The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 delivers on every front as a remake with plenty for players old and new to enjoy

Nintendo’s decision to remake The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2 in celebration of the franchise's 40th anniversary was hotly anticipated, if not a little anxiety-inducing. Like legions of fans, I share fond memories of inventive puzzles that turned hardware limitations into creative opportunities, revolutionary mechanics that defined 3D action-adventure for years to come, and, of course, one of the most beautiful and well-written storylines in the video game hall of fame.

28 years on from the release of the original Ocarina of Time, a lot has changed in the world of gaming. Hardware limitations, even on the Switch 2, are far fewer than ever before, and there’s a game for everyone.

So in a world that now includes everything from niche interests in PowerWash Simulator to AAA giants like GTA 6 to Fortnite’s bizarre multiverse of pop stars and anime icons, can a remake of a decades-old game that now feels relatively simplistic find its footing, or even be one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games going?

Do you see that man with the evil eyes?

It’s natural that the phrase ‘don’t mess with perfection’ springs to mind when thinking about Metacritic’s best-ever-scoring video game, but a remake without meaningful changes is always going to feel like a nostalgia-baiting cash grab.

Flying in the face of that narrative, Ocarina of Time’s remake proves classic Zelda still has a place in current gaming, bringing meaningful additions and alterations across the board from level design to voice acting and even some juicy new lore while still staying faithful to the source material.

All areas of Hyrule have been revisited and retouched, with few drastic changes but plenty of improvements. A rich tapestry of flora and fauna, thick fog swirling at Link’s feet, organic terrain, and detailed furnishings bring every location to life.

The storybook visual direction of the remake comes together beautifully with this new detailed world, making its own mark on the Zelda franchise. Its vivid style might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s certainly immersive, as is the rich, re-orchestrated soundtrack.

It runs beautifully too, with its buttery-smooth locked 60fps and no visible lag in my experience. While loading screens are still in place these barely create any friction, controls are snappy and it’s bug-free barring one occasion where I noticed a texture glitch in a waterfall.

The world is more alive in more ways than one. I do miss the mad panic of racing to Hyrule Castle gates before night falls in the original, but thanks to the constant day-night cycles within towns, you now see a lot more of the lives of non-player characters (NPCs).

While still fairly two-dimensional, the supporting cast are full of character, especially so thanks to a new feature of the Mask of Truth you earn through the Happy Mask Salesman quest line. Now, when wearing the mask, you can find the hidden truths behind folks around Hyrule; the Dancing Couple dropped a bombshell I won’t spoil for you, but it adds whole new dimensions to some of the people Link encounters on his quest.

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You’re encouraged to explore the world and its secrets with new mechanics like Fairy Messages (which replace some of Navi’s hints and reward you with Rupees, Mana, or Hearts, generally) as well as old favorites like Golden Skulltulas and Fairy Fountains, but most of all I found myself frequently looking for viewpoints from which to take in the world just for the sake of it. Quite a lot of the collectibles, grottos, and boulders are in the same or very similar places, but if you don’t have a photographic memory from the original, there’s plenty of fun to be had in rediscovering Hyrule.

As I expected from my preview, some of the vocal performances did win me over by the end of the game, and Matt Mercer reprising his role as Ganondorf absolutely nailed it (of course). Others, unfortunately, missed the mark; Navi’s original sound bites were so iconic and plucky, but it’s a fairly flat performance here, by comparison.

Even then, every cutscene was a delight. I loved some of the extended dialogue and how it adds depth and personality to the world, with more beautiful cinematography than ever. I laughed, I cried, I paused and googled if some small line was a reference to a deep lore video I watched the other weekend; the narrative is richer than ever, and it celebrates the original game in all the right ways.

Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?!

Especially if you’ve played the original any time recently, there’s an immediate sense of liberation when you load into Kokiri Forest for the first time; even having played the same area at a preview event several weeks before receiving my review code, I couldn’t resist the urge to jump, dash, and swing around the camera like a lunatic in celebration of unhindered freedom to move.

Combat also feels more fluid and fun. While there’s still a fair amount of waiting around for an opening, gone are Link’s sluggish movements, painstaking in-menu item swapping, and cumbersome crowd control. I love small details like how the camera focus shifts to blur the background when you target enemies, which also means other baddies politely waiting their turn to attack you don’t stick out as much.

