Evolution of Jumping in the Zelda Series

Arguably one of the biggest gameplay changes in the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake is that you no longer will jump automatically, but instead do it manually with a dedicated button. It's an interesting development, because the automatic jumping was part of the many revolutionary things the original did for 3D gaming, amongst the Z-targeting. You didn't have to worry about timing your jumps, because Link would always do it perfectly. This system remained a staple in the 3D games up until Breath of the Wild, which re-introduced a jump button.

The added level of detail might be part of the reason why they did it for the remake, because you don't necessarily get the same sharp edges to jump off. And it will be interesting to see how this plays out. You get some control back and you can now also climb faster with the added jumps, while parts of the environment also became more jump-friendly, like the small stream near the entrance to Hyrule Field coming from the forest. There may even be new challenges where you have to time your jumps correctly.

Anyway, with this change in mind, it's fascinating to look back at each game in the Zelda and see how it implemented jumping. When you need to jump over a gap, there have been three different ways for you to do so: with a button, with an item (the Roc's Feather or Cape), or automatically. There are also games where you simply are unable to jump over gaps, so you will need other items to cross them, like the Hookshot. Here is how it's done in every Zelda game: 

• The Legend of Zelda: -
• The Adventure of Link: button
• A Link to the Past: -
• Link's Awakening: item
• Ocarina of Time: auto
• Majora's Mask: auto
• Oracle of Ages & Seasons: item
• The Wind Waker: auto
• Four Swords: item
• Four Swords Adventures: item
• The Minish Cap: item
• Twilight Princess: auto
• Phantom Hourglass: auto
• Spirit Tracks: auto
• Skyward Sword: auto
• A Link Between Worlds: -
• Tri Force Heroes: -
• Breath of the Wild: button
• Tears of the Kingdom: button
• Echoes of Wisdom: button

In the original The Legend of Zelda it wasn't possible to jump in any way or form. You needed the Stepladder to cross gaps and rivers. And while many consider Zelda II - The Adventure of Link to be the black sheep, it did jumping with a button in the Zelda series before it was cool. It was a natural part of its side scrolling action, where you even had special sword techniques to go along with your jumps. The Downthrust eventually became an important inspiration for the very satisfying pogo-technique in the Hollow Knight games.

A Link to the Past was effectively the game to introduce auto-jumping in some form, but it was only there to leap down off a ledge to the lower level. This continued to be a thing in all top-down Zelda games going forward.

Link's Awakening then brought back side-scrolling sections and even added Goombas along with them, inviting you to jump on them. But since the Game Boy only had two buttons, they had to come up with a different solution: you would jump with an item, the Roc's Feather. This item can be assigned to either A or B, instead of your sword, shield, or other things. And this item or its stronger version, the Roc's Cape, returned in all Zelda games on the Game Boy line, as well as in Four Swords Adventures.

As already mentioned, Ocarina of Time then came up with automatic jumping whenever you walk off a ledge – not just to drop down, but also to cross gaps. You could jump from one side of the Zora River to the other... if you picked the right spot. And in all 3D Zelda games from Majora's Mask to Skyward Sword this system was implemented again.

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks also featured this automatic crossing of gaps for the first time in a top-down scenario, with their touchscreen controls. You would just draw over the gap and Link would automatically leap across, even when there is ground below.

The two Nintendo 3DS titles, A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes, on the other hand went back to no jumping at all. Instead, they featured items that would lift you up, like the Tornado, Sand and Water Rods. But that doesn't really count.

Finally, Breath of the Wild completely revolutionized the Zelda series from the ground up with its free-climbing nature, where it became necessary for you to manually jump again. It's also there to initiate paragliding, which became an important part of the new 3D Zelda gameplay. And now this manual jump finds its way back into Ocarina of Time.

Ironically, in its early stages of development, Ocarina of Time used to still have a jump button. But they had removed it in favor of the auto-jumping to streamline the gameplay and shift the focus on other elements (see Iwata Asks). It's funny how things sometimes go... or in this case, how they jump.

New LEGO: Ocarina of Time Link & Epona

Here is something from last Tuesday's Zelda Direct that I have yet to discuss: they have briefly announced a third The Legend of Zelda LEGO set – one for Link & Epona from Ocarina of Time. Unlike the other two sets, this is more of a small statue, which you can put on display, similar to all those LEGO flower bouquets or the Game Boy.

