KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — One of the gaming world's most persistent rumors has finally been validated: Nintendo has officially announced a full-scale remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the upcoming Switch 2.

Slated for a 2026 launch, the announcement signals a massive homecoming for one of the most influential titles in gaming history.

Widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed games of all time, Ocarina of Time is no stranger to the remake treatment. This marks the second time Nintendo has breathed new life into the legend, following the 2011 release of Ocarina of Time 3D on the Nintendo 3DS, which introduced remastered visuals and streamlined gameplay for a new generation.

However, those expecting a comprehensive deep dive may be left wanting. Nintendo played its cards close to the chest, debuting only a cryptic, short-form trailer that offered a tantalizing but brief glimpse of the game, leaving the finer details of the remake shrouded in mystery.

The announcement arrives as The Legend of Zelda celebrates its landmark 40th anniversary. Nintendo is clearly leaning into a "year of Zelda," expanding the mythos beyond the console and onto the big screen with a highly anticipated live-action film. While the movie's production timeline has shifted several times, the release date has recently been moved up to April 30, 2027.

JUNE 10 — I'm off work this week and no, it's not because I went and lost my head and bought another plane ticket.

My house needs cleaning, my lawn needs weeding and my gardenia plant needs saving from a bad case of the mealybugs.

Next week I have a follow-up appointment with my surgeon to go over the results of my latest mammogram but next week is next week, this week I'm decluttering.

That includes my hobbies; I have belatedly discovered CEX and the joys of trading in my old video games for new video games.

I no longer game on anything but the Nintendo Switch 2 — it's portable, fairly powerful and was worth selling my older Switch for and I don't miss playing on mobile, PC or the PS5.

While I was cataloging what I had, I came to realise I have a fairly big library of digital games (curse those eShop sales) and a decent amount of physical ones.

Except maybe for the upcoming Fire Emblem release this year, I have a moratorium on buying more games and will attempt to clear at least half of my gaming backlog.

"Clearing" also means being able to be honest with myself about whether I will finish a game. 

First on my list A Short Hike — the reviews were great, the price was cheap and it seemed charming enough. You're a bird. With legs. Going on a hike.

But after two hours I got annoyed by all the puzzles, having to map routes, collect enough golden feathers to be able to scale cliffs and talk to increasingly annoying NPCs.

Maybe it was the cancer, but if I'm not doing things that I need to do (eat, show up for work) or want to do (nap, eat too many croissants) I have decided I will just not do them.

Do I need to finish A Short Hike? Do I want to finish it? No and no.

This Marie Kondo-ish approach also serves me well for house cleaning. Do I need this? Do I want this? Two no's and off it goes into the bin.

What do I want to do? Watch Masters of the Universe a second time because it is leaving the cinemas fairly early. Make a grilled cheese sandwich. Figure out how to make decent French toast. 

What do I not want to do? Give too much of a damn about current political machinations. 

The world turns. Politicians remain selfish and mostly stupid. I will tend my gardenias and focus on the more important things in life — like when the LRT3 will open so I don't have to spend 40 ringgit on return Grab fares to 1 Utama. 

Apart from that I will be playing another game — AI: The Somnium Files. I'll tell you about it next week.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.