Playable electric Ocarina of Time now up for pre-order ahead of the Switch 2 remake

Nintendo is letting players play Ocarina of Time with their hands rather than their thumbs. HORI has opened pre-orders for an officially licensed Electric Ocarina of Time at $49.99, an instrument built to drive the Switch 2 remake through the console’s microphone.

The accessory pairs with the sound recognition feature Nintendo built into the remake. Playing a melody on the ocarina lets the Switch 2 pick up the sound and fire the corresponding in-game action, which replaces the button combinations the Nintendo 64 original relied on. Series producer Eiji Aonuma demonstrated the same system during the gameplay reveal by humming the tunes into the console, and the ocarina exists for players who would rather perform them properly.

Hori offers the device two modes: Free Play lets the owner sound individual notes and work through melodies at their own pace, while Auto-Play plays any of the 12 songs from the game at the press of a button. The unit is electronic rather than breath-powered, and it features a volume dial, a headphone jack, and an external speaker for playing out loud. A display stand and a quick start guide ship in the box.

Hori lists the ocarina at 7,980 yen in Japan with a November 5 release, matching the game, and the US listing sits at $49.99 through the Nintendo Store and Hori’s own shop. Hori Europe has the same model, coded NSX-261, down for 27 November and has not opened pre-orders there yet. Nintendo separately teased a second ocarina accessory during the anniversary presentation, a genuine playable instrument rather than an electronic one, and has published neither a price nor a date for it.

The remake itself arrives on November 5 as a Switch 2 exclusive, with no version for the original Switch or the Switch Lite. Nintendo is charging $69.99 for the physical copy and $59.99 for the digital download, or £58.99 and £49.99 in the UK. The first print run of the boxed edition ships in textured foil packaging, and Nintendo is not attaching a pre-order bonus or a collector’s edition to either version through its own store. The game is rated E10+ and is single-player.

A Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 console goes on sale on October 29 at $519.99 or £434.99, alongside a themed Pro Controller at $99.99, or $109.99 for the bundle that includes a display stand. The console does not come with a copy of the game. Nintendo announced the remake, hardware, and accessories during its Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on September 8. Pre-orders for all of them are open.