For the 12 people reading this who haven’t played Ocarina, we won’t go into story spoiler territory here, but now we’ve had time to really digest the minutiae from all the official sources following multiple rewatches, let’s take a closer look at some of our favourite details revealed so far, in no particular order…
Beads, braids, buckles, bracelets, ‘brows & bark
First up, let’s bundle a few together. The sheer abundance of detail on display was overwhelming at first, but it’s fascinating to rewatch and find new things.
Link and Zelda’s more substantial eyebrows stood out on their doll-like faces, but from the grain in the wood of the Deku Shield to the leather braids of the belts and other costume detailing, this is a staggeringly rich visual upgrade.
You could argue it’s detail for the sake of it, and I believe that’s the source of some of the ‘Unreal Engine Mod’ sentiment out there (well, that and everything looking a bit wet) – that visual interest was injected just because it can be. That feels unfair — the art direction here is terrific — although it does seem any inch of cloth not bearing an embroidered bit or a tassel terrified Nintendo.
I wouldn’t have minded a straightforward cloth cap, for instance, but we’ll be eyeing all these tiny details for months with the game proper.
Rancid Deku Baba tongue
Deku Baba tongues look all rooty and rancid. You probably didn’t miss this, as it was hard to. Unpleasant.
Lens of Truth opens like an eyelid
The transition when operating the Lens of Truth in the original just switched the effect on with zero fanfare. Now, the ‘window’ opens like an eye, and even makes Link’s hat flutter as it does so.
(Check out this time-stamped video if you’d like to see it in motion.)
Floating Fairy Stuff in Kokiri Forest
The floating fairy life and forest detritus of the original have been rendered anew in the remake. Exactly what these sprite-like, ribbon-y things are isn’t clear, but it’s great to see Kokiri Forest filled with them. Feels like home.
Ocarina, always
It doesn’t seem to matter where you are or what you’re doing – you’ll always be able to see the Ocarina about Link’s person. Perhaps Link’s greatest power is not smashing it when he falls on his backside, but all that braided leather must cushion his fall.
Fishing hole
We got a brief glimpse of the Lake Hylia Fishing Hole and its owner. The water looks appropriately wet, and quite a bit clearer than the original. Hopefully that’ll make spotting a particular legendary fish easier, even if catching it will likely be a mission.
Kaepora Gaebora lake skimming
When dropping Link off at Lake Hylia, Hyrule’s resident wise old owl has a bit of fun dipping you in the drink.
The Iron Boots are mapped to ‘down’ on the D-pad
Looking at the UI, it seems that the Iron Boots are (or at least can be) mapped to the D-buttons on Switch 2, so you can enjoy 3DS-style instant access without having to dive into the menu screens to put them on and take them off and put them on and take them off and…
Zora’s Domain has been tiled
Sticking with the water theme, Zora’s Domain looks much the same, although now with some tiled details that recall the graceful architecture of the race’s places from other games.
Domain the same. Race’s places. Heh.
Sorry, it’s been a long week.
Very faithful under all that detail…
Despite all the beautification, areas like Zora’s Domain, Goron City, and Lake Hylia look extremely similar in terms of their basic geography. Dungeons, too, with the Forest, Fire, Shadow Temples and Dodongo’s Cavern looking extremely similar.
But not 1:1
This absolutely isn’t a straight 1:1 reworking, though. Most noticeable, perhaps — beyond the different shapes of the minimaps — are the minor topographical alterations to Hyrule Field, which add visual interest and subtle undulations in the terrain which couldn’t be realised on the N64.
The eyes have it
Looking closer at the main characters’ peepers, they’re just very pretty and work well with the porcelain doll-like design on the protagonists.
We’ve reached the halfway point, so head to page two if you enjoy horses, weeds, and juicy innards…
