r/videogames • u/Orichalchem • Sep 08 '26
Image / Video Zelda Ocarina of Time original vs remake comparison
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u/-DenisM- Sep 08 '26
I can't wait to see the horror elements with these graphics
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u/Racconwithtwoguns Sep 08 '26
Redeads are coming back with a vengeance
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u/DefectiveSol Sep 08 '26
I misread that as redheads and was equally terrified
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u/BumblebeeThen7954 Sep 08 '26
I really hope they do Majoras Mask after this although I fear that game might be too scary in this style. Hope they dont have to dial back some of the elements
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u/Dizzy-Expression8868 Sep 08 '26
Ugh, the Floormasters and Wallmasters. Still have memories of jumping out of my skin when they dropped on Link.
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u/emd07 Sep 08 '26
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u/PkFireNess4 Sep 08 '26
Bro said he wants to see the horror elements, not that Ocarina of Time is some rated M unplayable horror shit
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u/emd07 Sep 08 '26
I still think horror is kind of a stretch but my gif wasn't that serious
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u/Level_Cardiologist36 Sep 09 '26
You don't think Dead Hand in the torture chamber well doesn't touch on horror? People use it to depict a sense of horror all the time.
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u/fobbybobby323 Sep 09 '26
I just remember those zombie things jumping on Link and then like humping him to death
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Sep 08 '26
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u/Exaggerater4000 Sep 08 '26
I recently started OpenMW(Morrowind). It's how I remember the game. Obviously it never looked that good. Funny how our brains fill in stuff that was never there.
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u/The_Autarch Sep 09 '26
eh, OpenMW is still using all of the original assets. sure the lighting is better than the original, but it doesn't look that different.
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u/Cybertronian_Fox Sep 09 '26
It does if your memories are of playing it on a CRT.
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u/Glad-Belt7956 Sep 09 '26
i mean it is different for morrowind. i'm one of these zoomers that need good graphics to play games, but those corpus afflicted cultists with those gaping face holes are really jarring. i think that better graphics will ruin it when i play skywind (morrowind remake in skyrim). it really is true that things will never be as scary as what our minds can imagine.
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u/According-Paper4641 Sep 08 '26
I think that about FFVII remakes a lot. Then someone will post something from the OG and I remember how amazing imagination and nostalgia are.
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u/unibrow4o9 Sep 09 '26
When I got that game for Christmas I remember thinking how this was like peak graphics, games couldn't possibly get better looking than that.
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u/frame Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
holy hell as someone who played the OG on n64 I'm f*cken psyched
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u/herrcollin Sep 08 '26
Fuck the haters this looks so good.
Hate on Nintendo as much as you like, they really don't miss with their big IP's.
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u/Psychological-Toe397 Sep 08 '26
Except with pokemon. Us pokémon fans can only dream of a mainline game with the same quality of a zelda or mario game
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u/Fogmoz Sep 08 '26
Game freak needs to admit their forte was with pixel graphics and fucking embrace HD2D. They would do so well in that space.
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u/Beneficial_Gene3064 Sep 08 '26
The amount of content they could fit in the game too if they went that route..
I really want a game where you can kinda choose your own adventure like Skyrim. A main quest line but multiple branches. Factions and shit yk
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u/ComradeJohnS Sep 08 '26
squareenix has to have that copywrite, right? its such a fantastic style.
people hated the diamond/pearl remakes that had chibi style, so idk if they want to do anything 2d again.
pokemon fans are never happy, while I have loved all the switch games and am happy we get them more frequently lol. legends games especially.
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u/ItzAmazed Sep 08 '26
Pokemon isn't made by Nintendo, it's made by gamefreak. They suck ass and can't keep up. I would bet that if Nintendo had full creative power (so basically what Gamefreak currently has) the Pokemon mainline games would look a lot different.