Overall, it’s great; jumping and dodging around, quickly switching between weapons with the right trigger, and aiming projectiles with the gyroscope improve pacing massively.

That pacing improvement carries over to Temple design too, none more so than the dreaded Water Temple now that you can quick-equip Iron Boots with the D-pad. Some temples see more significant overhauls than others, but overall rooms and puzzles have been shrewdly redesigned, with a few new additions or expanded segments like in Hyrule Castle’s garden maze, which now also leads Link through the castle kitchens.

It’s often in the smallest adjustments that Ocarina of Time’s remake is at its best; for instance, changes to the environment around you in combat that make more narrative or gameplay sense. Some are subtle; I noticed one room in the Fire Temple especially with more dynamic platform design for Lizalfos to hop around, and in locations like the Forest Temple where new obstacles like acid pits replace empty pits in the floor.

I didn’t clock any fundamental changes to enemies, but the scale and range have been adapted for enemies like Iron Knuckles as well as some bosses like Volvagia. This, paired with tweaks to the attack strings, a few new moves, and some with higher stakes, ensures Link’s lighter feet are still challenged in combat.

When you fight the real me, it won't be so easy!

That being said, I wouldn’t say difficulty is the Ocarina of Time remake’s strength. I’ll caveat heavily with the reminder that this game is as much for kids as it is for us aging nostalgia-chasers, but given I only ran out of health a handful of times, mostly by making silly mistakes or getting distracted, it does feel like Ocarina of Time has moved one step closer to being nerfed.

It’s a similar story with items — I didn’t have to refill any supplies more than three, maybe four times in my entire save. A new item in the game, the Business Deku Seed, summons a shopkeeper with his stock of supplies, including potions. It’s one of the only new features I find to be a bit of a headscratcher, making the game easier still.

Add to that the golden webs that hint at the location of overworld Golden Skulltulas, more obvious traps and visual cues for important locations, doors, and boulders, and there were few times I was particularly mentally challenged, either.

Having rolled credits, I was therefore doubly disappointed to learn Master Quest isn’t offered to up the ante a little. I’m hoping this comes at a later date, and I’m really hoping it’s not DLC, because with a little more challenge, my only real complaint about the game would be quickly remedied.

It’s not enough to score the game down; it’s ticking all of the obligatory boxes for a good remake, and I loved every second of it. Still, I can’t help but feel just a tinge of disappointment that most changes to the game are limited to optimisations and err on the side of “safe”. The original Ocarina of Time was great, in part, for how it took the limitations of contemporary game design and created some of its best mechanics to work around them in a creative way; without that challenge, the remake at times feels just a little unremarkable.

Still, this one niggle didn’t impact my personal enjoyment of the game nor negate the many, many strengths it brings to the table, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake feels like exactly the game that the developers would have made in the late 90s were it possible on contemporary hardware.

From the first time I played the game at my dad’s knee, I fell in love with the world of Hyrule, and it was just as impactful for me in its third iteration as it was in its first. Whether you’re an adult or a child, when you boot up the remake, it’s not a game you’ll forget in a hurry.

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Accessibility features

Within the game’s settings, you can change the camera controls, speed, toggle motion-control aiming, and choose between one-click or press-and-hold targeting.

You can swap the jump controls, use one-handed ocarina-playing controls, toggle subtitles, and add speaker-name display. Accessibility is, as I’ve come to expect from Nintendo, a weak point, but there are a few more customization options here than I’ve seen in other titles.

How I reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake

I’ve completed the main storyline in my 25-hour save, as well as a vast majority of side quests and secret content. I played mostly docked to enjoy the sprawling scenery, but I did try handheld too, comparing my overall experience with the original as well as more modern action-adventure games, including Zelda titles like the original Ocarina of Time and modern entries like Tears of the Kingdom, as well as titles like Outer Wilds, Tunic, and more.

I played on the standard Nintendo Switch 2, listening to the gorgeously re-orchestrated soundtrack through my Corsair Void Max Wireless v2 headset and through the Switch 2’s speakers.

More generally, I’ve covered a huge array of games here at TechRadar, where I serve as Head of Video and previously as Managing Editor. I’ve reviewed a number of action-adventure and Switch 2 titles.

First reviewed November 2026