It's interesting that they have chosen this particular pose, because Link raising his sword while he sits on Epona is first and foremost reminding you of Twilight Princess, because that's the Zelda game that did it first. However, an original artwork for Ocarina of Time exists with a similar pose:

So, it was likely based on that, while also going more into the direction of that famous Twilight Princess moment on Eldin Bridge. But I suppose that they have preferred Ocarina of Time here for various reasons. It's the Zelda game that introduced Epona, it's getting a remake for the 40th Anniversary, and it's probably a better match for all that plastic, visually.

Still, it would be nice if the LEGO sets were to show more variety in the future when it comes to the representation of the Zelda series. If they are just going for Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild, because these are the two most popular Zelda game, it's going to get boring eventually.

All Zelda Games on Nintendo Switch 2

Image Source

For the 40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo has shared the above infographic. This simply shows you what Zelda games you will be able to play if you own a Nintendo Switch 2 (with an expanded Nintendo Switch Online subscription, of course). And it reminds me of a similar list I had compiled ten years ago for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

They have also shown this in the Zelda Direct on Tuesday. And while it's a pretty way of communicating what's available, this infographic is triggering some Zelda fans so hard that it feels like Nintendo is intentionally trolling them. While it's certainly impressive that you can play 15 out of the 21 mainline titles in some form, the focus quickly shifts from what's there to what's missing, first and foremost Twilight Princess. And it certainly leaves a big gap there, no doubt about that.

Twilight Princess is right now the only 3D Zelda game you are unable to play on Nintendo Switch 2. It's also one of three GameCube titles that haven't become available yet on Nintendo Switch Online, the other two being Ocarina of Time - Master Quest and Four Swords Adventures.

Though, Master Quest should probably be just added to the Nintendo 64 library, since it always was just an N64 ROM running in an emulator. And with the Ocarina of Time remake coming, this won't be happening anytime soon, maybe even never.

The latest remake might also be the reason why they haven't added Twilight Princess to NSO this week, and instead went with Star Fox Adventures. They do not want to distract from Ocarina of Time right now with any other Zelda game, especially one so similar. For the same reason you shouldn't hold your breath for ports of The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD any longer. I feel like this ship has finally left the harbor with the Ocarina of Time remake, where now we've went from remastering all the 3D Zelda games to full-on remaking them.

Well, it would throw a big bone to all the Nintendo Switch owners out there, who aren't even able to play The Wind Waker via NSO. But would Twilight Princess fans really be content with getting a rehashed remaster after seeing how pretty a Zelda game can look like? I think not. And I'm sure one day we'll be getting a Twilight Princess remake in the same quality – or even better looking, because this won't be happening on the Nintendo Switch 2. Maybe on the Switch 3.

Right now the best you can hope for is Twilight Princess on NSO, but Nintendo might wait a little longer with that, even skipping the game's tenth anniversary on November 19th. If we were going by order, then Four Swords Adventures would also be next, but for this game Nintendo will have to solve the issue of emulating the Game Boy Advance connectivity. They haven't done it for The Wind Waker, so things aren't looking great right now. Alternatively, they might opt for a special re-release of the title, just like what they have done with Four Swords for the 25th Anniversary. That is certainly an option.

Of course, the list is also still missing the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS games. And libraries for those might be added to Nintendo Switch Online in the future, but the touch screen functionalities will prove to be a challenge. While the Nintendo Switch 2 has a touchscreen, you can only use it in handheld mode and it won't give you the same accessibility as the original dual screen systems, where the touch screen also often was used for additional buttons, e.g. quickly swapping items in A Link Between Worlds or using the emoticons in Tri Force Heroes.

The best chance for some of these games to return might be remakes, but there are more than enough Zelda games waiting in line to be remade already. So, we may not see any of these on the Nintendo Switch 2. 

Age of Calamity - Definitive Edition: Save Data Bonus Weapons

Similar to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, you can also receive bonus weapons in Age of Calamity's upcoming Definitive Edition whenever it detects save data of related games on your system.

As in the Nintendo Switch version, you can get the "Training Sword" for when you have save data for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild present. So, that's actually not new and you may even have this already. But they have also added a bonus for Age of Imprisonment, where you will get an "Ancient Sword", which is the Soldier's Broadsword from that game.

Having this weapon in Age of Calamity feels a bit odd, like something that shouldn't belong in this era at all. It's also funny how Age of Imprisonment gets a save data bonus via Age of Calamity, where this now goes back and forth.

Ocarina of Time Remake: New Items?

Let's take a closer look at the Equipment and Items menu screens again, because speculation is always fun. We haven't seen the Collection screen yet, so an important part of the picture is missing, but it seems like each screen has a clear purpose. "Items" is for what you can put onto the ZR button for active usage. You can also swap these by holding down R for a quick menu, just like in all the Zelda games made for Nintendo Switch.

