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Zelda: Ocarina of Time gets an unexpected touch-up as fans recognize that the fog missing since its Nintendo Switch Online release is restored.
While reactions to a new Nintendo Switch Online subscription service were mixed, fans were delighted to finally have classic N64 games come to the Nintendo Switch. Among these was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one of gaming's greatest classics, but something was off.
Early players of Ocarina of Time on the Switch noticed that there were certain performance and graphical issues with the game. Players reported gameplay input lag was noticeable, and elements like the water in Ocarina of Time didn't quite look right despite the Switch's superior graphical capabilities, but those issues were fixed not too long ago. However, there were still some lasting problems that have now been addressed.
While the emulated Ocarina of Time problems couldn't compare to things like the state of the GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition at release, as the game was completely playable, the visuals were missing certain elements. Similar to the GTA Trilogy, fans noticed that fog was missing from areas where it had previously added an air of mystery and exploration. However, now that Zelda: Majora's Mask has been released for the Switch on the same service, it seems that this issue was amended.
Players have now shared screenshots showing what the game looked like before and after the update. Fog is noticeably back in areas like the Water Temple and Forest Temple. While the missing fog didn't destroy the scenery like in the Silent Hill 2 and 3 HD Collection, it disappointed players to see that the game wasn't true to the original N64 release. Some might have preferred to see the game launch without these issues to begin with, or at least a quicker fix, as the fog issue has been outstanding since October 2021. However, it's a good sign that Nintendo is working behind the scenes to ensure that these titles work and look as intended, even if it takes a while.
The update has also improved the appearance and performance of select other games, as well. One user pointed out that the Choco Mountain race track in Mario Kart 64 has also had its fog restored, while another indicated that a game-breaking crash in Paper Mario has also been fixed. An additional update was also made to Banjo-Kazooie, though no further information is known about it at this time.
Without complete update notes it's impossible to tell how many games have been impacted by these changes, but Ocarina of Time players will likely continue to share any differences they notice.
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Source: NintendoLife
A small but significant improvement.
A new update to the Nintendo Expansion Pack tier for Switch Online's N64 emulation appears to have brought back the classic fog of war to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, NintendoLife reports.
As noticed by Twitter users like @OatmealDome, the newly released version 2.0.0 fixes the visual issue in Ocarina and other emulated N64 games, which were previously accused of not visually matching up with the originals.
[Nintendo Switch Online - N64]
Version 2.0.0 is now available. There appear to be a bunch of game configuration updates which I will cover in another tweet.
Notably, however: the infamous Water Temple room is completely fixed, as the fog has been restored. pic.twitter.com/LdYX7t4lHS
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) February 25, 2022
N64 Switch Online: they added fog back. I believe Choco Mountain in MK64 didn't have fog either? Final picture is how the Forest Temple entrance looked at launch. #Nintendo64 #NintendoSwitchOnline #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/Cnvvpw3g4Z
— Fernando 🇲🇽🌬 (@Ferchou_27) February 25, 2022
"Fog of war" has a couple meanings: In strategy games, it's used to denote the areas on a map that are shrouded in darkness until you've explored them. In more retro games, like Ocarina of Time, fog was used to obscure distant objects that couldn't be rendered thanks to weaker hardware than what we're used to in modern times. It's a small change ultimately, but as seen in the images above, it can have a marked impact on the visual style of a game. Previously, Ocarina of Time players using the Switch's N64 emulation could see the Deku Tree in all its wooden glory from about any distance, as demonstrated in this video from YouTuber ZFG.
What Ocarina of Time's Deku Tree looked like without fog prior to the 2.0.0 patch. Credit: ZFG on YouTube
This update follows a similar improvement made to visuals from last month, when Nintendo appeared to fix the reflectiveness of the water in Dark Link's boss room.
Nintendo's 2.0.0 update also appears to have fixed some currently unknown issues with Banjo-Kazooie.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.
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