The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time News
May2023
Soapbox Zelda: TOTK's Shrines Are Brilliant At Making An Idiot Feel Like A Genius
I did it, mum!
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Ollie wants to share his love for Tears of the Kingdom's shrines and the newfound freedom they afford players... I'm really not a very clever man. Okay no, that's not entirely true;...
News Expect More Open-World Zelda Games Going Forwards, Suggests Eiji Aonuma
Count us in!
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched back in 2017, it definitely seemed like a turning point for the franchise; we all felt it, right? 3D Zelda games have generally always felt quite similar to one another in terms of structure ever since Ocarina of Time. Titles like The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword bent and stretched...
UK Charts Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Is The Biggest Boxed Launch Of 2023
So far, of course..!
Happy Monday! The latest boxed charts are in for the UK and, to no one's surprise, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom comfortably takes the top spot. According to Chris Dring from GamesIndustry.biz, the latest Zelda entry from Nintendo is the biggest boxed launch of 2023 so far, beating out Hogwarts Legacy by 54%. It...
April2023
Talking Point What Is A 'Traditional' Zelda Game, Anyway?
And does Breath of the Wild fit the mould?
Despite the overwhelmingly positive reception to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when it launched back in 2017, there are undoubtedly those who yearn for a return to what they deem to be a more “traditional” Zelda experience. With its open world, shrines, weapon degradation, and ‘rune’...
Guide Are Ganondorf And Ganon The Same Person? - Zelda Villains Explained
The man with Demise's touch
If you have ever played a Zelda game before (and we assume that you have since you've found yourself here), it is likely that you have come across Ganon. The big evil pig man has been a mainstay of the series ever since he was first introduced in The Legend of Zelda back on the NES. Even when it looks like there is...
Feature Which Zelda Game Has The Best Ganondorf? Every Design Ranked By You
From Ganondorf to Ganondoof
We've all had the weekend to sit and stew over the final pre-launch trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (meaning, watching it another 100+ times) and it is fair to say that we are pretty jazzed for this game now. We're excited to see the changes made to Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, Link's new abilities,...
Poll Which Is The Best Ganondorf?
Let's grade the gorgeous Gerudo
Let's talk about Ganondorf. Yes, that final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom really was something, but what was the internet's biggest talking point once it was out in the open? Ganondorf got swole. Now that we know of Ganondorf's appeara
Video We're Playing More Zelda: Ocarina Of Time In Our YouTube Series 'First Bytes'
The adventure continues
We are back for another entry in the 'First Bytes' series over on our YouTube channel which sees the wonderful Felix playing through a collection of classic games for the first time. This week, Felix is continuing his adventure through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This is the third livestream in the series and he...
Video We're Playing Zelda: Ocarina Of Time In Our New YouTube Series 'First Bytes'
Hey, watch!
We've got a couple of new things going on over on our lovely YouTube channel at the moment. And in one of our new series, Felix is tackling older games that he's never played before, yet among our community, are highly beloved. First Bytes has been kicking around as an idea for a while here at Nintendo Life because not everyone in the...
March2023
News Legendary Zelda Producer Eiji Aonuma Has Turned 60 This Week
Many happy returns!
If you're a fan of The Legend of Zelda, you know who Eiji Aonuma is. While Shigeru Miyamoto is credited as the franchise creator and has played a prominent role in its growth, Aonuma has arguably had an even more significant impact on the franchise, serving as a director on classics like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind...
February2023
Feature Hyrule Fields, Ranked - The Best Grassy Plains In The Zelda Franchise
Perfect for a picnic?
There's no greater feeling in a Legend of Zelda game than when you first step out onto Hyrule Field, is there? It's the moment when the games shake off the training wheels and let's you loose in the world of Hyrule, free to go in whichever direction you like. Where on earth do you start? What's that settlement over there? Oh...
News Lego Issues Copyright Strikes On Legend Of Zelda Deku Tree Set Videos
But what does this mean?
Various videos featuring the rumoured Legend of Zelda Deku Tree Lego set have been removed from YouTube. Lego has been issuing copyright strikes to a number of people who have spoken about the video on the video sharing platform, with Nintendo Prime sharing the notice they received. Fans have been begging for a Zelda-themed...
