Nintendo shares the first gameplay and release date for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake
The game is set to be released in November
Nintendo has finally shared the first gameplay footage from its remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
It also announced that the game will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5.
Nintendo previously announced the Ocarina of Time remake back in June, but didn’t show anything more than a shot of young Link lying in bed in his treehouse.
The new footage shows the actual game in action, including the opening section in which young Link explores the Kokiri Forest. The game now has a jump button, rather than Link automatically jumping when he reaches the end of a ledge.
Link’s outfit has been redesigned to look like it was made using leaves and other material found from the forest.
The footage also shows Link entering the Great Deku Tree, which acts as the first dungeon in the game. Navi returns as Link’s fairy assistant, and still gives advice on enemies and other points of interest. Link can also aim his slingshot using motion controls, or the Control Stick.
Nintendo says the game keeps the loading screen between certain areas, to preserve the feel of the original game. This is shown in the gameplay demo when Link moves from Kokiri Forest to Hyrule Field.
A new Threads of Time feature in the menu has been added. This tells the player everything Link has done along the way, so they don’t lose track. As they reach certain milestones in the story, a tapestry fills in, showing Link’s adventure.
The footage also shows Link entering Hyrule Castle Town, which no longer has a fixed camera and can now be fully explored. Night can now arrive while in Hyrule Castle Town too, whereas in the past this only happened in certain areas in the game.
Players can now hum songs at their Switch, and (assuming Link has already learned that song) it will be played in the game.
Ocarina of Time was originally released on Nintendo 64 in 1998, and is generally considered to be one of the greatest and most seminal video games ever released. The game has a Metacritic score of 99, topping the site’s list of the best games of all time.
The game already received a remaster on Nintendo 3DS in 2011, featuring improved controls and touchscreen support.
