Two eras intertwine in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Nintendo skillfully commands them both. Link’s journey through the ages melds the world and dungeon design of classic Zeldas with the movement and presentation of its more recent games. This is not an exact one-to-one remake of the Nintendo 64 original, nor is it a complete reimagining. It’s a modern interpretation that adds depth to what was already there through its rich art style and expanded dialogue. Whether you're a returning fan approaching this as a remake of a longtime favorite or a newcomer viewing it with fresh eyes as a standalone adventure, Ocarina of Time is exceptional. I spent 30 hours obsessing over every inch of this beautiful realization of Hyrule – and when I reached the credits, I started over again to find even more of its best-kept secrets.

Link’s quest to stop the evil Ganondorf and save Hyrule proves how much value there still is in the traditional Zelda formula. That means exploring the world to find the next dungeon, unlocking a key item within that helps you solve puzzles and defeat its boss, and then using that tool to uncover new areas. There are also tons of secrets, side quests, and gold spiders to find off the main path. This more linear structure offers a different type of satisfaction than modern Zelda’s open-world adventures, and its signature time travel mechanic – which has you swap back and forth between child and adult versions of Link to progress, complete with a familiar but radically changed world for each – remains interesting to this day.

As soon as I stepped into Kokiri Forest, I was certain that this is the best Zelda has ever looked and sounded. From quaint towns to creepy dungeons to warmly-lit fields, this Hyrule has carved a permanent place in my mind. It’s rich with details that paint a full, practical picture of this fantasy world: Link takes a breath and moves his fingers when playing the ocarina, his scurrying Bombchu explosives are depicted as wind-up toys, and the grass he cuts blends naturally into the surroundings. It stays at a solid 60 fps practically the entire time, either docked or handheld, and it sounds fantastic, too. Gold Skulltulas fall out of trees with a loud thump, enemy swords sharply clang off Link’s shield, and Koji Kondo’s beautiful original soundtrack is perfectly performed by a talented small group of musicians.

Link’s animations are packed with endearing detail as well: he watches his step when running down stairs and covers his face when walking through tall grass. He also has some charming reactions pulled straight from Breath of the Wild: you can see him overheating in the volcanic Death Mountain Crater without the right gear, and his tunic will actually catch on fire. This is a small tweak from the original, where a timer warned you of how long he could survive the heat. Elements of modern Zelda’s reactive, systems-based design enrich this old-school adventure in small ways.

The way it’s presented has brought me even closer to this story than I was before – which is saying something for a game I play once per year. Important story moments are often beautifully framed, like how the opening seamlessly transitions from Link sleeping to his nightmare in Hyrule Field. Link remains a silent protagonist, but his adorable facial expressions tell me everything he’s thinking, like when he excitedly looks at his fairy sidekick Navi after being accepted by a new ally. Navi and the rest of the cast fill each scene with enjoyable, over-the-top voice acting that fits this fantasy world.

Snappy movement makes completing even the simplest tasks feel great.

The controls feel immediately familiar to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. While you can’t climb any wall – only ones clearly marked to allow it – Link can now freely dash and jump at the press of a button. You no longer have to line yourself up perfectly and perform a running auto jump, which transforms careful tightrope sequences into snappy platforming. He responds with precision, and the joy of moving through the world makes completing even the simplest tasks feel great.

Link wields his items from a third-person perspective, with optional motion aiming that turned me into a sniper. Freely aiming and moving at the same time makes weapons like the slingshot or bow far more viable parts of your arsenal. I’ve probably fired more slingshot pellets across my two playthroughs of the remake than in every run of the original combined. There was one moment where I was thinking about how much I liked using the slingshot now that I completely forgot to jump – thinking Link would do it on his own – and nearly fell off a high bridge. (Thank goodness Link bailed me out by clinging onto the ledge.)

Your main weapon is still your sword, and combat feels great; Link is quick on his feet, and his slashes land with crunchy, bright impact. You need to learn each enemy’s behaviors and swiftly sidestep or backflip away until it’s the right time to strike back. Wolfos swing their claws so hard they twirl around, while Stalfos grant a window of opportunity while they’re recovering from a jump attack. Each enemy is a light puzzle of its own.

How do you approach reviewing a remake?

It was really important to me to approach Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 as its own standalone thing in addition to critiquing it as a remake. While lots of people are excited to return to this classic, there are plenty more who have only played the recent Zelda games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. And – believe it or not – this remake will be a lot of people's first-ever Zelda! I think that's really special, and I wanted my review to be informative regardless of your prior experience.

To that end, I worked to keep my knowledge of the original in check as I played. That applies to both positive and negative perspectives: it's easy to overlook something that might be a fault in a modern context due to nostalgia, and it's easy to be overly critical of a change because it's not how things used to be.