The "Equipment" screen on the other hand includes everything else that can be changed somehow. Like in the Nintendo 64 original, this is where you alter between the three different swords, shields and tunics. But it now also comes with the "toggle items". These are different from the "action items" on the ZR button, because all they did was to turn a piece of Link's equipment on and off. This includes the Lens of Truth, which are now a pair of goggles, as well as the masks. And in Ocarina of Time 3D both the Iron and Hover Boots became a similar item.

Since all of these used to clog item slots in the past and there is now only one item slot, they have moved them onto the D-pad for convenience. But since the D-pad also triggers the ocarina and Navi, they had to come up with a solution here, where pressing up is for changing headwear and pressing down is for changing footwear. It's not exactly clear yet how you will quickly swap between the two alternate boots, or between the goggles and your mask, because going into the menu for this would be inconvenient. My guess so far was that you will hold down the button for that.

Anyway, there is one more item slot below these four. It's probably for the ocarina, since this item also gets activated via the D-pad. And everything that is completely passive has moved into the Collection screen, like the Goron's Bracle, Silver and Golden Scale and Gauntlets, the Bomb Bag, and so on.

It could also be the Stone / Shard of Agony, which you can simply turn on and off here, similar to the Seashell Sensor in the Link's Awakening remake. But I personally hope that this item won't return at all. It was originally a gimmick meant to sell the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pack, as a means to find all the secret grottos. And these grottos were so obscurely hidden at times that it's basically a remnant of the NES era.

Ideally, in the remake you will have clear visual clues on the ground whenever you can find a grotto. They can be subtle, but they should be there. And these clues should even make it also clear whether you have to use bombs or the Song of Storms to open it. Though, there are different clips on the Japanese website and in the trailer, where young Link fights the Wolfos at the entrance to the Sacred Forest Meadow. And there doesn't seem to be anything there that indicates a hidden secret, but it's hard to tell and they also could have moved the location slightly.

Alternatively, they could just give the new "Goggles of Truth" the ability to easily spot hidden grottos. This would probably be the most streamlined solution – combine both of the secret-finding items into one.

Let's move on to the "Items" screen, because that's where the real question marks await us. It got split into three different sections. One is for young Link's items in the top right, one is for adult Link's items in the top left, and everything in the bottom half can be used by both. Each slot has a shape that resembles the item somewhat, so you can make educated guesses what goes into what.

For young Link you get the Deku Sticks, the Fairy Slingshot, the Magic Beans, and the Boomerang. It's curious that the Magic Beans seemingly remain as an action item in the new system. Maybe they are functioning differently to justify this, where using them anywhere might lead you to the nearest spot of soft soil. But if they work exactly like in the original, then this will be just an unnecessary waste of space, because a simple prompt at the soft soils would have done the trick.

Adult Link gets the Hookshot, Fairy Bow, the three magic arrows, and the Megaton Hammer. Not necessarily in the exact order, because here it's a bit harder to tell what goes into what slot. You'd expect the largest slot for the hammer, but that one is clearly shaped like the bow. But it doesn't matter, because everything is accounted for.

Things get more interesting in the shared section. First you have Bombs and Bombchus. Then you have the Deku Nuts below, an open slot next to them in the same hexagonal shape, and then three magic spells. Then comes a square slot and an octagonal slot below it in the bottommost row. That row has otherwise slots for the Empty Bottles, five in total, which means that they have added a new one.

Either the square or the octagonal slot in the bottom right could be used for the trading quest items, given that they haven't made those prompt-based now. But there are actually two different lines of these, one for the child and one for the adult era, but they should combine these into one, because there is no good reason not to. In the original game Zelda's Letter was replaced by the masks, which now function differently. They could just remove it from your items and then later use the same slot for the Pocket Egg, which eventually ends up as the Claim Check. It would also explain why this slot sits in the shared section.

Now, this still leaves two items unaccounted for. One idea would be that they are introducing the Pictograph Box from Majora's Mask already. They love giving you the option to do selfies in the 3D Zelda games, and Nintendo loves dedicated photo modes in general. They may even introduce a new side quest line where you have to take photos of monsters and other things, but it doesn't have to go full "Hyrule Compendium".

Then there is the open slot next to the Deku Nuts. The identical shape suggests that this might become a similar item, so potentially another consumable, maybe also something that can be thrown at enemies. Maybe it's something like the Scent Seeds from the Oracle games, which lets you attract and distract enemies.

