How long is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? You may well think you know the answer if you’re one of the many millions who hold Link’s first 3D adventure close to their hearts. But the remake is here almost 30 years later, and things have changed a little.
So, just how much time should you put aside to finish the Switch 2 Ocarina of Time remake, and can you squeeze it in before GTA 6 arrives? We have three different accounts for you to read through, which detail just how many hours it took, and how that time was spent.
Logan Plant — Senior Editor, Playlist & DB, IGN
I’ve spent 45 hours with Ocarina of Time on Switch 2, across two separate save files. Before I get into my time spent, I will point out that Ocarina of Time only supports one save file! It kind of gives the impression that it supports multiple – when you start a new game, it only warns you that the five autosave points will be overwritten – but manually saving on your new file will overwrite your original file. I almost lost my 100% file this way, but luckily grabbed it from the cloud save.
Onto my stats: It took me 21 hours to reach the credits, and nine more (for a total of 30 hours) to 100% Ocarina of Time. That’s every Piece of Heart, Gold Skulltula, Empty Bottle, and so on. I probably could have done it faster than this; I estimate I took five-ish hours just living in the world and absorbing all of its fine details. Pre-existing knowledge of the original is definitely an enormous help. You can rip through some puzzles, quests, and boss fights when you know exactly what to do.
Then, I did it again. I started a new game and beat it in roughly 14 hours. This was mostly mainlining it – and it went fast given that I had literally done all of it just days before – but I still took some extra time to smell the roses and do some extra quests. Up next is the three heart challenge: I’ve never tried that before, but Ocarina’s lack of a hero mode makes me want to set my own challenge. For all my thoughts on those 45 hours, you can check out my Ocarina of Time review.
Lottie Lynn — Guides Editor, Eurogamer
If you take out the time I spent hunting for differences compared to the original game and riding Epona about Hyrule Field, it took me about 27 hours to fully complete Ocarina of Time. That’s finishing the story and doing every side quest, alongside finding all of the Heart Pieces and Gold Skulltulas. (And spending at least half an hour doing the Horseback Archery minigame because I’ve always been rubbish at it.) I will openly admit to being a massive Ocarina fan, so I know this game like the back of my hand, which definitely helped in getting through it as quickly as I did.
One aspect I loved about the Switch 2 remake was picking out all of the subtle changes the developers have made to the dungeons. Especially the Water Temple, for obvious reasons. Playing a Zelda game over Christmas is a tradition of mine, so I’m looking forward to a second playthrough where I’ll relax and enjoy the world more. And by that I mean spend far too much time riding Epona around Lake Hylia.
Brendan Graeber — Senior Editor, Guides, IGN
As our resident Zelda guides expert who has been helping readers through dungeons since A Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, I tend to take my time when going through Hyrule, making sure I’ve documented every last Piece of Heart, Gold Skulltula, and suspicious-looking rock. In searching every inch of Hyrule Field for anything not found in the original game (did you know fairies leave notes now?), my playtime tends to be a bit extended, leaving me at around 27 hours when I achieved 100% completion and beat the game. Granted, even with some of the new changes, it’s fair to say I grew up on these streets, so more often than not I knew exactly where to go and look for secrets. Still, I haven’t spent as much time as I’d like in the Hall of Fallen Foes, and I’m looking forward to replaying some of my favorite boss battles!
