The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2 is a breathtaking return to Hyrule
Released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was immediately recognized as a milestone in video game history -- the first 3D entry in the franchise, the game that established conventions for third-person cameras, target-oriented combat, and cinematic storytelling that would be copied for decades. Now, almost 30 years later, the same game has received a complete remake for the Nintendo Switch 2, and the reception has been unanimous: what Nintendo did is considered the best game remake of the year, if not of the generation.
The remake, released on November 5, 2026 as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of The Legend of Zelda, is a Switch 2 exclusive and has been reviewed by publications including The Verge, Polygon, Eurogamer and NPR, with scores consistently above 90 across all of them. The game costs $59.99 in digital and $69.99 in physical, with limited "Zelda 40th Anniversary" editions of the Switch 2 console itself already being resold for over $700 on eBay.
A visual revolution without betraying the original structure
The most obvious change in the remake is the graphics. What were once blocky N64 polygons and blurry textures have been completely rebuilt in a modern engine, with dynamic lighting, detailed character models and environments ranging from vibrant woods to caves with realistic water reflections. Nintendo's own promotional material uses the term "reimagined visuals" throughout, and critics agree: Polygon described the result as "a remake that recaptures the soul of a masterpiece," while NPR called it a production with "stupendous production values."
What impresses most is that Nintendo did not try to reinvent the game's mechanics. As Andrew Webster wrote in The Verge, "a good remake should not be like the Halo: Campaign Evolved remake -- which took a classic game and turned it into something completely different." The Ocarina of Time remake keeps the original dungeon structure, items and progression intact. What changed is the presentation: combat got smoother animations, the camera gained full control -- something impossible on the N64 -- and the Switch 2 motion controls allow aiming the hookshot, slingshot and bow far more precisely than stick aiming ever allowed.
The Nintendo team also added what they call "Threads of Time" -- a virtual tapestry that fills in as the player advances through the adventure, showing achievements and rewards. It is a modern progression feature that did not exist in the original and helps new players understand where they are in a journey that, in 1998, offered no external progress indicators.
New features only the Switch 2 can deliver
The most original addition of the remake is the use of the Switch 2's built-in microphone to play the ocarina. The player can sing or hum the melodies learned during the game, and the console recognizes the voice input so that Link performs the music on the ocarina. Nintendo recorded a real ocarina for reference, so that one can "even sense the breathing that goes into the performance," according to developers in a series of interviews titled "Ask the Developer."
The optional functionality -- the game remains fully playable with buttons -- was a calculated risk. As producer Eiji Aonuma revealed in an interview, the idea emerged unexpectedly: "Aonuma-san came to my desk and said: 'The Switch 2 has a built-in microphone! We can use it for voice recognition!' I thought: 'Well, that came out of nowhere,'" the developer joked. The result works most of the time, but The Verge's testing revealed that when the console is far from the entertainment center, the microphone frequently reports that audio is too low and plays the song at random.
Beyond the microphone, the remake introduces a dedicated jump button -- something N64 fans had demanded for decades -- the ability to dash by rolling (inspired by Breath of the Wild), full voice acting for the main characters and expanded cutscenes. Nintendo also included ZELDA NOTES, a feature of the Nintendo Switch App that logs daily achievements, enemy defeat statistics and allows discovering more about the world's lore. Exclusive Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo, launching in 2027, unlock extra masks.
The weight of 40 years of Zelda on a single remake
The Legend of Zelda turned 40 in 2026, and the Ocarina of Time remake is the centerpiece of the celebrations. But the game does not exist in isolation: it sits in the middle of a lineage that begins in 1986 with the first NES Zelda and includes The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and now Ocarina of Time on Switch 2. Each title represented an evolution in how the franchise explored its worlds, but Ocarina of Time remained the narrative heart -- the story that established the series' emotional vocabulary.
As Christian Donlan, Eurogamer's editor, observed, "the part that makes this game so essential to its greatness has nothing to do with the code running on the Switch 2, but with the emotion of discovering a world you've never seen before." Donlan recounted that a friend who played Ocarina of Time when it first came out in 1998 called it "the most memorable experience he ever had as a gamer" -- and that the magic was in how the experience unfolded, not just the final outcome.
NPR went further in its critique, stating that "with its tale of an idyllic world despoiled by the lust for power, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time feels as relevant today as it did in 1998." The central theme -- a young hero who must grow up and take responsibility -- resonates across any generation, and the remake ensures that the next wave of players can discover this story for themselves.
What the remake does not do is alter the original narrative. The plot remains identical: Link, a Kokiri, is called by the Great Deku Tree to save Hyrule from Ganondorf, using the magical power of the ocarina to travel between two temporal eras. The change lies only in how this journey is lived -- with more context, more immersion and a production that honors the work that defined it.
The question is whether, with this remake, Nintendo has finally resolved the dilemma that hangs over every revisited masterpiece: modify too much and you lose the original magic; stay too close to the original and you miss the chance to evolve. Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 seems to have found the right balance -- and if the result is as well-judged as critics say, the remake could be the moment when the past and future of video games meet without friction.
Sources: The Verge, Eurogamer, NPR
✓ Independent sources cross-checked and verified before publishing
