When The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time released on N64 back in 1998, Nintendo snuck in some references to the Mario series in the form of portraits inside Hyrule Castle. I never found them as a kid (mostly because I didn’t know they even existed), but they were hidden in such a way that the stiff camera would disguise them masterfully if you weren’t manipulating it properly. While fans obviously discovered them over time, Nintendo decided to remove those portraits for the remake to not “interrupt the player’s experience.”
Speaking to Game Informer, series producer Eiji Aonuma was questioned about why Nintendo felt the need to remove those references in this new remake. Aonuma explained, “Certainly, at the time, when we put those there, I don’t think anybody thought it was too big a deal. Maybe there was a more carefree or comfortable approach to that sort of thing. But looking at it now, like if a player is coming through that area, and given the overall way that we’re, you know, creating this world and giving the player that form of expression, if they look up and they think, ‘Why is Yoshi there?’ We don’t want that moment to interrupt their experience of the world in that way. So we’re feeling a little bit differently about it this time.”
Image source: Zelda Fandom
That’s completely understandable. Not that Ocarina in 1998 wasn’t an immersive experience, but even without the lens of nostalgia, its more simplistic look lends itself well to random easter eggs like a Mario portrait. With how meticulously detailed the remake is, it would be a little jarring to see Mario peering at you through the castle windows (I did look in the remake just for fun). One element Nintendo left in, however, is Talon’s handkerchief slider.
“You will remember that there is one design element on Talon with Bowser on it, and that’s part of the original design of the character,” Aonuma said. “So we didn’t change that. That stays as is.” True to his word, that is present and accounted for in the remake, though it doesn’t look as outlandish as Mario’s full face would have. It’s stylized in a way that comes off like a decorative pin rather than an obvious reference. At least Talon and Ingo still look like Mario and Luigi.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
