Zelda: Ocarina Remake’s Lack Of Gameplay Did It A Disservice

After months of rumors and leaks, Nintendo finally officially announced its remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's an appropriate way to mark the series' 40th birthday this year, as Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the best Zelda games of all time, along with being a formative experience for games' transition to 3D. Despite the obvious significance, though, the art style used for our extremely brief glimpse was divisive--and that's something Nintendo could have avoided by showing gameplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8eMoxo4ipE First, let's review what this cinematic reveal trailer actually does show. The narration explains the land of Hyrule, which houses a small forest in one corner, full of spritely folk who act as protectors with the help of their guardian fairies--with the exception of one boy, who does not have a fairy. Against this narration we see slow pans around a tapestry showing familiar elements like the Great Deku Tree and Link himself. It then transitions to a view of Link, sleeping in his bed, as the Triforce starts to resonate on his hand. As reveals go, it was an appropriately reverent tease. It established the world and what makes this version of Link special as he starts his adventure to eventually become the destined Hero of Time. It hints at a larger story with the iconic Triforce symbol glowing on his hand. I especially love that plot point in Ocarina of Time, so it was exciting to see it being teased right from the start. And to a certain extent, announcing it this way makes sense. It's a remake of a beloved game, after all, so the first thing Nintendo showed us is essentially a recreation of how we got our first look at Link in the original Ocarina of Time: peacefully sleeping and unaware of his heroic destiny. At the same time, the original Ocarina of Time probably would've been a lot less exciting if this was all we had to go on: Image Credit: Game Master TV on YouTube Nintendo surely wants to save its gameplay presentation for another time, likely a dedicated Direct event that focuses solely on Ocarina of Time. That will be where it shows off the first gameplay and likely details any updates or new quality-of-life features. It's a classic PR video game rollout: a tease to wet fans' whistles, followed by a showcase later on. So why is this one inspiring such divisive reactions? To start, the Ocarina remake was so heavily rumored and leaked that fans had already priced in the reveal as a foregone conclusion. The purpose of a teaser like this is to announce the existence of a project, but the types of people who follow gaming news closely--and who would tune in for a Nintendo Direct in the middle of a weekday--already knew about it. Nintendo essentially said Hey, this exists! and the reaction was Yeah, we know. And that is also why the lack of gameplay stands out here. The remake isn't a surprise, and we all know the story by heart. If we had seen even a snippet of gameplay, we would have a better idea of how this art style works in motion, when Link is actually moving around the world. It's difficult to judge, by this brief cinematic snippet, how well the art style will work for the dynamism and adventure that characterizes the Zelda series. Nintendo has a special gift for artistry, honed by years of squeezing the most out of its underpowered hardware. I have no doubts that in motion, in gameplay, the Ocarina of Time remake will look excellent. But by forgoing that for its first reveal, Nintendo generated debate over whether this art style works. None of us will really know how well it works until we see it in practice, but Nintendo chose to present it this way. Now we have no choice but to wonder and second-guess until we see the game in action--hopefully sooner rather than later.