Zelda: Ocarina of Time gets Version 1.1.1 on Switch 2, adding ZELDA NOTES support ahead of launch

The new version of Ocarina of Time has barely reached its official launch date, and Nintendo already has a software update ready.

Version 1.1.1 was released on November 4, 2026, one day before the Switch 2 remake's scheduled launch. Nintendo's official update history lists two changes: support for ZELDA NOTES and several general fixes intended to improve the gameplay experience.

The patch notes are brief. They do not identify specific bugs, performance issues or gameplay adjustments.

What Nintendo has confirmed, however, is the activation of a companion experience designed to connect Link's adventure with a compatible smartphone.

ZELDA NOTES joins the new Ocarina of Time

ZELDA NOTES is a service within the Nintendo Switch App rather than a separate application created exclusively for the remake.

It already supported the Nintendo Switch 2 editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and Nintendo is now extending compatibility to Ocarina of Time.

The service adds several activities linked to the game, including records of player accomplishments, location-based challenges, music creation and trivia.

After installing Version 1.1.1, players need to follow the instructions displayed when the game starts to complete the ZELDA NOTES setup.

The companion features are designed to complement the main adventure. They do not turn Ocarina of Time into a smartphone game or replace the Switch 2's normal control scheme.

Instead, the phone provides a separate interface for exploring additional information and participating in optional activities.

Today's Record tracks your accomplishments

One of the new features is Today's Record, which presents a chronological history of accomplishments made during play sessions.

Nintendo says the information can include statistics such as the number of enemies defeated.

For an adventure built around exploration and progression across two eras of Hyrule, the feature offers another way to look back at what the player has achieved.

It is important not to mistake this history for a new save management system.

Nintendo describes Today's Record as a journal of accomplishments and statistics, not as a tool for restoring earlier game states or rewinding progress.

The feature is primarily informational, adding context to the adventure without replacing its existing progression systems.

Gossip Quest makes exploration into a guessing game

Gossip Quest introduces a different kind of challenge.

Players receive an image-based hint on their smartphone and must identify the corresponding location within Hyrule.

Successful searches award points that can be used to obtain music scores for the Play Ocarina companion feature.

The activity encourages players to pay closer attention to the environments and recognize familiar landmarks.

Returning fans may find themselves testing memories formed through previous versions of Ocarina of Time, while newcomers can use the challenges as a reason to explore less obvious corners of the rebuilt world.

Nintendo has not described Gossip Quest as a replacement for the main story's objectives.

It is an additional activity linked to the companion service, rather than a new mandatory quest system within the adventure.

Play Ocarina offers music creation on a touchscreen

Music has always been essential to Ocarina of Time, so Nintendo has also given the companion service its own playable instrument.

Play Ocarina allows users to perform music on a virtual ocarina through their phone's touchscreen.

They can follow a musical guide, listen to an automatic performance or create their own scores.

Custom compositions can also be shared through QR codes.

This smartphone feature is separate from the remake's in-game instrument controls.

On Switch 2, Nintendo has already announced that players can perform learned melodies using traditional buttons, hum them through the console's microphone or use compatible real instruments.

The virtual instrument within ZELDA NOTES provides an additional way to engage with the game's music without replacing those controls.

For fans who have spent years remembering the melodies of Hyrule, the companion's music tools may be among its most appealing additions.

More than 2,000 questions in the Ocarina of Time Quiz

The companion service also includes an extensive trivia activity.

Ocarina of Time Quiz features more than 2,000 questions covering the game, using text and images to challenge players' knowledge.

Nintendo says players can take the quiz once per day. Additional attempts can be obtained by spending rupees earned in the game.

That system should not be confused with a real-money charge. The official announcement specifically describes in-game rupees.

The quiz provides a reason to revisit the world and its characters even after the main adventure becomes familiar.

Combined with the location challenges and musical features, it gives ZELDA NOTES a broader role than a conventional walkthrough or objective tracker.

Nintendo has not identified the fixed issues

The second item in the official patch notes concerns general improvements.

Nintendo states that several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience, but does not explain which issues were affected.

That leaves important details unknown.

There is no official list of corrected camera problems, specific dungeon bugs, graphical defects or frame-rate improvements in the Version 1.1.1 notes.

Any claim that the update definitively resolves one of those particular issues would therefore go beyond Nintendo's published information.

Early specialist coverage describes a download of approximately 343 MB. Nintendo Life also reported an installed game size of around 24.8 GB after updating.

Those figures come from press observations rather than the two-item official changelog, and installation sizes can depend on the exact software state.

For now, the confirmed scope remains companion service compatibility and unspecified fixes.

How to install Version 1.1.1

Nintendo Switch 2 can download the update automatically when the console is connected to the internet and automatic software updates are enabled.

Players who want to check manually can select the game's icon on the HOME Menu without launching it.

Pressing the + or - button opens the software options menu, where the current installed version is displayed.

From there, selecting Software Update and then Via the Internet starts the update check.

Nintendo confirms that existing save data remains available after installation.

The update is required to use the game's internet-related features, including the ZELDA NOTES integration.

Players should also complete the companion setup when prompted after starting the updated game.

The process applies to the game regardless of whether the owner purchased a digital or physical copy.

A launch-day patch rather than a post-release overhaul

The timing explains the nature of this update.

Version 1.1.1 was released on November 4, ahead of the remake's official November 5 launch.

It is therefore best understood as a launch preparation update, not a major post-release content expansion.

Nintendo's rebuilt Ocarina of Time already introduces overhauled visuals, orchestral music, updated camera and movement controls, expanded dialogue and fully voiced cinematic sequences.

The companion service adds another dimension to those improvements by connecting the adventure with optional mobile activities.

Nothing in the Version 1.1.1 notes indicates a new story chapter, additional dungeon or playable character.

For players beginning the adventure on launch day, the practical priority is to confirm that the patch is installed, especially if they plan to use ZELDA NOTES.

The update is modest in its officially documented changes, but it ensures that the remake's companion features are available as players take their first steps back into Hyrule.