The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Trivia & Easter Eggs

Ocarina of Time Development Trivia

The Game Was Originally Designed for Four Players

Early in development (1995-1996), Shigeru Miyamoto and his team experimented with a multiplayer Zelda concept — four players simultaneously exploring Hyrule. This was abandoned after it proved incompatible with the narrative-driven, puzzle-based Zelda design philosophy. Elements of this concept eventually appeared in Four Swords Adventures (2004).

The Horse Riding Demo Came First

Miyamoto has described the development of Ocarina of Time as starting with a horseback riding tech demo. He wanted to capture the experience of galloping across an open field in 3D. This demo became Hyrule Field — and once the team had the horse traversal working, they built the game world around it. Epona and Hyrule Field are the game’s literal foundation.

Z-Targeting Was Called “Lock-On” Internally

Nintendo’s internal development documents called the Z-targeting system “Lock-On” before the name was simplified for the manual. The key insight was that players in 3D space couldn’t maintain target focus during melee combat without automatic camera assistance — Z-targeting solved this by locking both camera and character orientation simultaneously.

The Water Temple Was Almost Removed

Producer Shigeru Miyamoto and director Eiji Aonuma have both admitted that the Water Temple was designed late in development and remains the dungeon they’re least proud of. Aonuma said in a 2002 interview that the need for players to constantly equip and remove Iron Boots (requiring the pause menu) was a design flaw he later corrected in the 3DS remake. Miyamoto reportedly suggested cutting it before release but there wasn’t time.

Fire Temple Had a Different Music Track

The original Japanese and early US release of Ocarina of Time (N64 cartridge version 1.0) contained a different Fire Temple background music — Islamic prayer music samples. Nintendo received complaints about potential cultural insensitivity and replaced the track in subsequent cartridge revisions (1.1, 1.2) with a new composition. The original music is preserved in early cartridges and emulation of version 1.0.

Ganondorf’s Blood Changed Colors Between Regions

In the original North American release, Ganondorf bleeds red blood when struck during the final battle. This was changed to green blood in later revisions and in the European release following content guidelines. The original blood color is preserved in early version 1.0 cartridges.

Navi’s “Hey! Listen!” Became a Meme Before Memes Were Common

Navi the fairy’s hint system involves interrupting gameplay to say “Hey!” followed by advice. While effective for first-time players, repeat players find the interruptions maddening. Navi became a symbol of over-helpful game UI and was parodied in numerous gaming contexts. The phrase “HEY! LISTEN!” became a gaming cultural shorthand for unwanted interruptions in the years after the game’s release.

The Metacritic Score of 99 Was Record-Setting

When Metacritic first calculated review aggregates for Ocarina of Time, the game achieved a score of 99/100, making it one of the highest-rated games in the history of the aggregator. This score has been challenged but never beaten on Metacritic by a major console game in over 25 years.

Development Took Three Years

The Nintendo 64 launched in 1996 with Super Mario 64. Zelda was initially announced as a launch window title but was delayed multiple times. The final version released in November 1998, nearly two and a half years after the N64’s Japanese launch — a delay that generated significant press coverage and anticipation. The final game’s quality silenced all criticism of the delay.

Eiji Aonuma Did Not Direct, But Became the Series’ Custodian

Shigeru Miyamoto supervised while Yoshiaki Koizumi and Yoichi Yamada directed. Eiji Aonuma was a director in a secondary capacity on this game but went on to direct Majora’s Mask and produce virtually all subsequent Zelda games. He has described Ocarina of Time as the template from which he still works when designing Zelda dungeons.

The Song of Time Was Composed to Manipulate Time

Koji Kondo’s Song of Time melody was designed to communicate time manipulation to the player through music — it has a specific melodic character (descending, measured) intended to evoke temporal weight. The Bolero of Fire moves upward (ascending into heat), the Serenade of Water flows smoothly, and the Nocturne of Shadow is deliberately dissonant. Each song was composed to musically represent its associated domain.