Ocarina of Time Master Quest: Changes and Remake Status

Master Quest is the question that comes up every time Ocarina of Time is re-released: is the harder second version in there? This page explains what Master Quest is, how its two releases differ, where you can still play it, and what Nintendo has said about the Switch 2 remake. The short version is that Nintendo has said nothing yet. Everything about the remake here was checked on October 6, 2026.

What is Master Quest?

Master Quest is a reworked version of Ocarina of Time for players who already know the original. The story, the overworld and the items are the same. The dungeons are what change: each one is rebuilt to be harder, in the spirit of the Second Quest in the first The Legend of Zelda.

It started life as an expansion for the 64DD, the Nintendo 64’s disk drive add-on, under the working name Ura Zelda. The 64DD sold poorly and only in Japan, so the expansion never came out on Nintendo 64. Nintendo finally released it on GameCube: in Japan in late 2002, and in North America and Europe in 2003, as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest.

What does Master Quest change?

The changes are inside the dungeons. Outside them, you follow the same story with the same items in the same order.

The best-known example is Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly. In Master Quest, cow heads set into the walls work as switches, and you shoot them with the Fairy Slingshot to open doors.

Because the dungeons are solved differently, a standard guide does not work room by room. Our full walkthrough and the dungeon pages follow the original layouts, not Master Quest, and the dungeon entries in our Gold Skulltulas list will not all match.

How do the GameCube and 3DS versions differ?

Master Quest has been released twice, and the two are not the same difficulty.

The 3DS version is the harder of the two. On top of the redesigned dungeons, the whole world is flipped, so a player who knows the original by heart keeps turning the wrong way, and every hit costs twice as much.

Where can you play Master Quest today?

For the versions you can still buy and how their saves and controls differ, see how to play Ocarina of Time now.

Does the Switch 2 remake include Master Quest?

Nintendo has not said. Its product pages, the September 8 news release and the 40th Anniversary Direct list new features such as the dash, free jumping, voiced cutscenes and Threads of Time, but none of them mentions Master Quest, a second quest or a harder mode. Nintendo confirmed monster rematches through Hall of Fallen Heroes on October 14. This does not confirm Master Quest or the exact 3DS Boss Challenge rules.

If Master Quest is the reason you want to replay the game, the 3DS version is the only one you can be sure has it. If you only want the remake’s new look and controls, nothing about Master Quest affects a first playthrough.

Should you play Master Quest first?

No. Master Quest assumes you have finished the original and know how each dungeon normally works. The 3DS version enforces that by locking it until the main quest is done. Start with the standard game and our beginner tips, then come back for Master Quest. For how the three main versions compare, read Remake vs N64 vs 3DS, and for prices and dates see the release date page.