Zelda Producer Says Ocarina of Time Remake's New Look Was Chosen to Make an Impact
Eiji Aonuma, the producer of The Legend of Zelda series, says the Ocarina of Time remake uses a new art style because a familiar look would have made less of an impression. He made the case in an interview with Polygon, as Video Games Chronicle reported on 5 November 2026.
"If it's something that is expected, I think you're losing a bit of an opportunity in terms of having an impact on the player," Aonuma said. The remake is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, so it is playable only on that console.
Art style is the overall visual look of a game. In this case, the simple appearance of the non-player characters, the townspeople and others the player does not control, was inspired by puppetry. Aonuma said the team wanted that look to feel distinct.
He also pointed to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which share a similar art style. According to Aonuma, that is because the two games have a connected story. He added that Nintendo's own development team usually reacts to a new Zelda art style with initial surprise. Over time, he said, the team gets used to it and comes to see it as a good fit.
Aonuma has also said he wanted to remake Ocarina of Time to prompt new thinking among the team's younger developers, according to a separate Video Games Chronicle report from 2 November 2026. Nintendo's Ask the Developer series, a set of interviews posted on its website, also covers the game. In it, Aonuma says he joined the development of the original Ocarina of Time partway through the project.
The look has drawn attention before. In September 2026, IGN compared the remake with the Nintendo 64 original and listed 40 changes, including the art style. Eurogamer later published a column on the reaction to how the game looks.
For players, the key points are simple. The remake is on Nintendo Switch 2 only. Its new art style is a deliberate choice, and Aonuma has said that choice is meant to affect how players feel when they play. Fans who want more detail can read Aonuma's full comments in the interview itself.
