Ocarina of Time Remake: Release Date, Price and What’s New

If you’ve been waiting to revisit Kokiri Forest, you finally have a date to put on your calendar. The Ocarina of Time remake arrives on November 5, 2026, exclusively for Switch 2, priced at $59.99 digitally and $69.99 physically. Nintendo says it has rebuilt the game from scratch for the console.

You see, returning to a game with a 99/100 Metacritic score comes with some pretty big expectations. Whether you remember the Nintendo 64 original or plan to meet Link here for the first time, these are the details to know before you buy.

Detail	Info
Release date	November 5, 2026
Platform	Nintendo Switch 2
Price	$59.99 digital / $69.99 physical
Developer	Nintendo EPD
Producers	Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi
Download size	Estimated at 27GB by fan site ZeldaCentral
Announced	June 9, 2026
Latest trailer	Overview trailer released October 14, 2026

Ocarina of Time Remake Release Date and Price

You can get the remake on November 5, following the release date announcement during September’s Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct. Nintendo had first announced the project on June 9, with a release window covering 2026. Your standard purchase options have different prices depending on whether you choose a download or a cartridge.

Version	US price	UK price
Digital download	$59.99	£49.99
Physical copy	$69.99	£58.99

Want the box without paying the full $69.99? September reports said Walmart reduced physical preorders to $59.99, with Amazon matching that price. That would put your boxed copy at the same US price as the digital edition, provided the reported offer remains available.

Early physical copies include a textured foil cover while stock lasts. However, reports so far do not confirm that every preorder receives one, so you should treat that cover as a limited extra rather than a guaranteed inclusion.

Is It Coming to the Original Switch

You’ll need a Switch 2 to play this remake. Nintendo has announced it exclusively for that console, with no original Switch edition listed. If you’re keeping your current hardware, there is another way to play Ocarina of Time.

The Nintendo 64 version is available through Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack, having joined the service in October 2021. You can therefore play the original on Switch, although you won’t receive the remake’s revised controls, graphics or added features.

If you’re planning a console purchase, the Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 edition is scheduled for October 29, one week before the game. Nintendo has not said it includes the remake, so don’t assume your hardware purchase covers both. If your Switch 2 won’t show anything on the big screen, our Switch 2 not connecting to TV fixes can help before launch day.

What the New Trailer and Hands-On Previews Revealed

Nintendo’s October 14 overview trailer gives you roughly five minutes of footage, while previews published that day describe playable sections from Kokiri Forest through the Forest Temple. Those accounts offer more detail about what you’ll actually do, beyond looking at the rebuilt locations. Two additions deserve a closer look.

Hall of Fallen Foes boss rematches

Ever wished you could retry a boss without replaying everything leading up to it? The Hall of Fallen Foes gives you a room of enemy statues, with entries explaining the creatures and where they appear. Boss statues also let you start another fight.

According to Kotaku’s coverage, these rematches track your fastest completion times. Reported encounters include Dodongo and Shadow Link, giving you a reason to return and improve your performance. Kotaku also reports that Kaepora Gaebora, the owl, transports Link to the hall.

Fairy Notes and the Zelda Notes app

Fairy Notes give you written secrets to find around Hyrule, which Navi can read for you. This detail comes from an October 15 report about Nintendo’s Japanese website, using a translation shared by Genki JPN. Keep that reporting chain in mind when reading descriptions of the feature.

Separately, Zelda Notes support connects the game with the Nintendo Switch App. Reported functions include maps, play records, Gossip Quests and ocarina activities, while ZeldaCentral describes music scores you can share through QR codes. You can also expect a quiz, with Nintendo Everything reporting one free attempt each day and additional attempts paid for using in-game rupees.

Biggest Changes in the Ocarina of Time Remake

You may remember the old routes and puzzles, but previews suggest that memory won’t carry you through every room. Nintendo has revised movement, item selection and several dungeon details, while adding dialogue and practical conveniences. Here’s what those changes could mean when you pick up the controller.

