The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is stealing a very neat feature that Nintendo previously implemented in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom: a no-UI mode. Pro and Master UI modes were available at the recent hands-on preview event, and a few creators managed to get footage of them in action.
There are three options to modify the in-game interface in the menu. Standard is what you've likely seen in pre-release footage and has readouts detailing health, magic, and your currently equipped item, alongside a minimap and relevant situational information. It's in line with the original game, and pretty much what you'd expect from any third-person action-adventure title released since the late '90s.
Pro mode disables pretty much all of it. The screen is completely stripped of informational readouts, including even the health meter. You'll still see notices for when the game's being saved, as demonstrated in this footage from Stephen Totilo, as well as occasional in-world dialog pop-ups. The one piece of gameplay interface that will remain onscreen is the Z-targeting indicator, showing when you've locked onto enemies.
Master mode, then, disables even the target reticule. You can still lock onto monsters, but now the only indication you've done so will be Navi hovering over the enemy in question. You can see this mode briefly demonstrated at the 9:18 mark in this video from Zeltik.
Over the years, 3D Zelda games like Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword became notorious for excessive handholding and incessant guidance on every detail. Nintendo finally loosened the reins on players during the Breath of the Wild era, and I'm glad to see some of that spirit returning in the Ocarina of Time remake.
Sure, the original game might've given us Navi, the poster child for annoying tutorialization, but there's hope that even she'll be a little less annoying this time around. Will wonders never cease?
