Since the launch of the Expansion Pack for Nintendo Switch Online, many fans have struggled with the quality of emulation for their beloved N64 games–notably The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. For example, the visuals in Kokiri Forest and the Water Temple appear subpar with items either missing or not rendering well.
In a tweet, dataminer LuigiBlood explained that certain functionalities were impacted when developers were modeling the N64 Nintendo Switch Online emulator from the Wii U Virtual Console emulator. For example, they had hoped to manage graphics through an external source versus within the emulator itself. Ultimately, it caused a breakdown in graphics, and Nintendo did not have time to correct it.
The same day Banjo Kazooie dropped on 1/20/2022, Nintendo released an update that appears to have improved some of these graphical issues. OatmealDome, another Nintendo dataminer, confirmed that the textures of the water and the accuracy of reflections in the room where Link faces Shadow Link in the Water Temple look much better.
From a high level point of view, these are very minor improvements; however, this does indicate promise that Nintendo will continue to work on quality adjustments to their online service.
Sources: Kotaku, OatmealDome, LuigiBlood
