Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Officially Unveils Major Character Redesign

Published Oct 11, 2026, 2:00 AM EDT

Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.

In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.

He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is almost here. In just a few more weeks, longtime fans and newcomers alike will be able to experience Link's adventure with Navi. And leading up to the game's release, Nintendo has started showing off designs of various characters, and fans have started speculating on even more redesigns. Now, we at least have official confirmation that one major character is getting a pretty noticeable redesign.

Of course, changes are expected with a remake, but Ocarina of Time has made quite a stir since it revealed more realistic graphics and characters that some fans think pass into uncanny valley territory. Nintendo has confirmed a number of changes for the remake already, and that includes a redesign for Ocarina of Time's long-winded but well-meaning owl, Kaepora Gaebora.

The official render for Kaepor Gaebora was shared on X, showing off an owl that . . . doesn't quite look like the one from the original game (which you can view above). Fans had a lot to say about the new look for Kaepora Gaebora. "They made him sexy!" exclaimed one user on X. "There goes the stern and wise mysterious look!!!" wrote another, using a bunch of sad emojis to show their anguish.

Generally, from this small sample size, it looks like fans aren't really happy with the changes. Kaepora Gaebora was a memorable, albeit sometimes annoying, part of the original Ocarina of Time, and the new design gives the owl far kinder eyes and a more tolerant-looking expression. This certainly doesn't look like the wise, and sometimes pompous, owl that projected authority in the 1998 original. You can see the new design here:

So far, fans don't seem to be won over by the new designs in the Ocarina of Time remake. Complaints about Link and Zelda's new looks were everywhere after The Legend of Zelda 40th anniversary livestream, and then fans noticed Navi's voice had seemingly changed. Now, it looks like Kaepora Gaebora projects an entirely different kind of energy, which a lot of folks don't seem to agree with. We won't know how much the owl has really changed until the game is out, though.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches on November 5, 2026. Until then, we'll have to wait and see if this redesign extends to the owl's personality or not. For now, though, it certainly seems like Kaepora Gaebora is going to be quite a bit different than the way most players remember him.