The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time

Nintendo rebuilds its 1998 masterpiece from the ground up for Switch 2: the same Hyrule, the same beats, now with a jump button, swimming, a living Castle Town, and a fully voiced cast for the first time.

What It Is

The Nintendo 64 classic returns as a full remake, announced at the June 2026 Nintendo Direct and fully revealed at the Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on September 8, 2026. This is a faithful rebuild: the characters, environments, and even specific puzzle solutions sit exactly where 1998 players remember them. The Great Deku Tree, the Fairy Slingshot, the eye-switch ladder, Deku Nuts stunning enemies before the sword comes out, it's all intact, with the original's audio effects preserved alongside the new art style.

The changes are the point, though. Where the original was limited by N64 hardware, the remake plays like a modern action-adventure game. Series producer Eiji Aonuma demonstrated the first gameplay live in Kokiri Forest during the anniversary Direct.

What We Know

The confirmed changes

• Link can jump with a button press, including across gaps. The original only auto-jumped at ledges.
• Link can swim. The original treated deep water as instant death.
• Hold to roll and dash -- rolling becomes a sustained sprint for long-distance travel.
• Third-person camera in towns. Hyrule Castle Town drops the original's fixed top-down perspective.
• Time passes in towns. The original froze the clock at the town entrance; now the sun sets on its own.
• Single-button item swap and faster aiming.
• Loading screens between areas remain, kept intentionally to preserve the original's feel, per Aonuma.

Voice and presentation

Cutscenes are fully voiced for the first time in an Ocarina of Time release. The reveal trailer includes performed dialogue from Saria's forest farewell to Ganondorf claiming the Triforce. Link stays silent, true to series tradition. Aonuma said new dialogue was added so the characters' personalities "shine much more." (The 2011 Nintendo 3DS remake, Ocarina of Time 3D, was developed by Grezzo and kept the text-box presentation.)

Threads of Time and Zelda Notes

Threads of Time is a new progress-tracking feature on Hyrule Field: it shows your story position and current objective, and fills in a tapestry as you advance. The Zelda Notes companion app gains Ocarina of Time support with adventure tracking, hint-image exploration challenges, a virtual ocarina, and a daily quiz with over 2,000 questions. The Switch 2's built-in microphone can also be used to hum learned ocarina songs into the game.

Editions and collectibles

• Nintendo Switch 2 The Legend of Zelda: 40th Anniversary Edition console, plus matching Pro Controller and carrying case: October 29, 2026.
• First print run physical version: textured foil cover art packaging.
• Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo (2027): unlock in-game masks with a retro graphical style.
• HORI ocarinas (late 2026): a playable model and an electric model that plays notes or full songs at the press of a button.
• LEGO The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time -- Link & Epona set: 1,750 pieces, spring 2027.
• Hasbro Electronic Master Sword: 27 inches, 15+ touch- and motion-activated sounds, spring 2027.

Where to Play

• Nintendo Switch 2 (exclusive): pre-order live now at $59.99 on the Nintendo eShop, with pre-load support.
• Physical edition at retail November 5, 2026.