The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time review: Greatest of all time

Nintendo’s seminal masterpiece returns in top form.

Putting what The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time means to me into words is difficult. That’s a problem, considering I’m supposed to be a writer, so I’ll try my best. 1998’s original was no mere video game to me. It was a world. I watched the sun rise and set over Hyrule. I dreamed of living in the Kokiri Forest, with its simple way of life. It was, all summed up, considered by many to be the greatest game ever made. I fall firmly into that camp.

When Nintendo announced that Ocarina of Time would be remade, I was as hesitant as I was excited. What would stay the same? What could they possibly change? The answer is a tour de force that redefines what remakes can be, but also a game that new players can enjoy as another flavor of a series that’s been around for 40 years and counting.

The more things change

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s story overview is simple. Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo, wants to conquer Hyrule, and you and Princess Zelda—two little tykes with more courage than world-saving skills when you first meet—are the only ones capable of standing in his way. You travel through time across childhood and adulthood, each with its own unique items to use and quests to solve.

The story was good back in 1998, but some of the mechanics were, to use an obvious pun, legendary. Some were simple: The Nintendo 64’s A button was contextual (open door, perform jumping attack, put away weapon, talk), while the C buttons were used to equip items like the hookshot and talk to Navi. But Z-Targeting (using the Z button to lock on to enemies) revolutionized targeting and camera controls. The idea of locking on to enemies was a eureka moment in gaming, and has been borrowed by third-person action games ever since. It was also used to manipulate the camera (tapping Z snapped the camera behind Link), a function that’s been supplanted by free-roaming camera control in modern games.

2026’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time stays faithful by tapping into the spirit of those mechanics rather than carrying them over explicitly. Instead of four C buttons, you have one item-equip button that feels quick and snappy to use. Other items such as boots, Navi, and your ocarina are permanently mapped to the d-pad. All combined, this allayed my fear that only being able to equip one item at a time would result in lots of item switching. It doesn’t. Instead, it’s all manageable and intuitive.

There are lots of other, subtle differences. Link raises his shield automatically when targeting enemies. Speaking of which, targeting is still your primary way of focusing in combat, but groups of evildoers no longer patiently wait for you to finish off the one you’re locked onto, making for tenser combat encounters where you have to manage each foe. Enemies also hit harder. If, like me, you’ve replayed the original or the 3DS remaster every year or two since their release, combat became trivial, especially since bottled fairies would refill all your heart containers upon death. Now they refill five, and hearts are hard to come by. So are rupees, and you need them to give Great Fairies offerings to acquire magical powers. I still have all heart piece locations memorized, but Nintendo has moved some of them, forcing me to relearn the game and pay closer attention to the world.

Some area layouts have been altered, too, namely Kokiri Forest and Kakariko Village. Dungeon designs have been reconfigured —you can no longer finish the Bottom of the Well in under five minutes—and the Big Poes haunting Hyrule Field are easier to find but harder to hunt down.

None of these changes may seem consequential on their own, but combined, they add up to a thoughtful remake, one whose designers knew exactly what to switch up to make the experience fresh for veterans who may think they can walk in, slap Ganon around, and finish the adventure in no time flat, yet equally appealing to new players who were introduced to the series through Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom.

Movement and interactions feel visceral. Striking enemies with your sword, gripping a target with your hookshot, shooting enemies out of the air with slingshot seeds or arrows—every move comes with impact that more fully immerses you in the action. My only complaint in this area is that secrets, such as smashing special rocks with the Megaton Hammer or blowing up walls with bombs, don’t hide much in the way of rewards. Most contain a single rupee, probably because the game is supposed to make you work harder for items such as rupees and hearts. I get it, but part of the excitement of this classic Zelda formula is getting a new item and salivating at the thought of entering new areas and trying out your new items to see what secrets they hold.

Hey! Listen!

Characters and writing have undergone improvements, too. The original game’s script was overexcited, to put it lightly, with lots of exclamation points that belied the gravity of the quest at hand. Ocarina of Time 2026’s script holds more gravitas, and its characters feel more developed.

No one benefits from this more than Navi, your fairy companion who amounted to a flying instruction manual and hint system in the original game. Yes, “Hey!” and “Listen!” are still present, but your fairy is a constant presence now, making observations and talking to you about your quest as it unfolds. She’s a true companion now, talking where Link remains silent, and her constant presence builds a bond and rapport with Link that was missing in 1998.

There are other differences that give the game a more cinematic presentation. For one thing, cinematics are rendered in-engine and voiced in a multitude of languages. (I didn’t care for the English voice acting, so I switched to Japanese). Not every conversation is voiced, but that never took me out of the moment, and it’s what Zelda fans are accustomed to, anyway.

Finally, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is visually stunning. Every movement, every area, every character, every battle, every puzzle brims with detail and fluid animation. This is Zelda at its best, and its engine works magic that puts it up there with the best graphics of the year. That, combined with the remixed soundtrack, gave me chills at all the right moments.

Gold standard

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Instead, tighten screws. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2026 sets a new standard for what remakes can be, putting it in line with the best of what studios such as Capcom have accomplished with their own remakes in recent years—changes that improve and capitalize on what’s on offer, rather than disrupting what made the original so revered and revolutionary.

As much as I love the original Ocarina of Time and its 3DS remaster, I played them this summer for the last time. This is the definitive edition, a game that fans will be talking about in reverent tones for generations to come.

This review was based on a product key sent by the publisher. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be available on Novmber 5, 2026, for Nintendo Switch 2.

Sign up for our monthly roundup of exclusive content, top stories, and updates from Shacknews - once a month, no spam.

Shacknews staff does not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their content. Shacknews strictly prohibits the use of its content for AI training or to generate text, including text in the style or format used for this publication. Shacknews reserves all rights to this work.

Review for
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026)
10
Pros

• Graphically stunning
• Changes tighten screws instead of fixing what was never broken
• Reconfigured dungeons that still challenge players
• Navi is an actual character now
• Legacy mechanics receive new, improved implementation
• Remixed score will give you chills

Cons

• Not all secrets feel worthwhile
• Some players might want more voice acting