A fixed Water Temple, mirrored Master Quest, boss challenge, and more await.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/26282
Following up after my previous playtime, Nintendo invited me back to check out the new additions to their Ocarina of Time remake, coming out June 19 in North America.
The primary location I played was the infamous Water Temple. Traversing the labyrinthine level originally required repeated trips to the pause menu to equip and remove the Iron Boots. Now the boots can be assigned to a button, making switching easy, and the whole experience is no longer an exercise in tedium. The ocarina song menu is now touch-based as well, and songs can be played while the menu is open. Additionally, the walls in the Water Temple have been color-coded to help players keep their bearings.
I also had a chance to return to Jabu-Jabu's Belly -- in the Master Quest mode, mysterious cow heads and all. The Master Quest is unlocked after beating the game. A new option appears after the title screen, and the Master Quest includes its own set of three save slots separate from the regular version's three. While including the dungeons from the GameCube version's Master Quest, the entire world is also mirrored. And like the Wii version of Twilight Princess, even Link is mirrored, a point explicitly made as a 3D model right-handed Link with Master Sword in hand greets players who enter the mode. Enemies also do double damage, making the quest much more challenging.
There are a few other additions to the game. For instance, Link can now "talk" to his bed in Kokiri Forest. Here, he can take a nap to replenish health. He can also enter the boss challenge mode, where he can fight any boss he has previously defeated. The best times are saved for each boss, and once they are all defeated, the ultimate challenge, a boss gauntlet mode appears, where Link must defeat all of the bosses in sequence.
Finally, new colored Gossip Stones called Sheikah Stones are scattered throughout the world and channel "visions" to Link. Specifically, they act as a hint system, showing short pre-recorded movie clips providing varying levels of hints as to what Link needs to do in certain situations. The system isn't as in depth as the Super Guide, instead intended to jog players' memories and provide subtle hints.
Primarily through the touch screen additions, the Zelda experience is more streamlined, though I still have some reservations with the mostly unimproved camera system. Coupled with the graphical enhancements and extra modes, the game is more enjoyable and treads closer to the original vision for the game as seen through its artwork, while keeping the essence of the game the same. Ocarina of Time 3D launches worldwide in June.