January2023
Random Zeldathon Runner Beats Ocarina Of Time Ganon By Throwing Ruto At Him
Fin-ish him
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is probably one of the most popular games for speedrunning. One of the many well-known tricks in the game is that Ruto, the Zora princess you need to rescue from inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly, has a hitbox if you throw her. As you can imagine, this can be used for many different things all the time...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 14th)
Game on
With the Christmas chocolates finally dwindling in number, we think it's fair to say that 2023 is well under way. And as the year kicks off, so too do we see the return of gaming news — nature is healing, people! This week at Nintendo Life, we have been welcoming in the new year with open arms, looking to the months ahead and talking...
Feature The 15 Best Zelda Bosses, Ranked
Mmm, Ganon
We must admit: Zelda rankings tend to look a little samey, perhaps with a few spicy changes based on the person. But you'll never find Breath of the Wild at the bottom, or Tri Force Heroes at the top, even if the person making that list is the world's most contrary list-maker. So, we've been mixing things up by celebrating the individual...
Soapbox After 10 Years I Finally Got A Wii U, Here’s What I Thought
The good, the bad, and the ugly
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, following up on his piece from a few weeks back, Jim delivers his verdict on the ten-year-old console and how it holds up in 2022 ... Picture the scene. The year...
Talking Point What Game Do You Replay Every Year?
New year, old game
We did it everyone! 2022 is finally behind us and 2023 stretches happily into the great beyond. This is to be a year full of promise, a year of hope, a year of enough Nintendo releases (with any luck) to squeeze out an almost literal cry from our bank accounts. But for the moment we're not thinking about the future, we're looking...
November2022
Random Unseen Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Proto Footage Found On Rare VHS Tape
Hey! Look! Listen!
We love a bit of unseen footage here at Nintendo Life - especially when Zelda is involved. The N64 games have often been goldmines for this, with original trailers winding up on VHS tapes years later and revealing a whole host of unseen goodness for some classic titles. One such example has recently been the case for a little...
October2022
Talking Point Which Scary Video Game Moments Gave You Nightmares As A Kid?
Mummy!
As one moves into adulthood, it's possible to look back and laugh at things that once terrified you. Sure, the adult world contains more than its fair share of horrors worth recoiling from, but at least we gamers can look back at the digital scares of our youth with a satisfied smile, knowing we've conquered our childish fears. Right? Well,...
Feature The Spookiest Levels In Non-Spooky Games
Melloween
Aside from costumes, big bowls of sweets and the impending fear that I'm A Celebrity will soon dominate TV again, if there is one thing that you can bank on over Halloween, it's lots, and lots of scary video games. The spooky season has an annoying habit of seeking out those of us — this writer included — who are not the best with...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 22nd)
Persona-fied rabbits
Wow. This week has been so full of news, we would be hesitant to add any more for fear of bursting. After long anticipating the releases of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Persona 5 Royal on the Switch, who would have thought that Bayonetta 3 drama would overshadow it all? Hey, welcome to the world of Nintendo! Aside from...
Random This Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Map In Halo Infinite Is Absolutely Brilliant
Master (Chief) Sword
Halo Infinite's Forge Mode leaked earlier this year ahead of its 8th November beta release date, and for months now, players have been expressing their creativity by creating a plethora of unusual maps in Microsoft's premier first-person shooter games. One popular map builder, Red Nomster, has created a map that may well lead to...
Random Zelda Texture Bug Explains Ocarina Of Time & Majora's Mask Deku Difference
A sticking point..?
If you've spent a good amount of time with the N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and its sequel The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, you may have become quite familiar with the visuals of each games and which assets were brought over from one title to the other. The keen-eyed among you may even notice some small...
September2022
Random Is Masahiro Sakurai Throwing Shade At Pokémon's Trees?
"Don't just make a tree and be done with it"
Over the past few weeks, veteran game developer Masahiro Sakurai has been posting videos to his YouTube channel 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games', detailing various aspects of game development and how aspiring creators can apply it to their own work (don't worry though, we won't be covering all of them...
August2022
Random The Sky In Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Is One Big Optical Illusion
What's in the box? Everything, it turns out
Back in the days of the N64, developers were still trying to figure out just how to wrap their heads around the world of 3D gaming, even Nintendo itself. With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, we were treated to visuals the likes of which had yet been seen, including the vast landscape of Hyrule Field,...
