Will you take on the mantle of "Hero of Time?"
Waiting for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to return with its Nintendo Switch 2 remake on Thursday? Pass the time, or rather, go back in time with the Google search engine's fun new Easter egg to celebrate the upcoming remake.
If you type "Zelda" or "Ocarina of Time" into Google 's search bar as of Sunday, an icon of the game's Master Sword will appear in the bottom right corner of the page. Clicking on the sword will launch an audio clip of series protagonist Link pulling the sword and a visual clip of the game's time-travel mechanics. The Google search engine will then appear as it did in 1998 — the year both Ocarina of Time and the company Google itself formally launched.
Before Image via Google The Legend of Zelda and Nintendo: ©Nintendo After Image via Google The Legend of Zelda and Nintendo: ©Nintendo
Image via Google The Legend of Zelda and Nintendo: ©Nintendo
Clicking the Master Sword icon again will activate the same audio and visual clip before resetting the search engine's visuals to its current appearance. Refreshing the Google search page with the 1998 visuals will also reset the page to its current appearance.
The Switch 2 remake for the 1998 Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will launch on November 5. Nintendo announced the remake during its June Nintendo Direct livestream.
The original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time debuted for N64 in November 1998 in the U.S. and Japan, and in December 1998 in Europe and Australia. It is the fifth mainline game in The Legend of Zelda series, and it is the first game in the franchise to feature 3D graphics. The game has since received re-releases on various systems, including via two collection discs for Nintendo GameCube, the Virtual Console on Nintendo Wii, and the Nintendo Classics app on Nintendo Switch. The game got a remastered edition for Nintendo 3DS titled The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D in June 2011. The 3DS version, as well as one of the collection discs for GameCube, included a version of the game with different dungeons titled The Legend of Zelda: Master Quest based on a Nintendo 64DD title.
Sources: Google, IGN (Kirk McKeand)