Ocarina of Time Comes to Switch 2 With Over 150 Music Tracks
Nintendo reveals how it rebuilt the Ocarina of Time soundtrack for its new version, with a full orchestra and nods to the original.
Key points
- The game includes more than 150 background music tracks.
- Several new scenes have music composed specifically for them.
- Some tracks blend a live orchestra with sounds from the original Nintendo 64 version.
- The game launches Thursday, November 5, as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time arrives as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive on Thursday, November 5. Nintendo published an interview with the game's developers, part of its "Ask the Developer" series, in which they explain how they approached the music.
According to the studio, the game has more than 150 background music tracks. Many are new, created for the game's additional scenes. The developers said they tried to make these pieces feel familiar to players of the original, for example by incorporating motifs from the Kokiri Forest theme in a scene set there.
The team recorded the music with a full orchestra, although it noted that this is no longer unusual in video games. To choose their approach, they analyzed how the original soundtrack was designed: the scale of each scene and shifts in pacing were conveyed through the composition, not just volume. That is why simpler pieces keep limited instrumentation, while grand themes use the full power of the orchestra.
Some songs mix a live orchestra with sounds drawn from the Nintendo 64 version. According to the developers, they did not use the original audio directly; they used it as a reference to faithfully recreate some sounds. Their goal, they said, was to bring back memories of that era with something only Nintendo could do.