When the Ocarina of Time Remake pre-orders dropped, fans had the option to grab a bundle on the Nintendo UK online store, which included an official pin.
This wasn’t a pre-order bonus but rather the chance for the retailer to bundle up an existing Ocarina of Time collectible for £61.98 (via Nintendo) in total, likely to shift some extra stock. If that was their plan, it most definitely worked as it has since sold out. Even the digital version is out of stock.
There’s still weeks to go the game (and the pin) arrive at your door, but if were curious about how it looked in person and wanted a sneak peek ahead of release day, I have good news for you. I already own this very Ocarina of Time pin amongst my Zelda collection, and want to let you take a look and see what its like before it arrives on your door on November 5. That way you don’t have to worry about its quality, and can instead worry about where you’re going to put your little ocarina replica instead.
I own a lot of official Legend of Zelda pins thanks to friends and family, but this is definitely up there one one of my favorites. Rather than being an image stuck to a flat plastic backing (like a lot of the promotional Tears of the Kingdom pins), this is a metal and 3-dimensional accessory that lovingly recreates the 7-hole instrument that Link wields to fast travel through the the land of Hyrule.
The paint job is pretty immacuate. The royal deep blue stands out from its plain, black backing and there’s not a spot of color out of place. Each of the wind instrument replica are actual crevices which you can run your fingers across and are not painted on, which helps make the pin look even more similar to its in-game model. The details are pretty fantastic, as even the Triforce motif is found just above the mouthpiece alongside the tiny, silver engraved swirls to either side.
All in all, it feels well worth the extra £2.99 cost it introduced to the bundled version of the game. However, if you were planning to wear this out on the lapel of your jacket, or on your backpack, I highly recommend you use a locking pin back to keep it secure. This pin is made from metal and therefore heavier than your average badge. While its fortunately has a rubber back (which you can see in the image gallery below), I can easily forsee it falling off if you aren’t too careful.
(Image credit: Future/Rosalie Newcombe)
You can pick up a set of Locking Pin Backs for £5.99 at Amazon, and I highly recommend you do to avoid it falling it getting damaged, falling off, or just falling into the wrong hands – Ganondorf included. In fact, I can’t emphasis enough how much you should take extra precausions with this pin when yours arrives later this year, as it can’t be easily replaced anymore.
While it was available seperately for £12.99 at Nintendo for months it has since sold out. If you lost it for one reason or another, you wouldn’t be able to get another without having to resort to re-sellers online. I can already spot people trying to flog it off for £21.50 at eBay, which is almost double its MSRP and while it’s a great-looking pin, it’s not ‘double the price’ great.
Alternatively, you could just keep it as a nice display piece for your shelf, which is exactly what I’ve been doing over the last few months. It (along with the Navi pin) has been sitting pretty amongst the rest of my Zelda merch, awaiting the day when I can hopefully add the upcoming Hori Ocarina of Time remake to its side. Sure, it’s nicer to show off your pretty pin, but this way you’ll have something to pop alongside the 3D replicas of the Spiritual Stones, if you managed to snag that snazzy pre-order bonus.
Love the Legend of Zelda? Check out Hasbro’s new electronic Master Sword, the new Lego Link and Epona set and the best Legend of Zelda merch while you’re here.