By playing through this remake twice, I was able to really drill down on how I feel about this interpretation. Even though I frame some of my criticisms within the context of what the original did differently, I'm not saying I dislike the simple fact that something has changed. I dislike the way some design choices make puzzle solving and navigation feel in this game, regardless of how they used to be.

The Nintendo 64 original was groundbreaking upon release – innovation was a big reason why Peer Schneider gave it a 10 for IGN at the time, and I'm certain I would have given the original the same score under those conditions. But this remake doesn't automatically get credit for its predecessor's influence, nor should it be forced to unfairly live in its shadow. It's a different game released in a different time, and it deserves to be evaluated as such. (And I had a blast doing so.)

This pattern recognition could get old – once you’ve seen one Dodongo do a spin attack, you know how to beat them all – but Hyrule has a wide lineup of colorful enemies that only appear in a few places each. Baby Dodongos chase you and explode like fireworks, Armos statues come to life and jump scare me every time, while fully armored Moblins charge at you with sharp spears. Well… they’re fully armored in the front. In the back, all you can really see is a thong. It hits the amiibo collecting part of my brain to beat each enemy type and install its statue at the new Hall of Fallen Foes, a museum that lets you admire the detailed character designs and rematch powerful enemies.

I’ve never viewed the Zelda series as combat games first: they are action-adventure games with equal parts combat, exploration, and puzzle solving, so the relative simplicity of the action here works well. That said, this remake isn’t very challenging, and part of that actually ties into how well it controls. The small number of enemies in each fight and the way they act are still largely grounded in 1998 game design that was perfectly tuned for teaching people how to move and fight in an early 3D space. Now, Link feels better to control than he ever has, but the enemies haven’t risen to meet him. I always enjoyed the fights – especially tense two-on-one encounters in claustrophobic spaces – but I rarely felt at risk of failing. This applies to minigames and side objectives as well: it was routine for me to get the top prize at the shooting range, race track, or bowling alley on my first attempt when motion aiming, free camera control, and better movement were all on my side.

It feels like a missed opportunity to not have the harder Hero Mode that Skyward Sword HD, Echoes of Wisdom, and the Link’s Awakening remake all had at launch. Aside from upping the difficulty, it would also give value to a new item the remake introduces. Business Scrub Seeds let you summon a shopkeeper at a moment’s notice to restock on health or items. Their description reads that they “emit the overpowering scent of business,” which is a great line. But resources are so plentiful that I never had to use one, and opening a secret treasure chest only to find one of these seeds always led to a brief feeling of disappointment. That would probably change in a Hero Mode where hearts came at a premium. Instead, Ocarina of Time’s one-size-fits-all approach to difficulty left me wanting a bit more.

Link’s capabilities are modern, but the world he lives in is delightfully old-school.

Link’s capabilities feel modern, but the world he lives in is delightfully old-school. On my way to the dungeon where you unlock bombs, I must have passed 10 cracked walls begging to be blown up. Once I cleared the dungeon and had 20 bombs in my pocket, it was rewarding to return to each one and reveal its secrets.

This style works especially well in Ocarina of Time because of Hyrule’s dense, compact layout. It never feels like a chore to return somewhere once you have new abilities because everything is so close together. Once you figure out how to ride your horse, Epona, Hyrule Field becomes a playground that’s fun to zip across. Plus, you may stumble into smart shortcuts that tie distant areas together, and you’ll learn songs that let you warp to specific spots.

My curiosity guided the adventure: Navi rarely interrupts the action with unsolicited advice, and the newly-added quest log only gives broad descriptions of your next objective, like “Find out what’s going on in Zora Domain.” So while you may not be able to get endlessly sidetracked with self-driven quests like in newer Zeldas, it’s great that it still falls on you to discover the path forward. Exploration has always been at the heart of this series – it just takes different forms.

You often find out what’s going on the old-fashioned way: talking to people. Hyrule is full of secrets, and its townsfolk love to gossip. A helpful Zora heard the king is worried about his daughter, which leads me to the next dungeon. A woman in Kakariko Village is looking for her lost Cuccos, and reuniting them nets me a nice prize. A Goron admits he licked his tribe’s sacred ruby, and that it was saltier than he thought it’d be. Conversations led to main quests, side quests, and funny moments I won’t forget.

Characters say new things based on the latest story beat, and they even have more fleshed out daily routines since time now passes when you’re in towns. They basically just walk between where they stand during the day and where they are at night, but I guess the gossipy culture got to me, too, and I obsessed over knowing everybody’s business. I watched from the rooftops as time passed by below.