Welcome to the August 2026 edition of the Nintendo Life Mailbox.
It’s been a particularly hot summer around these parts. The moon did its best to block out the sun last week and give us some respite from the heat, but we’ve still sitting around Nintendo Life Towers in various states of (HR-compliant) undress, surrounded by fans and iced beverages. Hopefully you’re keeping cool wherever you are!
Now it’s time for our monthly letters page feature. Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings.
Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.
Let’s sit back with cool drink and go through our dispatch box, shall we? No hot takes this month, please.
Nintendo Life Mailbox – August 2026
“buffet of our deepest desires” (***STAR LETTER***)
I have been saying for the last decade or so, if Nintendo remake either The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64 in glorious HD, I would throw £100 at either game, no questions asked.
So I’m pretty stoked that OOT is finally getting the HD treatment and then some, and who knows, it may even retail for half the amount I’m happy to pay.
It’s always been a “Take my money Nintendo” scenario; it’s a little crazy it took this long but if one game deserves to be repainted and brushed up for modern audiences, it’s Ocarina – a true landmark in the medium.
While I’m happy if it’s a 1-2-1 remake, I can’t help but feel Nintendo are up to something more. Why tease so little mere months away from release? Why stop short of showing Hyrule field or even a dungeon?
It could be one of two scenarios: trolling us, or hiding something from us. Hopefully, Hyrule Field will be expanded and made into a mini breath of the wild esque open world with way more to do than before.
If so, then I am excited for the future of Zelda. Because as great as the Botw and Totk era was, I think most Zelda nuts like me miss a good, honest dungeon.
So the OOT remake presents an opportunity for Nintendo to dip their toes into combining the best of the new with the old. They could even, if they wanted, retool the dungeons a little ala Master Quest version of OOT.
Of course, I may be wrong. If Nintendo can bring back the Virtual Boy in 2026, they can troll with the best and tease us “just cos”.
But either way, wrong or not, Nintendo will rediscover what makes a great Zelda dungeon by remaking OOT, and hopefully the next Zelda, will give us the full dungeon and open world buffet of our deepest desires and be the GOOAT (Greatest Ocarina of All Time)…
YoshiTails
Re. Nintendo not revealing much yet, the moment you properly show off the Ocarina remake, it’ll suck up all the air and discourse in the room. From a bland marketing perspective, if you’re plugging a game like Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave over the summer (a very different game, granted, but still a fantasy swords-and-tunics affair to the layplayer), you’re better off waiting until that’s gone through its pre-release cycle before dropping an Ocarina Direct. I wouldn’t expect new news (beyond leaks) until September.
I’d love it if Aonuma and Fujibayashi and the EPD Zelda team had been working on this since TOTK wrapped up — I’d far prefer a serious overhaul than a delicate 1:1 remake, personally — but I’d temper expectations if you’re hoping for open-world Ocarina. The timing of this feels complementary to next April’s movie, and Nintendo will want to have the next instalment lined up for 2028/29. As I wrote last week, my money’s on a Grezzo special. Not long to find out, though. – Ed.
