Ocarina of Time Remake vs N64 vs 3DS: Key Differences

There are three Ocarina of Times now, and our own 3D vs N64 guide only puts two of them side by side. That matters more than it sounds, because "the original" is not one game. The 3DS version already put the Iron Boots on a button, added hint videos and shipped a mirrored Master Quest, so some of what reads as new in 2026 was new in 2011, and some of what the 3DS added is gone again.

So this post puts all three side by side. The table comes first. After it, one or two sentences per area, with links to the posts on this site that go deeper, and then the part none of our other posts covers: what the Switch 2 version changed about the story, the characters, the dialogue and the names. I have not played the Switch 2 remake. The Switch 2 column comes from Zelda Wiki's article on the released game and its item and character pages as they read on November 10, 2026, plus Nintendo's store page and its Ask the Developer interview. Where none of them says anything, the cell says "Not documented" rather than a guess.

That is a frame from the remake's opening, which Zelda Wiki says now plays as a voiced narration over a tapestry. More on that under the story changes.

The three-way table

Sources for every row are listed at the bottom of the post. The N64 and 3DS columns come mainly from Zelda Wiki's pages on Ocarina of Time 3D, the Stone and Shard of Agony, Boss Challenge, Master Quest, the Wallet, the Gerudo Proving Grounds and the N64 controller buttons. The 20 fps figure is Zelda Wiki's, and the N64 Z and 3DS L targeting buttons are from Wikipedia's article on the original.

What the table means, area by area

Controls. The jump is the change that touches the most. Nintendo's interview says the team removed auto-jump because modern players would ask why Link could jump in one spot and not another, and that young and adult Link jump slightly different distances. The jump attack works both as jump-then-attack and as a single press, added after one developer found the two-step version less satisfying than the original's. Our Switch 2 remake overview has the full control list.

Songs. Three versions, three button layouts. The Switch 2 default puts three notes back where the N64's C-buttons sat, which our songs guide and the overview's Zelda's Lullaby comparison spell out. Zelda Wiki adds that the microphone reads the relative pitch between notes, so you do not have to hum in tune, and that the Switch 2 ocarina is now right-handed with ten holes instead of seven.

Items. The 3DS turned boots into button items. The Switch 2 does something different: they stay Equipment but get their own D-pad button. Our 3D vs N64 guide covers why that mattered in the Water Temple, and our equipment upgrades guide covers the N64 gear itself.

Hints. The 3DS added an optional walkthrough in a rock. The Switch 2 removed it and spread the help around instead: an objective tracker, Fairy Thoughts, and dialogue that Zelda Wiki says was rewritten with "a great deal of new dialogue and guidance". Nintendo's interview says the goal was letting players work out what to do next inside the game rather than from a strategy guide.

Collectibles and money. The Echo Gem, the bigger wallets, the fifth bottle, the Silver Rupee replacement and the Great Fairy swap are all in our remake collectibles guide. The short version: the Switch 2 wallets are twice the size or more, and the game gives you more to spend them on.

Dungeons and bosses. Nintendo says the dungeon mechanisms were kept and the layouts adjusted. Room-level detail is in our remake dungeon changes guide, and the rematch mode is in our Hall of Fallen Foes guide. Note the 3DS column of the dungeon row: some of what an N64 player will see as new in the Switch 2 Water Temple, like the colored routes to its switches, was a 3DS change that Zelda Wiki says the remake "largely retained".

Master Quest. Zelda Wiki's Master Quest page lists two platforms, GameCube and 3DS. Neither Nintendo's Switch 2 pages nor Zelda Wiki's remake article mentions it. If you want the remixed dungeons, that still means the 3DS version or the GameCube disc.

Character and story changes

This is the part of the remake none of our other Ocarina posts covers. The 3DS version made smaller scene and character edits (listed below). The Switch 2 version adds whole new story scenes.

New and expanded story scenes

Zelda Wiki's remake article says several key moments were "changed or expanded" through new voiced scenes. The ones it lists:

• The opening. A voiced narration over a tapestry of the Great Deku Tree, with Link sleeping in its branches and Kokiri going about their tasks with their fairies.
• The Crest of Courage on Link's hand. As the opening shifts to Link's nightmare, the mark of the Triforce of Courage appears on his hand. In the original, Zelda Wiki notes, that mark only appeared after the Triforce split, which happens later in the story. Kaepora Gaebora is also seen flying outside Link's house during the nightmare, per the wiki's Kaepora Gaebora page.
• The Deku Tree's death. His wilted leaves fall over the whole forest, the Kokiri react, and no background music plays in Kokiri Forest until Link leaves.
• Drawing the Master Sword. Link uses the sword to open a spectral path to the Sacred Realm, then is frozen in place while Ganondorf walks past him, gloating, to claim the Triforce.
• Leaving the Temple of Time as an adult. Link and Navi turn to look at Hyrule Castle and react to Ganondorf's Castle standing in its place.
• Zora Domain thaws after Morpha. Zelda Wiki calls this a fix for a logical inconsistency: in the original, Lake Hylia refilled while the Zoras upstream stayed frozen.

