Nintendo’s remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time arrives on Switch 2 on November 5, bringing the 1998 adventure to modern hardware with updated visuals and a handful of changes. In its review, Mashable describes the remake as a polished reimagining that largely retains the original’s story, objectives, dungeons and boss fights.
The reviewer found few major surprises after recently replaying the Nintendo 64 version. Some dungeon puzzles and boss encounters have been adjusted, but the remake generally leaves the game’s structure intact. The review argues that this conservative approach preserves the world and puzzle design that helped make Ocarina of Time memorable, even if it can feel a little safe.
The biggest change is the presentation. The remake gives characters and environments a detailed, stylized look, with realistic textures and lighting effects. Water, fog and sunlight respond to the surroundings, while the game runs at nearly 60 frames per second, according to the review. The score has also been re-recorded with real instruments alongside some of the original’s digital sounds.
Link’s movement is more responsive, with a dedicated jump button and a sprint option. Combat keeps the original lock-on-and-wait approach but feels more impactful thanks to revised hit animations. A new quest log, called Threads of Time, organizes main and side activities and offers hints without adding map objective markers. It also means Navi interrupts exploration less often.
The item system is less successful for the reviewer. Rather than assigning several items to separate buttons as in the N64 version, players can select one item for a universal use button and switch through a quick menu. That can make encounters requiring multiple items in quick succession feel awkward.
The review also questions the addition of fully voiced cutscenes, which can lengthen key scenes without adding much to them. Some puzzles have been simplified and enemies deal less damage, making the adventure feel somewhat easier overall, though certain upgrades now require more money and encourage players to seek out collectibles.
Despite those reservations, the remake is praised for retaining the original’s character and for making its dungeons and boss battles enjoyable to revisit. The reviewer recommends leaving some time between playing the remake and the N64 version or 3DS remaster, since familiarity with the original may make the lack of new content more noticeable.
Sources: Mashable.