Nintendo developers considered adding fast travel points to the upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, inspired by the mechanics in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, the team ultimately decided against implementing the feature, concluding that it would diminish the game's core sense of discovery.
In an "Ask The Developer" blog post, series producer Eiji Aonuma explained his initial request to include warp points to enhance player convenience. He noted that the original Ocarina of Time allowed players to traverse Hyrule Field quickly by repeatedly using the forward roll. Despite this, Aonuma and the development team found that incorporating fast travel detracted from the experience.
"When we actually tried playing the game with those warp points, we realized that we were missing out on the moments of discovery that came from stopping along the way and wondering, 'Wait, what's this?'" Aonuma stated. He elaborated that this realization reinforced the importance of these moments to Ocarina of Time's fundamental structure, leading to the decision to remove the proposed warp points.
The remake aims to incorporate modern touches while respecting the original game's design. Art director Aya Shida mentioned that the team adopted phrases like "a puppet-show feel" and "the analog feel of practical effects films" during development, seeking to create a convincing sense of character presence within the fantasy world, rather than exact realism.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is scheduled for release on November 5. Early hands-on impressions suggest it is shaping up to be a strong remake.