Controls and camera

You can now jump with a dedicated button, dash and adjust the camera freely. Motion aiming is available for weapons such as the bow and slingshot, and previews report that you can jump while climbing ladders or vines.

Item selection changes, too. Instead of assigning three items to the Nintendo 64’s C-buttons, you use a quick-selection interface operated with the right trigger and directional pad. ComicBook’s preview writer disliked cycling through the list, so whether this feels better may depend on your own preferences.

Redesigned puzzles and dungeons

Think you can collect the Kokiri Sword entirely from memory? IGN’s preview, summarized by Nintendo Wire, describes a rebuilt puzzle that requires the new jump button, while Nintendo Life’s footage shows an added ladder near the sword area. The early game already gives returning players something to reconsider.

The Forest Temple receives several reported revisions that affect your route and individual encounters.

• Color cues. Sections use different colors to help you distinguish areas.
• Elevator access. A lift after the block puzzle reduces repeated travel through previously visited rooms.
• Changed hazards. An acid pool replaces a deep pit in a miniboss arena.
• Poe encounters. The final sisters encounter varies its visual clues between rounds, and the Hookshot can damage Poes.

Voice acting and new dialogue

You’ll hear spoken performances from characters including Saria and the Deku Tree, alongside voiced cutscenes. Link still communicates through his familiar vocal sounds, and plenty of dialogue remains written. You shouldn’t expect every conversation to be spoken aloud.

Some familiar lines have changed as well. Game File reports that Saria now greets you with “Hello, Link!” in place of her earlier call, while Aonuma has said added dialogue helps communicate character personalities. Previews also describe longer conversations in Kokiri Forest and Castle Town.

Quality-of-life tweaks

Your starting wallet now holds 200 rupees, compared with the original limit of 99, according to Kotaku’s preview roundup. A fifth bottle slot has also been confirmed to IGN by a Nintendo representative, though you don’t yet know how you’ll obtain that extra bottle.

Respec’s preview reports that enemies and pots stay cleared when you move between rooms. It also describes receiving a bottle and refill at the potion shop during an explanation of bottle use. For your next visit to Hyrule, those smaller conveniences could matter almost as much as the larger dungeon revisions.

What Stays the Same

If you’re returning after years away, you won’t have to learn an entirely different story. The remake retains Link’s battle against Ganondorf across two periods of his life, and early previews describe familiar progression beneath the revised controls and visuals. Here’s what you can expect to recognize.

• The central story. You still move between Link’s younger and older years as you work to stop Ganondorf. The added dialogue gives characters more to say, while the original storyline remains in place.
• Your main tasks. Game File’s hands-on account describes early objectives and dungeon organization as largely familiar. You should therefore expect recognizable goals, even when a puzzle asks you to reach them differently.
• The Deku Tree. Respec reports that the playable portion follows the original dungeon very closely. If you remember those early rooms, that knowledge should still be useful, though the preview does not establish how every later dungeon compares.
• Separate areas. Some transitions still involve loading screens, which previews say Nintendo kept on purpose. You shouldn’t expect every location to connect without interruption simply because the scenery has been rebuilt.

You see, familiar progression and changed puzzles can exist together. Your memory may tell you where you’re heading, while the remake gives you a different problem to solve along the way.

Visuals and the Art Style Debate

You might love the rebuilt scenery and still need time to get used to Link’s face. Published reactions have differed, with praise for the environments sitting alongside criticism of certain character models. To judge what you’ve seen fairly, separate the rebuilt locations from the artistic choices.

Game Informer described the visual direction as “stylized realism.” GameSpot’s Jade King, meanwhile, found the younger Link and Zelda models uncanny. Those are reviewers’ reactions, so your own response to the trailer may be quite different.

There are structural changes beneath the new appearance, too. Respec reports that scenery previously represented by distant backdrops, including the Lake Hylia laboratory, now exists as three-dimensional models. Castle Town has also become a fully explorable 3D area, with previews describing additional alleys and houses you can enter.

