REDUX - Nintendo & Storytelling: Expanding on Ocarina of Time’s LORE

Three years ago on this Kenchron blog, long before we had any idea that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would be getting another remake beyond the 3DS version, I wrote a post titled "Nintendo & Storytelling: Ideas for Elaborating on Ocarina of Time's Lore."

Now that we're getting a new Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2, I think it's time to revisit that idea.

My argument back then was pretty simple: Ocarina of Time has a surprisingly deep story and lore, but much of it is TOLD to us rather than SHOWN to us.

Characters explain what happened through dialogue. We get brief pieces of information through text. But there are so many important events that happened before and during the game that we never actually see.

That's where I think Nintendo could make a huge difference with this remake.

Don't Reinvent Ocarina of Time—Expand It

I'm not looking for Nintendo to completely reinvent Ocarina of Time. I don't need it to become something like the Final Fantasy VII Remake project, where the original story is dramatically expanded and restructured across multiple games.

Instead, I'd like Nintendo to take the story that's already there and give it more room to breathe. Final Fantasy VII did a great job using cinematic sequences to dramatize its backstory and give emotional weight to events that characters previously only talked about.

Nintendo could do the same thing with Ocarina of Time.

There are so many moments where a character tells Link, "This happened," and I'm sitting there thinking:

Why can't we actually see it happen?

Here are some examples:

1). Show Us the Great War

The Great War is one of the most important pieces of Hyrule's history, yet the original game barely shows us anything about it.

Give us a flashback.

Show us the conflict that preceded the events of Ocarina of Time. Show us what Hyrule was like during the war and how it ultimately led to Link being brought to the Kokiri Forest.

This could provide tremendous context for the world we're entering.

2). Show Ganondorf's Encounter With the Deku Tree

The Great Deku Tree tells Link that Ganondorf came seeking the Kokiri's Spiritual Stone and eventually cursed him.

Why not show it?

Let us actually see Ganondorf enter the forest, confront the Deku Tree, demand the Spiritual Stone, and place the curse on him. It's already part of the story. Nintendo wouldn't be changing anything. It would simply be showing us what the game already told us happened.

3). Show Link's Mother

This one could be incredibly powerful.

The Deku Tree Sprout tells Link about his mother fleeing the war with her baby and entrusting him to the Great Deku Tree before she died. Imagine actually seeing that.

A young woman fleeing a devastating conflict with her infant, arriving in Kokiri Forest, desperately pleading with the Deku Tree to protect her child before she dies. That would give Link's origin story an emotional weight the original game simply couldn't convey.

And it could immediately explain another longstanding mystery: Why doesn't Link have a fairy?

He's not a Kokiri. He was brought into the forest as a human child.

Show us.

4). The Composer Brothers

We know the Composer Brothers were researching the ability to control time, and we know Ganondorf was interested in their work. That's fascinating lore.

So show it.

Let us see their research. Show Ganondorf attempting to acquire their knowledge. Give us a glimpse into what they discovered before their deaths. Again, this doesn't require rewriting the story. It's already there.

5). Show Us What Ganondorf Did to the Gorons and Zoras

The Gorons' crisis is another perfect example. Ganondorf blocks Dodongo's Cavern, cutting off the Gorons' access to the nutritious rocks they depend on for food. That's essentially a forced famine.

Show us Ganondorf threatening Darunia. Show him deliberately creating the crisis on Death Mountain. Likewise, show us Ganondorf poisoning Lord Jabu-Jabu and causing the crisis in Zora's Domain.

These events would make Ganondorf feel like a much more active villain rather than someone we mostly hear about.

6). Show the Attack on Hyrule Castle

We know Ganondorf's forces attacked Hyrule Castle. We see the aftermath. We see Zelda and Impa escaping. We even encounter that dying soldier in the back alley of Hyrule Castle Town.

But what happened?

Show us.

Show Ganondorf's forces invading the castle. Show Zelda and Impa fleeing. Show us how that soldier ended up dying.

These little details could turn Hyrule into a much more lived-in world.

7). What Was Zelda Doing for Seven Years?

This is one of the biggest opportunities.

After Link pulls the Master Sword and enters the Sacred Realm, seven years pass. What was Zelda doing during all that time? We know she became Sheik and spent those years hiding from Ganondorf.

But what was her life actually like?

How did she survive?

Where did she go?

How did she gather information?

How did she learn what was happening throughout Hyrule?

Show us.

Zelda is arguably the second-most important character in the entire story, and the original game gives us surprisingly little insight into those seven years.

8). Show Volvagia's Resurrection

Darunia tells us what happened to the Gorons.

We learn that Ganondorf revived Volvagia. Darunia goes off to fight the dragon. And then Link eventually arrives and finds out what happened.

I want to see it.

Show Ganondorf resurrecting Volvagia.

Show the Gorons being imprisoned.

Show Darunia making the decision to fight the dragon.

Show his doomed battle against Volvagia.

These moments would make finally confronting Volvagia much more meaningful.

9). Show What Happened to Zora's Domain

The same applies to Zora's Domain.

We arrive and find the entire area frozen. But imagine actually watching it happen.

Show Ganondorf freezing the domain.

Show what happened to the Zoras.

Show Princess Ruto being rescued by Sheik.

These are events that already exist in the game's lore.

Give us the scenes.

10). Give Us Ganondorf's Perspective

And here's one of my favorite possibilities:

Show us Ganondorf watching Link.

Ganondorf tells Link toward the end that he has been watching him from the beginning.

So... let's actually see it.

Give us brief scenes throughout the game showing Ganondorf monitoring Link's progress.

Maybe we see him learning that Link has obtained a Spiritual Stone.

Maybe he's watching events unfold at the temples.

Maybe he realizes that Sheik is helping Link.

Then, when Zelda's identity is finally revealed, that revelation carries even more weight because we've seen Ganondorf's perspective along the way.

It would make him feel much more present throughout the entire adventure.

The Story Is Already There

That's ultimately the point of my original post.

Nintendo doesn't need to fundamentally change Ocarina of Time to make its story better.

The story is already there.

The lore is already there. The characters are already there. The events already happened.

Nintendo just needs to show us.

Give Zelda more development. Give Ganondorf more presence. Give Link's mother a proper moment. Give Darunia more emotional weight. Show us the Great War. Show us the invasion. Show us what happened during those seven missing years.

Turn the pieces of lore that we've been told for nearly 30 years into actual story sequences.

That's the kind of remake I want.

Not a completely different Ocarina of Time.

A more complete one.

So I'm staying positive and keeping my expectations in check.

Let's see what Nintendo does.

But if they go in this direction?

I'm all in.