The N64's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time water graphics look better than the new Switch version. With its new subscription tier the Expansion Pack, Nintendo Switch Online is offering subscribers the chance to play a selection of Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games. Among these selected titles is the endlessly praised, much beloved Ocarina of Time. NSO + Expansion Pack has just recently gone live as of writing on October 26, and early adopters have already found that the new Switch version of Ocarina of Time does not render its water and fog properly.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time first came out in 1998 and has multiple re-releases in various formats since, including a full remaster for the 3DS. Ocarina of Time has been ported to the GameCube, and is also available on the Virtual Console for both the Wii and Wii U. None of these re-releases have had the same issue with Ocarina of Time's water and fog as the newest version for the Switch. Additionally, fan emulations of this Legend of Zelda game are available, and have managed to recreate the game without similar hiccups.
Twitter user @stopskeletons posted some screenshots showing three different versions of the Dark Link mini boss room in the Ocarina of Time Water Temple, where the problem is especially noticeable. The screenshots compare the original N64 version to the Wii Virtual Console and NSO emulations. Ocarina of Time on the Wii VC is a faithful recreation, even if the game is a bit stretched by the wider aspect ratio of this screenshot. The new Switch version of Ocarina of Time, however, leaves a lot to be desired in its inability to deliver the arena's ambiance. The Zelda game's water, which is actually a very shallow pool, appears deep and provides no reflections, and the lack of fog removes the visual trick that makes the room look boundless.
Ocarina Of Time's Graphical Issues May Be With The Emulator
Just like Nintendo Switch Online's NES and Super Nintendo games, the N64 titles are not ports of classic games, but emulations. According to John Linneman (@dark1x on Twitter), who's known for doing technical analysis on games for Digital Foundry, the Switch's emulation may be to blame for the lack of fog and transparency effects in Ocarina of Time. If this is the case, similar issues might crop up in other titles included in the NSO Expansion Pack. Nintendo's new subscription tier is already too expensive, but the inability to deliver a faithful recreation of a game that's over two decades old is bewildering.
It's possible that the issue with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's water graphics will be fixed in the near future - all it took was a system software update to launch access to the Expansion Pack games - but it's quite confusing that these issues even appeared in the first place. Nintendo has emulated Ocarina of Time before on the Virtual Console, and obviously the emulation technology has changed between platforms, but one would think that Nintendo would want to be careful not to get anything wrong with an Ocarina of Time emulation, considering it's still one of its most celebrated titles.
Source: Twitter (@dark1x, @stopskeletons)