Nintendo offered a substantial new look at The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake during the Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, showing roughly 20 minutes of gameplay from the updated version of the N64 classic.
Producer Eiji Aonuma described the project as largely faithful to the original game, now reworked for Switch 2 with modern controls and a strong emphasis on detail. Based on the footage shown, the remake appears to remain closely tied to the structure and spirit of its source material, rather than presenting itself as a radical reinvention.
Even so, the Direct footage also revealed that Nintendo has made a number of visible adjustments. A close review of the gameplay presentation showed changes both broad and small, with differences ranging from the remake’s art style to menu updates and user-interface tweaks.
The biggest takeaway is that Nintendo seems to be positioning the new Ocarina of Time as a careful modernization: recognizable as the N64-era adventure, but rebuilt with Switch 2 presentation standards and control expectations in mind. The footage suggests a remake focused on refinement, polish and accessibility while preserving the foundation of the original.
Among the observed changes are larger presentation differences, including the updated visual style, as well as smaller gameplay-adjacent revisions visible in menus and UI elements. Those details point to a project that is not simply bringing the original forward unchanged, even if Aonuma’s comments frame it as a faithful remake.
For now, the confirmed picture is clear: Nintendo used the Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct to showcase about 20 minutes of the Ocarina of Time remake, identify it as a Switch 2 project, and underline its balance of classic design, modern controls and detail-focused updates.