A YouTube game designer has showcased the latest piece of their Unreal Engine 5 remake of the landmark Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The title that brought the Zelda franchise into 3D back in 1998, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time set benchmarks in gaming thanks to the inclusion of elements such as combat targeting and context-sensitive actions, along with its seamless world design. It’s a title that has continued to influence a wide variety of games, among them action, adventure, RPG, and open-world titles.
Nintendo has continued to re-release The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time across several different platforms, first doing so with 2003’s The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition on the GameCube. The game would go on to see re-releases on the Virtual Console service on the Wii and Wii U, as well as the Nintendo Classics library as part of Nintendo Switch Online. The project also received an official remake from Nintendo in 2011 with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, a Nintendo 3DS re-creation with various gameplay improvements.
Zelda Fans Are Surprised at How Small the Ocarina of Time Map Is
Some Zelda fans get surprised by discovering that the classic Ocarina of Time has a very small map size, despite feeling much bigger than that.
CryZENx’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Video Shows Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly
YouTube user CryZENx has posted a video of their Unreal Engine 5 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This 35-minute video showcases the game’s third dungeon, Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly, which is also the final dungeon Link explores in the game as a child. This is a near-complete rendition of the level, and CryZENx has also offered two separate download links for players who would like to try it out for themselves. The first link provides the level at 30 FPS and is playable for free, while the second link offers the level at 60 FPS and is only available to those who support CryZENx’s Patreon.
In the video description, CryZENx outlines the changes they made to the level, with the most noteworthy difference being the improved gameplay mechanics. Carrying Princess Ruto, the Zora who Link is tasked with saving, feels more intuitive, and players can actually control her to help Link solve the puzzles inside Jabu-Jabu. The mod also polishes the level design for increased clarity and improves combat by adjusting enemy hit-boxes. As the re-creation is still a work in progress, CryZENx notes that the map and compass, as well as the proper boss fight, still need to be added.
CryZENx’s Unreal Engine 5 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time showcases the power of the engine and its technology. CryZENx took a nearly 27-year-old game and overhauled its visual design to feel more modern, while reworking elements of the original gameplay. Considering that CryZENx has also been working on this Ocarina of Time remake for 10 years, their commitment to offering a new vision of the legendary game is commendable.
This remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time being available for fans to try should also serve as a holdover should Nintendo ever decide to do a proper remake. Even though Nintendo has ported Ocarina of Time in several forms already, fans still clamor for an official Switch 2 re-release of Ocarina of Time 3D. CryZENx’s remake of Ocarina of Time thus gives players something to look into while they wait to see if Nintendo brings the game back, or while they wait for the next mainline Zelda game, which may still be years away.
- Released
-
November 21, 1998
- ESRB
-
E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
-
Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
- Engine
-
Zelda 64 Engine
