Ocarina of Time Remake: No Master Quest

If you go on r/zelda, you will be flooded with spoiler posts from people who have acquired the new Ocarina of Time somewhere early. Some of them have the remake since Saturday already and have beaten it by now. So, you can pretty much find out everything about it at this point if you really want to know...

Well, I have been avoiding most of this as best as I could, but there was one thing that I wanted to be confirmed: the remake does indeed not contain the Master Quest mode. It's good to know this already, so this spares me the disappointment after the credits. And I've expected this to be the case anyway, because otherwise they would have definitely featured it in last month's overview trailer.

Not all hope is lost, though. It still could return later, added to the remake as either as a free update or as paid DLC. This could even go hand in hand with the release of the two upcoming amiibo or the ocarina accessory, where we don't have a release date yet for either. Such an addition would be a natural way to keep Ocarina of Time in the news, since this is Nintendo's biggest hit this year.

They could also mix and match things with their own ideas, where not everything of what was effectively just a ROM hack will translate well into the remake, e.g. cows sticking out of walls and serving as switches. They could even introduce changes to the overworld, making this worthy of a proper add-on.

Or... they simply don't care or won't bring it back. In that case I hope that Ocarina of Time - Master Quest will be added to the Nintendo Switch Online library at some point, so it's not completely lost in time.

Ocarina of Time Remake: Ask the Developer Insights

Nintendo has released a new volume of their "Ask the Developer" series, this time for the remake of Ocarina of Time. It has four chapters in total, which got released yesterday and today. And it features the two producers and four members of the Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Group No. 3, EPD3 in short.

That's the main Zelda team, which was also responsible for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom during the last years, where it certainly must have been refreshing to work on something simpler. And this is pretty much the most important fact coming from this interview series – the remake was developed inhouse, unlike most of the Zelda remakes and remasters in the past. Only The Wind Waker HD got made by Nintendo alone, but that was practically a one-man-job.

Like other remakes of Nintendo games, however, this served as a training grounds for the newer developers, who are mainly familiar with the recent open world titles. This is what Aonuma had to say:

By learning the game structure and development style behind the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and by actually rebuilding it as a full remake, it may trigger new insights that they can carry forward into future development. 

And this is a good call. The open world direction is here to stay, because it has simply been too successful for the series to return to its classic formulas, but many fans are hoping for more of a compromise between the different formats, especially when it comes to dungeons. Echoes of Wisdom already showed how this could look like, but that game got developed by GREZZO, yet another Zelda team that got trained by various remakes over the years.

But this isn't just about new developers learning what made such a classic game so beloved, because it goes both ways. The two old-fashioned producers also stepped back to let the younger developers bring in their own perspective and ideas into the remake. And this led to one of the bigger changes, the manual jumping.

Now, this also raises the question how this will actually affect the development of the next 3D Zelda game. Ideally, these projects were running in parallel, or else it might take until 2030 before we see a new game. And while there haven't been any news about this, it's still possible that Monolith Soft has been helping out here, e.g. with developing graphical assets. We will probably find out tomorrow when the reviews embargo gets lifted.

We also learn that they have recreated everything from scratch. It's not like Ocarina of Time 3D or the recent Star Fox remake where they had used the original game's source code as basis. This already seemed clear with how different everything feels and looks, but it's good to have the direct confirmation from the developers.

They have also confirmed a popular theory from IGN by Logan Plant, who had the impression that this remake is supposed to be viewed from the perspective of a theater. The art director, Aya Shida, had the following to say:

We wanted to rebuild Hyrule as a rich, dense world that felt as though it could truly exist, while retaining the feel of the original. At the same time, we wanted its colorful and quirky characters to feel like a natural part of that world. Figuring out how to strike the right balance became one of the main themes of the art development. To help the team understand what we were aiming for, early in development we used phrases like “a puppet-show feel” and “the analogue feel of practical effects films” as keywords. Neither puppet shows nor practical effects films reproduce reality exactly as it is. Even so, both create a convincing sense that the characters truly exist within their respective fantasy worlds. 

Something that I will always love about the Zelda series is how diverse it is in different art styles, much like with its gameplay ideas. And it's great that Nintendo is even trying something new with remakes, instead of just playing it safe, which was also the case for Link's Awakening and its cute toy diorama style. It is certainly not to everyone's taste, but I appreciate that they try to create something unique.

And like with Echoes of Wisdom, this may even lead to a new Zelda game in the same style. But it would be also pretty much perfect for a hypothetical Majora's Mask remake, because stage play and performances are an actual part of the game's story, setting, and theme.

We also learn that there will be over 150 pieces of fully orchestrated background music, though not all of them go with a full orchestra, and some of them make use the old Nintendo 64 tunes, kind of like how the Link's Awakening remake did it. As a reference, the original soundtrack has 82 titles in total, so they have almost doubled it. These are mainly for new cutscenes, but probably also for different variants of the existing themes.

