Ocarina of Time's Biggest Modifications for Switch 2 Are Officially Clear

I've spent a lot of time thinking about what Nintendo could improve on. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time In particular, the Switch 2 remake was included because this game means so much to me personally. Better visuals are a given and something I really want to see. Of course, there are always other passes available for Water Temple, and we won't complain about the extra content either. But the more I think about actually replaying it, ocarina of time With today's modern hardware, the biggest modifications become even more evident.

Nintendo in particular needs to completely rethink how it does things. ocarina of time Process Link's inventory. It might not sound as exciting as a rebuilt dungeon or a massive new area, but the original game forced players to constantly pause, re-arrange items, and then repeat the entire process moments later. Ocarina of Time 3D While things have already been significantly improved, the Switch 2 version makes using Link's tools as natural as ever.

Ocarina of Time's inventory never bothered me as a kid, but it's still bad.

The funny thing is, I don't remember ever having a problem. ocarina of timeThis is my inventory from when I played as a kid. I paused the game, moved Link's Hookshot or said hello to one of the C buttons on my N64 controller, and then got back to work and didn't think twice about it. As far as I knew, that was simply how video games worked.

Place the consoles in the correct order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)hard (10)

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Of course, I was ignorant, and I'm trying to tell my younger self in the best way possible. There have been no modern radial menus, customizable shortcuts, or decades of quality-of-life improvements to compare. I was glad that Link had a sword, a bow, bombs, and an ocarina that could somehow control the weather and shift time.

Going back to now would almost certainly be a different story. I've played enough modern action-adventure games to know how quickly these constant pauses start to bother me. This is especially true once Link's collection starts to fill up. What felt completely normal in 1998 will probably feel like a headache an hour later today.

Nintendo 64 controller was the real culprit

The original setup was limited by the Nintendo 64 controller, so I understand why Nintendo handled it that way. Link's sword was assigned to B, A handled any situational actions needed at that moment, and the three C buttons could be used for just about anything available in the game. Three slots sounds reasonable, until your inventory starts to fill up with bombs, bottles, arrows, magic spells, Hookshots, Lenses of Truth, and whatever else Link finds.

Link's Ocarina almost always takes up one of those buttons for me, and I'm sure it does for others as well. I used it so often that removing it felt pointless, leaving me with two spaces for basically every other tool Link carries around. From there, the game became a constant exercise in deciding which items I was least likely to need in the next few minutes.

ocarina of time's dungeons made the problem more noticeable. One room might require a bow, the next a bomb, the next a hookshot or the Lens of Truth. I can already imagine pausing the game, moving everything around, solving one small part of the puzzle, and then almost immediately opening the menu again.

Image via Nintendo

Iron Boots was easily the worst example, no doubt about it. ocarina of timeWater Temple. Because it was treated as equipment rather than a regular item, players had to pause, go to the equipment screen, put it on, return to the game, sink underwater, and repeat the whole process when they wanted to refloat. The Water Temple asks Link to change altitude so frequently that putting on and taking off his boots actually becomes a real puzzle.

To be honest, I've never hated the Water Temple as much as other people. I definitely remember getting lost, but at the time I had enough patience and free time to wander around until I eventually found the key or doorway I had missed. But I'm much less confident that adults will enjoy changing their boots every time they have to move up a few feet.

Hover Boots, although not used as often, had similar problems. ocarina of timeThe equipment screen also had the tunic and shield alive, meaning the items Link was wearing were separate from the tools he was carrying. It all made sense at the time, but there's no reason to preserve these extra steps in the remake simply because they were necessary for the original game.

Ocarina of Time 3D has already started to fix the problem.

Then it came Ocarina of Time 3DI feel like I understand how much smoother the game could be if Link's inventory was more accessible. The Nintendo 3DS' touchscreen gave players extra item slots, allowed them to check the map without pausing, and made switching between tools much less frustrating. This is one of those changes that sounds small until you realize how much time it saves.

More importantly, the 3DS version ocarina of time Players can now assign Iron Boots to touchscreen buttons. Suddenly sinking and floating in the Water Temple required a single tap rather than a full exploration of the equipment menu. That fix saved Nintendo from having to redesign the entire dungeon. Because if you change how one item works, it's already a lot better.

Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 could take these improvements even further

The Switch 2 remake obviously can't exactly copy that setting. There's no secondary touchscreen beneath the TV, and Nintendo needs an inventory system that works regardless of whether someone is playing handheld or using a standard controller. Thankfully, modern games have already solved this problem in about 100 different ways.

The D-pad on the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons seems to be the easiest place to start. Nintendo could allow players to assign four items there, keep two or three more items on the face buttons, and give Link more options out of the box than a Nintendo 64 controller. Ocarinas may also have their own permanent shortcuts. Because no one has to prove they're committed to the title by sacrificing item slots.

Radial menus solve almost everything. Pressing the shoulder button displays Link's entire collection, allowing players to select items without leaving the game completely. It still requires careful choices, but it doesn't get in the way of all of the game's puzzles. ocarina of time Remake with full pause screen.

Nintendo also allows players to save a few simple item layouts. One could be built around exploration, with bombs, hookshots, and bows at the ready, while the other could focus on bottles, magic, and combat items. Of course, that's not what I want. ocarina of time If you're going to be a huge RPG with a dozen complex loadouts, having two or three presets will save you a lot of unnecessary shuffling.

Boots and tunics still need to be selected manually, as deciding when to use them is part of several puzzles. However, there is no reason it should be buried in a completely different screen. Place Iron Boots, Hover Boots, and Tunics in the same quick menu as everything else and allow players to switch between them without losing their position.

Lastly, the actual inventory screen may still be similar to the original, as watching the empty spaces slowly fill up is part of the charm. Nintendo is able to preserve familiar icons, bottles, quest items, equipment, and songs without having to keep all those awkward button presses around. remake ocarina of time It should remind me of the games I loved as a child, not force me to relearn all the inconveniences I was too young to notice.

I still don't remember ocarina of timeThe inventory of did bother me at the time, but that doesn't mean it was ever particularly good. If anything, it means I have more patience, fewer expectations, and have no idea how much easier the game will eventually make this job. Nintendo has already proven it. Ocarina of Time 3D I think the quicker Link can access his tools, the better the adventure becomes. So if the Switch 2 Remake still gives you pause every time you have to put on your boots, there's something very wrong. But that's why fixes like this are almost confirmed. Because Nintendo would have to be crazy not to implement this.

system

released

2026

developer

nintendo

publisher

nintendo

number of players

single player