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u/Carmine_the_Sergal Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
GF can’t keep up because until recently they were forced to release a new gen yearly
Edit: I meant a new game yearly
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u/Dendrodes Sep 08 '26
To clarify, no not a new gen yearly, a new game yearly. Legends ZA is still gen 9, like Arceus was still gen 8.
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u/CammyDiveKick Sep 08 '26
This would require Gamefreak giving up development of the franchise which they never will.
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u/Dhiox Sep 08 '26
It's literally the only thing they have going for them after all. Everything else they've made has been mid at best.
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u/dinklebot2000 Sep 08 '26
Vote with your wallet then. Game Freak really has no reason to improve their games when they can release a potato and it sells better than any Zelda game.
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u/LFC9_41 Sep 08 '26
At the end of the day, a lot of people flat out disagree with you. The series would not survive on nostalgia and marketing alone. To most people playing them, they’re fun. Every time.
If you’re still buying these games and thinking they’re a big whiff, that’s a you problem.
Stop buying them.
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u/-CowNipples- Sep 08 '26
Except for Pokemon 😭
I’m praying Winds/Waves looks this good
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u/h2oskid3 Sep 08 '26
Footage so far is not promising. I've given up on Pokemon being at the level of other IPs.
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u/lattjeful Sep 08 '26
Really? I think it looks fine. Nothing mindblowing, but fine. Pokemon has never been the best looking game on any system. Look at how the GBA games look VS stuff like Golden Sun, the DS games VS Okamiden and Metroid Prime Hunters, etc. Obviously their Switch output was subpar visually, but Winds/Waves looks fairly competent.
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u/cochese25 Sep 09 '26
W&W looks good to me. Certainly a huge step up from whatever they pushed with S&V.
Though, S&V does have it's moments where it looks really good for its time. Like when you're in a city. As soon as you leave the city though, it's just bland.3
u/Chedder_456 Sep 09 '26
I mean why even say “fuck the haters”? I didn’t even know folks had issues until I logged on to this godforsaken website.
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u/hoginlly Sep 08 '26
My husband and I still have the original n64. I haven't been this excited for a game in a while!
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u/frame Sep 08 '26
I still have it too somewhere in a box in my garage along with the n64, GameCube, ps1, ps2, Dreamcast, and a broken PS3 loll
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u/MomentOfZehn Sep 08 '26
I'm with you. Even my 9 year old came home and was super excited to watch the trailer. We're getting that day one. OoT is my all time fave.
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u/DissociatedAuthor Sep 08 '26
Damn man, the emotion I get seeing this. I knew the game was being remade but hadn't seen anything about it at all until today and I'm utterly blown away.
More monies I need to spend now lol
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u/Beginning_Purple_579 Sep 08 '26
Well they only showed this LITERALLY TODAY so you couldnr have seen anythibg before anyway
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u/GooseDaPlaymaker Sep 08 '26
I’m not a big Nintendo Head, but I’ve gotta give credit where credit is due. Well done, Nintendo…🫡
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u/raptroszx Sep 08 '26
People in these comments complaining about ff7... wtf it's a great looking game
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u/Iggy_Slayer Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
and it's the most ambitious remake ever done too. Naturally people don't want ambition though, they just want to experience the same shit all the time. Give me the same hyrule field that takes 20 seconds to run from one end to the other and has nothing in it!
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u/complexiblebarracuda Sep 08 '26
I just wnat to be 8 years old again with no troubles on summer vacation
but the remake is good too
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u/_ShrugDealer_ Sep 08 '26
Biblically accurate gamer: many-eyed, many-winged, amorphous body on level 19,629 of Candy Crush
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u/MyNewRedditAct_ Sep 08 '26
Isn't this supposed to be basically a 1:1 remake? How exactly is that ambitious and not "the same shit" as you so eloquently put it?
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u/Iggy_Slayer Sep 08 '26
I'm saying the ff7 remakes are the most ambitious, not this. This is the safest most boring kidn of remake you can do.
