Kyle Gratton is an editor and writer based in Kansas City. He earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in English and history with a minor in film and media studies, and has been a senior editor and reviewer for Screen Rant’s Gaming section since 2021, with roles in editorial and various freelance projects.
A terminally ill Midwestern native and graduate of the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptations of literature, and history.
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The Legend of Zelda is full of idiosyncrasies and history, but it has nonetheless evolved considerably over its 40 years of existence. With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time return to a remake for Nintendo Switch 2I fear that some of the more recent innovations in the series will ruin certain aspects of the classic game, one quest in particular.
Ocarina of time codified the series’ 3D formula that would be followed for decades to come, and while the 1998 original still holds up quite well, it’s quite dated. It’s quaint by modern standards – due to technical limitations – and has a very old-school approach to quests and adventures. ZeldaThe framework has been refined throughout Sword to the sky And A link between worldsbut Breath of the Wild introduces a key feature that could potentially undermine a fundamental design principle in Ocarina of time.
New Zelda games have quest markers
Breath of the Wild was the first truly open-world game in the series and adopted the basic elements of modern adventure titles: a quest log and markers. They returned in Tears of the Kingdomof course, but were also a functionality in Echoes of Wisdomthe final mainline entry in the series. Of course, a quest log is required in all three games. The people of Hyrule have all kinds of tasks that they recruit Link and Zelda to help them with, and it would be impossible to remember all of your current quests without a tracking list.
Quest markers can often feel like they streamline games enough to make an open world unnecessary, but Nintendo has used them quite well so far. In OTW And TOTK in particular, the emphasis is on exploration and their quest markers guide you in certain directions, but you’re often lost or forced to think critically anyway. We don’t yet have confirmation one way or the other if the Ocarina gameplay changes from the remake will include quest markers, but I’m still concerned about that possibility.
Quest markers would ruin classic sequences like Biggoron’s sword exchange quest
Perhaps the most iconic side quest in Ocarina of time is the exchange sequence to obtain Biggoron’s sword. It’s more or less a traversal puzzle; the most difficult sections require moving from one location to another in less than a certain amount of time. But it also shines with some objectives with deliberately vague instructions.
Take one of the previous trades, for example, in which you get a blue-feathered Cucco named Cojiro from Cucco Lady (Nintendo, please just give this woman a name in the remake). She tells Link that Cojiro has not sung since her brother, Cojiro’s previous owner, disappeared from Kakariko Village – an event that occurred while Link was locked in the Holy Realm for seven years after removing the Master Sword from its pedestal. To continue the quest, you need to take Cojiro to the Cucco Lady’s brother, another unnamed character called the Master Craftsman’s Son.
However, the identity of his brother is not specified in the game. You will be able to talk to him when Link is a child. He is a disillusioned youth who leads a solitary life, only coming out at night to sit under a tree near the Kakariko village gate. The master craftsman stands there during the day and will complain to Link about his son.
Ocarina of time doesn’t explicitly tell you who Cojiro’s owner was, or where to find him (he fled to the Lost Woods after Ganondorf’s coup), but it provides enough context for you to understand it. It’s exceptionally obtuse by modern quest design standards, similar to the frustrating experience of completing NPC scenarios in Ancient Ringbut modernizing such things would negate Ocarina of timethe fundamental conception of .
Ocarina of time is the tale of two Hyrules. One is the thriving kingdom during Link’s youth, blissfully removed from the world. Hyrulean Civil War years ago, while the other is the calamitous result of Ganondorf’s new reign seven years later. Obtaining the Sword of Biggoron – without simply consulting a guidebook – is a test of your in-depth understanding of both versions of Hyrule.
If you search around Kakariko Village, you will easily find out who the artisan’s son is and you will probably find out that he is also the brother of Lady Cucco. There’s still no specific guidance on where to find it after the jump, but it’s not hard to guess where a loner might retreat. Maybe on the Death Mountain trail, or maybe to Lake Hylia on the other side of Hyrule Field? But in reality, he’s inside OcarinaThe loneliest place in the Lost Woods, and you will likely stumble upon it if you continue to be diligent in exploring both Hyrules.
A quest marker would undo all the bespoke world-building that makes the Biggoron’s Sword questline so memorable. You would know exactly where to take Cojiro; it would not be gratifying to understand that the poacher’s saw must be entrusted to the master craftsman of Gerudo Valley; even finding Talon to start the quest would be unnecessarily easy. The timed sections of the quest are similar tests of your thorough exploration: can you remember exactly where the laboratory is near Lake Hylia, and can you get there from Zora’s domain in under three minutes?
I’d like to think that Nintendo knows what Ocarina of time tick; After all, Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto are still in charge. But I’m wary that the remake could be seen as a misguided opportunity to “fix” Ocarina of time. Miyamoto is registered discussing the design flaws of Navi, Link’s fairy companion, who is OcarinaThe de facto quest direction system, a character designed to help players navigate the novelty of a 3D adventure game in 1998.
The obvious replacement would be quest markers or a journal that makes it very clear where you need to go for certain tasks. But then there would be no need to engage with Hyrule as it was originally conceived. Ocarina of time It looks like a great game, but it’s just a clever illusion. The area of its map is relatively small. Getting to know Hyrule, before and after Ganondorf came to power, is crucial to the experience.
Link begins the game as a boy without a fairy and is quickly thrust into a world he is unfamiliar with. By extension, it’s a clever ludo-narrative harmony for the player, who has no recourse but to run and roll around Hyrule, talking to everyone he meets and learning the peculiarities of each place. Added quest markers to the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could remove the need to familiarize yourself with the very kingdom Link is supposed to save.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Editor(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Number of players
- A player