The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is finally out in the wild a good 28 years after Nintendo's original gem dropped back in 1998, and is already proving to be the highest-rated game of 2026 thus far.
Sure, it's a remake, but it slots in nicely between all the other new games – and it's still just as valuable, too, as Nintendo senior vice president of product development and publishing Nate Bihldorff explains to Polygon.
"I do think that new games and remakes both have a place in the Nintendo stable, of equal importance to be honest. There are fans of every single IP that we have out there," as he says. Remakes are very welcome to those fans, to say the least.
"Of course, having new games in those series is wonderful, and I look forward to them as much as anyone else does, but there's also a deep satisfaction in revisiting games that were very, very special, like Ocarina of Time" – and that's evident in how well the remake is doing already, if you ask me.
It made Metacritic's top 30 games of all time within a day, proving that the community is very much happy to enjoy remakes as it is entirely fresh titles.
Longtime Legend of Zelda fans aren't the only people immersing themselves in Nintendo's revamped spin on Hyrule, either.
As Bihldorff states, "It's also important to think about how many people had never played the original, and for them, the remake of Ocarina of Time is going to be an absolutely brand-new, 2026 experience, and one that I just cannot wait for them to get their hands on." A quick look at social media proves his assertion here right.
Remakes don't just cater to old fans, but they help introduce countless more to long-standing franchises and series like The Legend of Zelda.
They certainly don't take away from new releases, either – every fellow Zelda stan I know is on the edge of their seat waiting for more announcements from Nintendo, especially after the likes of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. I don't see that changing, ever.
While you're here, be sure to read our The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time review. You can also check out our Legend of Zelda Switch 2 stock live blog if you want to grab one of Nintendo's highly-sought-after new consoles.
