Nintendo's Ocarina of Time remake keeps the classic's magic, but does it play too safe?

Nintendo's remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time arrived on Thursday, after years of rumours that the company would revisit a game many consider one of the best ever made. The BBC's Tom Gerken, who grew up with the 1998 Nintendo 64 original, has given his verdict: it is faithful, often captivating, and perhaps a little too cautious.

The weight of the task is easy to see. IGN called the original "the biggest game of the decade" in its review at launch, and it set the standard for 3D games. Riding a horse, fighting with a sword and shield, and locking on to enemies with the tap of a button were pioneered or perfected in it. It received an almost perfect score from critics and, decades on, remains the highest-rated game in history on Metacritic, which aggregates reviews.

Nintendo's answer was not to reinvent the wheel. The remake plays very similarly to the N64 classic. Gerken notes that gaming remakes differ from film or TV remakes, because fans often clamour for a fresh take that uses advances in technology. Producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi told him that expectations have evolved naturally: where players once needed imagination to fill gaps, graphics now express those things clearly on screen.

That shift has a cost. The visuals lean more cartoonish, which may disappoint some players, since the original had genuinely horrifying moments. One was the Skulltula House, a room where people had been morphed into human-spider hybrids. Series producer Eiji Aonuma, who worked on the original, said the team's means of expression back then were limited, and that they tried to add a touch of the comical even to scary elements. This time, better graphics and lighting unintentionally made the already spooky house more frightening. Testers called it too scary, so the team made adjustments to keep the balance the original achieved.

The YouTubers Gerken spoke to were overwhelmingly positive. Mike Channell, co-editor of Outside Xbox, said serious thought had gone into every decision, and that he was not convinced the remake took any less time and effort than an all-new Zelda game. He called it the best way to experience the story, with a fleshed-out, sumptuously detailed world and controls that match 21st-century expectations. Ed King, known as Zeltik to his 893,000 YouTube followers, praised the detail and charm, and said the remake leans into the surreal, uncanny nature of the Forest Temple, his favourite Zelda dungeon. StrawHatMidas called it a "perfect" way to bring the classic back, describing it as a love letter to the Zelda formula.

There are real changes. The Water Temple, about two thirds into the game, is the one Aonuma most wanted to change because of its reputation for being very, very difficult. Players can now swap the heavy boots, a critical item, more easily, and can take advantage of camera orientation. Gerken, who grew up with the N64's single joystick, found the freely movable camera, controlled by a second stick as is standard today, a significant improvement.

Still, familiarity cut both ways. Muscle memory guided him through the game, which was captivating at times, but some tasks and puzzles fell too easily because he remembered the solutions. He wonders whether Nintendo has played it too safe, and wishes there had been more surprises, though he says the game has plenty of changes he won't spoil. Fujibayashi disagrees, saying the essence the original developers intended has been maintained even if the game looks different. Channell, for his part, said he doesn't think he'll go back to the original.

Looking ahead, the franchise's first movie is due next year. Asked whether Nintendo might remake the game again after another 30 years of technology, Aonuma laughed and said he will be long retired.