Googling "Zelda" today offers a glimpse of how search worked in 1998
In 1998, the world witnessed the release of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64. At the same time, a search engine named Google was born. Fast forward to 2026, and Google is commemorating the imminent release of the Ocarina of Time remaster by taking us on a nostalgic journey back to that fateful year.
To access this time portal, one simply needs to search for either "Zelda" or "Ocarina of Time". As Google loads its standard 2026 results page, an animated Master Sword appears in the lower right corner, visible on both mobile and desktop devices. Upon clicking the sword, a time-skipping animation and a Link shout transport users back to 1998.
The search page, now adorned with retro Google branding, displays a simple list of blue links, reminiscent of the time-shifting mechanics in Ocarina of Time.
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.