The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time holds a unique place in Metacritic's history as the only game ever to receive a 99 out of 100 aggregate score. That score helped it earn a Guinness World Record last year as the most critically acclaimed video game of all time.
However, a recent video from YouTube channel DidYouKnowGaming, created as research for a retrospective ahead of the Nintendo Switch 2 remake, has found issues with how Metacritic curated the original game's reviews.
Missing reviews and misinterpreted scores
At the time of writing, the original Ocarina of Time has just 22 critic reviews on Metacritic, all positive. Most give the game a perfect 100, with the lowest scoring review still being a 90.
Metacritic was only founded in 2001, three years after the game's launch, so it had to source reviews from old magazines, newspapers and websites. DidYouKnowGaming noticed that some reviews from outlets Metacritic usually uses were omitted. These include Nintendo Power, which gave Ocarina of Time a 95, and no UK magazine sources at all, such as Edge's famous 10/10.
Some perfect reviews also never actually awarded a score, with Metacritic interpreting them as 100. While all review aggregators do this to some degree, the channel argues that some cherry-picking has taken place to artificially inflate the game's standing.
A recalculated score of 98
DidYouKnowGaming does not dispute that Ocarina of Time is a great game, but its own calculations suggest the score should be knocked down from 99 to 98. That is not a huge drop, but it would mean the game would share the top-rated spot with three other titles: SoulCalibur (1999), Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008) and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010).
Interestingly, it was recently discovered that Super Mario Galaxy 2's Metacritic score had been bumped from 97 to 98 at some point, though why is unclear.
What this means for the Switch 2 remake
The Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time is expected to launch later this year, but almost nothing is known about it. Nintendo has not clarified whether it will be a faithful remake or feature major gameplay and structural changes. Matching the original's 99 or even 98 Metacritic score could prove difficult, simply because there will likely be far more critic reviews this time, increasing the chance of lower scores.
That pattern is visible with the 3DS version from 2011, which is more of a straight remaster. It has 85 reviews compared to the original's 22, and while many are perfect scores, it also saw scores below 90, with the lowest being a 75. Its average currently sits at 94.
Given how little Nintendo showed of the remake at its last Direct, it is safe to assume a dedicated showcase will arrive soon. Since the game is launching before the end of the year, and Nintendo will want enough time to rack up pre-orders, a dedicated Zelda Direct could air later this month or in September, with the remake launching in November or December. A recent theory based on amiibo listings points to November, which would make sense as it is otherwise a very quiet month, with publishers avoiding GTA 6's release window.
While there is certainly some audience crossover between GTA 6 and an Ocarina of Time remake, they are fundamentally different games. And if any publisher is willing to go head-to-head with Rockstar Games, it would be Nintendo. Plus, Ocarina of Time is a Switch 2 exclusive, while GTA 6 is only for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
