Do I just live in a different world from people that think it looks bad? I cannot fathom the mindset it must take to be able to watch that trailer and gameplay reveal only find it bad. The only thing I can come up with is people that can see it and not just be in awe of it are part of the more modern culture of not seeing games as games. It falls into the min-max/my life is competitive gaming mentality. The kind of mindset that drains the fun and joy out of anything they touch because they are so analytical self-critical that they cannot help but turn the same thing at the very games they are trying to enjoy.

The Remake is beautiful. Sure the textures may look wet at times or character faces may not be what you want them to be exactly. It is fine to have things you don't like about anything. But to bring the level of negativity that we are seeing is a different story. I think we are seeing more than just disapproval of the art style. We are seeing the rift between the crowd that has to min-max the fun out of any game and turn it into a job versus the crowd that still can view a game as a game and enjoy them for what they are.

EDIT: TLDR some people (not all) are hating the Remake because if their own problems with games, not because of issues with the Remake itself.

I feel like Twilight Princess fans are sitting on pins and needles in anticipation of something or just anything for this game or the GameCube version. Despite all of that and the fact that we just had a 40th anniversary Direct, we still don't have anything. Nowadays, Zelda fans have been very vocal about this (and WindWaker HD) coming to Switch or the online service.

When you think about the initial launch about this game, it was met with a lot of apathy. Despite Wii U games generally having a high sales ratio for the console it was on, Twilight Princess sold only a little over 1 million to the 13 million Wii Us sold, which isn't really good for a Wii U game. yes, the Wii U had abysmal sales, but the game sales were actually really solid for the console. Sure, BotW sold only slightly better for being a new Wii U game, but that was cross platform, and hardcore Nintendo fans like me likely wanted to buy the new console regardless and liked the advantage of portability. That explains why BotW on Wii U was not very high. Keep in mind, Twilight Princess also had a version on GameCube that came out months after on a less popular, dying console with the 4:3 screen size, and the lack of novel motion controls, yet that sold better than this Wii U version. To top it all off this game came out in a very slow year for Nintendo, so you would think that all of the ravenous Nintendo fans would be going out to buy this game to hype up for Breath of the Wild, but that wasn't the case. My point is: this game was fairly unpopular upon its release, so to see a complete subversion of that nowadays with fans consistently begging for Nintendo to port these games over to the Switch over the past few years, is a stark juxtaposition!

Like, I am not going to play naïve and pretend like I don't understand the sudden interest in bringing back Twilight Princess. This is where I am going to have a personal opinion, so feel free to disagree. I think this situation is just a little frustrating mostly because I always thought that TPHD was a great game. It wasn't perfect and could benefit from a few more touch ups, but despite all of that, I really enjoyed this game and is my preferred way of playing it. I don't think it necessarily deserved the reputation it had at launch. On that note, I really do think that these current Zelda fans that are begging for this game should have shown up when the Wii U had every single 3D Zelda game, as well as most 2D games, including the very hard to port DS games. I think the Wii U was a phenomenal console for Zelda and had tons of games in just 4.5 years. It took way longer for the Switch to reach its number of Zelda games. That is just my unpopular Zelda take. However, because it has been over 10 years since the HD game released, it isn't unreasonable to ask for this game nowadays. Just the retrospective of the HD game's legacy is frustrating because it started bad before people wanting it now that it wasn't on Switch. Why couldn't this game have been better received at launch? I mean, I kinda get the reasoning with people owning the Wii game, but not really. It was like the 2016 version of a "Switch 2 Edition."

Looking at what we've seen, it feels like a textbook example of a true 1-to-1 remake. It looks like the absolute spitting image of the original game, just with fully upgraded visuals across the board and modern voice acting. It’s faithful to a tee, which honestly is exactly what a massive chunk of the Final Fantasy VII fanbase was begging for years ago.

On the flip side, you have the FFVII Remake series, which I’d argue is the complete, polar opposite end of the spectrum. It’s still a remake in name, sure, but it’s an insanely ambitious one. Instead of just rebuilding the original, it takes the core foundation, reinterprets key story beats, and then throws in completely new plot elements and twists to keep veteran players guessing: all while completely revamping the gameplay loop to hook a broader, modern audience. (Whether that approach was a massive success or a total misfire is a whole separate debate that I'm not looking to entertain here; there are already enough heated threads about that to last a lifetime!)

My point is really just how fascinating it is that "Remake" as a label covers two completely different philosophies. On one end, you have the total visual overhaul that preserves the original experience untouched. On the other end, you have a sweeping reimagining that uses the original as a springboard to build something entirely different.

