be to replace those dungeons, but to make them feel like the versions players always imagined they were exploring.
And finally, combat could also be sharpened without turning Ocarina of Time into something unrecognizable. Cleaner swordplay, more responsive movement, smarter enemy behavior, and bosses with more involved phases would all fit the spirit of the original. Link should still feel like Link, but there is no reason every fight needs to feel locked to 1998. Of course, quality-of-life improvements like this are expected, but they are nonetheless worth noting, because if the remake’s combat still felt in every way like the original, it’s a controversy waiting to happen.
Ultimately, Ocarina of Time doesn’t need to be reinvented. It just needs to be honored by being expanded in the right places. Star Fox worked because its original design was already perfectly suited for faithful repetition. However, Ocarina of Time has a lot more room to work with, and a Switch 2 remake should absolutely stretch across every inch of that room with its unprecedented hardware. Here’s hoping the Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2 doesn’t feel like Link going back in time but forward, Master Sword in hand.
- Released
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2026
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Number of Players
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Single-player
