Japanese magazine Famitsu has given the Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a score of 37 out of 40, the first review score to emerge for the game.
The four reviewers gave 9, 9, 9 and 10, according to GoNintendo’s weekly Famitsu round-up. Each Famitsu critic scores a game from 1 to 10, and the four marks are added together, so a perfect game earns 40. Nintendo Life notes the score appeared in the latest issue, days before the remake goes on sale.
What the reviewers said
The critics praised the camera control, the improved button layout and inputs, and the graphics. They marked the game down for being simple compared with modern titles, and said some moments might leave players unsure what to do.
The result falls three points short of the 1998 Nintendo 64 original, which became the first game Famitsu ever rated 40 out of 40, Notebookcheck reports. It matches the 37 out of 40 the magazine gave Ocarina of Time 3D on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011.
The rest of the week
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 scored 36 out of 40, with four 9s. Four smaller releases landed on 29 out of 40: Prinny Party: Going Overboard!, The Fallen Kingdom, Moomin Midsummer Madness and Japanese Rural Life Adventure.
Nintendo first revealed the remake in June, a move the Eastern Herald described as the most dangerous announcement in gaming, and it featured in the June Nintendo Direct that shaped the Switch 2’s second year. The console itself has had a mixed autumn, with a teardown of its revised model finding an older screen than some expected.
Players planning to pick the game up may also be weighing accessories. The Eastern Herald has reviewed 8BitDo’s $30 Ultimate 2C, a cheaper controller option for the console.
Famitsu’s score is a single publication’s early verdict. Wider reviews are expected once the embargo lifts.
