Ocarina of Time hits Switch 2 on November 5: price, unlock time, file size and what's included

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launches Thursday, November 5, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo lists the eShop version at $59.99, and physical copies carry a $69.99 list price. Nintendo's European store listing puts the download at 24.5 GB, down from the roughly 27 GB figure that circulated before launch. Nintendo of America hasn't posted an unlock time, so the safest plan is to pre-load the game and keep the console online on launch night.

When you can start playing

Nintendo hasn't announced a release hour for the US eShop. Its pre-order and pre-load FAQ says only that pre-loaded games unlock through a small update that becomes available when the game is released, which is why the console needs to stay connected.

Pre-ordering in the eShop gets the game onto your console early. Nintendo charges you no sooner than seven days before launch, which for a November 5 release means October 29, and then downloads a locked copy. If you buy now, inside that seven-day window, the charge goes through right away.

Price and the first-print cover

The first print run of the $69.99 physical edition comes in a textured foil cover while supplies last, according to Nintendo's announcement. Later copies switch to standard printed art, so ask the store which version it is shipping if the cover matters to you.

The Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition of Switch 2, which went on sale October 29, does not include the game. Nintendo spells that out in its announcement of the console, so anyone buying it for this remake still needs a separate copy.

File size, download time and storage

Use the official 24.5 GB when you check your free space. When we covered the remake's boss rematch hall on October 18, we reported a 27 GB figure from another source, because Nintendo hadn't published the size yet.

On a connection that really delivers 100 Mbps, the download takes about 33 minutes. At 300 Mbps it drops to about 11 minutes, and at 50 Mbps it takes more than an hour. A console on Wi-Fi rarely hits the speed on your internet plan, so finish the download before Thursday.

Switch 2 has 256 GB of internal storage, though the system keeps part of it. Your real free space is under System Settings in Data Management. If you are short, our guide to freeing up space on Switch 2 without losing saves shows what to clear first. To add storage you need a microSD Express card, since regular microSD cards from the original Switch can't hold Switch 2 games. Our microSD Express buying guide lists the capacities it supports.

The physical edition doesn't fully spare your storage either. Nintendo's page doesn't say whether the cartridge holds the full game. If the box carries a game-key card label, the cartridge holds only a key to download the game, not the game itself. Even a full cartridge installs updates to the console.

What's in the game

This is a ground-up, single-player remake of the 1998 Nintendo 64 game, with rebuilt environments and characters, fully voiced cutscenes and a score recorded by a symphony orchestra. We went through the visual, voice, music and camera changes when Nintendo revealed the remake in September.

Link now has dedicated run and jump buttons and motion aiming for the slingshot and bow. You can play ocarina songs with the buttons, hum them into the Switch 2 microphone, or use a real ocarina. A hidden hall also lets you refight beaten bosses against the clock, which we covered in our piece on the boss rematch hall.

The game plays in TV, tabletop and handheld modes, and you don't need Nintendo Switch Online. The purchase also unlocks Zelda Notes in the Nintendo Switch App for phones, with no subscription. Zelda Notes logs what you did in the game each day, runs a quiz with more than 2,000 questions and lets you compose and share ocarina melodies.

Sold separately

Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo, figures you tap on the controller to unlock in-game extras, give Link special masks with a retro look. They arrive in 2027, so they won't be available at launch.

Nintendo also announced two ocarinas for later this year: an electric model from HORI that plays single notes or whole songs at the press of a button, and a playable ocarina. Neither is required, since the whole game works with a controller. If you buy one, check that the retailer lists it as compatible with this remake.