Topic: Modern Remake of Ocarina of Time (à la FF VII Remake)

Hey folks!

I was inspired to create this thread by this video from the obsessive gamer:

The idea is for Nintendo to do a modern remake of Ocarina of Time, much the same way as the remake of Final Fantasy VII. So it's more like a modern reimagining of OTT with bigger environments, new mechanics and extended gameplay, dungeons, story, etc.

Think of it: it's one of the most important video games of all time and absolutely iconic. It still has the highest score on Metacritic. It was instrumental in defining modern 3D Zelda and shaped the Zelda timeline by splitting it into three. If any game deserves such a modern remake, it's OTT! In a modern remake they could (and should!) also elaborate more on why the timeline split, and maybe show how the different timelines developed following the events of OOT.

So, what do you guys think? Would you want to see a modern remake of OOT? What features should it have? How should such a remake be done? Maybe if we are vocal enough, Nintendo would actually do such a remake. Just like with Paper Mario: A Thousand Year Door.

And btw, I can totally recommend the video by the obsessive gamer that I linked above.

No, if Nintendo wants to remake Ocarina they should fix the problems with the current game, rather than make a new game that shares a name with Ocarina.

I wouldn't be opposed to it as I think remakes that are essentially full reimaginings of the original game (like FF7 and the Resi remakes) are an interesting idea, but we've already had a standard OoT remake and I'd probably rather leave OoT as its own thing and have new Zelda games be completely new instead.

@blindsquarel
Why not do both: Make a new game AND fix the old problems?

@Dogorilla
But it would essentially be a new game (completely reimagined) and the old Ocarina would still be there as its own thing. Many fans praise the FF7 and Resi remakes for being different enough so that the original games are still replayable. I'm just saying that from all the games Nintendo has OoT is the best candidate for such a remake.

@dionysos283
Because at that point I’d rather they just make a new original game instead of making a new game loosely based Ocarina of Time. Making it an entirely new game defeats the point of a remake.

@blindsquarel
So you didn't like the FF7 and RE remakes then? They were highly praised by gamers and critics alike.

@dionysos283
I’ve never played them, Final Fantasy isn’t really my thing.

Don’t get me wrong, if Ocarina got the same remake treatment as FF7 I wouldn’t be upset or anything. I’d still play it and probably have a lot of fun. But my ideal scenario is a that Ocarina gets a remake along the lines of Links Awakening where the graphics are redone and new side quests are added. And then we get a new game in the series soon after.

@dionysos283 I sort of feel that if it's essentially a new game anyway then they might as well actually make a new game instead of a semi-remake. But as I say, I wouldn't be opposed to it if it was done well, and it could be interesting to revisit OoT's Hyrule in a new way.

I have been curious about what other games could get the FFVII remake treatment, partially I find it to be much more interesting than most remakes that are just the same game but with better graphics and the like. And Ocarina of Time is always the first game that comes to mind, because its the most immediate comparable game on the other system. It has that level of era defining, expanding what you can imagine a 3D game can be, type of epic classic game, if in different ways. Especially when most other comparably popular games are mascot platformers.

But while I'd be curious, I think OOT might just be too standard a Zelda game to be my pick for a remake. FFVII is entirely its own thing and in its own world, even with how similar parts of it are to other Final Fantasies, and the gameplay changes and story expansions inherently mean more than trying to, I dunno, make OOT BOTW. OOT just feels like the most standard Zelda game possible, especially since future Zeldas (among other games) took so much from it (and LTTP). Modernized OOT in a FFVIIR type of way would likely be just...another Zelda game except slightly more intentionally familiar in some ways.

I think I'd prefer them to go that direction with Majora's Mask or Wind Waker instead, which are far more distinct and whose main gimmick would be fascinating to see pulled off in a modern game. I've wanted a real Wind Waker sequel since Phantom Hourglass failed to live up to that idea, and with the scope of BOTW, I'd be even more interested in that. Imagining the scope of Assassin's Creed IV but Zelda could be amazing.