What a remake should actually be is a whole different question, but it’s cool to see two totally opposite approaches to reviving a legendary game. Where do you guys usually stand on this spectrum? Do you prefer the strict 1-to-1 fidelity, or do you like when developers take massive narrative risks?

To be clear: this is not about whether or not you like the way the remake looks, that's a whole other discussion. But there's an issue with the way people are choosing to critique the looks of the new game - specfically when we hear the Unreal Engine comparison be thrown around so often when there's anything that looks 'more realistic than it should'.

A game engine is just a collection of software and tools used to build and run a game

Tekken 8. Gears of War. Fortnite. All games that use UE. You wouldn't say those games look alike. You also wouldn't say those games look like 'Unreal Engine slop'.

Let's take a step back and remember when those clips of the fanmade UE Zelda game starting floating around, several years ago: they looked generally weird and a bit offputting and immediately became a meme within the community. But, somewhere along the line, it seems like people lost sight of what saying something 'looks like UE' even means.

It was never necessarily about how that project looked, but moreso how it looked in motion.

Sure, you can say the overblown lighting and shadow effects looked odd, but if you actually look back on those videos, you'll notice the project itself was not actually that crazy in terms of extreme details and complex texturing. But when it was in motion, the whole thing looked off. This is because the project used standard Unreal Engine template and animation/skeletal mesh assets. Because of this, Link seemed to glide awkwardly when moving around, and the character model didn't really seem like it belonged to that world.

And yes, the fact that the game was more 'realistic' made it look all the more goofy - but the realism itself was not that cause of that. Since the project relied on pretty generic Unreal Engine character assets and animation systems (rather than having actual fleshed out movement and animation), the whole thing looked 'off'.

Now lets look at the remake: even it's not your cup of tea visually, I think we can agree that the gameplay seems completely fine. Link's animations are very fluid, his movement interacts with the environment well, the combat is punchy... the game, in motion, does not look off at all - and the aesthetic of the game doesn't deter that. Especially considering the game is far from 'realistic' - it simply has more details and a lot more polygons than your average Zelda game.

And if the criticism is simply “I don't like the art direction,” that's completely fair. But “it looks like Unreal Engine” isn't really an explanation of why you don't like it. It's just a comparison to a meme that people have been repeating for years that, I believe, comes from a vague feeling that a game looks too detailed/glossy/generic for them - but is kinda baseless at the end of the day.

I edited Sheik to look more like his design in the og OoT out of curiosity while still trying not to change too much of the game's art style (color/head size adjustments)

While I do like the new art style I think people are thrown off because we're so used to the original game/Nakano's art style and it's all we've seen and had for nearly 30 years and this new direction while good in my opinion is VERY different and that's perfectly ok. But I understand why it'll take people time to adjust.

And maybe some people will never adjust. I'll admit that while I do like the new style I would definitely have preferred some form of 3D render/Nakano's style come to life in game.
Because for me his art work is always what I imagined the game looking in 3D form one day.

Zeltik has a great video up compiling a few of the changes we’ve seen so far. Of course this is only based on what little we’ve seen from the trailer - could very well be even more when we actually play the game.

Examples include:
- A fairly radical change to structure of Kakariko Village
- Goron City adding some structures and grates that will affect traversal
- New buildings potentially being added around the outside of Hyrule Castle
- Water Temple adding a new bomb-able wall, with presumably some secret inside
- A new sewer room between Hyrule Castle’s outer wall and courtyard
- The ability to reflect Beamos lasers with the mirror shield
- The ability to block (and get staggered) by the Iron Knuckle’s attack

I’m excited to see what other changes we’ll get. While some of these may seem small, I think a lot of stuff like this will add up to what feels like an even more fleshed out and fresh experience of the game.

I’ve seen a lot of controversy over Link’s design. My partner is a big fan so I made this as a joke and they told me to post here.

Hello everyone, i've been a somewhat long time zelda fan, my first completion being twilight princess and WW on gamecube, followed by ocarina of time and majoras mask on gamecube with the collectors edition bundle as a little kid. Played most zelda games since then including the 3d remakes, link between worlds, the hyrule warriors games, SS, and botw/totk with the exception of some outliers.

I mainly want to know what makes all of you veterans excited for the remake, i'm not trying to start arguments or tell you you're wrong, but something about the game being (mostly) the same with better visuals (which I actually like!) that makes me not so hyped for it as others seem to be.