Or, if they were to redesign the Ice Cavern to turn it more into a proper dungeon, then maybe the Blue Fire could evolve from a bottled item. Maybe you have something like fire crystals that can be thrown and turn into a flame on impact. This could even give you more combat options for burning enemies, in addition to Din's Fire and the Fire Arrows, or the possibility to light fires even when you're out of magic. But that's just an idea. It would be totally fine if the Blue Fire worked the same as before, especially when there is one more bottle to find.

Alternatively, there now could be something like the Flame Lantern as a new magic item, which emits blue flames. But this would probably go into the spot behind the magic spells, which takes the Picto Box off the table.

In either case, if there is a new consumable, it could mean that you might be able to expand its totals, like with the Deku Nuts and Sticks before. Well, it could get the same treatment as the Bombchus, where their total is maxed out from the start and you're not using them as frequently anyway. But if it's another plant-based item, and maybe something that appears early in the game, e.g. "Deku Fruits", this could warrant a new reaction at the Forest Stage.

Ocarina of Time Remake: Master Quest?

It's a question that many Zelda fans have on their mind right now: will the remake come with the Master Quest mode and dungeons? Ocarina of Time 3D did, but the Nintendo 3DS game was truly a 1:1 remake, even based on the original game's code, so they could easily duplicate the quirky ROM hack nature of the modified dungeons, where you suddenly have cows stuck in the walls of Jabu-Jabu's Belly.

This may not be the case for the remake, where they are truly redoing everything from scratch and also taking many liberties in the process, especially when it comes to the environments. The Water Temple, for example, now features a new bombable wall in of the tunnels around the middle section, as you can see above.

They could, of course, still replicate the ideas and nature of Master Quest, maybe also throwing in some spins of their own, but it would be a lot of extra work. Luckily, they haven't said much about additional features yet, other than the amiibo masks and the microphone support, where they are likely introducing some at a later point. And maybe the Master Quest mode will become a headline then, or maybe they will release it as paid DLC in the future.

If they add Master Quest, then I hope that they won't mirror the game this time. I hated it when they did this in Ocarina of Time 3D and I will always find the Wii / Hero Mode version of Twilight Princess to be utterly confusing. I'm not a fan of Mirror Modes in general, because they are just the cheapest and most literal way of putting a spin onto a game. The remade world of Ocarina of Time will be novelty enough.

Also, things like double damage should probably moved into a simple Hero Mode option, which can be chosen right from the start. It could just be a toggle like in Echoes of Wisdom, so you won't end up with four combinations of different game modes.

Nintendo Today: The Legend of Zelda Collectible Cards

Nintendo wants you to use the Nintendo Today app. They really do, and they are trying all sorts of things to motivate people to click on this app on a daily basis. One of these strategies are digital collectible cards. And I would be lying if I said that this trick didn't work on me, because I have all the ones for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

As part of the 40th Anniversary initiatives, they are now doing the same thing for The Legend of Zelda, with more than 300 cards based on the entire series. Every day you can collect one predetermined card, but there is more to this: each card you claim will come with a quiz question. And if you answer correctly, you will earn a medal. You can use these medals to obtain the cards you've previously missed.

So, if you've missed the one from yesterday, because you were too busy screaming at the Nintendo Store, then you can use the medal from today to obtain it. But this one won't give you the quiz question, so you won't be able to earn another medal from it. You can only get one medal per day.

There are also four phone wallpapers to unlock, which cost 130 medal in total, which is nearly half of what you can earn over the course of all 300+ cards. But they will add more of these wallpapers, one for each card set, where those seem to cost 10 additional medals per set. It's unclear how many sets there are in total, where in the end you should not be missing a single day if you truly want all the things. Of course, you can just get these wallpapers elsewhere, but even if you ignore them, you still need to be there every second day and get all of the quiz questions right if you want a full collection of cards. It's quite strict.

With the Super Mario Galaxy Movie this wasn't the case... I kept forgetting about it, but there weren't as many cards and the event was running for quite some time, so it had a lot of leeway.

At least, the 40th Anniversary also solves one of my biggest issues I had the with the app: the Zelda theme so far was purely based on Tears of the Kingdom, and I'm sick of seeing that game. Now the theme is based on a different Zelda game every day. Yesterday it was Oracle of Ages, today it is A Link to the Past + Four Swords. And that alone already makes a big difference. I want to see what art they are using, it's like a daily Zelda sheet calendar.

I also love Zelda quizzes, because I'm good at them. There is so much knowledge about the Zelda games stored in my brain, but it's only really useful for two things: this blog and answering questions about the games. But there is no timer there, so you can also look up the answers just in case.