Nintendo has a monumental task in front of it. Later this year, it will try to iterate on perfection with a full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time<\/em>. Considering that the Nintendo 64 classic is still regularly cited as the single greatest video game of all time, the stakes are higher than your average double dip. Even a short teaser that showed nothing more than a slumbering Young Link was enough to drum up discontent among fans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a little skeptical about the project ever since it was a wee rumor. Part of that is because I revere Ocarina of Time<\/em> as a foundational piece of video game canon that feels too sacred to mess with, but also because remakes can be a crapshoot. For every truly transformative reimagining, there\u2019s a superfluous glow-up that doesn\u2019t offer much beyond a graphical overhaul. We\u2019re still not sure which camp Ocarina of Time <\/em>will fall into, but we got a potential hint this week in the form of another Nintendo 64 remake: Star Fox<\/em>. Despite enjoying it, my skepticism about Nintendo\u2019s approach to remakes remains on high alert.<\/p>\n Developed by Velan Studios, Star Fox<\/em> is a very respectful remake of 1997\u2019s Star Fox 64<\/em>. Classy, even. Rather than tearing down the original game\u2019s arcade-style shoot-\u2019em-up action, Velan faithfully recreates every classic stage in one-to-one fashion. That\u2019s an understandable decision, considering that Star Fox 64<\/em> is a design marvel that has stood the test of time for nearly three decades. It\u2019s still fun to blast your way through a campaign that you can beat in one sitting, experiencing a movie-length story about a vulpine pilot who\u2019s trying to live up to his dad\u2019s legacy. Streamlined controls only make it easier to appreciate those strengths.<\/p>\n But what does the remake actually do to reimagine that experience and deepen our appreciation of the original? Velan\u2019s vision revolves around pumping up the cinematic elements of Star Fox 64<\/em>. The visuals are dazzling, the rearranged score is breathtaking, the animal heroes look less like cartoons and more like throwbacks to the puppets of the series\u2019 SNES era, and there are plenty of new cutscenes that make the story more explicit.<\/p>\n Those changes make for a good list of back-of-the-box upgrades, but the remake comes off as a lateral move rather than an evolution. After playing it, I was left wondering what I had actually gotten out of seeing James McCloud\u2019s ill-fated Venom mission play out in a cutscene rather than a text scroll. Interstitial cinematics that show the Star Fox crew hanging out in their home base are enticing on paper, but I\u2019m not sure that I learned anything new about the cast in those moments. For all the extra glitz and glamor, I can\u2019t say that I\u2019m left feeling like I\u2019ve seen Star Fox 64<\/em> in a new light.<\/p>\n Star Fox <\/em>is a fine game as a result, but it feels like it could fall into the same bucket as some of Nintendo\u2019s more forgettable recent remakes. In 2023, we got a remake of 1996\u2019s Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars<\/em> that traded pixelated visuals for a modern Mario look. It should have felt like a big deal, considering that the SNES game is regarded as a legendary cult classic among fans, but it came and went with little fanfare. That was followed up by a head-scratching remake of niche puzzle game Mario Vs. Donkey Kong<\/em> in 2024, which similarly seemed to disappear into the ether. Later that year, we got a remake of 2004\u2019s Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door<\/em>, another Nintendo fan favorite that didn\u2019t leave as much of a mark as you\u2019d expect given the original\u2019s sterling reputation.<\/p>\n All three of those are perfectly good games considering that they don\u2019t change much about the great ones they\u2019re built on, but they aren\u2019t terribly exciting as remakes. There\u2019s a certain flavor of Nintendo remake where it feels like the sales pitch is all in the novelty of seeing a classic rebuilt with fresh visuals and modern touches. They make for good curiosities for long-time fans in search of another game to play on the Switch, but you\u2019d be hard-pressed to see any of them rank high on a list of the platform\u2019s most beloved games. Star Fox <\/em>could very well soar above that bar, but I already feel myself eager to replay the elegant Star Fox 64 <\/em>instead of firing up a flashier remake full of cutscenes I\u2019m likely to skip.<\/p>\n Will that be the case for Ocarina of Time<\/em>? The tiny teaser leaves me a lot of negative space to fill. All we get from it is confirmation that the game has been given a visual overhaul in the same vein as Star Fox<\/em>. Given that it\u2019s the first (and so far only) impression Nintendo wanted to leave fans with, it\u2019s safe to say that the remake\u2019s marketing push will center around a dazzling makeover. That\u2019s to be expected, but I pray there\u2019s more to the project than the novelty of seeing a Nintendo 64 game with modern graphics. If that kind of pitch didn\u2019t do much to turn a new generation of players into Super Mario RPG<\/em> evangelists, I have no reason to assume it will make a lasting impact for Zelda either.<\/p>\n And an Ocarina of Time<\/em> remake should <\/em>leave quite the impact. The original is special because it feels like a video game folk tale that was meant to be passed down and retold over time. A simple story of a hero rising to save his kingdom from evil becomes larger than itself with each passing era of video game history. A full-on remake has the potential to pay off that historical power, proving the original\u2019s timelessness while making it feel like something new that today\u2019s players will want to pass on to those who come after. A nostalgic novelty that doesn\u2019t have much to offer beyond higher production value could instead leave new players wondering what all that old-timer hype was about.<\/p>\n There\u2019s good reason to think Nintendo could pull off something special, even if its mid-2020s remake track record isn\u2019t very exciting. Strong remakes like Metroid: Samus Returns<\/em> and The Legend of Zelda: Link\u2019s Awakening<\/em> are both great examples of studios showing us old games in a new light. And for my money, Nintendo produced one of the best remakes of all time in Metroid: Zero Mission<\/em>, a total reimagining of a classic that stands entirely on its own, apart from the nostalgia of seeing the NES\u2019 Metroid <\/em>brought to life on Game Boy Advance. That\u2019s the blueprint I hope Ocarina of Time<\/em>\u2019s developers are looking toward, because I\u2019ll still be thinking about Zero Mission<\/em> long after Star Fox<\/em> has faded from my memory.<\/p>\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/star-fox-arwing-dodges-boss.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Velan Studios\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Mario,](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/chorus\/uploads\/chorus_asset\/file\/24921576\/Switch_SuperMarioRPG_scrn_01.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Link](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/nintendoswitch2_thelegendofzelda_ocarinaoftime_screenshot.png?q=49&fit=crop&w=220&h=124&dpr=2\"\/)
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