Ocarina of Time's Switch 2 Remake Should Go Fully Open World

As long rumored, Nintendo is remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of timean entry widely regarded as the best in the series, even after ambitious forays into the open world Breath of the Wild and The tears of the kingdom. Really, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a masterpiece that holds up remarkably well, so it will be interesting to see what kinds of creative liberties Nintendo takes with regards to its recreation.

The past decade has shown us just how versatile the video game remake space can be. On the one hand, you have something like the latest Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicleswhich adds sharper visuals and much-needed quality-of-life features to the 1997 TRPG, but is ultimately the same experience. Alternatively, you have something similar Resident Evil or Final Fantasy 7 remakes, which are more like reimaginings of their source material, and offer an entirely distinct mechanical and narrative sandbox. When it comes to Ocarina of time remake, this question of approach hangs like a sword of Damocles, and while it's impossible to say exactly how far on the remake spectrum it will land, it's not hard to see how going full open world would be the right move.

The Original Ocarina of Time is not open world by contemporary standards

The open world genre wouldn't be what it is without it The Legend of Zelda. Even the first game in the series, launched back in 1986, introduced the key genres of exploration, freedom of movement, environmental secrets and so on. With Ocarina of timeNintendo translated many of these elements into three dimensions: Ocarina of time allows players to move through relatively expansive environments such as villages, cities, and the iconic Hyrule Field, at will. The game even has some non-linear progression capabilities, something that many modern games struggle to implement in a meaningful way.

A great strength Ocarina of times world is its powerful sense of place, supported by versatile design on an intentional level. Castle Town is a stark change from Kokiri Forest, Death Mountain is a fantastic reversal of Zora's Domain – you can never mistake one for the other. In a way, this strength comes from a relative lack of cohesion, as each zone is distinct both visually and technically, separated by alternating loading screens and title cards. This kind of division is uncommon in traditional open-world games, which are usually designed to be as seamless as possible.

To be clear, this compartmentalized, stylized, intentionally inconsistent world design is no better or worse than what we might call “true” open world design. It is a sign of Ocarina of times age, definitely – there weren't really any seamless open-world adventure games a la Far Cry or Fire Ring in the '90s — but the approach can still work well in contemporary titles. The Ocarina of time remake should not abandon this approach because it is outdated or objectively bad. It should abandon it because it would be funny.

Ocarina of Time's World is its most essential element, and it might as well get a transformative makeover

Some discussion as to why Ocarina of time remake should or shouldn't change its traditional adventure game formula based on the question of how much of a “remake” it will really be. Again, this Zelda: Ocarina of Time re-release can be a visually and technically rejuvenated version of the original, fulfilling the dreams of Unreal Engine OOT fan mock-ups around the world, or it could reimagine it from the ground up, giving us a genuinely new, potentially experimental, gaming experience adapted from a timeless classic.

I'm generally in favor of remakes that dramatically or fundamentally change the original experience. At least I prefer this kind of project to “HD upgrades” and the like, which offer a mostly unchanged game with better visuals and maybe some quality of life improvements if you're lucky. Even if it's a miss, I'd rather Nintendo take a real swing with this revised one Ocarina of time. I would much prefer this remake to be like that Resident Evil 4 remake yet GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.

We cannot forget that Ocarina of time has already received a modest remaster/remake for the Nintendo 3DS. This version of the classic title leaves the gameplay virtually unchanged (aside from key QoL changes like gyro aiming and simpler gear mechanics), while making significant changes to the late 90s graphics. This is the “facelift” Ocarina of time– I don't think we need another one so soon. It would be much more interesting and culturally significant, for better or for worse, if Nintendo really shook up the established OoT norms, and a more expansive open world would be part of that mission.

This does not mean that 2026 Ocarina of time remake should just be Breath of the Wildbut it does mean Nintendo can afford to get experimental and ambitious with its world design. A version of Ocarina of time which takes cues from, say, Bowser's Furyusing the same ingredients as the original but contextualizing them in a more open capacity, would have a chance to be remarkably special.

Worth noting is that this may also be the safest way to avoid audience backlash Ocarina of time remake. In the eyes of many players (myself included), the original Ocarina of time is basically perfect. It's hard to imagine it being improved in any significant way by just injecting modern conventions. Ocarina of time will still be the same game at its core, regardless of whether Nintendo adds modern features, so it might be best to try to change that core through a major redesign, which could include BOTW-style open world design. This might actually be better than trying to repackage the original game with awkward or forced new ideas like voice acting, companions and the like.

System

Released

2026

Developer

Nintendo

Publisher

Nintendo

Number of players

Single player