While the original release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a well-beloved classic, even the most die-hard fans of the game have to acknowledge the horrendous level design of its infamous Water Temple dungeon. When it comes to the remake, Eiji Aonuma – current series producer and the designer of the Water Temple – has apologized for the original state of the dungeon and has said that he wants to atone for his sins with the remake.
In a recent edition of Nintendo’s Ask the Developers series of interviews, Aonuma referred to the revamped Water Temple as “some overdue homework”. He acknowledged that the original incarnation of the dungeon has grown in infamy due to its challenging layout and the clunkiness of the Ocarina of Time’s inventory management that made navigation even more difficult.
“I had some overdue homework: I wanted to do something about the Water Temple I created 28 years ago. (Laughs) Since it became well known for its difficulty in the original game, I had the team make some adjustments in this version. When I designed the Water Temple all those years ago, I wanted to create an experience where simply being underwater was fun.
“It was a time when there were very few 3D games that even let players go underwater. I enjoy freediving, and what I find fascinating about being underwater is how different everything feels. The sounds change, and it feels like you’re in a completely different space. I wanted to create a place where players could experience those sensations. However, with the dungeon’s complex structure and a lot of item toggling involved, you often had to open the menu screen repeatedly, making it hard to keep track of where you were and which way you were facing. We addressed those issues in this version.”
It is worth keeping in mind that the Nintendo 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time featured the Water Temple as a 1-to-1 recreation. However, many of the navigational challenges were addressed in that version thanks to the ability to quickly equip and unequip the Iron Boots item, which gave players a quicker way to sink down to the floor or float. Even with this change, however, the layout of the Water Temple has remained one of the few major criticisms of the seminal game.
The Water Temple isn’t the only change coming with the Nintendo Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time. The title will also feature a separate jump button, moving away from the original’s design of having Link automatically jump over gaps as he ran through the world. In the same interview, program director Hiroki Taguchi and director HokWai Ng said that the decision to add a jump button came from the company wanting to ensure that new fans who got into the franchise recently didn’t feel lost.
Since both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom gave Link the ability to jump whenever he wanted, the remake’s development team decided that the same ability should also be available in Ocarina of Time.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 later this week.