Aonuma has said the chosen look is intended to bring back memories of the original. Whether it does that for you will probably depend on what you remember most clearly. Watch how the characters move and speak as well as how individual screenshots look before deciding whether the style works for you.

Still Unconfirmed Before Launch

You’ve seen a trailer and several playable previews, but that doesn’t settle every question about the finished game. Some details remain absent from reports so far, particularly around later dungeons and the benefits of new features. Keep these gaps in mind before turning an expectation into a purchase reason.

• Downloadable content. You may see headlines calling the confirmed amiibo bonuses the first DLC, but Nintendo has not announced a paid expansion. Scanning Young Link or Young Zelda gives you a polygonal mask based on that character.
• Water Temple revisions. Reports describe several Forest Temple changes, but they do not establish what Nintendo has changed in the Water Temple. You can’t assume that improvements shown in one dungeon apply to another.
• The extra bottle. A Nintendo representative confirmed the fifth bottle slot to IGN, according to Kotaku’s coverage. How you obtain that bottle remains unknown, so you don’t yet have a complete collection checklist.
• Rematch rewards. Boss rematches and recorded completion times have been reported. Reports so far do not confirm what additional rewards, if any, you receive for those fights.

The planned Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo are a separate matter. They are scheduled for 2027 and provide special masks, but that announcement does not establish a downloadable expansion. Keep the two apart when you read discussions about content arriving after launch.

Should You Pre-Order It

Your decision probably comes down to what you want from another version of Ocarina of Time. A first playthrough, a return to familiar dungeons and an upgrade from the 3DS edition are different reasons to spend your money. Use the details already reported to decide which situation sounds like yours.

• You’ve never played it. Nintendo is presenting the remake as a starting point for newcomers, with revised movement, camera controls and item handling. If the footage appeals to you and you already own a Switch 2, you have concrete features to consider rather than nostalgia alone.
• You know the original well. The changed Kokiri Sword puzzle, Forest Temple revisions and boss rematches give you reasons to revisit familiar areas. Just remember that early previews still describe much of the underlying progression as recognizable.
• You own the 3DS edition. Think about which additions you actually want to use. Dedicated jumping, spoken dialogue, a free camera and revised dungeon details may justify another purchase for you, while keeping your existing version remains a reasonable choice if those additions don’t interest you.
• You want a physical copy. Reported Walmart and Amazon preorder prices brought the boxed edition down to $59.99 in the US. Check the live listing before paying, and don’t treat the limited foil cover as guaranteed with every order.
• You’re uncertain about the controls or art. Waiting for complete reviews gives you more evidence before committing. ComicBook’s preview writer disliked the new item-selection system, while published reactions to the character designs have differed.
• You still use an original Switch. Include the hardware purchase in your decision, since this remake requires Switch 2. If you simply want to play Ocarina of Time now, the Nintendo 64 version is already available through the Switch Online Expansion Pack.

There’s no need to make every new feature equally important to your decision. Pick the two or three changes you care about most, then check whether the available footage and previews answer your questions about them. Planning the rest of your fall gaming budget? See our guides to Castlevania Belmont’s Curse and the GTA 6 radio stations.

A Classic Rebuilt for Switch 2

You have a November 5, 2026 release date, Switch 2 exclusivity and standard US prices of $59.99 digitally or $69.99 physically. You also have evidence of changes that reach beyond graphics, including manual jumping, revised puzzles, extra dialogue and repeatable boss fights. Those details give you a clearer basis for deciding whether to return.

What you don’t yet have is a complete account of every dungeon, reward or addition in the finished game. Early impressions can help you judge the controls and opening areas, but they leave some questions unanswered. That matters if one particular change is the reason you’re considering a purchase.

For now, watch the overview trailer with your own priorities in mind. If you’re ready, compare the digital price with available boxed offers. If you’re still unsure, keep your questions handy for the full reviews and decide when you have the answers you need.

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