Google Celebrates Ocarina of Time

If you currently search for "Ocarina of Time", or simply "Zelda", then Google will give you a neat, little gimmick on its webpage: the Master Sword and its pedestal will appear in the bottom right and clicking on it will let you time travel back into the early days of the internet, at least visually.

Nintendo will certainly appreciate the free advertisement. After all, they are probably paying Google entire fortunes for SEA. And this little stunt plays with the power of nostalgia, much like the Ocarina of Time remake.

Underestimated Demand for the 40th Anniversary Collection

Happy Halloween! If you want to go through the thrill of a harmless nightmare, then when not try to get your hands on one of the above products? I double dare you! The promised restocks by Nintendo on launch day were sold out within seconds again and scalpers are having a pay day. Nintendo has completely underestimated the demand for this 40th Anniversary collection and even admitted in doing so (see GamesRadar), so what exactly went wrong?

Well, special edition hardware pieces around The Legend of Zelda have been problematic in different ways for over a decade now, which has created this weird sine and cosine curve relationship of what Nintendo anticipates and what fans actually want. And I'm not sure they will break out of this cycle any time soon.

It basically started with the Nintendo 3DS, where they overdid things. There were more Zelda-themed editions for the Nintendo 3DS family than actual Zelda games. At first, each of these provided a meaningful upgrade, from a Nintendo 3DS to a Nintendo 3DS XL and then to a New Nintendo 3DS XL. But things got weird and even nonsensical with the "Hyrule Edition" of the New 3DS XL and the "Hylian Shield Edition" of the New 2DS XL. Nintendo did not stop making these Zelda editions, creating a bubble that would burst.

Naturally, the demand became lower and lower, but Nintendo took this "insight" into the Nintendo Switch era. Well, whatever their reasons were, they refused to make another Zelda edition for years, which has caused some confusion and internal conflict amongst the Zelda fans who were anticipating such a thing. You can even find an article about this topic here on this blog, from the time when the Link's Awakening remake was about to be released:

Where is the Nintendo Switch Zelda Edition? (September 2019)

You had to wait a total of six years for a Zelda edition to arrive, which was the one for Tears of the Kingdom in April 2023. I know only of a single Zelda fan out there who has actually been this patient; everyone else already bought a Nintendo Switch. At least the OLED model provided an upgrade of some sorts, but it still didn't sell as much as Nintendo had hoped.

And this shouldn't be a surprise. The target audience for Tears of the Kingdom was players who have enjoyed Breath of the Wild to its fullest and who wanted more of that. And while the game also had a Wii U version, 95% of that player base was on Nintendo Switch already. So, as a result, these Tears of the Kingdom Editions sat on shelves for months. And that's not something Nintendo likes to see, that's for sure.

But things became even worse with their next "Hyrule Edition", which was about as pointless as the first. One year later, for the launch of Echoes of Wisdom, they released a golden Nintendo Switch Lite... Because that's the thing Zelda fans really needed in the final year of the Nintendo Switch. I'm not joking when I say that I can still go to a media store today and potentially find one of these. They have been that unpopular.

And that golden Switch Lite is not even bad, just too little, too late. If this had come out together with Link's Awakening back in 2019, then this would have seen the proper demand. Heck, I probably would have used this as my primary way of playing Switch games for a little while, until Age of Calamity at least.

Now, the best course of action was to release such a special edition earlier for the Nintendo Switch 2. And they did. They made one for the 40th Anniversary, which even could be anticipated by the fans, right before the launch of the remake of one of the most beloved Zelda games, and one of most beloved games of all time. It wasn't entirely ideal, because they also released a new Hyrule Warriors game last year, but it's somewhat understandable that they wanted to wait for Ocarina of Time, especially with how popular this remake has become.

However, this was not the only conclusion Nintendo had here after the Nintendo Switch. They also saw a shrinking demand for Zelda-themed hardware in general and may have adjusted their projections accordingly for their 40th Anniversary collection. If they have produced 500,000 of the Tears of the Kingdom OLEDs back in 2023, then they might have reduced this to 200,000 for the 40th Anniversary Edition. These number are just freely made up, of course, but it's the mindset of "better have a sellout than to overproduce". They don't want to see "Latest Zelda editions collecting dust on store shelves" in the headlines again. 

But if there is too much of a shortage, then the headlines won't be positive either. If you are fan who really wanted the 40th Anniversary Switch 2 for the Ocarina of Time remake, then you might be out of luck. And now you have to make a choice between getting a plain Nintendo Switch 2 or buying from a scalper on ebay. Either way, you lose. Or you wait.

