Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake First Review Appears Online

Published Nov 4, 2026, 4:24 AM EST

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake has an incredibly high bar to clear. Its predecessor is the only game in existence to get a perfect 100 on Metacritic, ostensibly marking it as the very best game ever made, at least according to critics. Its 2026 remake is facing far fiercer competition as well as the complex and demanding sensibilities of a modern audience, something its predecessor never really had to deal with. As a result, many have, naturally, been wondering what kind of reviews the remake will get, and whether they'll match those of the original.

We've already had plenty of Ocarina of Time remake previews that have showcased what's new and what we can expect from the new title. However, until now, we could only speculate about what its final and official review score would be from critics, and whether it would match that of the original. Fortunately, the reviews are trickling in, with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake's very first review officially being released online for all to see. We now finally have an idea of what kind of score it will achieve.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake has had its first review, and it is from the site NPR. It appears as if the review was uploaded by mistake, as while you can still find the original link, it has since been deleted. However, AshyLarry25 posted the original review to Reddit via the GamingLeaksandRumors subreddit, giving fans an idea of what the site thought and whether Ocarina of Time's remake's changes are big enough to warrant its existence in the first place.

The review from NPR explains that while the camera angle change is for the better, the reviewer, James Perkins Mastromarino, finds he missed the original game's framing more. He also found that the targeting system had not improved all that drastically, instead finding it "clumsy". The review further praises the introduction of the quick item menu, which allows players to switch between items with ease, as well as the addition of the Threads of Time quest log.

According to NPR's review, Ocarina of Time's infamous Water Temple has been made a little less "aggravating", although it doesn't specify how. The visual overhaul is largely praised, although it believes that several of the characters veer too far into the uncanny valley. Additionally, Mastromarino states that many of Ocarina of Time's oddities have been sanded down, citing that Navi has been largely restrained, Mido no longer feels like a bully, and Kaepora Gaebora no longer forces you to listen to his long speeches.

The review concludes by discussing the necessity of the remake, calling it a more "conservative remake" compared to the likes of Final Fantasy 7's new trilogy due to its devotion to the original. NPR's review states that, as a result, it "cannot reproduce the shock of discovery" that the original delivered back in 1998. It doesn't call it a bad game, as it is still ostensibly the very best Legend of Zelda game ever made, but rather that it is one of "Nintendo's safest possible bets, even as its craftsmanship deserves admiration."

NPR doesn't give a final score for this review, but the text speaks for itself. Many in the Reddit thread believe this will be indicative of the reviews for Ocarina of Time's remake as a whole; however, we also got an official review from the Japanese publication Famitsu, which gave it an impressive rating of 37/40 (the original got 40/40). So, it is likely that we can expect high scores across the board, but perhaps a sentiment that the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake veers more on the safe side than some critics may have liked.