A new update to the Nintendo Expansion Pack tier for Switch Online’s N64 emulation appears to have brought back the classic fog of war to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, NintendoLife reports.
As noticed by Twitter users like @OatmealDome, the newly released version 2.0.0 fixes the visual issue in Ocarina and other emulated N64 games, which were previously accused of not visually matching up with the originals.
[Nintendo Switch Online – N64]
Version 2.0.0 is now available. There appear to be a bunch of game configuration updates which I will cover in another tweet.
Notably, however: the infamous Water Temple room is completely fixed, as the fog has been restored. pic.twitter.com/LdYX7t4lHS
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) February 25, 2022
N64 Switch Online: they added fog back. I believe Choco Mountain in MK64 didn’t have fog either? Final picture is how the Forest Temple entrance looked at launch. #Nintendo64 #NintendoSwitchOnline #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/Cnvvpw3g4Z
— Fernando 🇲🇽🌬 (@Ferchou_27) February 25, 2022
“Fog of war” has a couple meanings: In strategy games, it’s used to denote the areas on a map that are shrouded in darkness until you’ve explored them. In more retro games, like Ocarina of Time, fog was used to obscure distant objects that couldn’t be rendered thanks to weaker hardware than what we’re used to in modern times. It’s a small change ultimately, but as seen in the images above, it can have a marked impact on the visual style of a game. Previously, Ocarina of Time players using the Switch’s N64 emulation could see the Deku Tree in all its wooden glory from about any distance, as demonstrated in this video from YouTuber ZFG.
What Ocarina of Time’s Deku Tree looked like without fog prior to the 2.0.0 patch. Credit: ZFG on YouTube
This update follows a similar improvement made to visuals from last month, when Nintendo appeared to fix the reflectiveness of the water in Dark Link’s boss room.
Nintendo’s 2.0.0 update also appears to have fixed some currently unknown issues with Banjo-Kazooie.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.