Nintendo Everything reviews Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2

Nintendo Everything reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Nintendo Switch 2 on November 8, 2026, after Nintendo developed and published the game for its November 5, 2026, launch on the platform.

The outlet labeled the remake Nintendo’s most impressive remake to date and one of Switch 2‘s best games. CNET said it looks better than any other Switch 2 game yet and called it an incredible starting point for newcomers to Zelda who own a Switch 2. Bleacher Report said the remake easily contends for Game of the Year.

The outlet praised Kokiri Forest’s individual leaf physics and moonlight, Zora’s Domain’s reflections, Death Mountain’s textured rock, and Hyrule Field’s grass and streams, and it said the characters are based on puppet theater and that doubts about the art style faded after playing. It said Switch 1 could not handle the detail, and it noted fog inside dungeons and caves that interacts with Link and his full moveset. It said enhanced graphics make the move from child Link to adult Link easier to follow, showing Hyrule’s desolation under Ganondorf, who shows up more frequently in the story with new lines in some cutscenes. CNET tied its visual praise to the game being built for Switch 2 hardware.

Polygon said Nintendo’s in-house Zelda team developed the game, with producers Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi choosing younger developers to train. It said Nintendo Music released an eight-track sample of new Koji Kondo arrangements, including a 10-minute Hyrule Field Main Theme. Nintendo Everything said the newly orchestrated soundtrack keeps what made the originals memorable while sounding new, and that each overworld area now features a night theme where the Nintendo 64 and 3DS versions were silent. Bleacher Report called the music, voice acting, and sound effects top-notch and said the music helps players feel emotion.

Nintendo Everything said quality-of-life changes include sprinting, manual jumping with a button, and skipping ocarina cutscenes after playing them; the rest of the gameplay remains mostly the same. Sprinting uses the A button, awkward with the right stick for the camera, especially handheld, though Switch 2 Pro Controller GL and GR buttons can be assigned to A for running. CNET said Link auto-jumped in the original, while the remake lets you jump anywhere and replaced the old Z-targeting (a target-lock system) with a trigger-based look-around system; it also said the first sword in Kokiri Forest is found differently than before and that some dialogue has changed. Bleacher Report said players can equip or unequip items with one D-pad press, pull up all items with R, and roll into a dash by holding A.

Mashable said Nintendo reworked several boss fights with new attacks and animations, and that aiming now uses an over-the-shoulder view rather than first-person, with gyro controls available. It said the hookshot no longer grapples Kakariko Village’s rooftops, with many grapple points turned into clearly marked targets, and that Great Fairies now charge hundreds of rupees for upgrades that were once free. Bleacher Report said gyro aiming makes a big difference with arrows and that the map system resembles recent Resident Evil games with clearly defined points of interest. Nintendo Everything said the remake is no harder than the original, with some dungeon puzzles streamlined and Master Quest absent for now.

Nintendo Everything said the game performs perfectly in docked mode, while handheld mode runs from 720p to 1080p. Bleacher Report said the game runs cleanly on Switch 2, with no crashes or glitches, and it cited minigames including archery, bombchu bowling, and fishing as ways to improve combat skills and unlock upgrades. Mashable said major story cutscenes feature full voice acting for every character except Link, with cartoonish and slightly cheesy performances, and that the day/night cycle is longer and universal so it does not turn off in towns.

Nintendo Everything said Hyrule Castle Town NPCs keep set day and night schedules like Majora’s Mask, and that ReDead, Stalchildren, and the Happy Mask Salesman are more unnerving. The outlet also said the game offers only one manual save file, leaving the rest as autosave, and that Zelda Notes lets players verify 100 percent completion from a phone or use real instruments through the Switch 2 microphone to make Link play the ocarina. Mashable said the day/night cycle now runs in real time in towns, though the drawbridge at Hyrule Field no longer rises at night and waiting for set times is more tedious.

CNET priced the remake at $60 and called it a Switch 2 exclusive. Nintendo Everything said the physical edition sells on Amazon, the foil cover with a textured design was limited to the initial printing, later printings use standard cases, and the game comes fully on the cartridge with no game-key card (a card requiring a separate download) or download needed.

CNET said the remake trend began with Star Fox, moved to Switch Sports Resort, and came back with Ocarina of Time. It said that apart from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Ocarina of Time is the only Zelda game built solely for Switch 2 hardware.

Nintendo Everything compared the remake to Super Mario RPG, Link’s Awakening, and Xenoblade Chronicles as Switch remakes handled with care. The outlet said the Nintendo 64 original remains widely regarded as the greatest game ever, nearly thirty years on. It said the 2011 Nintendo 3DS remaster works better than the original in most respects. It expressed hope for a Majora’s Mask remake next, and Bleacher Report said the game ought to spark calls for a Majora’s Mask remake.