The problem with the remake (or rather the views about the remake since we haven’t seen anything substantial yet) is that veteran Zelda fans are hungry and they are searching for and anticipating a subjective experience from that remake that they will never have again with Ocarina Of Time. Stepping out into a vast 3D world in Hyrule Field which felt very much open-world at the time because we hadn’t seen anything like it before.
There was no point of reference at that time to say “It’s like that” the way that there is now with not just Zelda games but many other games from both Nintendo and other video game companies. We’re not going to get that same subjective experience that we originally did.
We won’t with any video game. Going from 2D to 3D was one of those once in a lifetime experiences in the video gaming world that cannot be recaptured and relived. So we really do need to stop expecting that because neither Nintendo, or anyone else, can give us that with a remake of a beloved 30 year old classic. It is a problem for our sense of satisfaction on this remake to expect this groundbreaking experience over again.
So - if we can get past that as a fandom and drop our expectations as far as wanting that, I believe that we will be very satisfied by what they actually give us in this remake. I think we’ll be happy with the outcome.
Otherwise we’re just creating our own problems before we have even actually seen what Nintendo has planned.
I’m not saying to stop the speculating and theorizing.
I’m just saying to be mindful of what you’re asking for if you’re wanting the remake to recreate the same feeling you had when you played the original in the late 90’s. It can’t do that. No remake of a 3D video game can. That was an experience that was a once in a lifetime event that cannot be given again. You can’t even get that if you played the original game on the Nintendo 64 again.
I just think we really need to drop this need for the remake to do that for us. It won’t because it can’t.
What the remake can do and most likely will is give us the full game the way we should have had it back then if not for the limited capabilities of the N64 console. The Nintendo Switch 2 can very much provide that for us.
Because the truth is people love the game. Always will. Just not the hardware it runs on because it’s outdated.
The remake can fix that. Especially if it’s not a 1:1 and everything isn’t parallel to what it is in the N64 original Nostalgia is a drug that really constricts our experience rather than expands it. We shouldn’t ever depend on it.
To truly enjoy this remake for what it is we need to leave all that in the past where it belongs because Ocarina Of Time was a a phenomenal concept beyond its physics and the Nintendo Switch 2 can really justify its genius by bringing that world, that story and those characters to life in a way the Nintendo 64 could only ever skim the surface of but never fully explore to its massive depth.
Ocarina Of Time is beloved because it’s ambitious in its ideas that fans love to expand on with their own ideas.
It’s not beloved because of its hardware and software.
Why ever do you want a nostalgic 1:1 recreation and experience when it was always limited by its physics?