The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is back on Nintendo Switch 2 today, rebuilt from the ground up with overhauled visuals, full voice acting, a symphonic orchestral score, and a 60fps presentation. The 1998 classic plays the same story you remember, young and adult Link against Ganondorf, but the way Link moves, fights, and plays music has changed in ways that matter from the first minute.
Whether you played the original on Nintendo 64 or this is your first trip to Hyrule, these 10 tips will get you started right.
1. Learn the jump button first
The original made Link jump automatically when he ran off a ledge. The remake gives jumping its own button, so you can leap from anywhere, including straight onto a vine wall to start climbing. Practice it early, because ledges the original never let you reach are now in play.
2. Roll into a dash
Hold the button after a roll and Link breaks into a dash, which makes crossing Hyrule Field much faster. There is no stamina meter holding you back while you leap and climb, so use the dash whenever you are covering open ground.
3. Take control of the camera
The right stick is yours now, with full camera control in every remodeled location, including Castle Town Market, which used fixed pre-rendered viewpoints in 1998. Swing it around often. The world hides plenty of details behind the old fixed angles.
4. Swap items without pausing
Weapons and tools can be swapped on the fly with a quick-select shortcut, so you no longer need to pause the action to change gear. Learn the shortcut in the first dungeon and it becomes second nature by the second.
5. Aim with motion controls
Ranged gear like the Fairy Slingshot, Fairy Bow, and Hookshot supports third-person motion-assisted aiming, with gyro controls you can set in the Options menu. Button aiming still works, but motion aiming is faster once your hands learn it.
6. Hum your ocarina songs
Alongside traditional button inputs, you can hum a learned melody into the Switch 2 built-in microphone and Link plays it back in the game, opening hidden pathways or turning day into night. You can even play the songs on a real ocarina. Button input stays available for every song, so use whichever feels natural.
7. Follow Threads of Time
Threads of Time is the remake’s new quest log. It shows your story progress and your next objective, so you always know where to head next. If you get stuck, check it before wandering. The optional Zelda Notes companion in the Nintendo Switch App adds more guidance, but it needs a Nintendo Account and an internet connection.
8. Count your rupees and grab the fifth bottle
Your wallet already holds 200 rupees from the start, so early shopping is less of a grind than it was in 1998. Keep an eye out for a fifth bottle, which can now be collected, giving you one more slot for fairies, potions, and bugs.
9. Let the day-night cycle work for you
Time now keeps passing while Link is inside towns, which changes how the world can be explored. Some events and enemies only appear at certain hours, so pay attention to the clock and use the Sun’s Song when you need to skip ahead.
10. Save the Hall of Fallen Foes for after each boss
Somewhere in Hyrule lies the Hall of Fallen Foes, a new gallery where statues of every monster and dungeon boss Link defeats appear. Inspect a boss statue and you can fight that boss again in a timed rematch, with your best clear time recorded. Beat the game and the Trial of the Hero of Time unlocks, pitting Link against every dungeon boss in order starting with only 6 hearts.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is out now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, at $59.99 digital and $69.99 physical. The download is around 27 GB, so start it early and your adventure through Hyrule is ready when you are.
