The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake on Nintendo Switch 2 has a bizarre downgrade compared to the N64 original, which has left some fans very frustrated. While the new remake is a fairly faithful one, it’s not a one-for-one remake. There are changes, and some cut content as well. Most of these changes are good, while others don’t really amount to any meaningful difference, positive or negative. And there are some divisive changes as well, particularly to certain animations in the game. What there is hardly any of are downright bad and puzzling changes, but this is one of them.
Those who played the original Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 will know it gave players three manual save slots. The new Nintendo Switch 2 remake only gives players one manual save slot, which some players have found out the hard way after starting new playthroughs and then discovering their previous files gone. This led to one player losing their 100% playthrough.
Now, when you start a new playthrough, the game warns you that your previous auto-save data will be overwritten. What it doesn’t make clear is that, unlike the original, you aren’t getting manual save slots.
There is a workaround to this problem, and it’s having more than one account. This is the only way to effectively have multiple save slots. As for why Nintendo limits players to one manual save slot, we have no idea, but players aren’t happy about it.
“This is my major gripe, and it would have been so easy to implement that the fact they didn’t baffles me. I hope they add multiple save slots,” reads one of the top comments on the aforementioned Reddit post about this matter. A second fan adds, “That’s absolutely pathetic if true.”
It’s also worth noting you can do a second playthrough on the same profile and not lose your original save if you play the second only using auto saves. This is obviously not ideal, though. Further, your autosaves will be overwritten if you boot back into your manual save and play a bit.
While this is frustrating for players, it’s not a huge surprise. It’s a surprise based on the original, but this has been the design choice of Nintendo with the series for a while. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both work the same way. We know DLC is coming, so perhaps this problem will be remedied then, but you never can count on anything with Nintendo.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is available on Nintendo Switch 2, and the Nintendo Switch 2 only, for $70. Right now, it is the highest-rated game of 2026.
