Despite the idea sounding like an impossible dream mashup straight out of the 1990s, prolific modder Kaze Emanuar has successfully turned the Super Mario 64 level Shifting Sand Land into an original, playable The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time dungeon. And the best part is that it can be downloaded and played now.
The player character is the young version of Link, who controls like he did in Ocarina of Time, including the weapons, items, and mechanics one would expect of a Zelda game. The difference however, is that his game world is no longer the corridors and fields of Hyrule, but the inside of a pyramid and its surrounding dunes, as it was featured in Mario 64.
The level features enemies from Ocarina of Time in addition to traps and brand new puzzles designed to fit into the generally more open level design of Super Mario 64. The mod also takes on the difficult task of adapting a level from a platformer into an adventure game, adding new methods of traversing from area to area when needed. Taking into consideration the limitations of Link's inferior jumping ability when compared to Mario's and the Zelda series's radically different gameplay, Kaze takes the required changes in stride, managing to make an interesting hybrid.
This isn't the first time Kaze has made a Zelda dungeon set in Super Mario 64 either. In 2019, Kaze released another Ocarina of Time mod, this one based around the level Hazy Maze Cave, a sprawling underground labyrinth.
Other projects Kaze has worked on include adding entire levels from Super Mario Odyssey, including the game's unique enemies, gameplay, and capture mechanics, into Super Mario 64, making Ocarina of Time playable in VR, and strangely enough, creating an entire game based around the Mario character Waluigi selling tacos, also made using Mario 64.
The video above includes links to download the game in its description, though anyone who'd like to can also simply watch Kaze's playthrough of it. For those interested in more mods like this, there are entire communities dedicated to modding Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 that are just too passionate and dedicated to not recommend a look at.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is available on the Nintendo 64, though the mod is played on PC.