@kkslider5552000
I get your point of OoT being "too standard Zelda". But a remake could, for example, show us how Zelda became Sheik. As child Link they could implement parts where you play as young Zelda being trained by Impa. And in the 7 years time gap between child Link and adult Link you only play as Zelda becoming Shiek. That would be awesome!

This has been my most wanted game for years.

I think the problem with that is it implies Nintendo would want to focus on and expand a story in one of their video games. I know they wouldn't, because they literally marketed Age of Calamity as just that and still didn't do anything especially worthwhile with it.

I would definitely like to see Nintendo do some FFVII-esque remakes, and OoT seems like a good choice for that. It's extremely acclaimed and well known, but doesn't really have much room to grow unless it overhauls some things.

Some good ideas in the video provided, I'd definitely love an OoT remake like that. Especially agreed with them adding the Light Temple, making Castle Town feel like a proper, expansive town rather than a village with a flat static background, and actually allowing you to explore the desert. Shrines would also be a fun addition too.

Some other things I would add to his ideas though:
-Change up how you get the titular Ocarina of Time. It really felt anticlimactic, rushed, and nonsensical the way Zelda just throws it to you as she's escaping from Ganondorf and he just doesn't notice. It would be better if this felt like a proper quest. Maybe she or Impa gives you a message on how to find it, maybe you go back to Zelda's courtyard and discover a secret passage (which could serve as a 4th child dungeon or mini dungeon which could better help smooth out the difficulty spike between the child and adult dungeons). Just... something that doesn't feel like they're rushing you towards future Hyrule as soon as you return, lengthening that part of the game into a proper quest would really give it the tension and drama it needs.
-Better late game items. And especially better use of late game items for some of the Heart Pieces and other collectibles. Feels like just about every Adult dungeon item not named the Hookshot and Fairy Bow is near useless because you get it, use it maybe a few times in the dungeon, and then never really use it again because there are little to no puzzles/obstacles that really utilize them.
-Perhaps Phantom Ganon battle in Temple of Time as a child instead of Forest Temple, with a new boss in the Forest Temple? It would fit better with the story if you actually had to battle Ganon before going to the future, that sets the battle up to better fool new players into believing the child storyline is the end of the game with a pseudo "final boss" and then LOL NOPE PLOT TWIST YOU'RE ONLY HALFWAY DONE, ENJOY THE FUTURE.
-Change the environment of future Hyrule to feel more threatening and apocalyptic, similar to the Dark World of ALttP. For as threatening as Ganon's takeover of Hyrule seems, you sure don't see much of his effects on the kingdom. Maybe Hyrule Field feels more dark/barren (with Lon Lon Ranch being an exception after Ingo curried favor with Ganon). Maybe Death Mountain is more active before you beat Volvagia and lava is flowing down the mountain. There's a few sections here and there like Castle Town, Zora's Domain, and Kokiri Village before beating Phantom Ganon where you can see it but it's not consistent throughout the entirety of the adult storyline.
-Forget waiting until his postgame quest, Zora's Domain should unfreeze as soon as you're done with the Water Temple. Your new Longshot could then help you get anywhere you previously needed the ice to reach, such as the Ice Cavern.
-Provide some kind of shortcut in the Spirit Temple for changing between kid and adult. Having to warp back to the Temple of Time, change timelines, then warp back to the Spirit Temple is really tedious. Maybe some kind of mechanic in the Spirit Temple that instantly changes timelines (like maybe some mechanism that you play the Song of Time near and it instantly transports you)? They could really do some fun designs and puzzles with a mechanic like that, and it would be pretty fitting for the penultimate dungeon to have a mechanic that incorporates both the child and adult mechanics.
-Put the Golden Gauntlets somewhere else please. Having to enter Ganon's Castle and leave midway to 100% the game is really annoying, the final dungeon shouldn't have a dungeon item.

Twilight Princess basically was a "modern remake" of Ocarina of Time in this kind of way. I don't think the game needs another. The story isn't anything special, all of the dungeons and items have been one up-ed multiple times. We certainly don't need the Zelda equivalent of watching how Boba Fett got his special chest plate or whatever.

