Nintendo unintentionally brought back one of the original voice actors for the Japanese version of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. The development team conducted blind auditions for all roles, prioritizing voices that matched the original game's sound and feel. As a result, one actor selected for a role had previously voiced the same character in the Nintendo 64 version of the game.
This revelation comes from the latest "Ask the Developer" interview, where sound director and music lead Masato Ohashi discussed the game's audio. Ohashi explained that the team composed over 150 new pieces of music, some of which combine a live full orchestra with recreated sounds from the original Nintendo 64 version. The goal was to faithfully reproduce the original sounds using the N64 sound source as a reference, aiming to evoke memories of that era.
Subtle environmental sounds, such as rustling leaves and running water, were layered to enhance the world's atmosphere. Ocarina songs were recorded using a real ocarina to capture its breathiness. The game also supports 5.1-channel surround sound, contributing to a more three-dimensional audio experience, even when using headphones.
During the interview, director HokWai Ng confirmed that the casting process for the Japanese version involved deliberately hiding voice actors' names to ensure impartiality. Eiji Aonuma added that, by fate, one of the selected actors had voiced the same character in the original game, a fact that surprised the development team. Fans had previously speculated about the return of Kaori Mizuhashi, the original voice of Navi, for the Japanese cast, while the English version features a new voice for the character.