The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma asked the Ocarina of Time remake team to add fast travel warp points throughout Hyrule, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that was probably a bad idea.
Aonuma, one of the franchise’s most experienced developers, touched on the trashed concept as part of an Ask the Developer interview shared by Nintendo today. The Nintendo Switch 2 version of one of the most influential video games of all time already seems to have made a few changes to its gameplay formula, but there’s one change that he said was better left on the cutting room floor.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time players and speedrunners have spent who knows how much time making Link forward roll to quickly cross great distances. When looking back at how the series has evolved with entries like Breath of the Wild, Aonuma said he found room for improvement, pointing to the wide-open (and iconic) Hyrule Field as one location that might benefit from a fast-travel option.
It sounds like it didn’t take too long to realize that maybe Nintendo got it right the first time around, though.
“So I asked the team to add warp points that didn’t exist in the original game, giving players access to shortcuts,” he explained. “But when we actually tried playing the game with those warp points, we realized that we were missing out on the moments of discovery that came from stopping along the way and wondering, ‘Wait, what’s this?’
“Through this development process, we were reminded once again just how important those moments are to the very structure of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. So even though I was the one who proposed adding warp points, they just weren’t working for me in the end, so I got the team to take them all back out again. (Laughs)”
That’s not to say Nintendo didn’t find room to experiment with the structure of Link’s first real 3D adventure. Although, for example, the development team intentionally chose to keep loading screens to preserve the feeling of entering a new area, we already know that Link will be able to move faster thanks to a sprint feature. Players can also now take advantage of a dedicated jump button. What might sound like negligible adjustments to some might be earth-shaking changes for others, but we’ll have to wait to see just how different The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2 is from the original.
“Looking at what they ultimately created, I’m impressed by how rich an experience they were able to craft from a game that first came out 28 years ago,” Aonuma added. “At the beginning of development, I remember thinking, ‘They could be making more changes.’ But as the project went on, it really came across just how deeply this development team cared about the original game, far more than we had imagined.”
IGN gathered a list of 40 changes we noticed after getting a better look at the remake in September. We then took a closer look with a preview of our own. If you’re wondering why Nintendo opted to make an Ocarina of Time remake in the first place, you can click here.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches for Switch 2 November 5. Google is celebrating the release with a time-travling Easter Egg.