Ocarina Of Time’s Weirdest Quest Can Continue A Genius Zelda Remake Idea
Why does Link get the Hookshot in Ocarina of Time by racing the Kakariko Village gravedigger's ghost through an underground labyrinth? You obviously need the Hookshot for the Forest Temple, but it's such a bizarre detour for the first critical step of the post-time skip half of the game. There are some hints that the gravedigger, Dampé, is exploring some sort of underground ruin, but the character has effectively no other bearing on the story.
Somehow spinning Dampé into a bigger role for the Ocarina of Time remake could be a possibility, but it remains to be seen how much Nintendo actually decides to change about the all-time classic game. As odd as it is, I have to assume the labyrinth run will make it into the remake intact – revisiting the graveyard, earning the Hookshot, and emerging into the upper level of the Kakariko Village windmill is now an iconic sequence. It could also be expanded, taking cues from another The Legend of Zelda remake.
Dampé Is In Charge Of Chamber Dungeons In The Link's Awakening Remake
Ocarina of Time was Dampé's Zelda debut, and after appearing intermittently for the following two decades, he was added to the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening. He wasn't even in the original LA, but Dampé stewards a new game mode in the Switch version involving Chamber Dungeons, player-made dungeons built by arranging prefab tiles that can be shared with other players... if you transfer it through an Amiibo....
It's a brilliant idea, especially for the 2D Zelda games, and I hope it returns in the future with more robust customization capabilities. The concept of "Super Mario Maker but Zelda" is brilliant, but it so far hasn't iterated beyond Link's Awakening's Chamber Dungeons. This characterization of Dampé as a tinkerer has continued with his appearance as an automaton mechanic in Echoes of Wisdom, and I think it's a worthwhile new dimension to him that can also continue to serve gameplay purposes. Chamber Dungeons should clearly return, but the idea could also be put to use in the Ocarina of Time remake.
Turn The Labyrinth Race Into A Chamber Dungeons Mode
Making a modular creation game mode is clearly much more difficult in three dimensions, but I've always wanted more races through that mysterious labyrinth. You can do it again, faster, for a Piece of Heart, but it's the same track, just more easily traversed now that you've got the Hookshot. What if you could rearrange prefab labyrinth rooms into new courses, just like Chamber Dungeons? With proper online support this time.
Star Fox 64's Switch 2 remake got some new modes, so it's not completely out of the question. It could be a Hookshot-centric affair, but there's also the opportunity to bring some additional depth to it by adding obstacles that require other items. You could even take a cue from the Gerudo Training Grounds and have players collect silver rupees instead of just getting from point A to point B.
Despite the labyrinth race being a rather limited mini-game in the original Ocarina of Time, expanding it into a full mode would be surprisingly fitting for the game's legacy. It includes some other time trials, like getting certain items to their destination fast enough in the Biggoron's Sword trading quest and the race against the Running Man – which Link can't actually win – but Ocarina of Time also has a storied speedrunning history.
Dampé has grown into a more varied character since he was first introduced in Ocarina of Time, and now wears more hats than just gravedigger. Nintendo has been willing to add new game modes to recent remakes, Link's Awakening and Star Fox included, and Dampé's labyrinth race is an oddity that could easily be exploited to expand the vaunted original. It's one of the weirdest sequences in Ocarina of Time, but the ancient ruin has an untapped fascination.