Zelda: Sands of Time (ROM Hack) Review (2025)

ROM hacks, usually fan edits of classic video games, can come in a few different forms. Some change small things about a game. Such as changing Link’s hair color from Pink to brown in Zelda: A Link to the Past or removing Juste’s blue character outline in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Other ROM hacks are more ambitious and create whole new games. The Legend of Zelda: Sands of Time falls into the latter category. Sands of Time is framed as a sequel to Ocarina of Time where Ganondorf defeated Link and ruled as a Dark Lord over Hyrule. It has new assets, music, towns, dungeons, and text. Sands of Time is not only ambitious, it is a stunning fan creation of what an adult-themed Zelda game could be like. I’m blown away by this game’s great style, dungeon design, and even politics. Read on for a review of The Legend of Zelda: Sands of Time (ROM hack).

Story

My experience of ROM hacks are mainly from 2D games like Pokemon Crystal Clear (another ambitious title), and Zelda: Link’s Awakening – Redux (which streamlines the original Game boy adventure). Zelda: Sands of Time is on another level of ambition because this a fully 3D sequel to one of the best gaming experiences ever. The fact that it is in 3D meant that it required much more care in development. The strange thing is Sands of Time tries to live up to Ocarina of Time as a sequel, and it succeeds and delivers a game that could be described as a mature, realistic, and rich Zelda game. If it was canon it would land on the downfall timeline where Link lost his battle against Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. The story goes that Ganondorf, the Gerudo knight ruled Hyrule with an iron fist for many years. His totalitarian dictatorship resulted in the once prosperous and green hills becoming a wasteland. In the game, you play as a young adventurer who has a fairy friend and both characters are in an ethical grey area judging by their treasure-seeking comments, rather than being pure beings such is sometimes depicted in this kind of fantasy.

The game starts in an expansive, and steampunk-style conurbation. Steel Town is full of new assets and has many characters with interesting dialogue. The new dialogue does well to tease the player of upcoming events and seems to be written from a foundation of great Zelda lore knowledge. This results in great world-building. The Gorons live with and near the Hylians. However, there is friction between these two races, and the Hylians often talk ill of the Gorons and vice versa. This kind of political expression in the game adds to the rich world-building of the experience. The real enemy of both the Hylians and the Gorons is the Gerudo, who are trying to resurrect Ganondorf. To do that they will have to collect the four medallions, and our protagonist is trying to do that before any villains can. I’m excited to find out where the story will eventually go.

Dungeon Design

Without going into too many spoilers, collecting the medallions requires venturing into different areas of the (new) game overworld. In terms of progression, the areas are built in a way more similar to Majora’s Mask than any other Zelda game and each area is full of puzzles, non-player characters, and collectibles. The experience is rich and the style is all its own thing. This brings us to the dungeon design.

The first main dungeon, Sundown Castle, is a complex Forest Temple-like space with interconnected rooms that lead to a central tower. The puzzles are well-designed and there’s an overarching objective in the dungeon that I won’t spoil. There are so many cool and new environmental assets. There are also new enemies and bosses. A cool enemy from Breath of the Wild enters the game as a sub-boss in Sundown Castle. The creatures’ movements and attacks were very similar to their attacks in Breath of the Wild and it was a surprise and marvel to see the enemy in Sands of Time. I’m excited about what secrets lie in store for the rest of the game. There are some recurring items but also a few new ones and each is a pleasant surprise to collect.

Graphics and Sound

Sands of Time obviously uses the same game engine as Ocarina of Time. However, there are subtle improvements to the system such as being able to quickly change boots with the D–pad. Furthermore, there are graphical changes to old assets and models. For example, Link now wears a scarf and has a new sword (called the long sword). All of these changes use a consistent style. The textures do look slightly improved. I’ve been playing through the game on Wii, using Not64 and there are a few graphical glitches in the menu, but apart from that everything seems to run great. The game is apparently optimized for the Windows N64 emulator, Project 64. I think It will run on most emulators. Because the Ocarina of Time ROM that you add the patch to has to be NTSC I haven’t been able to test Sands of Time on my PAL N64 (as I’m using an Eon Super 64 which only allows PAL ROMS). It might work on N64 and I would rather play it on the original system (although it was still great to get the game running on Wii). Overall the new assets and updated models and textures look great and really fit the style of the game. The new music is also a highlight and many tunes seem to be adapted Heavy Metal songs.

Conclusion

Zelda: Sands of Time shows how far Zelda: Ocarina of Time ROM hacks have come in the last few years. It is a full Zelda game, with new assets, music, animations, cutscenes, and more. The game implements a steampunk world and style and includes mature themes. While the puzzles might not have quite the imagination of an official Zelda game, they are impressive nonetheless and the best that I’ve seen in a ROM hack of Zelda 64. The new enemies and items are a delight to find, and the difficulty is aimed at experienced Ocarina of Time players although no task in almost impossible to accomplish in the game. Overall, its a great full-game ROM hack that anyone who thinks of themselves as good at Zelda: Ocarina of Time should play. The setting, story, and world-builiding is sure to make it an experience that you won’t regret embarking on.

9/10