Paris, France: Gaming fans around the world are getting ready for the release on Thursday of Nintendo’s latest addition to its long-running Zelda series, “Ocarina of Time.”

The game, a remake of a classic 1990s edition, will be released gradually across the world as part of the 40th anniversary of the saga.

It has already garnered widespread praise with a score of 96 out of 100 on aggregator site Metacritic by the eve of its release, putting it among the best-reviewed titles of the year so far.

The series centers on the adventures of green-clad warrior Link, who battles the evil demon Ganondorf across the ages trying to save Princess Zelda.

Eiji Aonuma, who produced the latest instalment, told AFP last month he was “all nervous” about the release.

“I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, I can’t stop thinking about it,” he said.

The reviews so far have gone some way to allaying his fear, with US outlet IGN calling it an “exceptional remake of an incredible game and a rich adventure that stands on its own.”

In a five-star review for the Guardian newspaper, Keza MacDonald wrote: “Nintendo’s modern Zelda team have turned one of the best games of the 1990s into one of the best games of the 2020s, and made time-travelers out of us all.”