One of the most memorable things about the original Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64 was just how many secrets there were to uncover in the game. Those of us who played it back in 1998 had to primarily rely on word of mouth to find those secrets, unless we managed to stumble on them by accident on our own, of course. Things like the hidden rupees above the Hyrule Castle Town drawbridge or the hidden rupees you can only acquire by jumping across the platforms in the pond in Kokiri Forest were a large part of what made the original N64 classic’s version of Hyrule so fulfilling to explore. Unfortunately, the Ocarina of Time remake has removed many of those secrets, though it’s far from without plenty of surprises to find.
In fact, the Switch 2 remake actually still contains many of the original game’s best secrets if you know where to look. And that’s actually what I want to get at here, because as someone who hasa played the N64 game countless times, I do know where to look. It’s actually crazy how much of Ocarina of Time I remember after all these years, and how effortlessly I’ve been able to breeze right through the remake without any issues. But that’s really my point. Somehow, I keep finding myself instinctively gravitating toward secrets I haven’t even thought about in years, only realizing I knew they were there after I’d already uncovered them.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Proves Some Memories Never Fade
Honestly, it took me a while to even catch on to what was happening when I first started playing the Ocarina of Time remake. It was late, and I was too in awe of how it looked, how it sounded, and how it felt to return to what I firmly believe is the greatest game ever made. When I ran into the game’s first dungeon, Inside the Deku Tree, and basically breezed through it in about 10 minutes, I wasn’t thinking about how everything I was doing was just instinct. I was simply mesmerized by how nostalgic it all was, and how it felt to return home after nearly three decades.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
But the light bulb came on when I entered Kakariko Village on my way to Death Mountain. Once I stepped into the village, I immediately ran to the tree near the entrance, where the carpenters gather, and without even thinking, I rolled into it. From there, it felt like everything happened in slow motion. I rolled into the tree, then I thought, “Why did I do that?” But it wasn’t until a Gold Skulltula fell down right in front of me that I knew. At that point, it clicked: I had essentially been going through the Ocarina of Time remake on autopilot, completely unaware that I wasn’t in full control.
It’s actually quite fascinating. The Ocarina of Time remake is so faithful to the original game that I can play it almost exactly as I did 28 years ago and still get the exact same outcome. And that’s not the case with all video game remakes. For example, that’s not something I can do in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, because Square Enix’s idea of a true remake is apparently exceedingly different from Nintendo’s. But with the Ocarina of Time remake, it’s almost as though there’s a part of my brain that remembers Hyrule better than I do, and I’m just along for the ride while it takes me from one place to the next.
Somehow, I keep finding myself instinctively gravitating toward secrets I haven’t even thought about in years, only realizing I knew they were there after I’d already uncovered them.
And considering how different Hyrule looks in the remake, I think that makes the whole thing even more fascinating. There are times when I genuinely have to stop and take in my surroundings because Nintendo has completely transformed a place I remember being relatively simple on the N64. But apparently, all those new details aren’t enough to throw off whatever internal map I’ve been carrying around in my head for the last 28 years. I can be completely distracted by how beautiful everything looks and still somehow end up doing exactly what I would have done as a kid.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake’s Greatest Secret Was Never in Hyrule
I imagine all of this will become a little more frustrating as I continue playing and inevitably find myself instinctively searching for secrets Nintendo decided to remove. But I also think that’s part of what makes this remake so interesting for returning players. It’s familiar enough that decades of experience still matter, yet different enough that even someone who knows the original game like the back of their hand can find reasons to explore every corner of Hyrule again.
I went into the Ocarina of Time remake expecting to relive one of my favorite childhood experiences, but I didn’t expect it to reveal just how much of that experience has stayed with me. And while I’ve always known that the original game left a lasting impression on me, I don’t think I ever fully understood just how deep that impression went until I found myself rolling into a random tree without knowing why. Turns out, one of the remake’s greatest secrets isn’t something Nintendo hid in Hyrule at all. It’s something the original game apparently left hidden in my memory all those years ago.
- 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
