The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D deserves better, as it's easily the definitive version of the game, yet it's always overlooked by Nintendo in favor of the N64 original. The original version of Ocarina of Time is one of the most beloved games of all time, but it's not without its faults. Ocarina of Time has some of the most frustrating dungeons and side quests in the series, along with some design choices that feel unintuitive in the modern era.
Fans want an Ocarina of Time remake similar to FF7 Remake, but the game already received a high-quality remaster in the previous console generation. Ocarina of Time 3D was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, and it featured a number of graphical improvements and quality-of-life features. These new elements made Ocarina of Time 3D the best version of the game, yet it has remained locked to the Nintendo 3DS system.
Ocarina Of Time Is The Definitive Version Of The Zelda Game
Ocarina of Time 3D improved the visuals across the board, sometimes adding in brand-new character models and buildings that better fit the game world. As the name suggests, Ocarina of Time 3D can be played in stereoscopic 3D, so this element would likely have to be cut in any port, but it's not as vital to the experience as something like Super Mario 3D Land. An HD version of Ocarina of Time isn't all that's on offer, as the game does have gyroscopic controls when using first-person weapons and this is something that could easily be replicated on the Nintendo Switch.
The best changes in Ocarina of Time involve QoL upgrades to the interface and the dungeons. There are now Sheikah Stones that provide Visions, which offer clues as to how to complete puzzles, and the Trading Quest tells Link where he needs to go next. The player can now access items on the bottom screen, which means that Link can switch between items like the Iron Boots without needing to pause the game. By far the single best change in Ocarina of Time 3D is that it fixed the infamous Water Temple, adding prompts that tell the player where they need to go to raise/lower the water. Ocarina of Time 3D also fixed a number of the glitches and sequence-breaking locations in the game, though that is something that mostly affects speedrunners.
Ocarina of Time 3D is easily the best version of the game, yet Nintendo hasn't ported it to the Nintendo Switch. Instead, Nintendo charges fans extra for the Expansion Pack on Nintendo Switch Online, in order to be able to access the original N64 version, which has its controls mapped in an odd way to the Joy-Cons. The Nintendo 3DS hosted the best version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (as well as the best version of Majora's Mask) and both games deserve to be updated and released on the Nintendo Switch.