Ocarina of Time Remake Beginner Tips: Controls, Saving, Item Order

These tips cover the first things to know in the Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time: the new controls, how saving works, the two time periods, the order you pick up key items and the spots where first-time players most often get stuck. Returning players should read the control section first, because the remake no longer jumps for you. For a full list of differences, see Remake vs N64 vs 3DS. Short answers to common questions are in the FAQ.

What are the controls?

The Basic Controls chart sits on the System tab of the menu whenever you need it.

• Jumping is manual. Run to a ledge and press X; Link does not hop off edges by himself any more.
• Dashing has no stamina gauge. Hold A while moving and Link rolls into a run.
• Dodging uses targeting. Hold ZL, tilt the stick sideways or back and press X for a side jump or backflip. The swordsman at the Kokiri Forest training ground teaches both, plus a jump attack. How to beat each monster is in the enemy guide.
• Songs use L, R, Y, X and A. You can also hum a tune into the Switch 2 microphone.

How do saving and time work?

Save from the menu. Press +, go to the System tab and choose Save. The game also saves on its own at many points, and a “Saving…” indicator appears in the corner. Save by hand before a boss and before you turn the game off.

Open Threads of Time when you are lost. This quest log opens after the Great Deku Tree. It records the story so far and shows your next objective. A banner announces each new event and reminds you that you can open it.

Listen when Navi mentions a fairy’s thoughts. Navi stops at spots where a fairy’s thoughts linger and offers to show you what they are about. Each one is a short riddle that hints at a secret.

Time keeps moving everywhere, including towns and dungeons. At night skeletal enemies rise from the ground in Hyrule Field and some characters appear only after dark. Once you learn the Sun’s Song you can switch between day and night. Reportedly sleeping in a bed also changes the time and restores your hearts.

What is the difference between child and adult Link?

As a child, Link gathers the three Spiritual Stones. He then draws the Master Sword in the Temple of Time and wakes up seven years later as an adult. From then on you switch eras in the Temple of Time: put the sword back to return to childhood, and draw it again to grow up.

Some places need both eras. The Bottom of the Well is a child dungeon you visit in the middle of the adult chapters, and the Spirit Temple has a child half and an adult half.

In what order do you get the key items?

Main items arrive in a fixed order because each dungeon needs something from the one before. This is the order in our 15-chapter walkthrough. Every item and capacity upgrade is on the items and upgrades page, and the gear is on tunics, boots and shields.

1. Buy the Deku Shield and find the Kokiri Sword. The shield costs 40 rupees in the Kokiri Shop. The sword is in a chest you reach by crawling through a low opening and jumping to a high ledge.
2. Get the Fairy Slingshot inside the Deku Tree.
3. Get Zelda’s Letter and Zelda’s Lullaby at Hyrule Castle.
4. Learn Saria’s Song and get the Goron Bracelet from Darunia. The bracelet lets you pick up Bomb Flowers.
5. Find the Bomb Bag in Dodongo Cavern.
6. Visit the Great Fairy on Death Mountain’s summit. For a 25-rupee offering she gives you the magic meter and Din’s Fire.
7. Win the Silver Scale in Zora Domain, then get the Boomerang inside Lord Jabu-Jabu’s Belly.
8. Draw the Master Sword, then win the Hookshot in the Kakariko Graveyard.
9. Get the Fairy Bow in the Forest Temple.
10. Get the Goron Tunic in Goron City, then the Megaton Hammer in the Fire Temple.
11. Get the Iron Boots in the Ice Cavern and the Zora Tunic from King Zora.
12. Get the Longshot in the Water Temple, then the Fire Arrows at Lake Hylia.
13. Return to childhood for the Lenses of Truth at the Bottom of the Well.
14. Get the Hover Boots in the Shadow Temple.
15. Collect the Silver Gauntlets and the Mirror Shield in the Spirit Temple. Child Link finds the gauntlets but uses them as an adult.
16. Receive the Light Arrows in the Temple of Time, then the Golden Gauntlets inside Ganondorf’s Castle.

Where do new players get stuck most often?

The Hookshot. After drawing the Master Sword, go to the Kakariko Graveyard as an adult. Pull back the grave with mist rising around it and keep pace with the gravekeeper’s ghost to the end of the tunnels. The Temple of Time chapter covers the route.

Great Fairy offerings. Every Great Fairy now asks for rupees, from 25 at the first fountain to 500 at the last. Your first wallet holds 200 rupees, so collect the bigger wallets from the House of Skulltula. The Great Fairy guide lists each fountain.

The Ice Cavern. Bring an empty bottle. Each melt of the pink ice uses up a bottle of Blue Fire, so refill it before moving on, and keep one bottle full for King Zora.

The Water Temple. Wear the Zora Tunic, use the Iron Boots to sink and play Zelda’s Lullaby at the Triforce symbols to change the water level. Colored lights mark the routes. If you are stuck, change the water level first. Details are in the Water Temple walkthrough.

Losing the Deku Shield. Its description warns that it burns up if it catches fire. Buy another in the Kokiri Shop, or get the Hylian Shield, which does not burn.

Getting Epona. Learn Epona’s Song at Lon Lon Ranch as a child. As an adult, bring rupees: a riding session costs 20 rupees and the first race is for a 20-rupee stake. The Epona guide covers both races and the escape.

What shortcuts and rewards help early on?

Wallet upgrades matter more than before, since fairy offerings and some shop prices are high. Full lists are in the Gold Skulltula guide and the Heart Piece checklist.