Today, Nintendo held a 30-minute Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct. It contained an orchestrated retrospective of the franchise, an extended look at the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake that’s releasing this year, and a few other announcements.
The bulk of the Direct focused on Ocarina of Time, presented by Eiji Aonuma, producer of the Legend of Zelda series. After the brief teaser in the June Nintendo Direct, we finally got the first full look at the game. Aonuma started by explaining how the original Ocarina of Time was the first 3D game in the franchise and how some of the mechanics worked back in 1998 on the Nintendo 64. He jumped right in to show what the remake looks like in some gameplay.
We see Link in the Kokiri Forest starting area of the game with totally revamped visuals and updated mechanics such as a fully rotating camera and manual jumping. There are familiar characters in the forest like Saria and Mido before Link approaches the Great Deku Tree, and we get a bit of a tour inside the first dungeon.
After exploring the Great Deku Tree dungeon, Aonuma brings us to the entrance to Hyrule Field with familiar landmarks in the distance. A new feature called Threads of Time serves as an objective marker in which a tapestry fills in as the story progresses.
One of the most significant changes to the game that we see in the Direct is in Hyrule Castle Town. Unlike the fixed view of Castle Town in the original release, Link has full camera movement throughout the streets, and it looks like there are more characters to interact with and quests to embark on. Additionally, unlike in the original release, time flows while in Castle Town; you can wait for it to become nighttime while in the streets of town instead of leaving the gates or playing the Sun Song.
Another major feature in the remake is that players can hum or play a real-life instrument into the console’s microphone, and it will play Link’s ocarina in the game. This is brand new audio input that has never been seen in a Zelda game before.
We get a brief look at how the Zelda Notes app and amiibo will work with Ocarina of Time as well.
We also learn that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5, 2026.
Below, you can watch the trailer for Ocarina of Time that was shown at the very end of the Direct.
There was more than just Ocarina of Time shown during the Direct. The upcoming Legend of Zelda movie was briefly mentioned, with a reminder that it will be releasing next year in theaters on April 30, 2027. There was no trailer to show just yet, but there was a promise that one will be coming soon.
Koji Kondo, composer of the Legend of Zelda franchise, made an appearance. He announced the Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Concert that will be held in 2027 throughout Japan, North America, Europe, and Australia, with city dates coming soon.
A new Nintendo Switch 2 console was announced. A special Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition console will be available starting on October 29 ahead of Ocarina of Time’s release. You can watch the video that showcases the new console below.
If you would like to watch the entire Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, you can do so in the 30-minute video below.
