Nintendo fully revealed its Ocarina of Time remake during Tuesday’s Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct. Many fans are excited. Plenty of others are not.
The critiques are familiar. Some dislike the game’s art style. Others say it changes too little from the original. Some question why Nintendo made another remake at all.
But one problem has gotten less attention. The remake leans heavily on Zelda Notes, a phone app feature. The writer has not seen enough people complaining about that.
The Phone App Problem
Zelda Notes arrived in 2025 through the Nintendo Switch App. It launched alongside the Switch 2 Editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The app works like a Hyrule version of Google Maps. Players use their phones to find new locations in both BotW and TotK.
The app also offers small extras. These include voice-acted logs, gameplay stats, and item sharing with friends. Until now, Zelda Notes felt like an add-on. Most players did not pay it much mind.
The Ocarina of Time remake changes that. For the first time, Nintendo is building Zelda Notes into a game’s launch. The OoT edition of the app includes a virtual ocarina, a quiz game, and a stats page. Those features are mostly harmless.
The real issue is Gossip Quest.
Gossip Quest Needs Your Phone
Gossip Quest is a GeoGuessr-style series of quests. Players track down locations in Hyrule based on images. Completing them earns ocarina sheet music. The location hints only appear in the Zelda Notes app.
That means players must keep their phone out while wandering Hyrule. They need it to confirm they found the right spots. They need it to claim their rewards.
The writer is a former enthusiastic player of the fan-made HyruleGuessr. They would love to play the official version of GeoGuessr in Ocarina of Time. They just do not want to pull out their phone to do it. The writer says they are sure a lot of other fans feel the same way.
A Bad Time for Second Screens
The timing makes this worse. In 2026, most people do not want to be on their phones. The writer describes the current moment as grim. YouTube feeds are full of videos with titles like “I replaced Doomscrolling with the Switch 2. Here’s what happened.”
Those videos usually feature BotW and TotK. People present those games as a healthier choice than endless scrolling. The writer says we are in a moment where people must actively try to set down their phones. They want to return to their hobbies.
So it is a strange time for Nintendo to push second-screen apps. Most companies left that idea behind in the 2010s.
Nintendo Could Have Done Better
The frustrating part is that Nintendo already changed Ocarina of Time’s structure. The remake adds new dialogue. It adds a jump button. It adds expanded areas.
The writer suggests a simpler path. Nintendo could have added a new NPC or a small requests board in Hyrule Castle Town. That board could send players on the same quests. It would not hurt the game’s ties to the original. It would make the side content more engaging.
Zelda games have always been about the outside and time alone. That makes this franchise the worst possible fit for second-screen apps.
The writer accepts some phone use. Checking Splatoon match stats is fine. Sending quick messages while trading in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is fine.
But riding a horse through a gorgeous field in a phone-free world? That should not require a phone.
The writer’s closing message to Nintendo is simple. They can do whatever they want to Ocarina of Time. Add more shine. Delay the November release date. Just do not force players to use their phones for the full experience.
What Zelda Notes Includes
Here is what the app offers across its versions:
- Navigation tools for BotW and TotK locations
- Voice-acted logs
- Gameplay stats viewing
- Item sharing with friends
- A virtual ocarina for OoT
- A quiz game for OoT
- A stats page for OoT
- Gossip Quest location challenges
The Gossip Quest feature is the one that worries the writer most.
What the Writer Wants
The writer wants Ocarina of Time on their TV or handheld. They want to explore Hyrule without checking a second screen. They want the game to stand on its own. They suspect other fans share that wish, but they only speak for themselves.
The writer does not claim the remake is bad. They do not say Gossip Quest is a bad idea. The quests sound fun. The problem is the delivery.
A phone app breaks immersion. It pulls players out of the world. It turns a solitary adventure into a task with two screens.
The writer says it clearly. They would love to play the official GeoGuessr-style mode. They just do not want to use their phone for it.
The Bottom Line
Nintendo has a choice. It can keep Zelda Notes as a helper tool. It can make Gossip Quest work entirely inside the game. It can let players earn sheet music without checking their phones.
The remake already proves Nintendo is willing to change the original. Adding dialogue, a jump button, and expanded areas shows that. A simple in-game quest board would fit that approach.
Instead, the current plan forces a second screen on players. That feels like a step back.
The writer’s request is modest. Keep the phone features as extras. Do not make them required. Let players enjoy Hyrule without looking at a screen that does not belong in it.
That is the full experience they actually want.
The writer’s point is not that Zelda Notes is useless. The writer’s point is that Nintendo is making it central. The app was fine as a small extra for BotW and TotK. It becomes a problem when a game like Ocarina of Time depends on it.
Consider what the writer says about the quests themselves. Gossip Quest sounds like a good time. The idea of finding spots from pictures is fun. The writer calls it genuinely endearing. The issue is where the hints live. They live in the app. That is the whole problem.
The writer also notes that Nintendo has room to change things. The remake already adds new dialogue. It adds a jump button. It adds expanded areas. So adding a quest board in Hyrule Castle Town would not be a stretch. It would fit the new structure. It would keep the game whole.
The writer is not asking for a big redesign. They are asking for a small move. Put the quests in the game. Let the app stay optional. That is a fair ask.
Think about what the writer says about the wider moment. People are tired of their phones. They want to get back to things that feel real. Games like BotW and TotK offer that. They are big open worlds. They do not ask for a second screen. They ask for attention.
Ocarina of Time is the same kind of game. It is a world to live in. It is a place to ride a horse and look at a field. Pulling out a phone breaks that. It makes the game feel like work.
The writer is also clear about what they are not saying. They are not saying the remake is bad. They are not saying Gossip Quest is bad. They are not saying all phone features are bad. They are saying the phone should not be required.
That is the line. Nintendo can do what it wants with the game. It can change the look. It can change the release date. It can add new systems. But the full experience should not depend on a phone.
The writer ends with a simple hope. Let the phone features be extras. Let the game stand alone. Let players find the sheet music in Hyrule, not in an app.
That is the full experience they actually want. That is the ask. It is a small one. It would make a big difference.
Source: kotaku.com
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