2026 marks the 40th Anniversary of the classic adventure series The Legend of Zelda, and to celebrate Nintendo announced a remake of a fan-favourite from the Nintendo 64. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Originally being released 28 years ago, the game was a turning point for the entire industry; praised for its revolutionary combat mechanics and fantastical – if not slightly unsettling – story telling. For a lot of fans this game had such a strong childhood connection, meaning the developers had the difficult task of reimagining the classic without losing its praised characters, timeless design and iconic adventure. But did they manage to accomplish this? From the initial teasers there were some conflicting opinions from the public, but now that the game has been released, people have come to see the reimagined beauty of Hyrule in all its glory!
The new art style captures realistic qualities but in a gentle, playful tone – showcasing amazing attention to detail in both the character’s designs and the landscapes. Recently, the art direction was confirmed to be inspired by Japanese wooden puppetry, Ningyōgeki. An interview with art director and producer Aya Shida shed some light on the perhaps otherwise strange art style. The base game’s story has stayed true to its predecessor, Ganondorf still as evil as ever, and the stakes being just as high as they were back in 1998. However, whilst the narrative has stayed the same, the remake does feature many quality-of-life changes that aid the overall fluidity of the game’s experience. These include: a redesigned inventory system, new interactive, voice controlled ways of playing the Ocarina and the addition of an actual jump button! (Provided you are standing approximately two inches away from any ledge).
But due to the age of the original game, this remake holds a lot of sentimentality for older fans. It’s able to capture distinct moments in a lot of peoples’ childhood, cementing a pillar of creativity that they have now taken into their adult lives. This game provides that full circle notion, revitalising memorable locations and experiences in Hyrule: such as being attacked by a swarm of Cuccos; or finding all the grizzly nightmare-inducing creatures in the Bottom of the Well and Shadow Temple dungeons (They are still as terrifying in the remake). Players are still unearthing many more secrets and references within the game and I, for one, cannot wait to get my hands on it. So, as it is dangerous to go alone, take this sword and have fun adventuring!
“HYYYAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Written and Designed by Alex Bridgeman, Edited by Harry Lane-Newman
