For as much as I’ve enjoyed revisiting The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in its Switch 2 remake, there are still a few things about Nintendo’s approach that I find a little strange, especially when it comes to some of the game’s more nostalgic additions. One of those is the pair of N64-style masks that players can unlock using the new Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo figures, which I actually thought were pretty amusing when Nintendo first revealed them during September’s 40th Anniversary Direct. However, there’s a rather unfortunate catch to those rewards that I think is worth talking about, particularly because Nintendo has already handled amiibo functionality much better in another Zelda game.
According to Nintendo’s official listings for the Young Link and Young Zelda figures, neither will be released until sometime in 2027, despite the Ocarina of Time remake launching on November 5, 2026. Scanning them will unlock masks resembling the characters’ original N64 appearances, allowing Link to wear those nostalgic, yet somewhat unsettling polygonal faces while exploring the remake’s vastly more detailed version of Hyrule. I genuinely love the idea of running through the brand-new Kokiri Forest wearing Link’s original face from 1998, but considering how much time players will have had to finish the game before those amiibo arrive, I can’t help but wonder why Nintendo decided to make us wait for something so simple.
Tears of the Kingdom Gave Older Zelda Amiibo Unique Rewards From the Beginning
-
Image via Nintendo -
Image via Nintendo -
One of the things I appreciated about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was how Nintendo continued supporting amiibo figures that had been released years before the game itself. Rather than making players purchase an entirely new collection to receive something special, Tears of the Kingdom gave older Zelda amiibo their own unique rewards, including themed paraglider fabrics that couldn’t be obtained through ordinary gameplay. For example, scanning the original Ocarina of Time Link amiibo could reward players with the Lon Lon Ranch Fabric, while the Majora’s Mask Link figure offered a fabric inspired by Majora’s Mask itself. Even the old 8-bit Link amiibo could unlock the Pixel Fabric, which gave players another opportunity to celebrate the franchise’s history.
Guess the games from the emojis.
And while these were ultimately cosmetic rewards, I actually think they made collecting Zelda amiibo feel a little more worthwhile, especially for anyone who had been purchasing them since the original Switch generation. Most of the armor and weapons associated with those figures could also be discovered through normal gameplay, whereas their special paraglider fabrics were exclusive to amiibo scans. So, even someone who had already collected nearly everything in Tears of the Kingdom could still find a reason to scan an older figure, and they didn’t necessarily have to spend any additional money to do it. Unfortunately, the Ocarina of Time remake takes a considerably less interesting approach to rewarding players for the amiibo they already own.
In fact, previously released Zelda amiibo can be scanned in the remake to obtain useful supplies, but the special nostalgic masks are specifically associated with the upcoming Young Link and Young Zelda figures. Existing figures do provide random items players have already encountered—like bombs and arrows, for instance—rather than their own distinctive cosmetic rewards, and that can certainly be useful. However, I also don’t think there’s anything particularly exciting about scanning an Ocarina of Time Link amiibo and receiving the same sort of items I could obtain using practically any other compatible figure, especially when the more interesting rewards are being reserved for amiibo that aren’t even available yet.
Rather than making players purchase an entirely new collection to receive something special, Tears of the Kingdom gave older Zelda amiibo their own unique rewards…
The timing makes the situation even stranger, because Ocarina of Time isn’t the sort of game that is going to take players hundreds of hours to complete. Sure, there’s plenty to discover in the game, and I imagine longtime fans like myself will find reasons to replay the remake well after finishing it, but I also think it’s reasonable to assume that many players will have moved on by the time Nintendo finally releases these amiibo in 2027. Compare that to Tears of the Kingdom, where the sheer size of Hyrule and the freedom to approach its adventure however players wanted meant there was always another reason to experiment with a new paraglider design. I don’t imagine a couple of masks will be enough to convince someone who has already completed Ocarina of Time to start another playthrough just to see what Link looks like wearing them.
Ocarina of Time’s Nostalgic Masks Shouldn’t Have to Wait Until 2027
Now, to be fair, Nintendo has released game-specific amiibo well after their respective games before, including the Zelda and Ganondorf figures that arrived several months after Tears of the Kingdom launched in May 2023. And with The Legend of Zelda‘s 40th anniversary celebration continuing into 2027, I can understand why Nintendo might want to spread some of its merchandise releases throughout the year rather than releasing everything alongside Ocarina of Time. But even then, Tears of the Kingdom already offered unique rewards for older amiibo from the beginning, so players weren’t necessarily waiting for those newer figures to have a reason to use their existing collections. I would have loved to see the Ocarina of Time remake follow that example, perhaps by allowing the original Ocarina of Time Link amiibo to unlock one of the masks while giving the new figures their own additional rewards.
And I don’t think Nintendo necessarily needs to make every amiibo reward available through ordinary gameplay, either, especially when cosmetic bonuses have been part of the appeal of collecting these figures for years. However, considering how much of the Ocarina of Time remake revolves around revisiting an adventure that many of us first experienced nearly three decades ago, I would have appreciated being able to enjoy these nostalgic masks while playing through the remake for the first time. Nintendo hasn’t announced another way to obtain them, nor has it confirmed exactly when in 2027 the new figures will arrive, so there’s still the possibility that more details will emerge before their release. But as things stand, I think it’s a shame that some of the remake’s most amusing throwbacks to the original game are being saved for a time when plenty of players may have already finished the adventure they were designed to celebrate.
- Released
-
November 5, 2026
- ESRB
-
Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
