What has changed in Ocarina of Time on Nintendo Switch 2? This overview compares the regular adventures on Nintendo 64 (1998), Nintendo 3DS (2011), and Nintendo Switch 2 (2026). It contains spoilers for collectibles, dungeons, and the finale. For a walkthrough, you can find the routes and locations in the walkthrough for Switch 2 and .
The three versions at a glance
| Area | Nintendo 64 | Nintendo 3DS | Nintendo Switch 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics and Sound | Original polygon models, textures, and music. | Reworked models, textures, and animations, optionally with stereoscopic 3D. | Redesigned world with dynamic lighting, rearranged music, and voiced cutscenes. Link remains silent. |
| Movement and Camera | Automatic jumps at edges and camera centering when aiming. | Automatic jumps and aiming, plus motion control when aiming. | Jump at the touch of a button, sprint without a stamina bar, freely rotatable camera, and optional gyro aiming from the shoulder view. |
| Equipment and Ocarina | Items and Ocarina on C keys, boot changes in the equipment menu. | Ocarina with its own touch surface, notes via key or touchscreen. Boots can be directly assigned to an item slot. | Quick selection for items, direct access to Ocarina, boots, and headgear. The ocarina can optionally recognize humming or instrument sounds via the microphone. |
| Game saves | Three manual game saves. Resuming after loading is tied to fixed locations. | Three manual game saves. | One manual game save per profile plus automatic game saves. You can usually resume playing closer to your last location after loading. |
| Orientation | Navigation and maps. A token marks areas with fully collected Skulltulas. | Touchscreen map and optional tutorial videos at the Sheikah Stones. Color-coded waypoints in the Water Temple. | Threads of Time Shows current objectives and completed tasks. The map shows the collection progress for Pieces of Heart and Skulltulas in each area. Fairy messages provide on-site clues and trigger their own puzzles. |
| Additional Modes | The original campaign. | Repeatable boss fights in Link’s Tree House. After completing the game, the mirrored Master Quest with its own dungeon puzzles and increased damage is unlocked. | Hall of Fallen Foes with enemy gallery, rematches, and battle streaks. There is neither a Master Quest nor a separate Hero Mode at launch. |
Hyrule, time of day, and paths.
Time continues to pass in towns and indoor spaces. This changes the daily routines of the residents and the time when you can undertake night quests. The drawbridge in Hyrule Castle Town remains open. You can no longer access the wall via the chains. Many houses can be entered without a loading screen. Time of day, lighting, and music change the atmosphere along the way.
- Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods. The terrain and paths have been redesigned. You need five hits in the center of the target in the Lost Woods. The Ocarina Memory Game has an easier flow. You should also compare the branching paths to Goron City and Sacred Grove with the current Forest Route
- Hyrule Castle. Behind the crawl space by the moat, the secret path leads across a footbridge, through a hedge maze, and through a guarded storage room. Route to Zelda describes the three guard sections.
- Hyrule Field and Secret Caves. Besides breakable stone rings, some grottoes open with the Song of Storms on wind plants. Two Pieces of Heart in Hyrule Field require fairy messages as an adult and a return as a child. One is in a chest on the way to Gerudo Valley. For the other, the password leads to a Business Scrub in the grotto near the town bridge.
- Goron City and Death Mountain. In Goron City, as an adult, there is a hidden room with a sign puzzle. Cut signs 3, 5, and 1 in that order, counting from the left, for 50 Rupees. In the crater, heat damage begins a few seconds after entering. The new merchant route leads west from the summit entrance to the second climbing net. There, a Business Scrub will sell you a Piece of Heart for 100 Rupees if you’re a child. Additional landmarks are located on the summit route to Dodongo Cavern and on the path to the Fire Temple .
- Zora Domain and Lake Hylia. The river, several walls, and the entrances have been redesigned. The Zora Tunic and Iron Boots help with longer underwater sections. The Piece of Heart formerly awarded in the Ice Cavern’s red ice has moved to a Business Scrub in Death Mountain Crater. The Ice Cavern route explains the new layout and the separate Piece of Heart on the ice floes in Zora Fountain.
- Kakariko Village and the Gerudo region. The Cucco search and Dampé’s races follow the new village and graveyard layouts. Gerudo Fortress has rearranged paths to its cells, kitchen, and rooftops. The fortress walkthrough covers the route from rescuing the carpenters to the archery range and desert.
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Dungeon maps, puzzles, and boss battles.
The main dungeons and their key items return. The following waypoints are especially important when switching from the regular N64 or 3DS adventure. The respective chapters also show today’s map and compass finds.
