Before launch, I didn't think it would be possible for anyone to spoil Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 for me.

I've played through the N64 original more times than I care to admit, and know it better than just about any other game out there. That said, if someone had told me about the Master Sword moment in the remake before I got to it, I would have been really upset.

And so, let's consider this a formal warning. If you haven't made it to the moment when Link first pulls the Master Sword from its Temple of Time pedestal in the Switch 2 remake yet, then stop reading right now and only return once you have seen it for yourself. It is spectacular, but it's something that warrants going in completely blind to really hit home. You have been warned.

You know what, I'm even going to stick a picture of Darunia below, just so that the coming paragraphs aren't spoiledFair does by an over-zealous scroll. This is your last chance to turn back!

Okay, all clear? Let's talk about how incredible the new Master Sword cutscene is.

This moment in the original is one of my foundational gaming memories. The score, the blue lighting, the threat of Ganondorf's giant looming face. It's all just chef's kiss levels of fantastic.

Knowing full well that my partner didn't know the mid-game twist — and desperate to show her the first walk out of the Temple of Time and the source of so much childhood trauma — I called her in and promised her a slice of "peak gaming". I thought we had seen almost all of its new form in the remake trailers.

But I was very wrong. Even in a game as well-known a quantity as this, Nintendo still had a surprise up its sleeve.

And so, we sat together as Link first pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal. I had a little cry as he swung the sword around, and I was ready to move straight to the Chamber of Sages lore dump. What I didn't expect was a full-blown cinematic from the gates of the Sacred Realm, some bonus Ganondorf content, and an image so threatening that it definitely would have given me nightmares for weeks had it been in the original.

I'm talking about rocky Link, petrified with the Master Sword in hand as Ganondorf taunts him while sauntering his way to the Triforce.

It follows the already stunning image of Link opening the door to the Sacred Realm itself, awash with dreamy lighting and colouring, making the pivot to dread all the more impactful. I'm a particular fan of the Ganondorf motif sting right as Link turns to stone. It's all so chilling!

I was seeing one of my most-replayed games from a new perspective.

What a fantastic surprise, as well. I've loved all of the little extra cutscenes in the remake and the bonus context they provide (a particular shoutout to the Kokiri watching the Great Deku Tree's leaves fall), but this one felt like the first moment that I was seeing one of my most-replayed games from a new perspective. My imagination had filled in Ganondorf's menace and Link's helplessness in the N64 original, but never quite like this.

It was made all the more special to be watching it with someone who had no idea what was coming next. While I gasped and cried at seeing images that I had only ever imagined, she did the same, witnessing all the drama for the first time. Honestly, there's nothing quite like seeing someone's jaw drop at their first realisation of the time jump.

Such a special moment is carried into its follow-up scene. After returning to the Temple of Time and meeting Sheik, you walk into Hyrule as you now find it, destroyed and crumbling at the hands of Ganondorf.

While there's something innately unsettling about the N64's handling of this moment (the silence of the Temple courtyard contrasted with the first scream of a ReDead is wonderful), the remaster dedicates another short cutscene to highlighting everything that's gone wrong.

Panning over the decimated rooftops to Ganon's Castle in the distance, it really showcases just how broken the world has become in Link's seven years away. There's an argument to be made that everything is more sinister if you're forced to imagine it (look at how scary Jaws is before you see the shark), but man, what a feeling it is to finally see it realised after decades of keeping it in my head.

The remake isn't something that I want to rush, so I'm making sure that I go slow. I still have some of my favourite temples, bosses and puzzles to come, but if this is how it handles my favourite moment in the game (maybe in all of gaming), then I'm going to need to buy another box of tissues.

What do you make of the new Master Sword moment in Ocarina of Time? Let us know in the comments.