We got a bunch of new details about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake this week thanks to a final round of previews and trailers ahead of the Switch 2 game’s November 5 release date. But our first look at how the new game is treating one of the coolest moments from the original was actually tucked away inside a short teaser on the game’s Nintendo Japan website. It shows Dark Link, and I’m very excited to go toe-to-toe with the Hero of Time’s old existential nemesis using the remake’s overhauled combat.
It’s only a split second, but the new teaser shows a brief series of frames where Dark Link hops on Link’s sword during the Water Temple mini-boss fight.
[任天堂HP]Nintendo Switch 2 ソフト『ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ』のCMを公開しました。#時のオカリナ #ゼルダの伝説40周年https://t.co/Y0gB7x0RUN
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) October 16, 2026
Dark Link, not to be confused with Shadow Link, is one of the more memorable parts of an already excellent Zelda game. It’s in the back half of one of the game’s more confusing dungeons and is carefully executed to create a moment that feels cinematic but is completely interactive. Players run across a mysterious, foggy room full of shallow puddles with a tree in the center.
They get to the other side only to see the door is locked behind metal bars. When the player turns around again, there’s a shadow standing in front of the tree. Get closer to it and you can see it’s a mirror version of Link. He immediately attacks without introduction, and if it’s 1998 and you haven’t been practicing your fencing skills in the game, he can be a bit tricky to outmaneuver. Too many wild swings and he’ll even jump on top of your sword. Or you can just use Deku Nuts to freeze his ass.
You can see Dark Link has a lot more distinguishing features this time around in the Switch 2 remake, including a Hylian shield with the full crest. While we don’t have a full view of the mini-boss’ makeover, I’m guessing it’s in line with the Dark Link costumes that have appeared in more recent Smash Bros. games. I’ll be curious if the scene can still muster some of the magic of the N64 version all these years later. The latter’s approach was subtle and based on subverting existing gameplay expectations. The remake might need to take a different approach.
But one part of the encounter I’m pretty confident the Switch 2 version will nail is the combat. Considering the ways movement and targeting have been streamlined in the remake, I’m hoping the fight feels even closer to some of the tense, 2D mirror duels with Iron Knuckles from Zelda 2.
