8 Changes We Want to See in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is widely praised as one of the greatest games of all time. It's such a revolutionary title that you can see its influence in most games today. Due to its universal praise, the announcement of a remake has us excited but also a bit worried.

Recreating a classic is not an easy feat and Nintendo has a tough task ahead of them. How do you remake a nearly perfect game and improve upon it without losing the charm? The good news is that Nintendo almost never fails when it comes to The Legend of Zelda series, so there is definitely hope.

However, if Nintendo wants to succeed at remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there are some changes that need to be made. Here are 8 changes we want to see in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake.

8 A Streamlined Water Temple

The Most Frustrating Dungeon

While The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is commonly referred to by many as one of the greatest games ever made, there is a common complaint among all fans—the water temple is too frustrating. The reason the Water Temple is such a pain is not because it's poorly designed, but because of the need to equip and unequip the Iron Boots constantly.

This was an issue on the Nintendo 64 since it involved opening the inventory menu, navigating to the equipment screen, removing or equipping the boots, and returning to gameplay. Over and over and over again.

On top of that, the Water Temple also featured confusing water level mechanics, where it never made it very clear how high the water should be. This forced the player to constantly backtrack through the dungeon to correct the water level, which just felt tedious and annoying at the time. The Water Temple is still a great dungeon, as it has some of the game's best moments. I just hope that Nintendo fixes these issues to make it feel more streamlined and relaxing to play through, rather than a frustrating experience that makes you want to pull your hair out.

7 Deeper Side Quests

Send Us On More Journeys

While the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has some side quests, they aren't very deep and can be completed fairly quickly. Side quests mostly involved a minigame, such as completing challenges at Lon Lon Ranch or fishing at Lake Hylia, but never took the player on a long journey like side quests do today. It would be nice to see the remake take side quests more seriously, bringing us to various locations, meeting different characters, and even encountering optional bosses.

This is actually where I think Nintendo should put most of their effort when it comes to making the experience feel brand new for die-hard fans. Since the main story is fantastic, and changing it drastically would only make the long term fans angry, there's not much Nintendo has to do there except make it feel more modern. So, instead, Nintendo should put a ton of resources into the side quests structure to make the game feel more fleshed out overall, give players more content to enjoy, and make the world of Hyrule feel more alive than ever.

6 Fully Voice Acted

Hey! Listen!

I would absolutely love to see The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake be fully voice acted, in the same way that Tears of the Kingdom is. While the original did have some voice acting, it was very minimal and only included a few lines of dialogue throughout the entire game.

Unfortunately, in modern times, having to read the majority of the dialogue with no voice acting doesn't really fly anymore. Including a talented voice cast could be all this game needs to make it an even better masterpiece than it already is.

Having a fully voice-acted adventure could make the entire story feel brand new, because even though it may have the same beginning and ending, hearing popular characters like Ganondorf and Princess Zelda's voices will bring a whole new energy to the experience. Of course, we don't want Link to be voiced at all, since him not speaking at all is a staple of The Legend of Zelda franchise.

5 Include the Cut Content

There's So Much More to Discover

Due to the limitations of the Nintendo 64 hardware, it was hard for the developers to include everything they had planned for the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Because of this, they had to make a lot of cuts and a good amount of the planned content was removed from the final product. Since the Nintendo Switch 2 is a much stronger system, it would be nice to see Nintendo add the cut back into the game.

For example, early screenshots of the game show Link using a sword beam attack, similar to what we see in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. This would be a great addition to the Ocarina of Time Remake as it would give the player a more diverse combat kit, making combat encounters more engaging overall. Another example is the removal of a Star Fox easter egg, where an Airwing can be seen flying in the sky. Let's bring that back for the Star Fox fans.

4 More Ocarina Songs

Expand The Ocarina Playlist

There's no denying that one of the most memorable aspects of the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the soundtrack. Whether it's the upbeat tempo of Kokiri Forest, or the ominous sounds of the Shadow Temple, Ocarina of Time did a fantastic job at creating atmosphere through its music. However, the music that stood out the most was the songs you could play on the ocarina. Some examples include Zelda's Lullaby, the Song of Storms, and Epona's Song.

These songs not only sounded fantastic, but also granted in-game effects and benefits that made them worthwhile. We would love to see more songs added to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake that will make the new version of the game standout from the original. These songs could also have their own effects, adding more gameplay elements that allow the player to interact with the world in different ways. For example, I would love an ocarina song that helps guide you to a heart piece or other valuable items.

3 A More Detailed Hyrule Field

A Bigger Reason to Explore

Hyrule field was impressive when The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was first released in 1998. It felt almost magical and truly felt like you were exploring a massive world filled with adventure. However, technology and gaming in general have advanced dramatically over the past 25 years, so it's important that Nintendo changes Hyrule Field in the remake. While the original Hyrule Field generally acted as a giant hub leading to various dungeons and locations, the remake should add more to discover while traversing its large land.

For example, it would be really cool if there were hidden caves, dungeons, and even towns to discover in the newly remade Hyrule Field. While I don't think it necessarily should be as large as the Hyrule Field from Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild, I do think it should follow a similar structure. The best part of those games was discovering something off the beaten path, giving you the feeling of being a true adventurer, and The Ocarina of Time Remake has the chance to replicate that feeling.

2 Better Inventory Systems & Controls

Modernize the Heck Out of It

While this one is almost a given, it must be said how important it is to include quality of life improvements. If the remake turns out to be a 1:1 remake, instead of a reimagining, it would feel pretty ancient if it didn't include modern game design. Some examples of quality of life improvements for the remake include faster item swapping, streamlined inventory management, better quest tracking, autosaves, more flexible controls, etc.

In other words, Nintendo just has to make the overall feel of the game feel more modern. I recently went back to play the original Ocarina of Time after not touching it for like 15 years, and I was shocked by just how difficult it was to get accustomed to its controls. It hasn't aged terribly by any means, and in fact it has aged much better than most games from that era, but it just doesn't feel right by today's standards. Nintendo modernizing everything in this game will instantly make it a smash hit.

1 Reworked Combat & Progression Systems

A Stronger Link

The combat system in the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was fairly simple. It involved a block, dodge, and a swing of the sword to deal damage. I would love to see the combat system take it a step further and make it more complex overall.

This could include more sword abilities with special moves, attacks that need to be parried, and counters that have devastating finishers. Simply put, it would be nice to see the combat system be an evolution for the franchise, even more than Tears of the Kingdom.

Also, while the progression systems were great in the original, usually involving finding new items and weapons that helped you on your journey, it would be nice to see Nintendo add possible ways to make Link stronger. I personally think there should be a stats system, such as investing points in attack, defense, stamina, etc., although I know some fans would not agree with that statement. Just give me a way to have more agency over Link's power level, and I will be a happy man.