To see the Conversation Log in the Ocarina of Time remake, press Y while a character is talking, and the log opens so you can scroll back through the lines you missed. The prompt sits in the bottom-right corner while dialogue is on screen, next to Hide, which you trigger by pressing in the left stick.
Both prompts appear in Nintendo’s own footage of the remake, in its October overview trailer and in the gameplay demonstration Eiji Aonuma played for the September Direct. Below we cover how to use them, what the log is for, and the subtitle and voice options that change how dialogue looks.
How to Open the Conversation Log
- Start a conversation. Walk up to someone and press A when the “Talk” prompt appears, or let a scene or Navi start talking.
- While the dialogue box is up, look at the bottom-right corner of the screen. It reads Hide and Conversation Log.
- Press Y to open the Conversation Log.
- Scroll back to the line you missed, then close the log to return to the conversation.
The dialogue box itself also tells you who is speaking: a name tab sits above the text, such as “Saria” in Kokiri Forest or “Talon” in Nintendo’s trailer.
When the Log Comes in Handy
The remake has a lot more talking in it than the 1998 game. Nintendo says the characters Link meets “are fully voiced during expanded cutscenes and have a great deal more to say,” and in the gameplay demonstration Aonuma says the team “added quite a lot of new dialogue for the characters.” That is more lines to tap past by accident, and more chances to miss the one that mattered.
In Nintendo’s footage the prompts show up in three kinds of dialogue:
- Ordinary conversations, such as Saria’s lines in Kokiri Forest after Link first meets the Great Deku Tree.
- Navi’s hints. When you target an enemy and ask Navi about it, her advice (“Oh, watch it! That’s a Deku Baba.”) appears in a dialogue box with the same two prompts, so a weak point you skimmed past is one button away.
- Townspeople and side characters, such as Talon, the Lon Lon Ranch owner from our wake up Talon guide for the original game.
Hyrule Castle Town is where it earns its keep. Aonuma describes it as a place where “you can hear gossip from the townsfolk,” and the market is now a fully explorable 3D space, as our open world guide explains. If someone drops a hint about a minigame or a side quest while you are mashing through, the log has it.
What Hide Does
Hide, on the left stick (press it in), takes the dialogue box off the screen so you can see the characters and the scene behind it. It is the button to reach for when a voiced moment is worth a screenshot, or when the text box covers what a character is pointing at.
Does It Keep Earlier Conversations?
Nintendo has not said how far back the log goes, and in all of its footage the prompt appears while dialogue is on screen, so treat it as the way to catch up on the conversation in front of you.
For instructions from earlier in the adventure, use Threads of Time instead. It opens with the minus (-) Button and shows the story so far and your current objective, so it is the place to check what you were told to do an hour ago. Our what’s changed guide introduces it alongside the remake’s other new features.
Subtitle and Voice Settings
Press + and choose Options to change how dialogue is shown. The menu has:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Subtitles | Turns the subtitles on or off |
| Speaker names | Shows or hides the speaker’s name with each subtitle |
| Voice Language | Changes the language the cast speaks in |
Some voices will sound familiar on purpose. In Nintendo’s Ask the Developer interview, director HokWai Ng says the team picked voices that “recreated the sound and feel of the original game,” and that iconic lines such as Navi’s “Listen!” were never going to change. The same Options menu holds the camera controls, covered in our camera settings guide, and the aiming switch from our motion aiming guide. Every Ocarina of Time guide we have is on our Zelda hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you open the conversation log in the Ocarina of Time remake?
Press Y while dialogue is on screen. The Conversation Log prompt sits in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
What does Hide do during dialogue?
Pressing in the left stick hides the dialogue box so you can see the scene behind it.
Does the conversation log work on Navi’s hints?
Yes. Navi’s hints appear in the same dialogue box, with the same Conversation Log prompt.
Can you turn off subtitles?
Yes. Options has separate settings for subtitles and for showing the speaker’s name with them.
Can you change the voice language?
Yes. Options has a Voice Language setting.