Zelda: The Sealed Palace is a full Ocarina of Time sequel
Some games belong in the history books, and when we aren't looking at Tetris or Pac-Man, let's remember Nintendo's absolute bangers of the '90s. To this day, Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are regarded as some of the best games of all time.
Super Mario 64 took the portly plumber into 3D, GoldenEye 007 popularised first-person shooters on consoles, and Ocarina of Time was an epic adventure that's undoubtedly inspired everything from Breath of the Wild to Elden Ring.
Even as we look ahead to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's imminent release, there's a loyal guard of retro gamers that won't let the 1998 classic rest. Away from hopes for a mythical new-gen remaster, some players have hacked Ocarina to deliver a full-blown sequel.
What is The Legend of Zelda: The Sealed Palace?
Before you jump down our throats, we know there was an Ocarina sequel in the form of Majora's Mask, but for those who wish we'd got a third chapter before we moved to Wind Waker's Toon Link, hacker Jinnosuke9 has you covered.
As pointed out by GamesRadar, The Legend of Zelda: The Sealed Palace is an Ocarina sequel set in a very familiar-felling Hyrule. Dustin Bailey says he's played around 30 minutes of the game and praised the interiors of the cathedrals and libraries as being "far more impressive" than the original.
Apparently, the story kicks off with Link escaping the prison beneath Hyrule Castle. We don't know why the Hero of Time would've been locked up down there, but that's up to you to play and find out.
Avaiable over at Romhacking.net, you'll still need to provide your own Ocarina of Time ROM to play. The Sealed Palace is apparently 20 hours long, which makes it as beefy as Ocarina was all those years ago.
Will there be an Ocarina of Time remaster?
Sadly, you're largely left with ROM hacks to revisit Ocarina of Time. The Zelda franchise has long since moved on from Ocarina, with Majora's Mask releasing in 2000 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D being a remaster in 2011.
For those asking if we'll get a modern version, duh, you already have. Despite some vast graphical differences, its clear to see the similarities between Breath of the Wild and Ocarina - not just because you can find the ruins of Lon Lon Ranch in the former.
Zelda's 35th anniversary would've been a great time to release a modernised Ocarina, but sadly, all we've seen so far in Skyward Sword HD. Unlike Capcom tearing through the Resident Evil remakes, Nintendo has shied away from remakes. Oh well, at least hackers are taking us back to the glory days of Ocarina.
