The United States release of Nintendo's 3DS portable gaming device is just 20 days away. Even if you're not immediately sold on the launch titles, one upcoming release in particular speaks directly to Nintendo die-hards: a 3-D remake of the Nintendo 64 title "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," which is widely considered to be the greatest video game of all time. The release won't be coming until later this year, but we now know that it will include a bonus mode that nods directly to the longtime fans of the series.
"Ocarina of Time 3D" will include the Master Quest edition of the game along with the original version that was packed onto N64 cartridges back in the day. The news comes from comments made at last week's 2011 Game Developer's Conference by a Nintendo of America representative in an interview with ConservativeNewMedia (via Joystiq).
"Ocarina of Time" was ported to Nintendo's GameCube in 2003 with Master Quest added in alongside the original game. While it is fundamentally the same as the original in terms of the story and gameplay mechanics, all of the dungeons were rearranged to offer a stepped up difficulty.
Master Quest was originally going to be released as an expansion to "Ocarina" using the N64's 64DD storage expansion. The peripheral came out in Japan toward the end of the console's lifespan, but it never made its way to North America.
The expanded game resurfaced during the GameCube's lifespan, packed in as a bonus for pre-orders of "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" in North America and Japan. It was also available in a special Wal-Mart bundle, though it has never been available here in the U.S. as a standalone purchase.