| Dungeon | Path in the Switch 2 version |
|---|---|
| Great Deku Tree | New platform layout, switches, and climbing routes. The map appears early on the way up. In the basement, the large spiderweb breach, the torches, and the water puzzle lead to Gohma. |
| Dodongo Cavern | The map is located in the northwest of the central lava hall, behind some crumbling rock. The bomb route, side chambers, and Skulltula niches follow the new room geometry. You can reach the high find in the Baby Dodongo passage on a later visit using Scarecrow Song and Hookshot. |
| Lord Jabu-Jabu’s Belly | The path is shorter, and Ruto is waiting for Link at several points. Water levels and boomerang switches determine the route. Follow the parasite tentacles and the newly opened drop-down passages to reach Ruto and the symbols. |
| Forest Temple | The first door already requires a Small Key from the entrance area. Courtyard gardens, fountains, and block puzzles lead to the arch. The ghost images and the twisted corridor distribute the Small Key, Compass, and Boss Key along multiple return paths. |
| Fire Temple | The map is located in the southern alcove on the lower level of the rock labyrinth. The Compass is accessed via the eye in the western connecting room. The Scarecrow Route has two separate Skulltula finds. After the Megaton Hammer, a pile of rubble behind the uncovered door in the entrance hall releases the final token. |
| Ice Cavern | Crystals, block puzzles, ice barriers, and the three Skulltula locations follow the new room layout. There is no longer a Piece of Heart in the red ice in the compass area. |
| Water Temple | The regular route has two fewer small Small Keys. You get the map from Ruto and find the Compass in the south passage. Use the color-coded water steps to navigate. Dark Link and the Longshot open additional paths, including the Whirlpool Room and the path to the Boss Key. |
| Bottom of the Well | A trapdoor and five crystals form the path to the Dead Hand and the Lenses of Truth. The three Skulltulas are located in separate sections of the new well’s course. |
| Shadow Temple | The path past the eagle statue, the hover boots, falling plates, and the ghost ship leads via adapted platforms and switches. The last Skulltula is located near the Boss Key area. |
| Gerudo Proving Grounds | 30 Rupees entry fee. Nine small Small Keys lie in the arena; seven are needed for the rewards in the Key Maze. Four eyes raise the platforms above the lava. You can reach a side chamber via time blocks. |
| Spirit Temple | Childhood and adulthood remain separate. Sunlight, cobra mirrors, and Bombchus open new paths to Silver Gauntlets, Mirror Shield, and Twinrova. |
| Ganondorf’s Castle and Finale | The escape has no displayed countdown. Pull yourself across the chasm and blast through the blocking debris. After the tail phase, attack Ganon’s forearms and shoot his exposed forehead before Link strikes with the Master Sword. |
Collectibles, Rewards, and Prizes
- 36 Pieces of Heart and 100 Gold Skulltulas. The total numbers are the same. Locations and tools have changed. This includes the two new Fairy Message puzzles in the Plains, the merchant in Death Mountain Crater, new locations at Lake Hylia, and other rock and wall niches in the dungeons. There are now three Pieces of Heart in the crater. The chest Skulltula is in the back chest next to the jug. The beetle is further down near the Bolero pedestal. Complete locations are listed in the Piece of Heart List and the Skulltula List .
- Five bottles instead of four. You get an additional bottle containing a beetle in the Hyrule Castle Town potion shop. You receive the Will-O-Wisp Collector’s Bottle after five Big Poes. After ten, you get 200 Rupees. In earlier versions, the bottle was at ten. Bottle Overview leads to all five.
- Wallets and Spider House. The N64 and 3DS versions have slots for 99, 200, or 500 Rupees. On the Switch 2, it’s 200, 500, and 1,000. The Spider House exchanges 20 symbols for the Echo Gem, which reacts with light and sound to nearby Gold Skulltulas. On the N64, the corresponding signal was tied to the Rumble Pak; on the 3DS, a notification appeared on the screen.
- Great Fairies. The first visit costs 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, or 500 Rupees, depending on the source. You can get Magic and Din’s Fire on Death Mountain. The stronger Whirlwind Attack is now located at the Castle Spring. For double the Magic bar, smash the ore chunks on the west shore of Death Crater with the Megaton Hammer and pay 200 Rupees. All prices are listed in the Fairy Spring Guide and .
- and Business Scrub and Magic Beans. The new Business Scrub Seed summons a vendor for supplies while you’re out and about. Some permanently located vendors require a password. The ten Magic Beans continue to expand platforms for adult Link. As a child, you can also exchange a bug for a Gold Skulltula at the Magic Beans vendor’s garden plot on Zora River.
- Side Quests and Minigames. Mask prices and sales revenue have been adjusted. The Bunny Hood cost 50 Rupees and yield 200 Rupees for the runner. The shooting gallery and the mine-crawling bowling alley have different levels. Fishing costs 10 Rupees for children and 30 Rupees for adults. Fish are measured in centimeters, with more than 50 cm for the Piece of Heart and more than 60 cm for the Golden Scale. When playing a fish, the rod follows its swimming direction; ZR reels in the tired fish. The six torches in Zora’s Domain and the tiered frog rewards are included in the Zora Route . In mounted archery, the target values are reduced from 1,000 and 1,500 to 750 and 1,400 points. In the Biggoron Sword exchange quest, the Chicken Lady’s brother is waiting in a different location in the Lost Woods.
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Hall of Fallen Foes, ZELDA NOTES and amiibo
After the Forest Temple, you can go from Hyrule Field to Kakariko Village as a child. Kaepora Gaebora will explain the Hall of Fallen Foes to you there. Sleep in a glowing green bed, for example, in the inn in the south of Kakariko Village. In the gallery, you can look up defeated enemies. Bosses you’ve already unlocked can be challenged again and in battle combos. Kaepora Gaebora will take you back, and the supplies you used in the hall will be restored.
Additional features are available via the Nintendo Switch app in ZELDA NOTES . According to Nintendo, a Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required for this. The new amiibo of Young Link and Young Zelda are announced for 2027. Further information can be found in the overview for: amiibo and Masks .