Ocarina of Time Remake Could Have Been, Ranked

I’ve been playing The Legend of Zelda games for most of my life, and I have to say, I’m more than satisfied with Nintendo’s decision to keep the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake as faithful to the original as it has. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the direction the franchise has taken with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, but I’ve also never felt like Nintendo needed to abandon its older formula entirely. In fact, as much as I love open-world games, I’m glad the company is preserving so much of what made Ocarina of Time special in the first place, because I think there’s still plenty of room for that kind of experience in modern gaming.

However, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t wondered what an open-world Ocarina of Time remake might have looked like, especially after spending so much time with some of the genre’s greatest games over the years. After all, open-world design has come an awfully long way since Ocarina of Time originally launched in 1998, and some of the things developers have managed to accomplish since then are nothing short of remarkable. I wouldn’t trade the remake we’re getting for an entirely different game, but I still think there are seven open-world masterpieces in particular that could have given Nintendo some pretty incredible ideas if it had chosen to take Hyrule in that direction instead.

7

Ghost of Tsushima

Hyrule’s Environment Could Have Done More of the Guiding

• Ghost of Tsushima uses environmental details to help players navigate its world.
• An open-world Hyrule could have relied more on environmental guidance, allowing Navi to be more of a companion to Link.

I’ve always thought Ghost of Tsushima had one of the most brilliant approaches to open-world exploration, and that’s largely because of how much it relies on the environment itself to guide players forward. Rather than constantly following a waypoint, players can use the Guiding Wind to find their destination, and even things like smoke rising in the distance or a golden bird flying overhead can lead them somewhere interesting. I especially love that Sucker Punch managed to make these things feel like a natural part of the world, rather than just another navigation system telling players where they’re supposed to go.

I think an open-world Ocarina of Time could have benefited tremendously from that approach, especially with how much of Hyrule is already filled with forests and other environments that could have been used to guide Link toward his next discovery. More importantly, though, I think it could have allowed Navi to feel more like a companion who’s actually experiencing the journey alongside Link, occasionally reacting to something interesting they discover together rather than being responsible for pointing him in the right direction all the time. Of course, she could still help Link identify more specific things in the environment, but I personally would have loved to see Hyrule itself take on more of that responsibility.

6

Red Dead Redemption 2

Hyrule’s NPCs Could Have Had Lives of Their Own

• Red Dead Redemption 2 features NPCs with believable daily routines.
• Hyrule’s new day-night cycle could have been even more meaningful with NPCs who follow their own schedules.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop being impressed by Red Dead Redemption 2‘s open world, especially when it comes to how Rockstar handled its NPCs. Even when you’re not doing anything particularly exciting, you can spend time in one of its towns watching people go about their business, and it’s remarkable how much more believable the world feels because of it. People actually have places to be and things to do, which I think makes a pretty substantial difference compared to games where NPCs are just standing around waiting for you to interact with them.

And I have to say, with the Ocarina of Time remake introducing a continuous day-night cycle even in towns, I would have loved to see Nintendo take things a step further by giving more of Hyrule’s inhabitants actual schedules. I’ve always found it a little funny that the dancing couple in Castle Town can seemingly dance forever without getting tired, and while I certainly wouldn’t want Nintendo to remove them, it would have been great to see them occasionally leave to do something else. Just imagine visiting Castle Town at different times of day and seeing its residents going to work or heading home for the evening, rather than finding everyone in essentially the same place every time.

Hyrule Could Have Had So Many More Places to Explore

• Skyrim is filled with optional caves and dungeons that players can discover while exploring.
• A much larger Hyrule could have offered more substantial adventures beyond the main story.

I can’t count how many times I’ve been playing an Elder Scrolls game, only to stumble across something that catches my attention and completely forget what I was doing in the first place. Skyrim is especially good at this, as it seems like there’s always another cave to explore or some old ruin tucked away somewhere that I haven’t gotten around to visiting yet. And while not every one of those locations necessarily leads to something incredible, I still love that Bethesda gives players so many opportunities to discover things on their own, even if they have absolutely nothing to do with the main story.

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Ocarina of Time already has its fair share of optional content, including places like the Gerudo Training Ground, but I think an open-world remake could have taken that idea to an entirely different level. Hyrule Field alone could have been filled with hidden caves and ruins for players to explore, and I would have especially loved to discover some completely optional mini-dungeons that were just as rewarding as Ocarina of Time‘s main dungeons and temples. I’m certainly not saying Nintendo needed to fill every inch of Hyrule with something to do, but I do think a lot of the fun in an Elder Scrolls game comes from never really knowing what you’ll find when you decide to wander off.

