Ocarina of Time remake beginner tips: 12 things the game won't tell you

🎵 Before you leave the forest

Ocarina of Time is a game from 1998 at heart, and the Switch 2 remake keeps that heart. The world, the dungeons and the order of things are the ones we played on the Nintendo 64. That is wonderful, and it also means the game expects you to work a lot out for yourself, the way games did back then.

We have loved this game since the cartridge, and it gets our full 5/5 in our review. These twelve tips are the things we would tell a friend, or our own kid, before they set off. Most of them work in every version of the game, because the remake changes how it looks and controls, not how Hyrule works. Where something is new in the remake, we say so. If you want the full list of what changed, read Ocarina of Time remake vs. original.

No spoilers beyond the first hours, and no step-by-step walkthroughs. Just the habits that make the whole game easier.

1. Change the settings on day one

Open the options before you get used to anything. The remake lets you aim the Fairy Bow and the Hookshot with the buttons or with motion controls, and you choose which in the options menu. Pick one now and stick with it, because aiming matters a lot later on. If you play with a child, try both together and let them choose.

The camera is new too: Nintendo talks about modern camera movement, so you can look around freely instead of fighting the 1998 camera. Set its speed so it feels natural before your first dungeon, not halfway through a boss fight.

2. Use the jump and the dash

In the N64 original, Link jumped by himself when he ran off a ledge, and the fastest way to travel was rolling forward over and over. The remake gives you a real jump and a dash. If you played the original, this takes some getting used to: you can now miss a jump the old game would have made for you. If you are new, it simply feels like a modern game.

3. Lock on to everything

The single most important habit in Ocarina of Time is locking on to enemies with Z-targeting. It was invented for this game, and every 3D action game since has borrowed it. Lock on, and Link faces the enemy, circles it and keeps his guard up. Without it, fights feel clumsy; with it, they become a rhythm.

Locked on, you can raise your shield, sidestep and jump backwards out of danger. Most enemies tell you when they are about to attack: watch for the wind-up, block, then strike. Lock-on also works on people and objects, which is how you talk to characters at a distance and how you aim at things like switches.

4. Ask Navi, and listen to her

Navi, the fairy who follows Link around, is the game’s built-in help. Lock on to a new enemy and she tells you its name and often how to beat it. When she flashes and calls for your attention, talk to her: she usually reminds you of your next goal.

The constant “Hey! Listen!” became a joke among fans, but for a first-timer it is genuinely useful. If you do not know where to go, Navi is the first thing to try.

5. Talk to everyone, and read the lore

The game hides a lot of its directions in conversations. Villagers, guards and shopkeepers tell you what is happening in the area, where something is hidden and who needs help. Some of them warn you away from danger, and sometimes the danger is exactly where you need to go. You are the hero, after all.

The remake adds even more to read and hear: new and expanded dialogue, Goron gossip and fairy lore about the world. Reading it is not busywork. It is where many of the hints live.

6. Learn your songs, and use them

The ocarina is the heart of the game. You learn songs from characters and statues, and each one does something: open a path, call your horse, turn day into night, make it rain or warp you across Hyrule. When you are stuck in front of something strange, try the songs you know. Many puzzles are solved by music rather than by the sword.

The remake gives you three ways to play: with the buttons, by humming, or with an instrument played into the Switch 2 microphone. Humming is a lovely touch with kids in the room, and it is also a good way to remember the melodies.

7. Use your items, don’t hoard them

Like every adventure game, Ocarina of Time showers you with consumables: Deku Nuts, Deku Sticks, bombs, arrows and magic. New players tend to save them for an emergency that never comes. Do not. Grass, pots, bushes and defeated enemies drop fresh supplies all the time.

Deku Nuts are the most underrated item early on: throw one and nearby enemies are stunned for a moment, which turns a messy fight into an easy one. Bombs open cracked walls and hidden holes, and if a wall looks a little different from the rest, a bomb is usually the answer.

8. Never leave a bottle empty

Bottles are the most valuable items in the game, and there are only a few of them. Fill them with something every time.

• A fairy is the best thing to carry. When Link’s hearts run out, it revives him. Catch them at fairy fountains with an empty bottle.
• Red potions and Lon Lon milk restore hearts. Milk is two drinks per bottle.
• Bugs are worth carrying too. Release them on patches of soft soil and a Gold Skulltula often appears.

Before every dungeon, check your bottles. Before every boss, make sure one of them holds a fairy.

9. Hearts and Gold Skulltulas: Collect as you go

Link starts with three hearts. You gain more from Heart Containers, one for each boss, and from Pieces of Heart hidden all over Hyrule; four pieces make a full heart. In the original game that adds up to twenty hearts in total. More hearts make every fight more forgiving, so pick up pieces when you see them, but do not hunt them all on your first run.

