Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Team Confirms Fast Travel Was Added, Then Removed

November is finally upon us, and we're just a few days away from the release of Nintendo's remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Ahead of the game's Nov. 5 debut, Nintendo has shared the first two parts of an extensive Q&A with the development team. One especially surprising revelation is that Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma asked the team to create a fast-travel system to streamline exploration in the game. But once he saw how it altered the experience, he changed his mind.

"In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there are many warp points that enable players to move quickly around the game’s vast world. In the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you could get around a bit faster by spamming forward roll, so I think a lot of players spent their time doggedly rolling across Hyrule Field whenever they needed to be somewhere in a hurry," Aonuma said with a laugh.

The Legend of Zelda is all about discovery

Elsewhere in the interview, Aonuma and series producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi discuss the importance of discovery to the Zelda series. While players often begin their adventure by spotting an interesting landmark in the distance and making their way toward it, it's the surprises and detours they encounter along the way that make that journey unique and memorable. It was the desire to preserve this spirit of exploration that led Aonuma to change his mind about making travel more streamlined in the Ocarina of Time remake.

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"I asked the team to add warp points that didn’t exist in the original game, giving players access to shortcuts. But 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?” Through this development process, we were reminded once again just how important those moments are to the very structure of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," Aonuma explained. "So even though I was the one who proposed adding warp points, they just weren't working for me in the end, so I got the team to take them all back out again."

While the Ocarina of Time remake won't feature dozens of fast-travel points like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, you'll still have an easier time getting around than in the Nintendo 64 version of the game. The remake will include a dedicated sprint button, so you don't have to spam-roll all over Hyrule to get around in speedy fashion. And Link's loyal steed Epona is also just waiting to be found at Lon Lon Ranch.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be released on Nov. 5 for Nintendo Switch 2.