Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Built From Scratch, Devs Confirm

The developers behind the Ocarina of Time remake confirm it's a full from-scratch rebuild with no reused code, and explain why auto-jump is gone.

If you were worried the Ocarina of Time remake was just a lazy port with a fresh coat of paint, the devs have some reassuring news for you. According to a report from Nintendo Everything, the team behind the game has confirmed that it was rebuilt entirely from zero — no original code, no recycled data.

So why go through all that trouble? Program director Hiroki Taguchi explained in an interview that it comes down to the sheer passage of time. The original game launched 28 years ago, so the team decided to remake everything from scratch. He noted that the usual approach is to port over the original code and data and then update it, but this time the team would implement a feature first, compare it against the original, and iterate over and over.

Director HokWai Ng added that even when it came to Link's movements, the team felt it was important to preserve the core elements of the original. He specifically called out that hard-to-describe responsive feel of the controls as a key focus during development. The team also made adjustments so that players who cut their teeth on Breath of the Wild and later entries wouldn't feel jarringly out of place during their adventure.

The most discussed change in the interview was the removal of auto-jump. Ng explained that the original didn't assign a button to jumping — Link would only leap forward automatically when you pushed the stick at specific spots, with a clear line between where you could and couldn't jump. Players used to newer titles would easily get confused, so the remake adopts the controls of more recent games in the series, letting you jump anywhere with a single button press.

Series producer Eiji Aonuma admitted this makes exploration more interesting, but auto-jump also had its conveniences on the development side. Once the restriction was lifted, the team had to anticipate all kinds of player behavior and adjust the environment accordingly. He recalled that there was some internal hesitation at first, since a single change immediately adds to the list of things that need to be reviewed.

Art director Aya Shida chimed in that adult Link and young Link have slightly different jump distances in the game. Even when designing a single piece of terrain, the gap has to land exactly within jumpable range, and balancing that is no easy task.

What do you think of the from-scratch approach — and are you team auto-jump or team jump button? Let us know in the comments!