How to play Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Switch – and is it worth it?

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is one of the most iconic video games in Nintendo’s library, and they’ve ported it to multiple consoles over the decades. This begs the question: is Ocarina of Time available on the Nintendo Switch, and is it still worth playing?

Can you play Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo Switch?

The simple, sweet answer is yes, Ocarina of Time is available on the Nintendo Switch. You can’t buy an Ocarina of Time Switch cartridge, but you can play the game on the Switch if you’ve got a subscription to the Expansion Pack tier of Nintendo Switch Online.

This improved version of Nintendo Switch Online allows you to play Nintendo 64 games on the Switch’s virtual console. Because it’s the Nintendo 64’s most highly rated game, the Expansion Pack’s base catalog includes Ocarina of Time.

Nintendo Switch Online is pretty cheap for a gaming subscription service, and the Expansion Pack tier isn’t much more expensive than the base tier. The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack bundle will cost you $49.99 yearly, almost a hundred dollars less than one year of Xbox Game Pass.

Is Ocarina of Time worth playing on the Nintendo Switch

As much as I’d love to dismiss this question with some snarky variant of “Do I need to answer that?” this is a fair question. Luckily for us Zelda fans, playing Ocarina of Time on the Switch is worth it. Heck, it might be the best way to experience the game if you don’t have a Nintendo 64 and an original cartridge.

The big thing to note is that the version of Ocarina of Time on the Switch is a port, not an enhanced remaster like the Wii U’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. This is a straight rip of the original Nintendo 64 build running on the Switch. Ocarina of Time got an enhanced remaster on the 3DS in 2011, but that version is exclusive to that console, at least for now.

Regardless, the version of Ocarina of Time on Nintendo Switch is still worth playing. It’s every bit the epic coming-of-age adventure it was back in 1998, and playing it on the Switch adds some weight to the game’s themes of accepting the inevitability of change. On top of that, the snappiness of the Nintendo Joy-Cons makes it easier to beat some of the game’s more frustrating sections. It may not be the best Zelda game on the Switch, but it is one of the best ways to experience an all-time gaming classic.