Nintendo has explained why it decided to develop another remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, this time for Nintendo Switch 2. In the first installment of an Ask the Developer interview series, series producer Eiji Aonuma discussed the project’s origins and its role within the franchise’s future.
The upcoming release will be the second remake of the Nintendo 64 classic, following the version released for Nintendo 3DS in 2011. According to Aonuma, the 40th anniversary of the original The Legend of Zelda was one of the main factors behind the decision to revisit Ocarina of Time.
Aonuma explained that many members of the current Zelda development team have only worked on more recent entries. This led him to question whether they fully understood the importance of Ocarina of Time and its influence on the series. Rebuilding the game from the ground up, he said, could give those developers a deeper understanding of its structure and development approach.
The producer also believes that working on the remake could provide ideas that benefit future Zelda projects. By studying the original game and putting their own interpretation on it, team members may gain insights they can apply to later developments.
Nintendo also considered how the remake would contrast with the open-world design of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The team wanted players familiar with those games to experience an adventure with a more carefully paced progression, in which the story and the protagonist’s growth develop gradually.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is scheduled to launch for Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5. Aonuma has said that he remains nervous about how players will respond to the remake.
Sources: IGN.