Nintendo has re-confirmed that the next Legend of Zelda game won’t be another Breath of the Wild sequel, and fans are wondering if a modern remake of Ocarina of Time is next.
Despite the commercial success of Tears of the Kingdom, Eiji Aonuma, the producer of The Legend of Zelda series, has repeatedly confirmed that there will be no TotK DLC, nor a sequel set in the same timeline as Breath of the Wild. This confirmation has fans wondering what’s next and if a modern remake of the legendary Ocarina of Time might be possible.
The original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and has since then seen several official ports, a remake, one Virtual Console release, and an online service release. However, the title is outdated in some ways to the point where young gamers might struggle to play it, raising the question of whether Nintendo will release a modern remake of Ocarina of Time.
Will there be a The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could be remade someday, but there are currently no signs that Nintendo is working on it.
Ocarina of Time has already been remade once for the Nintendo 3DS which is considered by many fans to be the best remake in the series. The argument could also be made that since the game is playable on the easily accessible Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, there’s no need to remake it.
However, the Nintendo Switch version is still a straight port of the 1998 Nintendo 64 game. With over two decades since the game was first released, many fans find it difficult to adapt to the vintage gameplay of Ocarina of Time and the brutally dated 3D graphics. Though Ocarina of Time was cutting edge at the time both for its pioneering of lock-on systems and its graphics, there are many facets of the game that haven’t aged gracefully.
Similar to Capcom’s Resident Evil 4, Ocarina of Time still has a huge fanbase and remains enjoyable for those who originally played it. Many fans consider it to be the best game in the series, or the best game of all time, so remaking it would mean tapping into that fanbase. Alternatively, Nintendo could also go the same route as it did with the remaster of Super Mario 64 in the form of Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
In an interview with Game Informer, Eiji Aonuma stated that the next game in The Legend of Zelda series would not be another direct sequel to Breath of the Wild. Aonuma was also asked whether a modern remake of Ocarina of Time would be released but he responded with a dodgy “no comment.”
This has fans speculating that the Hero of Time’s first journey could potentially see a remake, with some believing the live-action Zelda movie might follow Ocarina of Time’s plot.
Can you play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time today?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time can be played through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack offers emulated access to a number of Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and Sega Genesis games. These titles are not available through the standard Nintendo Switch Online Service. Ocarina of Time is one of the many N64 games available, alongside the likes of fellow classics Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, and Star Fox 64.
The game initially came out on the Nintendo 64, but that console isn’t accessible for many anymore. While Ocarina of Time is available on every Nintendo home and hybrid console since, the shuttering of the digital storefronts means that fans cannot purchase the games if they don’t already have it. The only way to play the remake of the game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, is to purchase a physical cartridge on the Nintendo 3DS as that version hasn’t been rereleased for any other console.
As such, the only real official option available to play the game is subscribing to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service.