I'm on a roll as I enter Dodongo's Cavern, the fiery labyrinth and second dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. Despite plenty of tweaks and changes, muscle memory of my previous playthroughs has kept me on task – adult wallet acquired, deku nuts on lock, Hylian Shield strapped on my back. Then, I walk forward a few steps towards ledges above flaming pools of lava and immediately faceplant, my poor little elfin boy immediately set aflame. Yes, Navi, I need some hearts.
Perhaps the biggest gameplay change in Ocarina of Time remake compared to the Nintendo 64 original is swapping the auto-jump to a manual button press. Previously, running toward an edge would have the green-garbed Link always jump from the furthest point possible. Now, I have to press a button to do it myself. Great. And why don't I rock up to my local pizza place to bake my own pie next time I order, too? While I see Super Mario 64 challenge runs completing that game without jumping at all, I've been doomed to tap the jump-button in the Zelda equivalent endlessly.
Jump to the past
I'm exaggerating, but only a bit. There are actually loads of times in which the manual control of Link's hops, and how reactive all his moves are in a world that feels utterly teeming with life, helps this remake buzz with a new energy. Small layout changes to early areas add a smidge more naturalistic verticality to some zones, while scampering through towns and mantling ledges simply makes navigation of the overworld much more swish.
Still, it's in the more traditional Zelda dungeon exploration and challenges that I stumble. I'm so used to routing my way through these dangerous areas by pointing myself in the right direction and chaining together auto-jumps that I find myself forgetting or mistiming the input to go early or roll by mistake and end up going splat. This is very embarrassing to admit as a big platformer fan who usually wastes no time click-clacking the stick to do side somersaults up forbidden pathways. Something about having to press the jump button in Ocarina of Time is vexing me. And I'm far from the only one.
the OoT remake experience
— @othatsraspberry.com (@othatsraspberry.com.bsky.social) 2026-11-06T12:17:26.900Z
In part, it's because I have played these games before. These jumps are deeply familiar to me, designed without a manual jump button at all, only to now have the need foisted upon them. It's not like Elden Ring where the addition of a more natural jump compared to Dark Souls was incorporated into its level design approach from the ground-up.
While the position of, say, the pond with the platforms in Kokiri Village may have been adjusted, the sequence is the same as the original. Except, now, you have to press another button the whole time while doing it rather than thinking only about steering.
I'm being picky, and a bit of a grumbler – I do agree with Anna's 5-star Ocarina of Time remake review. This is an exceptional overhaul. But, it's not as if the concept of a jump-button was completely alien to the N64 development team – the original game was intentionally designed not to need a jump button. It's not like they just forgot to include it.
In fact, I'd say more isn't always better – like a sloppy, delicious-looking burger with too many toppings to get your jaw around. For me, some of the joy of revisiting classic Zelda is the simplicity of control that allows depth elsewhere. It's not as if auto-jumping was an N64 limitation, the traversal mechanic having remained in the series all the way through to Breath of the Wild.
Many of the best Zelda games, as a result, make fantastic use of auto-jump without the need for manual jump at all – Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, all the rest. In Breath of the Wild it made sense with the design shift to the open world, freeform focused exploration, away from tight dungeon design. Ocarina of Time remake isn't so different that this fundamental control choice suddenly needs an overhaul.
I'm not fuming it's here, but I'm a bit baffled at the dedication to manual jump. If you're going to add it in, why not keep auto-jump as a toggle or additional option? After all, the Ocarina of Time remake dev team explicitly kept the classic jump-attack and rolling options alongside their modern control versions. Granted, some reworked sections now require manual jumping – climbing up a bit of wall into the Hyrule Castle gardens, for example, which I quite like – but why does that mean I also can't auto-jump when I run at an edge?
Largely, Ocarina of Time remake is a more well-considered overhaul than I had first feared. Over the last few years, I've been finding remakes broadly very hit and miss. Loads of small tweaks feel dialled in to perfection, from the exact amount of luscious detail to enemy animations making combat feel more reactive – all while respecting much of the core design that made Ocarina of Time such a classic. But, when I'm tumbling into the lava because I forgot that not all original design concepts are quite so revered as others at the altar of strapping on more game mechanics, well, it burns a little.
Time marches on. Check out our upcoming Switch 2 releases for more adventures on the horizon!
