Zelda Notes Guide: All 9 Features, Setup, Whether to Use It
How Zelda Notes works with the Switch 2 Editions of Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild, plus the four features announced for Ocarina of Time.
Zelda Notes is the feature that turned the Switch 2 Editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom into more than a resolution bump. It lives in the Nintendo Switch App on your phone, not in the game menu, which is why so many players ask how to open it. This guide covers setup, all nine features as Nintendo names them, the features announced for Ocarina of Time, and the first-playthrough question.
What do I need to use Zelda Notes?
You need four things: the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of either game, the free Nintendo Switch App on a compatible smart device, a Nintendo Account, and an internet connection while you play. Nintendo is explicit that a Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required. Zelda Notes does not work with the original Switch versions — if you have not upgraded yet, see what the Switch 2 Edition changes.
What are the nine Zelda Notes features?
Nintendo’s official page lists them in this order. Names in the Hong Kong Chinese version are given where Nintendo published them.
| # | Feature (official EN) | 官方简中 | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Navigation | 引领导航 | Voice guidance toward Korok seeds and shrines, plus completion rates for each collectible type |
| 02 | Voice Memories | 声之记忆 | Hear the memories of certain characters at specific locations |
| 03 | Autobuild Sharing | 二维码蓝图 | Turn an Autobuild design into a QR code; scan others’ codes to import their builds (Tears of the Kingdom only) |
| 04 | Item Sharing | 二维码道具箱 | Share items by QR code; some Tears of the Kingdom items convert when received in Breath of the Wild |
| 05 | Photo Studio | 相册工作室 | Frames and stickers for in-game photos; can be attached to item and design QR codes |
| 06 | My Play Data | — | Your own statistics |
| 07 | Global Play Data | — | Compare your data with players worldwide |
| 08 | Daily Bonus | — | “Take a chance on in-game rewards” once a day |
| 09 | amiibo | amiibo运用 | Scan amiibo through the app once per day; after five scans you get one extra scan that day |
How does Navigation work?
Navigation is the feature people mean when they say Zelda Notes “solves” the game. Pick a target type — Korok seeds or shrines — and the app gives voice directions relative to your position, while showing completion rates for every category of collectible. It is built for the endgame: if you are stuck at 151 of 152 shrines, this is the fastest way to find the last one. Pair it with our shrine location list when you want to know what a shrine contains before you go, and with the Korok seed guide for the puzzle types.
How do Autobuild Sharing and Item Sharing work?
Both use QR codes generated by the app. For Autobuild, you send a design from Tears of the Kingdom to Zelda Notes, which produces a code; anyone who scans it imports the design. This is Tears of the Kingdom only. Item Sharing works in both games; Nintendo notes that certain Tears of the Kingdom items are converted into different items when received in Breath of the Wild.
How does the amiibo feature work?
Zelda Notes lets you use amiibo through the app once a day. After you have scanned five times through Zelda Notes, you are granted one additional scan for that day. The Sage amiibo (Sidon, Tulin, Yunobo, Riju) were added in Ver. 1.4.0, and Mineru’s Construct arrives on September 17, 2026.
What will Zelda Notes add for Ocarina of Time?
Nintendo announced Zelda Notes support for the Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time in the Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on September 8, 2026. The game launches on November 5, 2026 (see the release date and price guide). Nintendo named four headline features:
| Feature (official EN) | Nintendo HK/TW name | What Nintendo has said |
|---|---|---|
| Today’s Record | 今日記錄 | A timeline of what you did that day. Photos are taken automatically while you play and added to Zelda Notes, and you can check that day’s stats, such as how many enemies you defeated. |
| Gossip Quest | 傳聞任務 | The app shows a hint image; find that place in the game to earn points. You trade the points for ocarina music scores to use in Play Ocarina. |
| Play Ocarina | 笛子演奏 | Play a virtual ocarina freely on the touchscreen. With a score you can play along with a guide or listen to it play automatically. You can also write your own scores and share them as QR codes. |
| Ocarina of Time Quiz | 時之笛檢定 | Questions about the game, including picture questions, answered one after another. Over 2,000 in all. You can take it once a day; extra tries cost rupees you earned in the game, which you send to the app from a shop in the game. |
Nintendo says these are highlights and that Zelda Notes will have more features for the game. The menu in Nintendo’s announcement image also shows tiles named Map, Hall of Fallen Foes, My Play Data, Global Play Data, Photo Studio, Threads of Time and amiibo, but Nintendo has not described what they do for Ocarina of Time. Threads of Time is also the name of the in-game story tracker; see every confirmed new feature for how that works in the game.
The announcement’s footnote lists a Nintendo Account, a persistent internet connection and a compatible smart device as requirements. It does not mention a Nintendo Switch Online membership.
Not announced yet:
- A start date for the Ocarina of Time features, or whether all of them work on launch day
- How many Gossip Quest locations and ocarina scores there are, and how many points a score costs
- What existing Zelda amiibo give in Ocarina of Time (Nintendo only says “in-game items” that help your adventure), and whether the Zelda Notes amiibo scan works with this game
- The exact masks the Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo unlock, beyond “special masks” in a retro graphical style, and their release date in 2027
- The price and release date of Nintendo’s own playable ocarina, which Nintendo says arrives “later this year”. It works with the game through the Switch 2 microphone, not through Zelda Notes
Should I use Zelda Notes on a first playthrough?
It depends on which feature. Voice Memories, the Daily Bonus, Photo Studio and amiibo change nothing about exploration. Navigation does: it removes the “where is the last shrine” search that is a large part of the game’s structure. The most common advice on r/TOTK and r/zelda is to play the first run without Navigation and switch it on for the 100% cleanup. Players who bought the upgrade pack only for Zelda Notes generally say it was worth the price on its own.
What Nintendo has not published
- The total number of Voice Memories.
- Chinese names for My Play Data, Global Play Data and Daily Bonus (the Hong Kong page shows them as images).
- Any update roadmap beyond the Ocarina of Time support announced on September 8, 2026.
We will fill these in from official sources as they appear.
よくある質問
Do I need Nintendo Switch Online for Zelda Notes?
Does Zelda Notes work with the original Switch version?
Does Zelda Notes support the Ocarina of Time remake?
How many Voice Memories are there?
Should I use Zelda Notes on a first playthrough?
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