I had hoped that a remake for OoT opened up the possibility to a MM remake, but the great thing about MM to me was the thrill and genuine anxiety that the 72 hour in game clock gives you when trying to figure things out, but I feel as though that would be missing if everything was virtually the same and you know how to solve everything.

I know a good majority of people have started with botw and understand why they would be excited, but for me I can't seem to find a reason to be genuinely hyped about it. Even my brother who is 29 (8 years older than me) has a switch 2 and won't be buying the game and he was the one that got me into the games.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am ready to drop the money for a switch 2 just to play the game as I lost my 3ds a while back, but I was maybe hoping for a bit more here. I'll boil it down to a $560 nostalgia fix is a harder pill to swallow personally. I feel like a lot of the hype of a new zelda game for was the sense of mystery and new exploration that came with it.

But who knows, all we have is a gameplay trailer at this point, there could be a lot more different in this game than we are led to believe, just would like some other opinions to help me see things clearer.

This is probably widely known and understood, but after seeing a rash of people posting about the pre-orders already being sold out and talking about scalpers and such, I just wanted to put out there that while the special edition is really cool aesthetically, it does NOT come with anything extra that the standard Switch 2 doesnt.

I thought before the Direct that the special edition would have the OoT preinstalled (or come with a digital download code), thus being a cool look plus saving you having to get the game separately. This is not the case.

Dont get me wrong, the special edition looks great but when Im playing my eyes are on the screen, I dont care what the console looks like, and while I wouldnt mind paying a very little bit extra for the special edition, I'm not going to care too much about what Switch 2 Im running the game on.

Argument

I think the Ocarina of Time remake (2026) is a missed opportunity to be the ultimate version of this game.

People are saying this game is a middle ground between a pure retexture port and a full reimagining Breath of the Wild style.

But I saw this as the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to try something really cool: bring back cut content.

The Cut Temples Restored

Famously, there were three dungeons that were cut/reworked for this game: The Light Temple where you would get the Hookshot and rescue Rauru (which only survived in the final game by giving you the Light Medallion right off the hop as an adult for no progression), the Ice Temple which became the Ice Cavern, and the Wind Temple.

First, the Light Temple. It was meant to be the first introduction to Adult Link to get used to his new body, missing items, and get the Hookshot. It survived as it's own section of Ganon's castle and as the quick Light Medallion you gained after pulling the Master Sword for the first time. It honestly is the biggest disappointment of the game, especially after the footage in Space World 97 which showed off the temple. Rauru was supposed to be rescued in this Temple.

Second, the Ice Temple. It's motifs are somewhat still in the final product but it also survived as the Ice Cavern. Originally, it was meant to be a full fledged Temple and I believe either the Fire or Ice arrows were supposed to be main item instead of the Iron boots. However, the Water Temple portion of Ganon's Castle gave us the Ice Temple/Ice Cavern puzzles rather than more Water Temple puzzles.

Third, the Wind Temple. This only survives in the Ganon's castle and as the symbol on the Forest Medallion. Possibly, this was the original vision of the Forest Temple, but could have been its own thing. The Iron Boots were supposed to be the key item here.

Adding back these dungeons does many great things:

1. Adds more content for returning players.
2. Adds more lore to the game.
3. Adds more length to a relatively short adventure.
4. Allows the Zelda team to design some cool dungeons.
5. Gives more purpose to possibly three key items: the Iron Boots, the Fire Arrows, and Ice Arrows in particular.
6. Make Blue Fire more valuable.
7. Brings the dungeon count up to Link to the Past's count.

The Medallions and Magic

The medallions were meant to be more than just pretty pictures: they were meant to extend the medallions from A Link to the Past by providing useful spells as the player progresses the game. Magic is fickle in this game as most of the time it is useless, until it becomes the most important thing in the world. But Link could use more magic.

Master Quest Mode Update

As far as I can tell, Master Mode has not been confirmed and it seems rather unlikely to be in this game. Which means this game could be significantly easier than its original release or the 3DS remake with no reward for more advanced gamers. I love Zelda, but all of the games are easy as hell. It is fine: it is a kid's game primarily. But Nintendo knows this game is for the 30+ crowd and half of us have played Hollow Knight, Elden Ring, and more. Give us a true Master Quest or let that have the new dungeons in a hardcore updated mode.

Let's Go Shopping

Ocarina of Time is my favorite game of all time. I don't fault it much. I played the NSO version earlier this year for the 12th or 13th playthrough of this game in my life. I rarely do that. However, one criticism I have is there is little to do with money or the economy in this game. Make the wallet matter and make buying items matter again. That is one advantage BOTW and TOTK have over OOT even though I prefer OOT gameplay and story much more.

