Which ocarina should you play the Ocarina of Time remake with?

By Igor. Published 2026-10-27

Eighteen r/Ocarina threads asked which ocarina to buy with Zelda in mind between 8 September and 27 October 2026, and nine of them named the Ocarina of Time remake or Nintendo's own ocarina. The replies kept pointing at a maker's ocarina over a cheap lookalike: STL came up in 14 of the 17 threads that got answers, Songbird in 13. For the remake itself, Nintendo says you can play your own instrument, or simply hum, into the Switch 2 microphone.

We pulled all 429 posts on r/Ocarina from those seven weeks, and the 3,439 comments under them, through the Arctic Shift archive of Reddit. We read every post and counted the makers named in the replies. This post reports what those Zelda fans asked and what the regulars told them. It is written for someone who has never owned an ocarina and wants one before 5 November.

Can you play a real ocarina in the Ocarina of Time remake?

Yes. Nintendo's 8 September announcement says you can "play (or simply hum) one of Link’s learned ocarina melodies within range of the Nintendo Switch 2 system’s built-in microphone", and that "the game will also respond to instruments like the new playable and electric ocarinas".

One r/Ocarina member who tried the game before release reported that the game recognised the real ocarina they played into it. That is one report from a preview build. Treat it as a good sign, not a promise for every instrument and every room. Nintendo has not said how closely the game checks pitch, and it accepts humming, so it may be forgiving.

How many people are asking about an ocarina for the remake?

The share of r/Ocarina posts flagged as questions that mention Zelda more than doubled after the Direct. Of the 200 posts our filter flagged as questions or requests in those seven weeks, 47 mentioned Zelda (the games, the remake or their songs), which is 23.5%. In a hand-coded sample of 277 posts flagged the same way from October 2023 to October 2026, the share was 10.5%. Questions about which ocarina to buy rose too, from 38.3% to 45.0%, while breath and tuning questions stayed close to their usual level.

The rush came in the first fortnight. The week of the Direct brought 15 flagged posts that mention Zelda, the next week 9, and since then it has settled at 2 to 6 a week. With the release on 5 November, a second wave is likely, from people who play the game first and want an instrument after.

Search shows the same jump. In September 2026, US Google searches for "nintendo ocarina" reached 18,100, against 50 in August. "Playable ocarina" went from 590 to 5,400, and "real ocarina" from 170 to 1,000.

What did r/Ocarina recommend for the remake?

The replies recommended an ocarina from a known maker over a marketplace lookalike. Nine of the 18 posts named the remake or Nintendo's ocarina; the rest asked for a Zelda replica or for an ocarina to play the games' songs on. Seventeen of the 18 got replies from other members, and we counted which makers those replies named. STL came up in 14 of them and Songbird in 13. The Night by Noble, a plain plastic ocarina that does not copy the game's look, came up in 9. Focalink or Stein appeared in 7, and Spencer and Rivo in 3 each.

The advice depended on whether the asker wanted the game's look. Members who wanted the look were pointed at the replicas that STL and Songbird make, with Spencer named as the top end when it is in stock. Members who only wanted to play were pointed at the Night by Noble or the Rivo. We are not ranking these makers here; the counts show what the community said, not what we measured. Our guide to choosing an ocarina sets out what makes one playable and which to pick for your situation.

Is a cheap Zelda replica good enough to play the songs?

Usually not, according to the threads. In 5 of the 17 threads with replies, someone warned the asker off a cheap marketplace replica, and in 3 of them the reason given was that it does not play in tune. At least two of the askers already owned one, bought at a fair or online.

The game may forgive an off note, but learning on an out-of-tune ocarina is hard: when a song sounds wrong, you will not know whether to blame your breath or the instrument. If you already own one, test it before you decide: our guide to whether your ocarina is out of tune, or it is you walks through a fair check with a tuner.

Should you wait for Nintendo's playable ocarina?

Only if you are happy to wait without knowing the price or the date. Nintendo's 8 September announcement promised "a playable version for the musically inclined" later in 2026, next to an electric one from HORI. When we checked on 27 October 2026, Nintendo had published no price, maker or release date for the playable one. The electric version is a different product: the same announcement describes it as one "that plays notes or entire songs at the press of a button".

Two of the 18 threads asked whether to wait. The one that got answers was pointed at known makers. The asker chose a proven instrument over one that nobody had played yet.

Which hole count should a first ocarina have?

Six of the 18 posts named a hole count, and a 12-hole came up in all six. The one clear exception was a member who could not use one finger: the advice there was a 6-hole pendant, which needs neither little finger and still plays more than an octave. If your hands make a 12-hole awkward, a pendant is a proper instrument to learn on.

Whatever you buy, play each note against a tuner in the first week, while you can still return it. Breath moves an ocarina's pitch, so one sour reading is not a verdict; a note that stays far off at a soft, steady breath is.