The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake would be newsworthy enough for a Nintendo Direct. Since it’s also the 40th anniversary of the franchise, Nintendo decided to host a full presentation of updates and news about its action-adventure title. From the upcoming film to the game remake, and so much more, we have a full rundown of The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct for you. Let’s dive into the presentation, which you can watch for yourself in full at the end of this article!

From a black screen, we kicked off with a compilation of Zelda games from across the years, as a small orchestra played iconic songs from the franchise. From early NES adventures with Link to shots of Tears of the Kingdom, it was exciting to see the series showcased through its growth and development. The orchestra then expanded to a full ensemble for a menacing Ganon theme and a fun finale. It’s a nice way to kick off the show, especially given how integral the music is to this series. Next, we got an intro to Shigeru Miyamoto and a little teaser for the April 30, 2027 release of The Legend of Zelda movie.

The film is going to be an original story based on concepts and elements of the 40-year history of the series. It was sort of nothing, but it’s still exciting that we’re less than a year away from the film. The Kyoto Nintendo Museum is also offering special 40th anniversary tickets featuring The Legend of Zelda, as well as a new restaurant. You can also get digital collectible cards in the MyNintendo App. In a quick look, we saw several collectibles for the series, which included a Link and Epona LEGO, a playable Ocarina, a new amiibo, and more. We’ll likely get more info about these in the coming months.

Koji Kondo appeared next, fittingly since he has been involved in the music of The Legend of Zelda since day one. In January, he announced a 40th-anniversary orchestral tour celebrating the music. It’ll come to Asia, Europe, and North America. After that announcement, we moved on to the Ocarina of Time remake. After a brief retrospective of the original game, he confirmed that their goal for the new game is a faithful interpretation and played some of it on stream. The visuals are gorgeous and feature a great texture system that’s immediately modern and fresh. I’m astonished at how great this version of Link looks at first sight.

Thankfully, you can control the camera with your right analog stick. This wasn’t possible on the Nintendo 64, and I’m so glad they added it. You can also jump manually now, whereas it was automatic on the Nintendo 64 version. You can also swim and dive for treasure. After running around a bit, we moved to the Deku Tree, which looked jaw-dropping. Inside, we got a look at some Z-targeting combat and Navi. Similar to Breath of the Wild, you can swap items with the push of the D-Pad, rather than having to go back to a select-button menu.

Next, we saw the Threads of Time feature, which shows what the objectives of the game are so you can keep track of your progress. As you complete items, a quilt-style design fills in, which is a cool touch. The demo played through Castle Hyrule, and we also got a good look at some Ocarina gameplay, which featured the new opportunity to play songs to change the time of day. There was also a huge reveal: all side characters are fully voiced. The release date for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was finally announced: November 5th, 2027.

Next, we learned you’ll be able to use Zelda Notes in the Nintendo Switch app. The app will also track progress and points that unlock things like Ocarina songs you can play in-app. We moved on to Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo, which unlock special costumes in-game. Then, a trailer showed the rumored special edition Ocarina of Time  Nintendo Switch 2 console. The console features a special dock, back plate, and Joy-Cons, and will release on October 29th, 2026. You can also purchase a special Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller with special designs.

After a look at which games you can play in the franchise on Nintendo Switch 2, we got a new trailer for the game to close out the show. For a game this beloved, you showed everything you needed to in this presentation. With a release date, a better idea of the improvements, and a few special items, I’m full steam ahead on the hype train. Even the little touch of a textured foil cover in the physical version gets me eager for November, which is already stacked with great games.

Let us know what you thought of The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct!

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