Image: Nintendo Life
In one week, we will finally be able to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time once again.
While the Switch 2 version marks the second time Nintendo has released a remake on different hardware, the N64 classic has appeared on every Nintendo home console since, along with a couple of additional releases.
The number of re-releases is not surprising given the game’s stature as the Citizen Kane of Video Games and all that, but looking back, it has got us wondering just how many versions of OoT we own.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64
First up, it’s the Alpha, the Omega, the OG Nintendo 64 release.
Launching on 21st November in Japan, two days later in North America, and nearly three weeks later in Europe (on 11th December), some people got neat gold carts, others stuck with the plain grey, but all contained exactly the same incredible game.
Well, almost exactly the same. Nintendo put out several revisions addressing various issues, from the infamous chanting in the Fire Temple to Ganondorf’s blood to the tiniest of text changes and beyond.
The fine folks over at The Cutting Room Floor have an excellent breakdown of the changes between revisions, including side-by-side comparisons of any altered text. We highly recommend a visit if these granular details excite you as much as they do us!
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest GCN
On the next console, Ocarina got not one but two separate re-releases on GameCube, and it came with a bonus version fans had been fascinated by.
The first GameCube version came as a pre-order bonus when you bought The Wind Waker. Depending on your region, you got a second disc separately or inside your Wind Waker box.
Most significantly, the disc included the Master Quest version of the game, a marginally remixed mode originally developed for the 64DD which ups the difficulty for anyone who’s bested the original.
For anyone scouring game mags in the late ’90s who had been entranced by tidbits of this “Ura Zelda”, this alone made a Wind Waker purchase essential. Fortunately, Wind Waker wasn’t bad, either. What a package.
The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition GCN
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
While this never technically came to store shelves — unless you saw it secondhand in a store flagrantly ignoring the NOT FOR RESALE notice on the box — Nintendo sold this compilation disc as part of hardware bundles in late 2003 and via various other promotions depending on your territory.
(Let’s just take a moment to remember a world where $99 USD got you a brand new video game console and four full Zelda games…)
Joining Ocarina here, you also got the original NES Legend of Zelda, Zelda II, and Majora’s Mask. Most impressive.
Not wanting to look a gift-Epona in the mouth, imagine if this had included A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening, too – the full suite of Zelda games released to date. What a disc that would have been!
Still, as a bundled freebie, it would be churlish to complain too much.
iQue Player (2003)
Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life
2003 was a bumper year for Ocarina releases, with another one squeezed in at the end as a launch title for the iQue Player.
Essentially an N64 with the hardware jammed into the controller to get around China’s console ban, OoT was one of four games available to download onto the system’s memory cards at launch and a demo came with the system.
iQue OoT is notable for being the first official way to play the game via digital download. Probably not something you need to import an iQue Player to experience, but this version was popular with speedrunners due to marginally quicker loads and text speed.
Wii Virtual Console (2007)
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
Remember Wii Points? 1000 of them could get you the Virtual Console version of OoT on Wii.
There’s not a huge amount to discuss here; it’s Ocarina, on Wii, and a bit fiddly due to the lack of C-buttons, but workable with the right stick. The rumble-based Stone of Agony didn’t work because the Classic Controller didn’t have rumble, so it’s far from the optimum way to experience the game, but still vastly preferable to not experiencing the game at all.
Perhaps most notable is how many more players had access to it on Wii, as the Nintendo 64 sold less than a third of Wii’s 101.63 million units.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D 3DS
Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life
Next up was a portable remake which added autostereoscopic 3D visuals and a host of additions and tweaks which tend to get forgotten these days. If you hadn’t played the original for a while, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a quick glow-up job from Grezzo.
However, Ocarina of Time 3D was a total overhaul that stayed close to the original but improved practically every aspect – particularly the frame rate. As was customary in the N64 days, PAL gamers got the short straw presentation-wise, but even NTSC players in North America only got 20fps out of the original, so OoT 3D’s 30 felt revelatory, especially in 3D.
Still, little changes from the original meant that, although undeniably friendlier, it wasn’t quite the definitive way to play. The smaller screen shrank the scope of the epic adventure a tad, and due to the system’s lack of rumble, the aforementioned Stone of Agony was replaced with the secret-pinging Shard of Agony, which wasn’t shaped like a Rumble Pak and was correspondingly less cool.
Having the Iron Boots instantly equippable via the touchscreen was a massive boon, though, and this looked fabulous. Both this and the Majora’s Mask remake were essential if you owned a 3DS – you really should own a 3DS.
Also of note: In Europe, Nintendo produced a limited (and empty) box with an alternative gold cover like the North American version. A reversible sleeve apparently wasn’t up to the job, so some of us have two Ocarina 3D boxes on the shelf. Always nice to have a backup.
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Wii U Virtual Console (2015)
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
Virtual Console returns for another round on Wii U in 2015. Setting you back £8.99 / $9.99, the rumble worked this time, and you had the option to play on the GamePad.
Then again, VC visuals on Wii U appeared oddly muted, and Europeans were once again stuck with the 50Hz PAL version. You win some, you lose some.
Nintendo Switch Online (2021)
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
Some emulation oddities at launch put a dampener on what should have been a joyous occasion: Ocarina finally playable on Switch. We weren’t too happy with the emulation at launch, with a lack of fog and some reflections which seriously affected the Shadow Link encounter, in particular. Thankfully, Nintendo improved things over time.
You’ll really want the Switch Online’s bespoke N64 controller to get the proper experience, but the NSO version of Ocarina is a fair way to play these days.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2
Aaand we finally arrive at the latest version. A Switch 2 exclusive, we’re very close to finding out if this remake is worth the hype. Based on two hours hands-on with it, this second remake certainly has the potential to become the de facto way to play this particular Zelda.
The original will always be there, naturally, but for younger and future generations, these versions of Link, Saria, and co. may be who they picture on hearing the words ‘Ocarina of Time’.
Fingers crossed the remake can meet everyone’s Biggoron-sized expectations — we’ll find out soon enough.
More than you remembered? How many of these do you have access to? And which is your favourite? Let us know in the polls below, and take to the comments if you think we’ve missed an official OoT release.
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