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u/issanm Sep 08 '26
Yea I'm going to be very disappointed if there's no new content and it's just oot but good graphics at full price
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u/According-Paper4641 Sep 08 '26
They literally said there is new content in the direct. They didn't say how much, but they said there's going to be new quests and stuff in castle town. That's a direct acknowledgement that they've added stuff.
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u/whynotthepostman Sep 08 '26
Yes I was hoping it would be like a remake. This is more of what I would consider a remaster. An incredibly well done remaster but a remaster nonetheless.
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u/Rory_McShackleford Sep 08 '26
Running around in the slums collecting widgets and defeating rats for 5 hours is not ambitious. Not sorry, your opinion is stupid.
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u/Iggy_Slayer Sep 08 '26
It's always grating when an obvious stupid person calls other people stupid. Go get an education and come back later.
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u/SteelpointPigeon Sep 08 '26
I haven’t played OOT since the N64 era. What’s funny is that, in my memory, the original looked almost exactly like the remake.
I think that’s why so many of us have a preference for retro graphics. It’s amazing the details that our imaginations can inject when given only rough input.
DLSS 5 could never.
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u/Truvoker Sep 08 '26
I’m so happy they kept the stylised characters instead of going for “diarrhealism”
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u/MomentOfZehn Sep 08 '26
Yes! I saw the people in Hyrule Castle Town and loved how they kept the flat, odd shapes.
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u/sp33dzer0 Sep 08 '26
I wish it was a little more cartoony. I think that Zelda games look better when the greens look more green, the water is more "crayon blue", and everything feels a little surreal.
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u/Fun_Needleworker_284 Sep 08 '26
Personally I think what I’ve seen gives me an “uncanny valley” vibe. The hyper-realistic fidelity and super detailed textures mixed with the cartoony designs and proportions is an off putting mix to me.
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u/Truvoker Sep 09 '26
Yeah I agree with you but I also think that it kinda fits considering how creepy the original game was in some places
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u/hasdable Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
I absolutely love the look. However the original N64 graphics had slightly desaturated colours -- while having a cartoonish "fairy tale" style at the same time -- that gave the game so much atmosphere. The modern remakes miss that a bit. Not a complaint, I still think it looks gorgeous and would absolutely buy if I had a Switch 2.
Edit: looking back at the footage, the original game looks more saturated than the remake LMAO. Except for maybe Castle-Town. So I retract my comment, but leave it there.
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u/forever_downstream Sep 08 '26
You're not wrong though in a way. There's a quality the original had that I don't feel as much on this one. I don't know. Looks great technically but I also think there's something mysterious about the old game that gets lost with the remakes.
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u/Impressive_Fennel266 Sep 08 '26
I think the dullness of poor graphics comparably brings it a certain character when compared to modern graphics that "look" better. I think of, for example, Mario 64. You could remake that game just like this and it would look amazing, but it wouldn't look like a cartoon. OOT64 looks like a cartoon. OOTS2 looks like a modern AAA game with some cartoony characters.
Runescape went through the same sort of transition. They have a modern version and Old School. The modern version looks amazing, but it doesnt FEEL the same
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u/malyszkush Sep 08 '26
Not me looking up Switch 2 prices for this
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u/Working_Spite_849 Sep 08 '26
This is awesome. I’ve never played a Zelda game before so might have to pick up a switch for this. It looks really awesome.
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u/theDarkBriar Sep 08 '26
Do yourself a favor and play this one. There's a reason it's considered one of the best games ever made.
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u/Zeekeboy Sep 08 '26
Why is the top how I remember the game though?
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u/VictoriousTree Sep 08 '26
Stuff really did look way better back then cause that’s all we had and our imagination filled in the rest.
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u/gormmlord Sep 08 '26
Do we think a MM remake is a sure thing? Or is this it?
