With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Switch 2 remake out now, long-time Nintendo fans are in for a lot of warm nostalgia. A trek through the lost woods, duets with Sheik, a return to the Bombchu Bowling Alley — all of those wonderful moments return in a faithful remake that feels every bit as magical as the Nintendo 64 classic. But with all those wonderful moments comes a painful reunion with one of the most hated moments in Zelda history.
Yes, you will have to return to the dreaded Water Temple. Even though the Ocarina of Time remake is careful not to change too much about the original game, it does make some small tweaks to a dungeon that still haunts a generation. It’s mercifully easier to navigate now thanks to a few minor but smart updates that go a long way.
The Water Temple is the most infamous dungeon in the original Ocarina of Time, so much so that it has been a bit of a running joke for decades now. The gist is that it’s a four-story structure built around a central room, and it’s flooded with water. To access certain areas, you need to find rooms in the dungeon that allow you to change the water level throughout the temple.
Easy enough on paper, but it’s a bit of a pain in practice. Due to the limited visual information you get in-game, it requires you to keep a mental map of where each water adjustment point is, as well as how each of the three levels will change the layout of the dungeon. It’s a headache to keep everything straight, thus earning it a reputation as a frustrating rite of passage.
While that structure hasn’t changed much in the remake, Nintendo does make it easier to get through with a few smart decisions. That came at the request of Eiji Aonuma, who directed the original Ocarina of Time. Building off the dungeon’s Ocarina of Time 3D redesign, the doors that lead to water controls are now clearly marked with symbols showing you exactly how the water level will change.
You no longer have to remember which door leads to the room that drains the room, or which one will get you to floor two. On top of that, each of the routes are now color-coded. You’ll find variously colored pipes around each of the three doors, and those visually lead you to the control room if you follow them through the dungeon.
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