Nintendo Just Made Every 90s Kid's Dream Come True — Ocarina of Time Is Getting a Full Remake for Switch 2

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I was seven years old when I first booted up Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64. I still remember the Kokiri Forest music starting and thinking I had never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. Yesterday, Nintendo made the announcement that every person who grew up with that cartridge has been waiting 27 years to hear: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is getting a full remake.

What Nintendo Announced at Direct June 2026

During this month's Nintendo Direct, Nintendo confirmed that Ocarina of Time is being remade for Switch 2 with full modern graphics, rebuilt audio, and updated gameplay systems. This is not a remaster. This is a ground-up remake — in the same vein as what Capcom did with Resident Evil 2 and 4, or what Bluepoint did with Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus.

The announcement came alongside a packed June Direct that also revealed:

  • Kingdom Hearts IV — finally coming to Nintendo hardware
  • Xenoblade Genesis — a new entry in the beloved series
  • Nintendo's software roadmap through 2027

But let's be real: nothing in that Direct hit like Ocarina. The internet broke the moment Link's face appeared in HD for the first time.

Why Ocarina Is the One That Matters

Ocarina of Time isn't just a beloved game. It's widely considered the most critically acclaimed video game ever made — it holds the record for the highest Metacritic score of any game in history. It invented the Z-targeting combat system that virtually every 3D action game uses to this day. It pioneered open-world dungeon exploration and nonlinear progression in ways that defined the genre for decades.

The 3DS remake (Ocarina of Time 3D, from 2011) was excellent but small-screen by design. There has never been a version of this game built for a modern television with modern processing power — until now.

What I Want From This Remake

Here's where I'll put on my wishlist hat. A faithful remake would be wonderful. But the games I think about most are the ones that take the soul of something classic and evolve it just enough to feel new again.

What I hope Nintendo does:

  • Keep the structure intact. Don't redesign the temples. Water Temple was hard. That's fine. Let it be hard.
  • Overhaul the visuals without losing the tone. Ocarina's world had a specific fairy-tale melancholy to it. Don't make it look like Breath of the Wild — make it look like itself, but real.
  • Update the quality-of-life features. Inventory management, camera control, and hint systems can all use a refresh without changing the game's DNA.
  • Reorchestrate Koji Kondo's score. The music is sacred. Don't replace it — but let a full orchestra have a proper go at it.

The Switch 2 Business Case

There's a smart calculation happening here. The Switch 2 launched earlier this year, and Nintendo needs marquee titles that drive hardware sales to people who haven't yet upgraded. There is no more powerful sales driver in Nintendo's entire catalog than Zelda.

An Ocarina remake doesn't just sell copies to nostalgic adults — it introduces the most important game in the franchise's history to an entire generation of kids who grew up on Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. For them, this is discovering something legendary for the first time. For the rest of us, it's coming home.

The Competition Around It

Kingdom Hearts IV finally arriving on Nintendo hardware is huge for RPG fans. The Kingdom Hearts series has been PlayStation-first for most of its history, and Switch 2's power apparently makes the leap possible now. Add Xenoblade Genesis to the mix and Nintendo has built a genuine JRPG powerhouse lineup alongside one of the most anticipated remakes in gaming history.

This is the strongest software showing Nintendo has put together since the original Switch launch, and it's happening at exactly the moment they need it — while the Switch 2 is still in its first year and momentum matters.

What's your experience? Drop a comment below! 👇

Are you excited for the Ocarina of Time remake — and which moment from the original are you most desperate to see rebuilt in full HD? (For me, it's the opening of Hyrule Field. Nothing has ever topped it.)

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