Eiji Aonuma, director of the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and now a producer and franchise head, says changes to the Water Temple in the upcoming version were work he had put off for too long. In a Nintendo Ask the Developer interview, he called it “overdue Homework” and said the team adjusted the dungeon because of its reputation for difficulty in the original game.
The Water Temple’s central puzzle mechanic requires players to raise and lower the water level to reach different areas. In the original, changing between swimming and sinking also meant repeatedly opening the menu to equip or remove the Iron Boots. Aonuma said that, alongside the dungeon’s complex layout, this made it easy to lose track of both position and direction.
Aonuma said he had originally wanted the dungeon to make being underwater feel distinct, with changed sounds and the sensation of entering a different space. He also noted that few 3D games at the time let players explore underwater. The remake’s adjustments, he said, address the navigation and item-management problems without changing the inspiration behind the design.
Remake director HokWai Ng added that switching items is easier in the new version. The team also replaced some walls that could disorient players with lattice-style structures, allowing them to see into adjoining rooms and better understand the space.
The Water Temple had already received changes in the game’s 3DS remake, including making the Iron Boots easier to equip and adjusting a cutscene to make a required treasure chest easier to spot. The article also notes that the new version lets Link swim underwater, unlike in the original, but the interview did not explain how that ability affects the dungeon’s puzzles.
Ocarina of Time is scheduled to release on November 5, according to the article.
Sources: Kotaku.