The good news is that these aren't meant to be limited editions, just special editions, so they are still producing more. But it might take some time to fulfill the demand out there, long past the release of Ocarina of Time. You could also wait until the new, big 3D Zelda game gets released in two to three years, because that's likely where the whole cycle repeats itself for a turn.

Nintendo has now learned that there is still a big demand for these Zelda editions, much to their own surprise... So, they might decide to release another one for the next Zelda game and adjust the projections accordingly once more, only then to overproduce again, because they didn't think about all the Zelda fans who have bought such a system for the 40th Anniversary already and are not in need of another.

Funnily enough, with these Zelda editions there is only really one system where Nintendo did it right: the Wii U, their most unsuccessful home console. But you got a Zelda edition in its first year for the first Zelda release – The Wind Waker HD, it was easy enough to find one of these, and it was the only Zelda edition for the Wii U. It wasn't the prettiest, but it was handled in the right way.

That's not going to happen with the Switch 2, because it's potentially going to receive other models in the future – a Nintendo Switch 2 Lite, or a Nintendo Switch 2 OLED model, where each of these could see a Zelda edition of their own at the end. And this may even produce another "Hyrule Edition" nobody asked for, starting the cycle all over again.

Got the 40th Anniversary Nintendo Switch 2

This has arrived yesterday. Luckily, the console came in one piece and fully functional, where apparently that's not something that you should take for granted. Not only was it difficult enough to pre-order one of these – you also have to go through an additional lottery that's up to the whims of the retailers and delivery guys.

For example, I saw horror stories from people who had preordered from Amazon, where they thought it to be a good idea to ship these limited edition consoles in paper bags to save costs. Naturally, some of these arrive completely demolished, where your only options are to return them or to ask for a discount. It's always amazing how incredibly stupid companies can be. In one case only the box was damaged (see ntower) and the person has received a 78€ discount as compensation. So, they tried to save a couple of cents by not properly packaging a collector's item and lost the hourly wage of one of their overpaid managers as the result.

Also keep in mind that the Switch 2 system sits at the very top of its box's inside. So, in worst cases you end up with a broken screen. That's Nintendo's design flaw, really, but at least they know this and deliver their systems with proper paper cushioning. You also get a nice 40th Anniversary shipping box, at least in Europe:

As someone born in 1986, I totally love the "Since 1986" on the bottom print. Though, this is so nice that I can't just throw it away. They did the same thing for Tears of the Kingdom three years ago (see here) and I still have all those boxes, because I have yet to cut out the good parts and do something with them. 

Now, I would praise Nintendo for the safe delivery and packaging if it weren't for the fact that I have yet to receive my Pro Controller. The post sent it back to Nintendo, because the shipping box got torn open... Not sure whose fault it is, but currently I have to worry if I will get this at all due to the accident.

Well, it would be nice to play the new Ocarina of Time with that controller, but for now I'm just happy that everything went well with my new Switch 2. I was somehow able to install the single screen protector near flawlessly, where it probably was good to have had some practice already, exactly one year ago with my "old" Nintendo Switch 2. (My partner will adopt this one, so she can play Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave.)

The system transfer also went well and without any efforts. I've said this before, but this is a huge improvement over the original Switch, especially when it comes to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island data. It's one less thing to worry about.

And I also really like how it looks in the flesh... or in the plastic. It's hard to see on the photo, but the front of the dock actually has a glossy finish to it.

The right Joy-con has a pixel art of Zelda from the original The Legend of Zelda on its back. And when you open the dock on the backside, you will find a pixel arts of Link and Zelda holding up their pieces of the Triforce, as well as 16 full Heart Containers. And this is something I admire, because nobody will ever see this except when they change the wires of the dock. It's a completely pointless detail, but it's there anyway. And details like this really run through the entire collection.  

The carrying case is quite pretty as well. But there isn't any new art here, believe it or not, because there is a lot of stuff that they have re-used from around the 30th Anniversary. That map on the backside of the carrying case can be found on a lot of things, e.g. the flyleaves of Hyrule Encyclopedia or the official Zelda Monopoly. So, you've probably seen it before somewhere. Same with the Triforce logo that has the goddess symbols on it.

But it also adds to the list of hidden pixel arts, where there is one on the inside for the cartridge slots:

That's actually even useful. If you slip in the game cards, you won't be able to see what's what without pushing them up a bit. But here you can sort them via the symbols somehow, if that makes any sense. Put your copy of Ocarina of Time under the heart, because you love it so much. Anyway, the hidden details don't stop there:

The cleaning cloth has pixel art on it as well. The cleaning cloth! This is adorable. And it recreates the "IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS" scene, which is perfect for this item.

And I really like all that attention to detail. Compare this to the carrying case for Tears of the Kingdom, for example, which just came with a basic black cloth, which you can't even tell apart from any other of these cloths that are always bundled with screen protectors. Or its inside was just a basic black. So, all this 40th Anniversary gear got that little something extra, that little something special, and I can only appreciate that.

