Googling "Zelda" today offers a glimpse of how search worked in 1998
The year was 1998. Britney Spears topped the charts, Bill Clinton was impeached, and a couple of little websites called Google and Ars Technica came online. It was also the year Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64. Google, which has come to dominate the Internet (Ars is still working on that), is celebrating the imminent release of the Ocarina of Time remaster by temporarily transporting us back to that storied year with a search Easter egg.
TL;DR
- Google implemented a 1998-themed search Easter egg to commemorate the Ocarina of Time remaster.
- Searching for "Zelda" or "Ocarina of Time" triggers a retro Google interface with a minimalist design.
- The Easter egg features a curated list of seven links, reminiscent of early search engine results.
- Users can revert to the modern Google search at any time by interacting with the Master Sword icon.
- The change also serves to highlight the evolution of Google Search, contrasting its past simplicity with current AI and sponsored content.