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u/Any-Platypus-9486 Sep 08 '26
100% this remake exist cause they can make two game for one
since a Majora Mask remake will use all the assets of Ocarina
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u/manny_the_mage Sep 08 '26
I mean when they remade OoT for the 3DS the MM remake followed not too long after
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u/samanime Sep 08 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/pV0lVLeA0JXjBiO5Cp
Seriously, the remake is how I see Ocarina in my memory.
This is definitely exciting. I'm looking forward to it.
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u/Hahndizzle Sep 08 '26
I'm confused? This is seemingly portrayed as a "bad" thing? My only complaint is that I don't have a console to play it on. Looks fun! I would love to revisit this world after so many decades.
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u/Snoo_66686 Sep 08 '26
The world looks great, the character models for some reason style have this old polygon style, it looks fun for nostalgia sake but i wouldnt say it looks good as far as remake go
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u/PenguinsArmy2 Sep 08 '26
Damn the way I say games when I was younger, The remaster is how I remember it in my head already.
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u/Fogmoz Sep 08 '26
It looks great and I’m genuinely happy for people getting to experience it for the first time, but I can’t look at it without wishing we were getting a NEW game in this style.
All this time and all these resources just to release what is effectively a heavily modded version of something we already had access to. What makes it worse is how much TotK felt like BotW 1.5, and EoW felt like a spin-off. It’s been so long since we had a proper Zelda game…
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u/Plastic_Carpenter930 Sep 09 '26
I don't mind both. I think both is good. These things usually aren't zero sum. Not every ounce of effort put into this could have been translated to a new game, and some of what they try here may go to a new game, just like they did with awakening followed by echoes of wisdom.
Plus this sort of thing has value to enough people, personally i love it. It's not unlike... When you want to go on vacation sometimes you go back to places you've already been but really enjoyed being at. This is like that. I enjoy going to somewhere new, but I also enjoy revisiting somewhere I've been before and seeing it again.
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u/hibikir_40k Sep 09 '26
A new game takes a ton of work on design, if it's not going to play exactly the same. You don't need the entire team working on that. So while a small team designs the new game, you throw a cheaper game that needs no concept and mosly art, like this one, at the studio. Nintendo has done this for a while, making little games while they prep for big games. But instead of a weird little yoshi thing, or ARMS, they throw a remake at us to pass the time. There was no way in hell they' have given us a fully new zelda in 2026, or even 2027, keeping typical Nintendo polish and a new concept.
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u/robbiethedarling Sep 08 '26
This is absolutely fucking insane to see side by side. The remake is how the OG looked to me when I was 7
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u/Several-Figure-9777 Sep 08 '26
Guys stop showing this. I don't want to see a sneak peek. I want to experience it for myself.
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u/Obvious_Barracuda960 Sep 08 '26
I know why they're remaking it (money) but I don't get this habit of remaking games that still play perfectly well. Not to mention the new artstyle just looks utterly soulless
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u/Disastrous_Lab_8873 Sep 09 '26
I agree with this sentiment. But I do think this is one of the games where a remake is warranted. Going back to the original today is extremely rough. I don't think it has aged gracefully at all.
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u/RDDT_ADMNS_R_BOTS Sep 08 '26
Is the remake using Unreal Engine? Genuine question.
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u/LooseLeaf74 Sep 08 '26
Could’ve went a little easier on the fog but looks good. 👍
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u/Critardo Sep 08 '26
Is the scale of it supposed to be identical?
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u/eccentricbananaman Sep 08 '26
Looks fairly one to one in terms of scale to me, just with significantly more details.
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u/lattjeful Sep 08 '26
From what I can tell rewatching the footage, it's super faithful but not necessarily identical. Layouts/placement of buildings are largely similar but they’ve toyed around with changes to elevation, scope/scale, and geometry to make them look and feel fresh. Sorta the same approach RE4 Remake took to its level design. They've done a great job at hiding the N64 roots of the game imo. I was worried it'd be a bit uncanny seeing modern visuals and the original level design, but they've put in a shit ton of work.
