Thirty years after a game reshaped what three-dimensional play could be, Nintendo has returned to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with a remake that chooses devotion over reinvention. The BBC's Tom Gerken, who first met this world as a child on the N64, finds it a warm and careful rebuild that honours a memory many players hold dear. Yet there is a quiet question beneath the affection: when the gaps that imagination once filled are now painted plainly on screen, and familiar paths are retraced with ease, has caution become a kind of comfort that keeps the past safely in place?
Ocarina of Time Remake Honours the Original, but Plays It Safe
Gaps once filled by imagination are now drawn on screen.
Mark
Why does a remake of a 1998 game get this much attention?
Mimi
Because of what it is. Ocarina of Time is still the highest-rated game ever on Metacritic, and things like lock-on targeting and sword-and-shield combat were pioneered or perfected there.
Mark
So how did Nintendo approach it?
Mimi
Cautiously. It plays very much like the original. The reviewer, Tom Gerken, grew up with it and felt right at home.
Luke
Worth saying that's one reviewer's view, and it's an opinion piece. The 'too safe' verdict is his judgement, not a measured fact.
Mark
What actually changed, then?
Mimi
The camera is now freely controllable with a second stick, and the Water Temple was reworked so the heavy boots are easier to swap. Aonuma said that was the thing he most wanted to fix.
Mark
And the Skulltula House?
Mimi
Better lighting made it scarier than intended. Testers said it was too scary, so the team adjusted it to keep the original's balance.
Luke
The praise from YouTubers is real but limited. Three creators, chosen by the reviewer, all positive. That's not a sample of players at large.
Mimi
Fair. And Mike Channell's line is telling: he loved the original but doesn't think he'll go back to it.
Mark
Anything unknown about what comes next?
Luke
Only that a Zelda film is due next year. Nothing is said about further games, and Aonuma's joke about being retired isn't an announcement of anything.
Il Polso
- A beloved classic returns under the weight of decades of expectation, and every change is weighed against a memory.
- Brighter graphics and a shift toward a cartoonish style trouble the balance, as the Skulltula House grows too frightening for testers and must be softened.
- Developers work to keep the original's essence intact, rebuilding the Water Temple around easier boot swaps and a freer camera.
- Reviewers and creators largely applaud the faithful return, though the reviewer finds some puzzles falling too quickly because his memory supplies the answers.
- The verdict is still forming: a sense of reassurance mixed with a wish for more daring, while the franchise's next steps remain unannounced.
Thirty years after a game reshaped what three-dimensional play could be, Nintendo has returned to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with a remake that chooses devotion over reinvention. The BBC's Tom Gerken, who first met this world as a child on the N64, finds it a warm and careful rebuild that honours a memory many players hold dear. Yet there is a quiet question beneath the affection: when the gaps that imagination once filled are now painted plainly on screen, and familiar paths are retraced with ease, has caution become a kind of comfort that keeps the past safely in place?
Nintendo's remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has arrived, and for many players it is a return to a childhood landmark. The original, released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, set the standard for 3D adventure games, teaching the industry how to ride a horse, wield a sword and shield, and lock onto an enemy with a single press. Thirty years on, it still sits at the top of Metacritic's rankings, which made the choice of how to revisit it a delicate one.
Nintendo chose faithfulness. The game plays very much like the original, and producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi explained that the gaps players once filled with imagination are now shown plainly on screen. The visuals have moved toward something more cartoonish, a trade that disappointed some. The Skulltula House, once unsettling, became too frightening after the improved lighting exposed its horror, so the team dialled it back to the original's balance.
The YouTubers Gerken consulted were enthusiastic. Mike Channell praised the care in every decision, Ed King celebrated the surreal Forest Temple, and StrawHatMidas called it a love letter to the Zelda formula. The biggest changes lie in the Water Temple, where easier boot swaps and a free camera on a second stick make a notoriously difficult dungeon kinder to play.
Gerken's reservation is about familiarity. Muscle memory guided him gracefully through the familiar world, but it also made some tasks easy and some puzzles fall too quickly. He wonders whether the game is too safe, though Nintendo sees it as honouring the original's intent. A Zelda film arrives next year, and the franchise's next move remains a mystery. Asked whether another remake might come after another thirty years, Aonuma laughed and said he would be long retired.
Nintendo's remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time arrived on Thursday, after years of rumours that the company would revisit one of the most celebrated games ever made. The BBC's Tom Gerken, who grew up on the original, has now given his verdict: it is a faithful, affectionate rebuild that may be a little too careful.
The weight of expectation is considerable. When the game launched on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, IGN called it "the biggest game of the decade". It set the standard for 3D games, and much of what players now take for granted was pioneered or perfected there: riding a horse, fighting with sword and shield, locking onto an enemy with a single button tap. It earned an almost perfect score from critics and, decades later, is still the highest-rated game in history on the review aggregator Metacritic.
Nintendo's answer to the question of how to remake a masterpiece was not to reinvent it. The result plays very much like the N64 classic, and Gerken says players who grew up with it will feel at home. That is a particular choice in games, where fans often ask for a new take on a favourite in the hope that developers will use modern technology to make it fresh. Nintendo producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi said expectations have shifted naturally since the original, and that gaps players once filled with imagination are now shown plainly on screen.
Better graphics came with a trade-off, a move away from realism toward something more cartoonish. Some may be disappointed, since the original had genuinely horrifying moments. One was the Skulltula House, a room where people had been turned into human-spider hybrids. Series producer Eiji Aonuma, who worked on the original, said the limited tools of the time led the team to add a touch of the comical even to scary elements. But the enhanced graphics and lighting unintentionally made the already spooky house more frightening, and testers called it too scary. Adjustments were made to keep the balance the original had achieved.
Gerken spoke to several YouTubers, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Mike Channell, co-editor of the channel Outside Xbox, said serious thought had gone into every decision, to the point that he was not convinced the remake took less time and effort than an all-new Zelda game. He called it the best way to experience the story, a fleshed-out, richly detailed world with controls that match 21st-century expectations. Ed King, known as Zeltik to his 893,000 YouTube followers, singled out the Forest Temple, his favourite Zelda dungeon, saying the remake leans into its surreal, uncanny nature. StrawHatMidas called it the perfect way to bring the classic back, a love letter to the Zelda formula in its world, controls and soundtrack.
There are bigger changes too, notably to the Water Temple, a dungeon about two thirds of the way through the game. Aonuma said it was what he personally most wanted to change, given 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 learned on the N64's single joystick, found the free camera, now standard on a second stick, a significant improvement.
His reservations are about familiarity. The trip down memory lane was at times captivating, and muscle memory told him where to go and what to do. But that also took something away: some tasks came too easily and some puzzles fell too quickly because he remembered the solutions. He wonders whether Nintendo has played it too safe, though he does not think the developers see it that way. Fujibayashi said that even if the game looks different, it keeps the essence the original developers intended. Gerken notes there are plenty of changes and surprises, which he won't spoil, but wishes there were more. Channell, for his part, said he loved the original but doesn't think he will go back to it.
More Zelda is on the way, with the franchise's first film due next year. Asked whether the game might be remade again after another 30 years of technological progress, Aonuma laughed and said he will be long retired.
Citazioni salienti
Even if the game may look different, we've maintained the essence that the original developers wanted to convey.— Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Nintendo producer
I will be long retired.— Eiji Aonuma, series producer, on a future remake
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su BBC ↗
General News