Random We've Been Waiting Over Half A Decade For A "New" Mainline Zelda Game
It's the "longest ever gap" between new entries
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an amazing game and we probably could keep playing it forever, but as you might recall, it's now been well over five years since this latest entry in the series was released (and next March will mark six). Yes, we're talking about brand new adventures here -...
July2022
Random Someone's Built A Zelda-Themed Deku Tree PC
Hey, look!
What's your dream PC build? The best specs, graphics, something that lights up with pretty rainbow colours? But surely it's going to be something minimalistic, right? Well, the latest project for gaming PC builder 1YardLoss was anything but minimalist, but it's certainly a Nintendo fan's dream — particular a Zelda fan. 1YardLoss was...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 16th)
A fairy finally came to you!
Well, it's felt like quite a hectic week here at Nintendo Life! The biggest news, of course, was the confirmation that Bayonetta 3 will finally be launching in October this year, along with the delightful surprise of a physical edition of the first game. To top it off, Platinum Games confirmed that you can
News Zelda: Ocarina Of Time PC Port Can Now Be Played On Mac OS and Wii U
If the Wii U is hacked, mind
The PC port for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has been out for a few months now, and modders have been doing some pretty crazy stuff with it, too. Now, it looks like the port can also be played on Mac OS and hacked Wii U consoles, opening it up to a much wider audience. As reported by
Random Witness The Star Trek DS9 Intro In Glorious 64-Bit, Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Style
It is not linear
A little while ago we covered the incredible work of @SpinaSanctuary and their Zelda 64-inspired, low-poly Star Trek creations. The last batch focused on the crew of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation, rendering them in brilliantly blocky 64-bit form with a variety of instruments — Data with his violin, Riker...
Watch This Insane "Triforce%" Speedrun Turns Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Into Breath Of The Wild
Breath of the Ocarina of Wild Time
SGDQ, or Summer Games Done Quick, is a speedrunning charity fundraising marathon that wrapped up last weekend with a total of over $3 million raised for Doctors Without Borders. It included a run of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, a tense relay race in Super Mario Maker 2, and an absolutely nuts...
June2022
Random Junji Ito Meets Zelda In These Renders Of Ocarina Of Time's Scariest Monsters
Warning: Body horror
There are two types of people in this world: Those who still have nightmares about Dead Hand and ReDeads, and those who have never played Ocarina of Time. For the former, which is probably all of you reading this, even just the words "Under The Well" and "Shadow Temple" might send shivers down your spine, and these...
May2022
News This N64 ROM Hack Turns Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Into A New Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Conquest!
The Star Fox series has not been given the best love from Nintendo over the years. With the popularity of Star Fox 64, fans were expecting a brand new 3D rail shooter on the N64's successor, the GameCube. Instead, Nintendo's then-collaborator Rare created something fans weren't expecting — Star Fox Adventures, a fully 3D...
Random MS Paint Artist Imagines "Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Team" Mashup
Legend
You might not have heard of Jim'll Paint It — but you've probably seen his work. His real name is James Murray, and he's an artist from Bristol whose chosen medium is... MS Paint. Yeah, the one from your school's creaky old Windows computer that you used to draw terrible squares with. If you think to yourself, "there's no way that someone...
News Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Is Finally Part Of The Video Game Hall Of Fame
Along with Ms. Pac-Man, DDR, and Civilization
A couple of months ago, we reported that one of the most influential video games of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, was up for a spot in The Strong Museum's World Video Game Hall of Fame. Quite rightly, many people couldn't understand why it wasn't already in there! Luckily, we don't need...
News Former Nintendo Of America Associate Producer Talks Crunch On Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
"You’re putting in some serious time to get it done"
Back in the late '90s, all eyes were on Nintendo and the development of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. After numerous delays, the game launched in November 1998 to rapturous applause and plaudits and is now widely considered one of the best video games ever made. But, with the delays and...
April2022
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #92 - The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
SNES classic goes head-to-head
Ahoy everyone, welcome back to another Box Art Brawl! We've got a great one for you this week, just in case the image and the title didn't quite give it away. Last week, we looked at Mario Golf (which is out now on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass!), pitting North America against Japan to determine which box...
Gallery Check Out These Stunningly Detailed Handmade Zelda Statues
Worth more than a silver rupee
Fan artists and creators are incredible. The dedication and time they put into making art related to their favourite media is honestly pretty inspiring, and there are some extremely talented people out there that make us a little bit jealous! Now, come on, if you're anything like us, when you first played Zelda:...
