Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is a solemn enterprise. Even from the brief glimpse I got of the game a few weeks ago, it’s obvious that the developers have largely succeeded in making a nearly 30-year-old classic feel freshly wondrous. The environments are an unequivocal triumph, with one particular new scripted moment at the start of Hyrule Field immediately establishing itself as an all-time breathtaking reveal. Link himself is a perfectly realized representation of a snot-nosed kid inexplicably sent on a grand adventure.

The game, though, isn’t without its quirks and idiosyncrasies. Right off the bat, the fairies were a big one. Seconds after sitting down to play the remake, I stared at Navi on the screen and wondered, “Are the fairies….fuzzy?” What I’d always imagined as a tiny little girl who shone too brightly to be clearly seen turns out to be a puffy ball of electric cotton and little else.

A few moments like this cropped up throughout my playtime. The Great Deku Tree sounds booming and authoritative rather than fragile and Ent-like. The crowds in Hyrule’s Castle Town vary in their art styles, with the rather famous dancing couple near the entrance not looking as far removed from their sharp, polygonal forebears as one might expect.

So much of Hyrule looks organic, handcrafted, and full of lovely details, yet little reminders pop up here and there that the bones of a nearly 30-year-old game remain buried within. And yet, like the best Nintendo games, this one needs only a minute of running around to snap you back to attention and remind you why Nintendo is remaking such a beloved title in the first place.

The preview I got to play comprised three sections: the starting area of Kokiri Forest, the walk from Hyrule Field to the town, and a stretch of the Forest Temple. There are obvious, elegant, and welcome enhancements to the experience of playing the game, particularly the addition of a jump button and various features borrowed from Breath of the Wild. That game’s Quick Items menu, in particular, is a godsend in Ocarina of Time’s dungeons, where the flow of combat and exploration need only be interrupted for a split second.

Where it could sometimes be an annoyance to find the critical path after chasing a side quest, the new features let players get and stay lost while providing excellent breadcrumbs to guide them back toward the intended path with minimal friction. NPCs have far more to say, offering more insight into Hyrule at large. Link’s fairy companion Navi, in fact, is a veritable encyclopedia of information about every enemy Link encounters, should players want it.

The Forest Temple perfectly showcases everything promising about his remake: all of the N64 original’s jagged edges, both visual and mechanical, have been smoothed out; its puzzles are easier to parse; and the visual audacity of its twisted-gravity rooms rival anything in this year’s Control Resonant. After a decade of vast open worlds that leave so much room for player expression, it feels wonderful to be reminded that letting Nintendo take the wheel and guide us along can still make for a superior experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be released on November 5.