Nintendo asked the artist behind the Nintendo 64 version’s illustrations to draw a new map for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Switch 2. Director HokWai Ng said so in Part 2 of Nintendo’s Ask the Developer interview, published days before the remake’s November 5 launch.
“We also wanted to capture the excitement of thinking, ‘I’m going to explore this world.’ So we asked the artist who had created the illustrations for the Nintendo 64 version to draw a new map for this game.”
Nintendo doesn’t name the N64 illustrator in the interview
Ng never gives the artist’s name. Longtime Nintendo artist Yusuke Nakano, whose credits include Majora’s Mask and the 2019 Link’s Awakening, is understood to be the illustrator in question, but Nintendo doesn’t confirm that here.
Hyrule stays split into separate maps on purpose
The new map fits a bigger decision: this remake does not stitch Hyrule into one seamless world. Ng said the team didn’t want to change how each location feels or how the locations connect.
“So this time, as in the original game, we chose not to make the entire world seamless, instead using separate maps for different areas. We wanted each new area to bring the same sense of excitement that players experienced in the original.”
He said moving between maps gives players a natural transition, a moment to reflect on the adventure so far and look ahead to the next area.
Hyrule Field’s castle and windmill were deliberately enlarged
Art director Aya Shida called large areas like Hyrule Field especially challenging. The scenery had to feel vast without suggesting players could walk anywhere they could see, even beyond the mountains.
Her team’s answer was to give explorable areas a high level of detail, use slightly less in places you can’t reach so they read as distant scenery, and deliberately enlarge landmarks such as the castle and windmill. The goal, she said, was for the screen to show what’s worth breaking and what’s just a view, without having to explain it.
Ocarina of Time launches on Switch 2 on November 5 at $59.99
The remake arrives tomorrow on Switch 2, and Best Buy’s midnight openings come with a foil cover and free poster while supplies last. We’ve also looked at the FSR 1.0 upscaler listed in its license notice.