Gold Skulltulas are spiders with golden shells, and you hear their scratching before you see them. Defeat one and you get a token. There are 100 tokens in the game, and the cursed family in the House of Skulltula in Kakariko Village rewards you as your collection grows. None of them is needed to finish the story.

The remake helps you keep track: a Hall of Fallen Foes shows every enemy you have defeated, and a Threads of Time tapestry shows your progress.

10. If you can’t reach it, come back later

You will see many things you cannot reach: a ledge too high, a chest behind a gap, a rock that will not move. That is by design. Ocarina of Time unlocks its world bit by bit through the items you find in dungeons and through the jump seven years ahead in the story. A spot that is impossible as young Link may be easy as an adult, and the other way round.

So if something feels out of reach, it probably is for now. Remember where it was and keep going. Coming back to old places with new items is half the fun of the game, and it is where many of the best secrets are.

11. Save at sensible moments

The original game’s saving was not forgiving: save inside a dungeon and you started again at its entrance, and outside dungeons you returned to a fixed starting point in the world. Nintendo has not explained the remake’s save system in detail, so play it safe. Save before you enter a dungeon and after a boss, and when you stop for the evening, stop at a calm spot, not in the middle of a puzzle. With Nintendo Switch Online, the remake supports Save Data Cloud as a backup.

12. When a dungeon stops making sense

Every player gets stuck in Ocarina of Time. The dungeons are 3D puzzles, and the Water Temple has a reputation for good reason. Before you look anything up, go through this list:

• Find the map and the compass. Each dungeon hides both. The map shows the rooms, the compass shows where the chests and the boss are.
• Look for the usual tricks: cracked walls to bomb, switches to hit or step on, eye symbols to shoot with the slingshot or bow, and unlit torches to light.
• Use your newest item. Each dungeon has a key item, and most of its puzzles are built around it.
• Listen. Sounds tell you a lot: a Skulltula scratching, an enemy about to attack, icicles cracking just before they fall.
• Ask Navi, then take a break. Many puzzles that seem impossible at night are obvious the next morning.

If you play with a child, this is the best part of the game to share. One of you holds the controller, both of you work out the room.

Playing along as a parent

Ocarina of Time is a great game to share with a child, but not one to hand over and walk away from. The puzzles reward a second pair of eyes, and the second half of the story gets darker, with creepier enemies and a couple of dungeons that unsettle grown-ups too.

The remake adds a nice way to stay involved even when you are not on the sofa. Zelda Notes in the Nintendo Switch App shows what was achieved that day, sets picture-based challenges to find places in the game, and lets your child play the ocarina on the phone. It is a good conversation starter at dinner.

If you are still deciding which Zelda to start a child on, which Zelda game to play first goes through the series, and Is Zelda OK for Kids? has an age ladder for every game. After the credits roll, the LEGO Ocarina of Time final battle set is a fitting reward.

❓ Frequently asked questions

What should I do first in the Ocarina of Time remake?

Open the options before you leave Kokiri Forest. Choose whether to aim the bow and hookshot with buttons or motion controls, and set the camera to your liking, so you do not get used to settings you will change later anyway. Then talk to everyone in the village, because the game explains a lot through its characters.

How do I get unstuck in Ocarina of Time?

Ask Navi first, because she often points you to your next goal. Then talk to people in the nearest village, check the dungeon map and compass, and look for the usual tricks: cracked walls to bomb, switches to hit, eye symbols to shoot, and torches to light. If a spot is out of reach, the item you need may come later in the game.

What should I keep in my bottles?

A fairy is the most useful thing to carry: it revives Link when his hearts run out. Red potions, Lon Lon milk and bugs are also worth keeping, and bugs released on patches of soft soil often reveal a Gold Skulltula. Fill your bottles before every dungeon.

Do I need to collect every Gold Skulltula?

No. There are 100 Gold Skulltula tokens, and the rewards in the House of Skulltula in Kakariko get better the more you bring, but none are needed to finish the story. Pick them up when you hear them and come back for the rest later.

How do songs work in the Ocarina of Time remake?

You learn songs from characters and statues, then play them on the ocarina to open paths, call your horse, warp, or turn day into night. In the remake you can play them with the buttons, by humming, or with an instrument into the Switch 2 microphone.

Is the Ocarina of Time remake hard?

Fights are rarely the problem. What makes it hard is working out where to go and how a dungeon fits together, especially in the second half. The remake’s jump, dash and modern camera make moving around easier than on the N64, but the puzzles still need patience.