Hoot point.
It looks like the owl known Kaepora Gaebora - part-tutorial, part-tip giver - will be far less talkative in the Nintendo Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Who is the most dangerous monster you face in Ocarina of Time? 'Ganondorf' you'll surely answer. Wrong. 'Koume and Kotake', you might offer. After all, they raised Ganondorf and set him down his evil path. Incorrect. 'Okay, then it must be the Shadow Temple boss, the dastardly Bongo Bongo'. You fool. The most vicious villain can only be Kaepora Gaebora, the owl.
Sure, he appears helpful. Some might even say he's secretly Rauru, Sage of Light, but show me the evidence! (So I can ignore it). You might even use the lift he offers down Death Mountain to excuse his overly long explanations, but, never forget, always beware owls bearing free flights.
Seriously, think about it. What's the best, sneakiest, way to slow down the Hero of Time? A monster ambush? You can easily slay those beasts with a few sword slashes. But being captured in a one-sided conversation… one that forces you to slam the A button - because you already know how the map works and definitely know where you're going - only to suddenly be asked whether you want to hear all of that guff again… Of course you don't. Who would? But you've already hit A so you're going to hear it again and again and again. Slowly the edges of your soul begin to tatter and, with every loose thread, your desire to escape wanes until you simply give up. All that remains is one very smug owl.
I know I'm not the only person that's been trapped in an endless circle of 'Did you get all that?' at the behest of this cursed avian. But it seems our collective suffering is at an end. During my preview of the Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake, I was very, very, worried about meeting the owl. I only had 15 minutes to explore both Hyrule Field and Hyrule Castle Town. A small amount of time which could easily get cut even shorter if I made one bad decision. I could feel Kaepora Gaebora circling above me as if I was a field mouse and he, well, an owl.
When the time came, I took a deep breath. I would pay attention. I would not fall for his 'yes means no, no means yes' trap. Not this time. Yet the damned owl surprised me: the conversation was short. Pleasant even. Not a single mention of the map was made and, before I knew it, the owl was flying away.
I can't say whether the owl's incessant talking has been cut down in other points in the game, but it would track with the other quality-of-life changes made to Ocarina of Time in this remake. (There's an Ocarina of Time preview waiting for you if you'd like to learn more. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.) What we do know is that he's been fitted with a new design and, thanks to the game's trailer, will still offer flights from Lake Hylia.
For now, we'll just have to wait until the remake is released on 5th November to learn exactly how talkative the owl actually is.
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