The zombie-like ReDead enemies in the new Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake were apparently even more terrifying at one stage in the game’s development.
Producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi told GameSpot that, at one point, the team realized they had gone too far with the creature’s design for an audience that includes young players.
“With this remake, the graphics are a lot improved, and so the ReDead — the sound, the graphics, and the movement — ended up being very, very scary,” Fujibayashi recalled.
“And the staff wanted to make this in service of making a good gameplay experience. But from our perspective, taking a step back, we felt like, let’s remember the experience that we don’t want to change, and taking that into consideration, maybe we’ve gone a step too far, so let’s dial it back.”
Debuting in the original Ocarina of Time in 1998, ReDeads have since become a recurring enemy in the series, returning in Majora’s Mask, The Wind Waker, Tri Force Heroes, and Echoes of Wisdom. Their appearance tends to change in each game, but their behavior remains the same, unleashing a scream that freezes Link in place as they close in to grab him.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2.
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Written by Reece Heather
A veteran Zelda Universe editor and First-class journalism graduate, Reece emerged with a Nintendo 64 and a lifelong obsession after a narrow escape from Santa’s Naughty List in 1998. Outside of games, he’s reading Punisher comics, being bossed around by his cocker spaniel, and cornering innocent bystanders to rant about the importance of game preservation.
