New Ocarina of Time trailer reveals a hall of monster statues and hidden fairy secrets

Nintendo has released a new overview trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo Switch 2, revealing an area where players can fight previously defeated monsters again. The remake of the 1998 Nintendo 64 game launches exclusively on Switch 2 on 5 November.

Nintendo Japan describes the area as a museum-like facility that lies somewhere in the game world. It displays statues of monsters Link has already beaten, and players can read about each creature’s traits or challenge stronger enemies to a rematch. Rematches are run as time attacks and can be replayed at any time. English-language coverage of the trailer has referred to the area as the Hall of Fallen Foes.

The Japanese announcement also introduced a collectible it calls “a fairy’s thoughts”. These messages are hidden in locations across Hyrule and hold special secrets. Players who find one can have Navi, Link’s fairy companion, read it to them. Nintendo has not yet confirmed an English name for the feature.

Other changes shown in the trailer were first detailed during the Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on 8 September, when series producer Eiji Aonuma presented an extended gameplay preview. Link now has dedicated buttons for jumping and running, the camera moves freely on the right stick, and items can be swapped through a quick-select shortcut. Combat still relies on the original lock-on targeting system.

Cutscenes are now fully voiced with expanded dialogue, and the soundtrack has been reworked with symphonic orchestral music. A new Threads of Time menu records story progress and the next objective, filling in a tapestry as Link reaches milestones. The day and night cycle continues inside towns, and Hyrule Castle Town can be explored freely instead of through fixed camera angles. Nintendo has kept loading transitions between some areas to preserve the structure of the original.

Players can perform ocarina songs by humming a melody Link has learned into the Switch 2 microphone. The feature also responds to real instruments, and HORI is releasing compatible playable and electric ocarinas later this year.

Existing Legend of Zelda amiibo figures unlock in-game rewards when scanned. Two new figures, Young Link and Young Zelda, arrive in 2027 and unlock retro-style masks. The Zelda Notes service in the Nintendo Switch App adds a daily activity record, a location challenge called Gossip Quest, a virtual ocarina, and a quiz with more than 2,000 questions.

The game costs $59.99 digitally and $69.99 physically in the US. In Japan it is priced at ¥7,980 for the download version and ¥8,980 for the package version, tax included. The first physical print run ships with a textured foil cover while supplies last. Pre-orders are open through the Nintendo Store and major retailers.

Nintendo first teased the remake during a Nintendo Direct in June, showing only a single shot of young Link asleep in his treehouse. The original Ocarina of Time holds a Metacritic score of 99 and was previously remade for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011.

The release forms part of Nintendo’s celebrations for the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. A Zelda 40th Anniversary edition of the Switch 2 console launches on 29 October, and the Nintendo Today! app is distributing daily Zelda Collection Cards, with a Majora’s Mask pack running since 4 October.