Video Zelda: Ocarina Of Time PC Mod Adds Bombs, Bombs, And More Bombs
KA-BOOM!
Just recently, we reported on some of the crazy things that modders are already doing in the Zelda: Ocarina of Time PC port. We've seen the likes of multiplying character models appearing in game, the ability to fight Shadow Link while fending off Ganondorf, and even the ability to spawn the chains that hold up Hyrule Town's gate at will -...
March2022
Video Modders Are Already Doing Absolutely Crazy Things In Zelda: Ocarina Of Time's PC Port
Unlimited possibilities
We've heard how there are already mods for the unofficial PC port of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and we've seen some in action. Now, we've got a much longer showcase - demonstrating what else can be done in this build of the game, courtesy of YouTube Channel Josh Busker. Essentially, the PC mod has broken free from the...
News The Zelda: Ocarina Of Time PC Port Is Finished And Out Now
The Lon Lon Milk is on us
Development has finally been completed on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time PC Port, and you can go and play with Link and ride around Hyrule Field on Epona right now because it's also out now! This port has only been made possible because of a fan project to reverse-engineer Ocarina of Time, where the code itself is...
News Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Could Be Inducted Into The Video Game Hall Of Fame
Um, how is it not already there?
You've heard it all before: "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the best thing since sliced wheat bread", "It revolutionised the video game industry", "It's the best video game of all time!" What hasn't been said about Ocarina of Time in the last 24 years? It's won all the accolades and acclaim it's possible to...
News There Are Already Mods For The Zelda: Ocarina Of Time PC Port
A minuet of mods
We've been covering the unofficial Ocarina of Time PC port for a little while now, and it's close to finished. So as we approach that time, naturally, leave it to people to come up with a whole bunch of mods. This project was only possible because the Zelda Reverse Engineering team decompiled the N64 classic last year. Harbour...
February2022
News Nintendo Appears To Have Improved Switch Online's N64 Emulation
Fog returns to Zelda, fixes to Paper Mario and more...
When Nintendo first launched its Expansion Pack tier for Switch Online, N64 emulation was accused of not matching the original experience. Since then, Nintendo has released some updates to improve certain games on the Nintendo 64 service, and now the latest one - bumping the service up to...
Video Some Of Us Prefer Zelda: Majora's Mask Over Ocarina Of Time Because We're Right
Bore-carina of Lame, amiright?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is rightly considered one of the best games in the history of the art form, but many edgy hipsters think that its sort-of sequel The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is in fact a preferable experience if you can blinking believe it. We can because the three of us involved in the video...
January2022
Video Here's A Look At Another Zelda 64 PC Port, And It's "Nearly Fully Playable"
"All of this footage is 100% real"
As you might recall, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was successfully reverse-engineered back in November last year - opening the door for ports of the N64 classic. We heard earlier this week how one group known as the "Harbour Masters" had a
News Even Miyamoto Doesn't Like "Stupid" Navi In Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
"The truth is I wanted to remove the entire system"
Navi is one of the biggest sticking points of the otherwise flawless Zelda: Ocarina of Time, so it's encouraging to learn that even Shigeru Miyamoto isn't a fan of the pesky fairy. His admission comes from a 1999 interview which was originally part of a Japanese strategy guide but has now been...
Video MVG Takes A Closer Look At Nintendo Switch Online's N64 Update
"emulation on the Switch is getting better"
Last week, Nintendo added Banjo-Kazooie to the Switch Online Expansion Pack tier. In addition to this, it seems N64 emulation has received an update - and one of the fixes spotted was tied to water and fog in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Game developer and YouTuber 'MV
News This Unofficial Zelda PC Port Is About '90% Complete', Say Devs
60fps and mod support to come
A fan-made PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is in the works, and it's apparently almost done — and could be out as soon as next month. In an exclusive interview with VGC, the developers — a group calling themselves "Harbour Masters" — spoke about their efforts to re-release the game on PC in...
Video Nintendo Fixed* The Water Emulation In Ocarina Of Time On Switch
*A bit
If you cast your minds back to the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, it was a time of great joy as Nintendo fans around the world linked arms and sang the Mario theme. Well, actually, the conversation was about emulation standards, wonky button mapping and the lack of fog. Nintendo fell short of expected standards in...