4

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

More of Hyrule’s Inhabitants Could Have Had Stories Worth Telling

• The Witcher 3 features memorable side quests that often tell substantial stories of their own.
• An open-world Hyrule could have introduced more NPCs with optional quests for Link to complete.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is how much effort CD Projekt Red put into its side quests, because there are plenty of them that I enjoyed just as much as the main story. Some of the people Geralt encounters have genuinely interesting problems to deal with, and I love that helping them can occasionally lead to something much bigger than what you originally signed up for. It makes getting involved in their lives feel worthwhile, and I think that’s something Ocarina of Time could have done exceedingly well if Nintendo had decided to give Hyrule a much larger world to explore.

To be fair, the original Ocarina of Time already has some memorable side activities, and the remake is even adding new ones, including a small quest involving the potion shop in Castle Town. However, with a more open world presumably coming with more NPCs to meet, I think Nintendo could have introduced even more substantial side stories that gave players a reason to spend time getting to know Hyrule’s inhabitants. I would have especially loved to see some of those stories carry over between Link’s childhood and adulthood, perhaps allowing players to encounter someone seven years later and discover how their lives had changed since they last met.

3

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Hyrule Could Have Been Full of Surprises You Never Saw Coming

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 features detailed NPC schedules and unexpected encounters throughout its world.
• A larger Hyrule could have created more opportunities for emergent gameplay outside its scripted story events.

As impressed as I am by Red Dead Redemption 2‘s NPCs, I actually think Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 does an even better job of making its world feel like it’s carrying on without you, largely because of how detailed its daily routines are. But perhaps what I love even more about Warhorse Studios’ approach is how unpredictable the world can be, to the point that even fast traveling somewhere can turn into an adventure you weren’t planning on having. You might get interrupted by bandits along the road or encounter a stranger who needs help, and I think those unexpected moments are some of the best things about the experience.

I can only imagine how much more interesting exploring Hyrule could have been if Nintendo had introduced that same kind of emergent gameplay, especially with Link traveling between so many different settlements throughout his adventure. Perhaps riding Epona across Hyrule Field could occasionally lead to an unexpected encounter with a traveler in trouble, or wandering a little too far off the beaten path might bring Link face-to-face with an enemy he wasn’t prepared to fight. I wouldn’t necessarily want Ocarina of Time to become as unpredictable as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but I think giving players more opportunities to encounter things they never saw coming would have made exploring its world even more enjoyable.

2

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Curiosity Alone Could Have Been Enough to Keep Players Exploring Hyrule

• Breath of the Wild encourages players to investigate whatever catches their attention in the distance.
• An open-world Ocarina of Time could have offered a much larger world with optional puzzle-focused challenges to discover.

I mean, I couldn’t very well make this list without including Breath of the Wild, considering it’s the game that made me realize just how much fun an open-world Zelda could be in the first place. One of the things I still love most about it is how often I would find myself looking at something in the distance and deciding to head in that direction, not because the game told me to go there, but simply because I wanted to see what it was. I think that’s ultimately what makes its exploration so rewarding, because rather than constantly going after more concrete objectives, I was often just following my own curiosity to see where it would take me.

I would have loved to experience that same feeling in an open-world Ocarina of Time, especially if Nintendo had made Hyrule large enough that players could see interesting landmarks in the distance and venture toward them whenever they wanted. But I also think the remake could have borrowed something from Breath of the Wild‘s Shrines, perhaps introducing more optional mini-dungeon-style activities where players could solve puzzles and earn rewards without having to commit to an entire temple. After all, I’ve always felt that solving puzzles is one of the best parts of a traditional Zelda game, so the thought of having even more opportunities to do that while freely exploring Hyrule is something I would have been pretty excited about.

1

Elden Ring

Hyrule Could Have Been Filled With Countless Discoveries and Optional Encounters

• Elden Ring uses its detailed map to encourage players to investigate unfamiliar locations.
• An open-world Ocarina of Time could have featured more optional bosses and encounters throughout Hyrule.

I have to say, though, that out of all the open-world games I’ve played, Elden Ring is probably the one that has made me want to explore every inch of its world more than any other, and I think a lot of that comes down to how FromSoftware designed its map. Once you’ve collected a map fragment for a particular region, you can actually study the details on it and spot things that look interesting, even if you have no idea what’s waiting for you there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at something on Elden Ring‘s map and decided to go investigate it, only to find myself caught up in an entirely new adventure that I wasn’t even looking for.

But I think what makes Elden Ring especially compelling as a source of inspiration for an open-world Ocarina of Time is just how much there is to encounter outside its main story, particularly when it comes to optional bosses. You can be wandering through an otherwise unassuming part of the Lands Between and suddenly find yourself fighting something you had no idea was there, or discover an optional dungeon that ends with a boss encounter of its own. And considering how much I’ve always enjoyed Ocarina of Time‘s bosses, I would have absolutely loved to see Nintendo fill a much larger Hyrule with more of those kinds of discoveries, especially if it meant encountering powerful enemies and earning worthwhile rewards in places I never expected to find them.

Systems

Released

November 5, 2026

ESRB

Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

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