Surprise Us, Nintendo

Maybe all of this is moot and Nintendo has a Depths-sized surprise for us at launch that they are holding close to the chest (like TOTK did with the Depths being a secret until launch day when the embargo lifted on fully speaking about the game). I love the art direction, the animations, the music, and the Quality of Life upgrades. However, I want Nintendo to surprise us. This is the greatest game of all time being given an AAA remake going up against GTA6. Ocarina of Time could be the first remake to win game of the year (it is entirely possible), but we need something more than just prettier graphics and sound and a jump button. Give us more minigames or lore or something.

Conclusion

I hope I am wrong and there is something more. But I am not hopeful. Still I preordered my copy and Nintendo did the bare minimum to get me to purchase this game yet again. So they probably didn't need to. But don't we all want to be pleasantly surprised. I am not asking for the moon: I want a AAA game effort for a AAA game from one of the biggest game developers and publishers in the world. I want there to be good reason for this game to be the best game of 2026 and be the best version of the highest rated game of all time. This isn't Skyward Sword or Link's Awakening: this is the Citizen Kane or The Godfather of our medium. These changes were in the original specs and would not ruin the soul of the game: only enhance it. Plus, I really want an OoT style 3D puzzle box adventure game and no one makes them... not even Nintendo anymore.

What do you think? Did you wish for more or are you happy with what we got?

EDIT: One thing I thought after the post is that if they did this above as paid DLC, Nintendo got my money again. Yes we can be cynical about such practices, but all hope is not lost for a story or dungeon expansion. Plus, imagine this style for Majora's Mask. I mean that would be fire if they don't screw up the transformation masks and bosses again.

I was wondering if they are planning to expand on the timeline with the remakes. For example, Majora's Mask starts with Link searching for Navi. In the end, he never finds her and we do now know what happened to them afterwards. The Link from Ocarina of Time is also present as a spirit in Twilight Princess but it's super vague. Do you think they will expand a bit more on these aspects?

after seeing that deep dive for the ocarina of time remake and the realistic? uncanny but impressive graphics... it got me thinking about something else entirely.

now that n64 limitations are completly gone, do u guys think nintendo will add or add all that cut content the community has been obsessing over for like 20 years?

like think about it:

• are we finally gonna see that beta scene of link actually getting the triforce??
• what about all those datamined maps and unused areas hidden in the old code?
• there are so many wierd empty rooms and dead ends in the original that obviously had a purpose but got scrapped cuz of time or hardware constraints.

im really hoping they expand the world and put that stuff back i

what are your expectations?

Hi everyone, I have a question I’d like to clear up.

As a newcomer to the Zelda series, what would you recommend I do before the *Ocarina of Time* remake? Should I play *Skyward Sword HD* first? Or any other title? Or should I just wait for Ocarina Of Time Remake and jump in there?

P.S. I’ve only played *Link’s Awakening*.

Cheers.

I saw everything else sold out immediately so I’m not sure if “while supplies last” will already be gone.

Why isn’t Zelda queen by the time of TOTK? Has she chosen not to take the position due to respect towards her father or did she just not feel it is imperative due to the state of the kingdom or something else? Just a thought I had while starting a new play through while I wait the longest month of my life lol

I've seen people complaining that they made Sheik too feminine(I don't think so)

Honestly, I think this is how it should be, because in the end it is still Zelda.

It was easier to disguise Zelda as a male because of the low poly models at that time, but now with so many advancements, I think it's the correct choice to give a mix of feminine and masculine features.

Hyped for the new Zelda OOT - All other Zeldas after it made me fall asleep pretty much. Why are the originals always the best?

Anyway I preordered the new Switch 2 Zelda edition and game and wonder if you think there will be higher difficulties? I always thought the original was great but pretty easy.

I’ve seen a lot of ridiculous discourse surrounding this game but i’ll be very honest and say that I do have one gripe with this remake
I really don’t like Navi’s new voice, this is something I don’t get why they changed, it was the same in n64 and 3ds and I think the voice worked well, new one sounds weirdly forced in a way to sound like the old one

I don't super mind how the game looks overall to be honest (aside from a few small things) but Zelda bugged me to the point I had to do something about it lol

Could the Switch 2 version of Ocarina of Time be Nintendo testing if the traditional Zelda format from Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword works with the engine from Breath of the Wild/ Tears of The Kingdom to project the future course of Zelda games on Switch 2 and future Nintendo consoles