When the 40th anniversary The Legend of Zelda Direct event moved from film news and merchandise to the new Ocarina of Time remake, I held my breath. I didn’t doubt Nintendo’s ability to nail a retreading of a classic game. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and 2026’s Star Fox are proof that Nintendo knows how to handle a refresh. Still, I worried given how much we revere The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It’s a top title on any gaming GOAT list. It’s the best game of all-time on Metacritic for a reason. So, Nintendo’s choice to refresh the game and make it sensible for modern gamers left me nervous, because I know how people react when their treasures are tinkered with. With no element of surprise whatsoever, the internet had opinions. I didn’t necessarily think I’d write on Ocarina of Time Loading Screens
Nintendo Leaving in Loading Screens for the Ocarina of Time Remake is a Valid Choice
When the trailer above dropped for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, fans didn’t love how little of the game we saw. It’s more of a teaser than a trailer, so I understand why folks hungry for the remake didn’t feel satisfied. At the 40th Anniversary The Legend of Zelda Direct event on September 8, 2026, we saw much more. From its enhanced art style to the scale of Castle Hyrule, this is a full-blown modern take on the 1998 classic. As always, some didn’t love the changes.
While many argued over the art style and whether a manual jump button was warranted, I was much more interested in the loading screens. During the Direct presentation, The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma, gave a gameplay demonstration. While playing, Mr. Aonuma explained that the loading screens in the original game persisted in this remake. The implication is that including them maintained consistency with the original Ocarina of Timeexperience. Many folks questioned this decision. After all, if modern games don’t require loading screens, why include them?
The Way You Play a Video Game Goes Beyond Mechanics and Controls
From Z-targeting to having to take off and put on shoes for the Water Temple, Ocarina of Time is not without its 90s jank. Fixing things like the lack of a dedicated jump button is a huge quality-of-life improvement. Some people will pick up Ocarina of Time in November and have no nostalgia for the journey ahead. Improving how it feels to play makes sense. Other elements, like the loading screens as you enter new areas, don’t inherently improve the game.
In fact, you could argue those loading screens are essentially resets for the player. As you enter a crowded town square after traversing an endless grassland, where’s the benefit in not providing some sort of break that delineates the two? It’s the mental trigger to reframe our goals and strategy as Link. A loading screen before taking on a dungeon is an invitation to sit up straight, crack the knuckles, and lock in. It also keeps the original game from feeling too far removed from its modern counterpart.
For Newcomers and Longtime Fans Alike, Loading Screens Do Not Hinder the Experience of Ocarina of Time
Like pixel art in modern games, we still long for gaming’s history in how we engage with it today. Imagine a fighting game where you simply walk around a room in first-person and approach a character you’d like to fight as. It’d feel wrong; there’s a stylistic comfort in a character select screen. Just like a film may use black-and-white coloring to capture a time period, Ocarina of Time, including loading screens, says something about this project. This isn’t a game retooled to feel like it came from 2026. This is a late-90s masterpiece made more enjoyable by today’s standards that still feels true to its original form for those who experienced it. For those who didn’t: there will be no Tim Robinson-style I Think You Should Leave VR moment where they shake in fear, unsure of what’s happening, when a loading screen appears.
I do wonder if calling out the loading screens as they did was a mistake by Nintendo. If they had included them and not made mention, maybe a few critics would have pointed them out in reviews. For the most part, I’d like to think most would skip past it on their way to lauding the game for its visual and mechanical improvements. In the end, it’s all just discourse. I do, however, think that if we’re willing to praise 8-bit games for their throwback sensibilities, or a FromSoftware game for seeming particularly cruel for the sake of cruelty, preserving the way Ocarina of Time was blocked and timed from environment to environment is a far cry from a poor development choice.
There is No Better Way to Celebrate 40 Years of The Legend of Zelda than with Ocarina of Time
You can watch the full Direct event above, including the shocking reveal of The Legend of Zelda film title. Would you believe me if I said it was…The Legend of Zelda? The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will release for Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5, 2026.
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