Link steps out of Kokiri Forest into Hyrule Field in the new Zelda remake screenshots. Nintendo showed the rebuilt The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time during its September 8 anniversary Direct. The accompanying footage follows him through familiar places with new ways to move and look around. Nintendo’s Ocarina remake images also expose a bigger change in Castle Town: players can finally choose their own viewing angle. How much changes when an old adventure gives you that freedom? [1, 2]
Zelda remake screenshots open up Hyrule
Castle Town once presented players with a fixed view. Now Nintendo lets them turn the camera and inspect the streets from different directions. Kotaku’s Rebekah Valentine highlights the difference in her comparison of 25 old and new scenes. She could not reproduce the original town view from the demonstration. The footage never showed that precise angle. The camera changes how players see the same location, complicating any simple comparison between two screenshots. [1]
Nintendo also takes Link beyond scenery that once served as a backdrop. AUTOMATON WEST reports that some former background areas now function as actual locations. Castle Town has more activity, while the new camera lets players examine their surroundings. Nintendo’s game description places Hyrule Field at the center of the journey, connecting towns, a volcano, a lake and a desert. Players still cross a kingdom with distinct destinations. The demonstration gives them more control over the view along the way. [2, 3]
Kotaku separately collected 16 screenshots from Nintendo’s website. Its gallery covers the visual overhaul across characters and locations, including Kokiri Forest and Hyrule Castle. These Zelda remake screenshots provide a closer look at Nintendo’s redesigned world. Valentine’s comparison adds the older scenes beside it, although she cautions that some matches are approximate. The next differences emerge once Link starts moving. [1, 4]
Link gets room to move
Link can jump when the player presses a button. In the Nintendo 64 original, he jumped automatically in situations such as running off a ledge. Nintendo now gives players direct control over that action, alongside a dash for covering ground faster. The changes affect the journey between landmarks that returning players already recognize. Screenshots can show the terrain; the demonstration shows how Link travels across it. [2, 5]
Nintendo pairs those movement changes with faster equipment switching. Players can swap weapons and tools on the fly, then aim with motion controls (moving the controller to adjust their shot). Its game description specifically names slingshots and bows among the tools that support this option. AUTOMATON WEST also reports swimming and diving in the demonstration. Link therefore has several new ways to respond to the landscape around him. The camera helps players inspect it, while jumping, dashing and aiming change the actions they take within it. Nintendo still ties some equipment to a particular era of Link’s adventure, keeping his younger and older selves distinct. [2, 3]
The Zelda remake screenshots cannot show how those controls feel during a long dungeon session. Nintendo’s footage establishes the actions, but hands-on play will determine their rhythm. A familiar room may look immediately recognizable while demanding a different sequence of inputs. How will that combination feel when players leave the demonstration’s early route and enter the temples?
A tapestry tracks the journey
Link’s next destination now has a place in the menu. Nintendo calls the feature Threads of Time, a quest log (a record of story progress and objectives). Players can review earlier events, check their current goal and inspect a tapestry that chronicles the adventure. AUTOMATON WEST describes the tapestry gradually unlocking as the story advances. The game gives returning players a record to consult when they need to pick up the thread. [2, 3]
Nintendo also adds dialogue and fully voiced cutscenes. Its game description presents those additions as part of bringing the characters to life again. The story still follows Link across two eras, with different items available during each part of his journey. The tapestry records that progression alongside the people and places players encounter. A screenshot captures one meeting; the dialogue and story record supply more of its context. [2]
Nintendo keeps time moving wherever Link goes. Its description says different characters and enemies may appear after sunset. The ocarina can change day to night, as well as open routes through the adventure. Players can enter its notes with buttons or hum a learned melody into the console’s microphone (its built-in audio input). The instrument reaches beyond the button layout, giving players another way to perform the songs. [2]
Familiar scenes fill the trailer
Adult Link rides Epona across Hyrule Field in the trailer. Kotaku’s Kenneth Shepard also identifies Lon Lon Ranch, Death Mountain and Kakariko Village among its locations. The footage moves between younger and older Link, returning to Kokiri Forest, Castle Town’s market and Gerudo’s Fortress. For anyone following the Zelda remake screenshots, the trailer supplies a broader route through the rebuilt kingdom. It also reaches well beyond the opening demonstration. [6]
Link’s equipment appears throughout those encounters. Shepard identifies bombs, the boomerang, the Hookshot (a tool for crossing gaps) and the Megaton Hammer. Other moments show fishing and Link gliding while holding a Cucco. Nintendo mixes combat with quieter activities, giving the footage room to move between enemies, travel and diversions. Familiar characters include Saria, Malon, Darunia and Princess Zelda, whose appearances let returning players compare more than the landscapes. [6]
Nintendo’s trailer also shows later bosses. Players approaching Ocarina of Time for the first time may prefer the early gameplay demonstration. [6]
Nintendo keeps a pause between areas
Link leaves Kokiri Forest, and the screen briefly turns black. A small Triforce symbol appears before Hyrule Field comes into view. IGN’s Michael Cripe reports that the pause lasts roughly three seconds in the demonstration. Producer Eiji Aonuma says Nintendo deliberately retained loading screens to preserve the original game’s character. Separate areas remain part of the remake’s structure, even as players gain a free camera and faster movement within them. [7]
IGN records mixed reactions to Aonuma’s explanation. Some players welcome the familiar separation between places; others question why Nintendo kept visible interruptions. A few commenters speculate that hardware demands explain the pause. Nintendo has not established that claim in the supplied reporting. Aonuma’s stated reason remains the preservation of the original experience, and IGN cautions that the demonstration may differ from the final release. [7]
The Zelda remake screenshots offer one useful starting point for comparing Nintendo’s choices. Open Kotaku’s side-by-side gallery to examine the old and new views. Then follow the early gameplay coverage to see the camera, movement and transitions together. The still images reveal the rebuilt scenery. The footage leaves a more practical question for the finished game: how smoothly will those familiar places connect once players control the pace themselves?
- ONLINE NEWS Valentine, R. (2026, September 8). Here are 25 Ocarina of Time remake images next to the original. Kotaku. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Brian. (2026, September 8). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake boxart, screenshots, art. Nintendo Everything. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Amber V. (2026, September 8). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches November 5 this year. Gameplay and additions revealed. AUTOMATON WEST. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Gach, E. (2026, September 8). 16 screenshots of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake show a completely different-looking game. Kotaku. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Highton, A. (2026, September 8). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake differences compared to 1998 original. Insider Gaming. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Shepard, K. (2026, September 8). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake trailer: 8 things we saw. Kotaku. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Cripe, M. (2026, September 8). Fans torn after Nintendo confirms it intentionally included loading screens in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake to ‘preserve the essence of the original game.’ IGN. [Article Link]