The series should just go forwards. Probably with a smaller map and a greater focus than ToTK (maybe even a little more linear - although I personally love the open world).

That said I think the idea that @kkslider5552000 said earlier - Phantom Hourglass completely remade with just the very core story elements, name and idea that it's a real sequel to Wind Waker - that would be very interesting.

@StuTwo Yeah I strongly agree that Twilight Princess might as well be an Ocarina of Time remake. It was pretty blatantly made to lean more in an OOT-specific direction (or to be exact, what people who thought OOT was really cool in 1998 wanted) than any other Zelda game. Which is not a bad thing, I love the game, but if someone told me it started as a literal OOT remake, I'd believe them.

I also agree that while Nintendo's disinterest in story can be frustrating, overshowing and overexplaining every drop of lore would also be lame and bad. Zelda's done...just enough of that to not be annoying at points (Link's outfit has had multiple different origin stories, somehow), but I wouldn't want them to scrape every detail of lore and potential backstory purely for the sake of doing it.

Though I don't think its even necessary to replace Phantom Hourglass, you could just make a third game with that same Link traveling the ocean. (though granted, I also don't think it matters if said game acknowledges PH happened or not)

An Ocarina of time Remake for Nintendo Switch by Grezzo would be a fantastic looking game to hit the platform. 👀

I think there's a big question, will they remake any game (especially an all time classic) that appears on NSO? Does it detract from the value of NSO?

If Nintendo thinks it detracts value (I'm not sure either way) then I don't think they'll do it.

I've said it on some other threads, right now I think the best chance for Zelda remakes are WindWaker and Twilight Princess. If I were Nintendo I would take the same approach as they did with Metroid Prime Remaster (remaking every graphical element) but optimised for Switch 2, so if the rumours are true that would be "DLSS 4K". I would use them to fill the gap to the next new 3D Zelda game in 5-7 years.

I think remakes of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks depends upon if Nintendo want to try and put DS games on NSO. I think there's more chance of that than Gamecube, but could they make it work with the dual screen and touch controls? I'm not sure and given the effort, would they prefer to do proper remakes rather than some sort of basic port to NSO?

It would be interesting and just like with FFVII, you can still play the original on modern hardware (hopefully the FFVII remake trilogy does come to Switch 2) but I don't think Nintendo would do one for OoT. Not because of the original on NSO but rather story changes in Nintendo remakes aren't as drastic, the closest is probably Shadows of Valentia.

At this point, using WWHD/TPHD to fill in a gap for the current Switch (Switch is confirmed to still be supported through March 2025) meanwhile Switch 2 gets some spinoffs and the revival of 2D Zelda in the meantime while people wait for BotW 3 feels like the most likely outcome.

@Grumblevolcano It wouldn't be a shock of WWHD and TPHD were released on the Switch, but I think 2029 is the earliest we can expect a new 3D Zelda, so having those two games + 1 new 2D game + maybe a port of A Link Between Worlds gives you 4 years worth of Zelda content for Switch 2.

I think Nintendo may see this (Switch 2 exclusives) as more important given the Switch has 4 Zelda games plus everything on NSO - they'll want to stack up the reasons for people to buy the Switch 2. Not completely abandoning the Switch will be a bit of a balancing act.

@MarioBrickLayer There are other ways to fill in the gaps like for example there were a few spinoffs released in the Switch era to fill in gaps:

• 2018 - Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition
• 2019 - Cadence of Hyrule
• 2020 - Age of Calamity

Alternatively, we don't know how Nintendo's going to approach upgrades with Switch 2. Will it be free like with Xbox 1st party games or paid like PS 1st party games? If the latter, stuff like BotW Remastered and TotK Remastered could easily fill in gaps.

Both outcomes would allow Nintendo to use WWHD/TPHD to pad out the end of the Switch's lifespan seeing as after SMB Wonder the only new games are probably Princess Peach Showtime and Metroid Prime 4 with ports/remasters/remakes filling in gaps.