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u/Cultural_Sir2245 Sep 08 '26
There won't be a Morshu? Why does Nintendo ignore him? If Morshu isn't in the game, I'm not buying it.
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u/claudekennilol Sep 08 '26
I don't see a difference. The top is exactly what it looked like when i was younger.
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u/Fun_Reply5366 Sep 08 '26
The remake is how I remember it to be when I played it all those years ago
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u/djsnoopmike Sep 08 '26
Holy Rose tinted glasses, I thought it always looked like this
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u/BrokenLetters Sep 08 '26
Yeah, when I watched it earlier the cut to the original was jarring. In my memories, it looks like the new version!
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u/YoungCubSaysWoof Sep 08 '26
As someone who played the original at 12 years old, seeing the two dancers in Hyrule Square brought such a huge smile to my face. 🥹
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 Sep 11 '26
The 1990s and early 00s were saw an explosion of technology for gamers the likes of which we will probably never see again.
I don't think people who weren't there can understand just how amazed we were by these early 3d titles. Because I can barely understand it myself when I try to play them on original hardware sometimes.
Thankful for the remake even if I'm not really interested in playing that game again, mainly because it was a piece of gaming history that deserved to be played on more modern hardware.
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u/Beautiful_Garage7797 Sep 08 '26
OOT is really not served well by high graphical fidelity. It makes the exaggerated proportions and cartoony character designs look deeply uncanny. Not even considering that it looks like everything got covered in oil. I like the castle town change i suppose.
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u/slomo525 Sep 08 '26
I hate the townsfolk. They tried to keep the same stylized designs, but it looks uncanny af next to hyperrealistic Link.
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u/MintyScarf Sep 08 '26
It's crazy seeing the comparison. The childhood version of me imagined alot of the textures of the remake without even needing it lol but it's so amusing to see how wrong my brain was
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u/AcceptableSimulacrum Sep 08 '26
I feel like they went a bit overboard with the lighting. Just needs to be reduced a bit.
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u/fuzzy3158 Sep 09 '26
Why do we need to play the same game over and over again? Can't they use this admittedly spectacular graphic engine and make a new game? Or at least new dungeons? Honestly it's beautiful but I'm not buying it for the third time (fourth if you count the Wind Waker bonus disc)
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u/catsvanbag Sep 09 '26
I get that but as someone who isn’t a fan of the newer Zelda formula I am def gonna enjoy this and hopefully they do the same thing for MM. I’m very much nostalgia blinded but I miss the linear games vs open world
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u/fuzzy3158 Sep 09 '26
I also prefer this formula over the BotW Formula, but I already memorized these games. I have absolutely zero challenge in doing these again. I like solving puzzles, I'd simply prefer a few new ones.
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u/frogOnABoletus Sep 09 '26
Shareholders don't care about the passion behind creating games. They know that ocarina of time sells, they know that shiny graphics sell. They don't know the value of a new game with a new vision made by passionate developers. There's no financial safety in that. The only type of value they know is money.
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u/Herb-Alpert Sep 09 '26
Games take more and more time to make, and it's more convenient and Quick to outsource a remake. A remake spares you the r&d about gameplay, world design, etc.
With Switch they had wii U ports to beef up the release schedule. This time they seem to use remakes (starfox and ocarina).
A totally new zelda game will probably take more than 5 years. I can't see it before 2028, and that would probably be early.
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Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 09 '26
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u/matehaveIgotquestion Sep 09 '26
Yeah maybe cause I just really couldn't give less of a shit when it comes to graphics this is just so......visually noisy
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u/Derelicticu Sep 09 '26
I had that immediate thought when Link runs into the Deku tree's area. It was just a grassy field, but in the remake version it's just... doing too much.
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u/VilifiedPhoenix Sep 09 '26
It does give off the aura of those "zelda in Unreal" videos from the 2010s
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u/Vaestus3672 Sep 08 '26
Is this really just my complete lack of nostalgia glasses as someone who didn't play the original or what?
