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Google’s Zelda tribute brings a 1998-style search page back

News outlets describe a hidden Google tribute to Ocarina of Time, a temporary 1998-style search page, and a connection to a reported Nintendo Switch 2 remake.

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Globe showing observed audience countries for zelda
17 observed audience countries · snapshot 2026-11-02 18:34 UTC. Coverage is not proof of geographic spread.

Multiple outlets report that Google has added a hidden tribute to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Searching for the game's name on Google surfaces a small Master Sword icon in the bottom-right corner of the results page, which triggers an animation referencing the game's time-travel mechanic. [S1] [S2]

After the animation plays, the search results page temporarily switches to a recreation of Google's appearance from 1998, including the old logo, blue links, and the original 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button. The change is described as cosmetic and temporary, with users able to return to the current look by clicking the sword icon again. [S1] [S2]

The outlets note that 1998 was both the year Google began and the year Ocarina of Time was released for Nintendo 64. Their coverage connects the tribute to a reported Nintendo Switch 2 remake. These reports provide context for the topic; they do not establish why every user searched for Zelda. [S1] [S2]

La Tercera's report adds that in this special version, the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button links to the game's Nintendo eShop page, and notes Google has previously added similar search Easter eggs referencing Star Fox and other games. [S2]

Article sources

  1. Google esconde una sorpresa para los fanáticos de Zelda: permite regresar a 1998biobiochile.cl · 2026-11-02
  2. Google y Zelda: Ocarina of Time permiten viajar a 1998 - La Terceralatercera.com · 2026-11-02

Written from the linked source articles and checked against their recorded text. Source reporting and measured search attention are different evidence; neither establishes a single cause for all searches.

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1 audience countries · Google Trends

View source observations · 1

Latest retained source records. Metrics use different units and are shown separately.

Source / countryMeasureSource date (UTC)
Google Trends · India≥ 2,000 searches05 Nov 2026, 11:50
About these measurements

Google Trends traffic is a reported lower bound. Wikipedia daily pageviews are rounded ceilings, not unique readers. Audience countries describe searches or readership, not where an event started. News links alone do not establish popularity or geographic spread.

Source credits

Data source: Google Trends (https://trends.google.com/). Category-filtered CSV export: Games, Technology. Search traffic is a reported lower bound, not an exact count or a 0-100 interest index.

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