Nintendo 64 graphics have a level of abstraction that, especially compared to modern gaming texture work, make certain things in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time more silly than they're meant to be. While they were pretty convincing back in the late 90s, Ocarina's Skulltulas aren't very scary and the low-poly blood stains in the Shadow Temple aren't shocking. That might change in the upcoming remake, and we may end up with the grossest dungeon of any Zelda game.
Ocarina of Time has a weird fascination with Link getting swallowed by various creatures. The very first dungeon in the game has Link spelunking inside the Great Deku Tree, but even smaller creatures like Like-Likes can gulp down the Hero of Time whole. With the Ocarina of Time remake's new art style, we may be in for a truly stomach-turning journey down a giant fish's gullet.
Going inside a big tree? Odd, but not that wild. Getting biblically eaten by a whale-like creature and proceeding to rummage around in its guts? Definitely Ocarina of Time's weirdest dungeon. Link isn't even the first person to be swallowed by Lord Jabu-Jabu – Princess Ruto's already been hanging out in there for who knows how long. Probable lack of oxygen aside, she's just been, like, wandering around in there looking for the Zora's Spiritual Stone.
I shudder to think of the various goops Link probably steps in inside Jabu-Jabu, not to mention the horrible smell that is surely being produced by his monster-infested gastrointestinal tract. The logistics of Jabu-Jabu's organs combining into a functional dungeon must be some sort of divine machination, but it doesn't stop the premise from being revolting.
With how much more detail there is in Switch 2 games, Nintendo could really go the extra mile in making the Ocarina of Time remake's third dungeon vomit-inducing. The "doors" in there are some kind of intestinal valves, and the switches are these weird... pustule... things? Better textures and animations will make this whole situation really nasty. And think of the noises Jabu-Jabu's innards can make free from the Nintendo 64's rudimentary audio.
Forgive me switching the topic a bit here, but while we're so thoroughly discussing Jabu-Jabu's anatomy, it has always been amusing to me that the dungeon, Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly, is clearly much larger than the actual fish spirit, Lord Jabu-Jabu. Don't get me wrong, that's a really big fish, but his model in Zora's Fountain would fit inside some of the dungeon's rooms.
The Ocarina of Time remake is a great opportunity to tinker with the game's scale. I don't necessarily want it to become a giant game – there's no need for a massive Hyrule Field, for instance – but Jabu-Jabu is a good example of how Ocarina's proportions could be fixed. If a massive electric jellyfish monster like Barinade is just chilling inside Jabu-Jabu, I want the Zora fish deity to be suitably massive. Child Link standing in front of a colossal Jabu-Jabu would be a great juxtaposition, and his disappearance when Zora's Domain freezes that much more eerie.
It's going to be interesting to see how the Ocarina of Time remake updates the visuals of such an iconic game. There are bound to be some controversial changes in gameplay and art design, but there's also a lot of potential to overcome technical limitations and create an evocative atmosphere. We still haven't had a thorough look at The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's upcoming remake, but I'm convinced that Jabu-Jabu's belly is going to be the series' most disgusting dungeon.
