Three days after its release, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo Switch 2 garnered 5,368 user ratings. According to Metacritic, more than 5,200 of them are positive, representing 96% of the total. Another 76 reviews were mixed (1%), and 148 were negative (3%). The website awarded the remake “Universal Acclaim”.
The critics’ score for the new version is also impressive at 96 points. This places it among the highest-rated releases of the year. Nintendo completely overhauled the visuals of the original Nintendo 64 adventure while preserving the dungeon structure and story. Changes include improved character controls, a dedicated jump button, voice acting for characters, and other minor enhancements aimed at modernizing the gameplay.
At the same time, the original 1998 Ocarina of Time still holds the Metacritic record among games for critic scores: its average score stands at 99 out of 100 based on 22 reviews. It was this installment of the series that helped establish many mechanics of 3D adventures, including target lock-on in combat and camera control. The Legend of Zelda franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, launched in 1986 and marks its 40th anniversary this year.