That is Zelda Wiki's screenshot of the Crest of Courage moment: a glow on young Link's hand during the nightmare.

Two quieter story changes sit in the world rather than in cutscenes. The inscription in front of the Door of Time now reads the same in both eras; the adult-era text describing how the Hero of Time opened the door seven years earlier is gone. And the Mask of Truth now reads the inner thoughts of NPCs, with Zelda Wiki saying almost every NPC has new, unique dialogue for it. Masks can also be worn as an adult now.

Characters who changed

Navi's change is the one that matters for how the game feels. Nintendo's interview says the team treated her "Listen!" as something it "absolutely didn't want to change", ran blind auditions to find voices closest to the originals, and found out afterwards that one of the Japanese actors it picked had voiced the same character on the N64. Zelda Wiki's Navi page identifies that actor as Navi's.

Characters get introduction cards with titles, as in the screenshot above. Zelda Wiki records Navi's as "Forest Fairy" and Sheik's as "Survivor of the Sheikah".

Sheik's render shows the short blade at the hip that Zelda Wiki identifies as the wakizashi from the original game's artwork.

What the 3DS changed, for comparison

The 3DS version was not story-neutral either, and its changes are why "the original" is ambiguous. Per Zelda Wiki's 3DS article: Sheik's model became more curved and feminine; Princess Ruto got fins on her torso so she reads as less naked; Impa's standing pose changed; Navi started reminding you to take a break every hour and suggesting a Sheikah Stone if you seemed to be having trouble in a dungeon; some of Ganondorf's voice files changed; and the final blow to Ganon moved from his mouth to his forehead. The 3DS also kept the content changes from the GameCube release: the Fire Temple's chanting replaced with a synthesized choir, Ganondorf's blood green, and a redrawn Gerudo symbol. Zelda Wiki's remake article does not say whether the Switch 2 version keeps those three.

Dialogue, voices and localization

The N64 and 3DS versions are text games with voice clips. The Switch 2 version voices its cutscenes in seven language variants (the table above), and Zelda Wiki says the script was "entirely rewritten". Most NPCs now have several variations of the same line if you talk to them again in a row, some Gossip Stones reveal different secrets than in the original, and many new Gossip Stones were added. Zelda Wiki also says the remake is the first game in the series localized into Polish, in text only, and Nintendo's store page lists Polish among its supported languages.

The 3DS rewrote less, mostly to fit its controls. Zelda Wiki's example is a Kokiri line changed from "he or she will die" to "we will die". The European and Australian 3DS release also used British English.

Nintendo's interview adds that the remake has more than 150 pieces of background music, recorded with a full orchestra but with simpler pieces given smaller instrumentation, and that some sounds were recreated using the original N64 sound source as a reference. Inside Link's house, the interview says, sounds from the N64 era are mixed into the music.

Renamed places, enemies, items and songs

If a name in an older guide does not match what is on your screen, this is probably why. Every row is from Zelda Wiki's remake article. The left column is the name Zelda Wiki files the thing under, which is usually the N64 name.

Two of those have a three-version history. The Gerudo pass was the Gerudo's Membership Card on N64, the Gerudo Token on 3DS, and is the Gerudo Pass on Switch 2. The Odd Potion became the Odd Poultice on 3DS, and Zelda Wiki says the Switch 2 name matches the 3DS one. Our older guides use the N64 names; the Biggoron Sword guide, for example, is built around the Claim Check that the remake calls the Biggoron Receipt.

What is still not documented

• Frame rate and resolution for the Switch 2 version. Nintendo's store page lists HDR and VRR on compatible TVs and nothing more.
• Master Quest on Switch 2. No mention in Nintendo's pages or Zelda Wiki's remake article.
• The GameCube-era content changes (Fire Temple chant, blood color, Gerudo symbol) in the Switch 2 version.
• Whether the 3DS changed the day/night cycle. Zelda Wiki's 3DS change list does not mention it.
• The rest of the rewritten script. Zelda Wiki lists the story scenes above, but none of our sources has a line-by-line comparison.

Quick Action Checklist

• Coming from N64: expect a jump button, a free camera, one item slot on ZR, boots on D-pad Down, and fully voiced cutscenes.
• Coming from 3DS: expect no Sheikah Stones, no Shard of Agony (the Echo Gem finds Gold Skulltulas instead), and boots that are Equipment again, just on their own button.
• Want Master Quest? It is documented on GameCube and 3DS only.
• Using an older guide? Check the renamed table above before assuming a place or item is missing.
• Try the Mask of Truth on NPCs; Zelda Wiki says almost all of them have new lines for it.
• Watch for the new story beats: the Crest of Courage in the opening, the Master Sword scene with Ganondorf, and Zora Domain thawing after Morpha.