The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is full of some incredibly deep and emotional moments, a handful of which even occur near the beginning of the game. In fact, one of the game’s biggest moments happens once Link tries to leave his home in Kokiri Forest shortly after completing Ocarina of Time‘s first dungeon, Inside the Deku Tree. As he is leaving, he is stopped by who is perhaps his closest confidant and friend in the forest, Saria, who is deeply saddened by his departure. In a very touching moment, Saria explains that she knew he would have to leave the forest someday, but that it was okay, because they would be friends forever anyway. At that point, she gifts him a memento, the Fairy Ocarina, that she says she hopes will cause him to think of her and come visit her some time in the forest. However, regardless of how special that gift is, it would soon be replaced by the game’s namesake, never to be seen again.
Once this whole scene starts playing out in Ocarina of Time, players still haven’t spent enough time to personally feel a connection to Saria, but the scene itself does an amazing job of ensuring they feel her pain. This is someone she grew up alongside and became very close with over time, and while Link doesn’t speak during the exchange, you can only assume that he feels the same way. Even so, once the actual Ocarina of Time enters the picture, Saria’s Fairy Ocarina she gifted to Link as a way for him to remember her is essentially trashed, and players are no longer able to use it. It’s a bit comical when you think about it, how easily Link gets rid of such a heartfelt gift, and it has understandably been joked about by players for nearly three decades. Fortunately, though, the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2 will be changing that, making Link and Saria’s goodbye hurt a little less.
The Ocarina of Time Remake Will Let Players Keep the Fairy Ocarina
In the original Ocarina of Time on N64, both the Fairy Ocarina and the Ocarina of Time were playable, but once the Ocarina of Time entered the picture, it would remove the Fairy Ocarina from the player’s inventory. As it turns out, though, that’s apparently no longer the case in the remake, and we actually have some pretty convincing evidence to back that up. On October 14, Reddit user u/Jobless_fantasy_fan shared a screenshot from an early hands-on preview showing both the Fairy Ocarina and the Ocarina of Time sitting right next to each other in Link’s inventory. Another user in the discussion traced the screenshot back to a video from French YouTuber Iconoclast, who had gotten the opportunity to play the remake ahead of its November 5 release.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Now, obviously, just because both ocarinas appear in Link’s inventory doesn’t necessarily mean players can freely switch between them. However, Nintendo Everything reported on October 24 that the remake does indeed allow players to choose which ocarina they want to play once they’ve obtained both. There’s also some official confirmation from Nintendo itself, although it’s not quite as specific. On the remake’s official website, Nintendo explicitly states that players can use either instrument with traditional button controls or by playing music into the Switch 2’s microphone. Of course, both instruments were playable in the original game as well, so Nintendo’s statement alone doesn’t necessarily confirm anything has changed. However, when you combine it with the screenshots and reports from recent previews, it’s pretty convincing evidence that Link won’t have to give up Saria’s gift this time around.
There are still some questions about how all of this will work, though. For one, we don’t know whether the Fairy Ocarina can be used to play every song and solve every puzzle that normally requires the Ocarina of Time, especially considering the latter’s importance to the game’s story. We also haven’t seen enough to know whether Adult Link can continue using Saria’s instrument. Personally, I’d love it if Nintendo simply allowed players to use whichever ocarina they preferred, at least for songs that don’t specifically require the Ocarina of Time’s magical properties. It wouldn’t necessarily change much about the gameplay, but I think it would make carrying Saria’s gift feel even more special. And considering Saria makes a comment about the Ocarina of Time sounding different to her, I sure hope it actually sounds different.
The Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Is Making One of Its Saddest Goodbyes a Little Easier
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Image via Nintendo -
Image via Nintendo
What I love most about this change, though, has almost nothing to do with how the ocarinas actually function. It’s the fact that Link apparently gets to keep something Saria gave him specifically because she wanted him to remember her. I’ve always found their goodbye to be one of the saddest moments in Ocarina of Time, especially knowing what happens to Link after he leaves Kokiri Forest. He has this entire adventure ahead of him, and while he’s destined to do some incredible things, he’s also leaving behind the only home he’s ever known. Having something from Saria to carry with him just makes that whole journey feel a little more personal.
I know we’re talking about a relatively small change here, especially compared to everything else Nintendo is doing with the remake, but I think that’s why I appreciate it so much. There are plenty of ways to improve Ocarina of Time through better controls, more detailed environments, and new gameplay features. However, I don’t think every improvement needs to be something that fundamentally changes how the game plays. Sometimes, it’s enough to address something that never really made sense in the original, and I’ve always thought Link losing Saria’s Fairy Ocarina was one of those things. Nearly 28 years later, it looks like he’ll finally be able to hold on to that little piece of home, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
- 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