Because real talk this looks kind of insanely uncanny, and I just straight up don't like it. Yeah it's a wild upgrade in terms of sheer fidelity, and older games like this getting remakes is amazing news, but dude it's honestly kind of uncomfortable to look at.
It gives me the same sort of vibes that DLSS5 does, where it's like "yeah sure the fidelity is amazing and all but it's just doesn't look right"
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u/Altruistic-Match6623 Sep 08 '26
Ocarina Of Time just has a really culty fanbase, so the remake was going to be praised no matter what. This isn't just some video game here this is THE BESTEST GAME EVER MADE AND NOW ITS MORE BESTEST BECAUSE GRAPHICS BIGGER.
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u/b1sh0p Sep 08 '26
One of the greatest games ever brought into the modern era. Finally a reason to own a Switch 2.
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u/OSTBear Sep 09 '26
I mean... Is it? A reason, I mean? No denying Ocarina of Time is a touchstone in the anals of gaming mythos. It absolutely informed the future of an entire genre...
But I already played it. At least a dozen times. And if I gotta play it again I gotta pay a new game price plus another $680 for the console.
This seems more like a reason to avoid it. I want a console with new games, not a nostalgia machine.
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u/Raivix Sep 09 '26
It's not like this is even the only remake or remaster of the game either. The 3DS release wasn't even that long ago either and that graphical update feels a lot more in line with the original vibe the game tried to create IMO.
Regardless, I don't see how it would ever make sense to buy a Switch 2 just for a remake of any game.
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u/PanthalassaRo Sep 08 '26
The slash effects are over the top IMO.
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u/DeadlyKitten115 Sep 08 '26
Agreed, something more like Twilight Princess or even a little more subdued than that would suit the game better.
But honestly I’m surprised there’s so few thing I dislike or that could be improved.
A remake is never going to satisfy everyone, but this looks mostly great to me.
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u/LuciaLovesEthereals Sep 09 '26
I'm glad OoT looks to have gotten the remake it deserves, but I don't think I'll ever be convinced to buy a Nintendo console again. Oh well. Looks great tho.
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u/Outrageous_Maize9017 Sep 08 '26
lets just max out the realism slider and not have any style anymore. they had to make games with so much choice bc of the limitations, and they were better for it
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u/matteblatte Sep 08 '26
I hate remakes, remasters re-everything. I hate studios milking the customers with rehashed garbage and idiot studios too afraid to make something new... but this ocarina remastered -its fucking the best thing I've ever seen. origato Nintendo
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u/Panic_at_the_Costcoo Sep 08 '26
Honestly that’s what I saw in my head when I played that game for the first time lol.
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u/TheLunarVaux Sep 08 '26
Honestly seeing them side by side makes me appreciate how “faithful” the art direction actually is. Like even down to the color palette I feel like they nailed it. Feels even more authentic than the 3DS remake in some ways.
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u/ryan8954 Sep 08 '26
Genuine question, are you actually able to learn to play the Ocarina watching link play? In the gameplay it showed links fingers moving appropriately...
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u/Boorthammer Sep 08 '26
I want my brain to this register this as Ocarina, but it can’t. I’m too old.
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u/Toy-Boat-Toy-Boat Sep 08 '26
Once you get the remake, will you ever still go back and play the original?
I’ve got so much nostalgia tied to the OG that I’d probably play the remake once, but still replay the OG more often.
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u/EmVRiaves Sep 08 '26
Never played zelda but i watched tons of speedruns. Ocarina of time are some of my favorites, i hope they have the some of same tech or maybe something special for speedrunners.
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u/awesomeusernam3 Sep 08 '26
I remember walking through the city outside the castle in the game and being disappointed that it was just a cramped circle thing. Especially near the end.
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u/Banmers Sep 08 '26
I’m glad they were labelled because it’s hard to see the difference.