Nintendo removed Castle window secret and GameCube content from Ocarina of Time remake

Nintendo developed and published The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2, launching the remake on November 5, 2026, with Beebom reporting a 12 AM ET release time, and ESRB gave it an Everyone 10+ rating for Animated Blood and Fantasy Violence.

ComicBook.com reports the remake no longer lets Young Link find images of Mario, Luigi, Bowser and more in Hyrule Castle’s windows, because Nintendo removed the Easter egg from the original 1998 Nintendo 64 release. Players who found the secret in the 1990s and early 2000s were surprised by it.

Nintendo cut hours of material it had added for the GameCube and 3DS versions from the Switch 2 remake, ComicBook.com also reports, and none of that material was in the original N64 game. The outlet says those losses are easier to accept because that material was never part of the 1998 release.

Nintendo said it cut material like the castle-window pictures out of fear that such content would hurt immersion, ComicBook.com reports. Nintendo also said the remake emphasizes immersion more than the original and is more immersive because of advancements in technology and increased game budgets. ComicBook.com calls the Easter egg a tiny part many players may never see.

Fan comments on ComicBook.com’s post said the removal was not cool and a shame. Players said searching for the secret left them disappointed, and they were disappointed nothing replaced it.

The remake stays faithful to the 1998 N64 game while adding redone graphics, fully voiced cutscenes, an orchestral soundtrack replacing the symphonic score, an improved camera, and extra dialogue. Polygon reported the game was developed by Nintendo’s in-house Zelda team, with producers Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi handing the project to younger developers.

Nintendo changed several original designs. Players can change heavy boots easily and use the camera’s orientation in the Water Temple, the dungeon Aonuma said he personally most wanted to change because of its very, very difficult reputation. Link keeps a fifth bottle. Wallet capacities increased, and the Adult’s Wallet and Giant’s Wallet rewards for Gold Skulltula milestones increased; the 20-token Stone of Agony reward became an Echo Gem that locates Skulltulas with visual and audio cues.

The Skulltula House—a room where people became human-spider hybrids—was toned down after modern graphics and lighting made it scarier than the team intended and play testers said it was too scary, the BBC reported. Aonuma said the team adjusted the house to keep the original’s balance after testers objected.

But Nintendo kept one original letdown. Aonuma said the team deliberately kept the disappointing 40-token reward at 20 Bombchus, versus 10 in the original, because the team considered that letdown part of the original N64 experience. In the original quest, 100 golden spiders are scattered across Hyrule, and players bring tokens back to the cursed family in Kakariko Village, where 10 tokens earned the Adult’s Wallet and 30 the Giant’s Wallet.

GameRant reported that Game Informer’s Kyle Hilliard told Aonuma the 40-token Bombchu reward disappointed him as a child, and he said he still felt that way playing the remake. Aonuma said preservation means keeping the original’s disappointments along with its exciting moments rather than only the parts players remember fondly.

Beebom reported that review aggregators scored the remake 96 on Metacritic and a 95 on OpenCritic, making it the top-rated game of 2026, whereas the N64 original holds a 99 Metascore and remains the highest-rated game of all time. The outlet’s roundup collected notices spanning 9 out of 10 and perfect 5 out of 5 scores from TechRadar, Game Informer, GameSpot, IGN, GamesRadar+, Eurogamer, and VGC.

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s Switch 2 remake is a remarkable restoration of one of gaming’s most beloved adventures.” VGC said. Giovanni Colantonio of Polygon interviewed Aonuma and Fujibayashi about the remake, and Polygon’s author called it his favorite Zelda game, saying he and his son plan to get it for Christmas. Nintendo Music also shared an eight-track sample of new arrangements of Koji Kondo’s tunes.

“Ocarina of Time is obviously one of the great video game experiences in the history of the medium,” said Mike Channell, co-editor of the Outside Xbox YouTube channel, to the BBC. Ed King, who runs the Zeltik YouTube channel with 893,000 followers, said the Forest Temple remake leans into what he called the original dungeon’s surreal, uncanny nature. StrawHatMidas said the remake honors the Nintendo 64 original and builds on its memorable qualities.

Fujibayashi told the BBC that game expectations have evolved naturally. He said modern graphics now express ideas that players once had to imagine, while the team kept the essence its original developers wanted to convey. Aonuma told the BBC he will be long retired if Nintendo considers remaking the game again after 30 more years of technological advancement, and the BBC also says the franchise’s first Zelda movie is coming next year.