Now let's hope that my Pro Controller isn't lost, so that I can enjoy the whole collection when Ocarina of Time comes out. Let me know in the comments how it went for you!

Echoes of Wisdom ~ amiibo Ideas

Earlier this month, after twelve years of collecting Nintendo's little NFC-powered plastic figurines, I finally got some display cabinets to give them a proper home, instead of just storing them in a box somewhere. They are installed right on the wall next to our couch, so I have quick access whenever I might need one for a game. It's also nice to look at all the different figurines, but this had me thinking about what other amiibo there could and should have been...

And on top of this list sits Echoes of Wisdom. The latest 2D Zelda game is a bit of an oddball on the topic of amiibo, because it's the only The Legend of Zelda game released on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 that hasn't received its own. Both Link's Awakening and Skyward Sword HD came with one, while Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom got whole collections. And the new Ocarina of Time is also getting two amiibo next year. So, they've only skipped this one title.

But having Princess Zelda from the game with Tri and the Tri Rod together as an amiibo just makes too much sense. This has been a no-brainer since the game's announcement, where I was hoping that the 40th Anniversary might rectify this omission with some new amiibo figures for the whole series. Which doesn't seem to be happening, but the anniversary isn't over yet...

Now, this amiibo of Zelda could unlock another variant of the existing outfits – one that some fans even have been asking about, because it's technically already in the game. It's Zelda's disguise from the beginning, but with the hood down. Also known as "Hoodless Zelda":

There is only a very brief section during the game where you are able to play in this exact outfit and that's in Hyrule Castle after the game's mid point. Which is also where you unlock the ability to wear different outfits in the game, but for some reason this particular option doesn't stay with you. Of course, this should have been available in the game since its launch, without any additional costs, but if we're going with the above artwork for the amiibo figurine, then it will be a very good fit for a reward, because that's exactly what Zelda is wearing.

Realistically, this is all that you should expect for Echoes of Wisdom, but here is a quirky idea. There's another character from the game who would make for a great amiibo and I'm 90% serious about this one: the Stamp Guy.

The amiibo's socket could be one of his stamp stations, which would be a neat detail. It's something they are doing with the Metroid amiibo all the time, except that this wouldn't just be some random piece of rock. It would unlock an alternate color variant of the Stamp Suit, for example one in green, so you could do the whole Stamp Rally in the proper outfit. 

In addition, his own yellow paraglider would make for an excellent fabric in Tears of the Kingdom. That alone adds a lot of charm to the idea. Speaking of, the new Zelda amiibo would unlock a fabric based on the disguise's hood, similar to the Hylian-Hood Fabric from the Rider Link amiibo, but with a different pattern.

Though, it remains to be seen whether they are going to update Tears of the Kingdom for future amiibo after Mineru's Construct. They haven't announced anything for the Ocarina of Time amiibo here, but it would be awesome.

Nintendo Today: Echoes of Wisdom Collectible Cards

The third set of digital collectible cards in Nintendo Today began today: it's for Echoes of Wisdom, the most recent Zelda game. Curiously, the little video series where they let monsters fight against each other in the game has already finished in the meantime. You'd think that this is the perfect companion piece for these cards, but Nintendo had other plans...

They also haven't replaced the Majora's Mask icons on the Nintendo Switch Online app with something else, where they could have brought back those for Echoes of Wisdom. But there likely will be icons for Ocarina of Time in two weeks. And I also expected the same for the collectible cards, where it would have made sense to offer a set based on the new Ocarina of Time while the remake is fresh. But the Echoes of Wisdom set has a total of 25 cards, so it will last until November 17th...

Ideally, they will add the game's soundtrack to Nintendo Music in one of these weeks, but Link's Awakening isn't even on there yet and you would expect this game to appear first. So, just like with Breath of the Wild, this set of cards might not be connected to anything else.

As for the Majora's Mask set, its questions were all easy, as long as you have played the game. They have also focused almost entirely on important characters and entities: you get Link's different transformations, Skull Kid, the Happy Mask Salesman, the four temple bosses, and some more important side characters, like Anju and Kafei. The most obscure entry are the Rosa Sisters, actually. And the only nitpick is that they have messed up the order of the bosses – Twinmold was put between Odolwa and Goht for some reason.

Well, the content of these cards probably relies on what official artworks and sprites there are available. The Nintendo 64 classics have nice artworks for almost all characters, but there isn't really much to work with for the items and alike, except for tiny sprites. The more modern games have larger sprites available, which they can put on these cards, like the Bed from Echoes of Wisdom.

Anyway, Echoes of Wisdom is fantastic and somewhat underrated within the Zelda community. I have replayed the game earlier this year and I can only recommend to catch up on this title if you haven't played it yet.