Hero of Law

Hero of Law is a homebrew hack of Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 by Newer Team and released on 28 June 2025. It’s basically a mashup of OoT and the Ace Attorney series, where you have to defend Malon in a trial.

You can get the patch for v1.10 from our download page using the password objection, or you can check the official website for their online patcher for the most recent version. There are many patches in the zip file, but what worked for me was the patch called CZLJ_1.0.xdelta on an OoT ROM called The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time (USA).z64. Patch it using xDelta.

About Hero of Law

If you’ve played any of the Ace Attorney games, you’ll know exactly what to expect.

The story follows Link as a defense attorney who finds out that his childhood friend Malon is accused of murdering her father. He believes this is all out of character for her so it’s up to him to defend her in court until the bitter end.

It is a very text-heavy game, but there are some interactive elements to it. Throughout the story there will be times where you have to present a piece of evidence that proves a point to the court, and there are other times where you have to cross-examine a witness and point out contradictions.

Because of this it’s very important to pay close attention to the dialogue, as the smallest tidbit of information could be the key to winning the trial.

Many of the character models are taken from the original OoT, with the exception of Zelda and Impa which look completely different. Others have their textures changed like Link’s tunic turned into a suit and Judge Rauru wearing a judge’s robe. Each character is provided a new set of animation, closely mimicking the style of Ace Attorney.

There’s also many new assets in the form of new locations, objects and even 2D art for evidence, profiles and character art.

Review and conclusion

Hero of Law does a great job at combining both the Ocarina of Time aesthetics with the Ace Attorney style of gameplay.

It does feel a bit strange that Link is such a blank slate in the original game but here he’s given the Phoenix Wright “desperate underdog lawyer” personality. Then you have Malon as Maya Fey, Rauru as the Judge, Ganondorf as Manfred von Karma, Impa as Dick Gumshoe and Zelda as the novice witness. They’re all archetypes from the series, but well adapted to the feel and world brought forward in Ocarina of time.

The animations are fluid and on-point, bringing the characters to life rather than relying on static poses. Musically, the game is equally impressive, blending Ocarina of Time samples into melodies from both the Zelda and AA soundtrack.

The plot is fairly standard for an Ace Attorney-styled game, but done pretty well. It follows the general plot of “grasping at straws” to “pin the crime on someone else” but making sure that its still an entertaining read. The characters pull references to Ocarina of Time such as Ganondorf’s coup, the cucco game and the ranch’s layout, making you feel like you’re definitely still in the same world you know and love.

The game’s not too tough overall. There were just a couple of moments where I actually had to pause and think about the answers during interrogations or when presenting evidence.

Overall it’s a very good adaptation of the Ace Attoney style, bringing its own twist on the formula. As someone who has played all the western releases of the AA series, I seriously recommend that you have a look at Hero of Law. It’s only a single court case at the moment, but they’ve set up the framework for something great.