To quick swap items in the Ocarina of Time remake, hold R to bring up the quick-select bar, slide along it to the item you want, and that item goes onto ZR, where a press uses it. Key items such as the Ocarina and the Iron Boots sit on the D-pad instead, so you can pull them out or put them on without pausing.
It is the change that fixes the 1998 game’s most famous chore: opening the menu over and over to swap boots and gear. Here is how the new setup works, what lives where, and what still sends you to the pause menu.
How Item Swapping Works Now
On the Nintendo 64 you had three item slots, one for each yellow C button, and anything else meant pausing and reassigning. The remake trades that for one active item slot on ZR, fed by a quick-select bar that lays your items out in a single line, with each bottle in a space of its own.
Nintendo made the change with one dungeon in mind. In its Ask the Developer interview, producer Eiji Aonuma, who designed the original Water Temple, says its “item toggling” meant “you often had to open the menu screen repeatedly, making it hard to keep track of where you were.” Director HokWai Ng says the team has “made item toggling much easier” in this version.
| Nintendo 64 (1998) | Switch 2 remake | |
|---|---|---|
| Active item slots | Three, on the C buttons | One, on ZR |
| Changing the active item | Pause, then reassign | Hold R and pick from the quick-select bar |
| Boots | Pause menu every time | D-pad |
| Ocarina | One of the three C slots | D-pad |
| Aiming the slingshot, bow and Hookshot | Stick only | Stick, or optional motion aiming |
Step by Step: How to Quick Swap
- Hold R. The quick-select bar appears, showing your items in one row.
- Use the stick to slide left or right along the bar.
- Select the item you want. It is now your active item, shown on ZR.
- Press ZR to use it: throw a bomb, fire the slingshot, swing the Megaton Hammer.
The swap happens without a trip to the pause menu, which is the point. Switching from the bow to bombs to the Hookshot is now quick enough to do in the middle of a fight, and the game’s item pool is small enough that the bar never gets unwieldy.
What Lives on the D-pad
Some items never need the bar. The Ocarina, the masks, the Iron Boots and the Lens of Truth sit on the D-pad, and a press puts the boots or the Lens on and the next press takes them off again. Look at the D-pad icon on screen to see what is assigned where.
These are the items you toggle rather than aim, and the Iron Boots are the one that matters most. Our Hover Boots guide and full item list cover where everything is found, and the bottle locations guide explains why the bar fills up with bottles as you go.
What Still Needs the Pause Menu
The pause menu is still there, and you can swap items from it the old way if you prefer. Some things still live only there. We have found nothing that puts tunics, swords or shields on the quick-select bar or the D-pad, so plan on the pause menu’s equipment screen for the Zora Tunic, the Goron Tunic and your sword and shield.
The practical habit: put the right tunic on before you enter a dungeon that needs it, then let the D-pad and the bar handle everything else.
Why It Matters in the Water Temple
The Water Temple is where quick swapping pays off. In 1998 the Iron Boots went on and off through the pause menu dozens of times, which is a large part of why the dungeon became infamous. In the remake you tap the D-pad instead. Ng adds that some walls that made it easy to lose your bearings are now lattice-style, so you can see the rooms beyond them.
Before you go in, equip the Zora Tunic from the pause menu, then keep the Hookshot on ZR, since you will reach for it constantly. Our Water Temple guide walks through the dungeon itself, and our story on what Nintendo changed in the Water Temple has the rest of the developers’ comments.
Aiming Items: Buttons or Motion
Nintendo’s store page says ranged weapons “can be aimed through button controls or through motion controls,” and you can change this in the Options menu. Motion aiming suits the slingshot and the bow; if you would rather not tilt the controller, turn it off. Our Switch 2 features guide covers the game’s other console features, and the remake’s new movement controls pair well with fast item swaps: dash in, swap, fire.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you switch items without pausing in the Ocarina of Time remake? Hold R to open the quick-select bar, slide to the item you want, and it goes onto ZR.
How many items can you equip at once? One active item on ZR, plus the key items on the D-pad. The 1998 game had three C-button slots.
How do you put on the Iron Boots quickly? Press their direction on the D-pad. Press it again to take them off. No pause menu needed.
Can you still use the pause menu to change items? Yes. The pause menu still works, and it is where tunics, swords and shields are changed.
Can you quick swap tunics? We have found nothing that puts tunics on the quick-select bar or the D-pad, so change them from the pause menu before you need them.
Does the remake have motion aiming? Yes, as an option. Nintendo says ranged weapons can be aimed with buttons or motion controls, set in the Options menu.
For our other remake guides, including how saving works and the new jump button, head to the Zelda hub.