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Nintendo appears to have made the right call in remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2, at least from a hearts-and-minds perspective.

The visually resplendent remake, which hit store shelves last week, has already set two records on Metacritic in just a few days. For starters, it has the highest aggregate score (96 out of 100) of any game to be released in 2026 so far. That was established when reviews went up a week ago, though, so it’s not necessarily news at this point. However, as Forbes noted, Ocarina for Switch 2 has achieved another gaudy Metacritic milestone: It’s now the highest-rated game by user scores in the site’s history, with an all-time record score of 9.6 out of 10.

For reference, the original Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 is the highest-rated game by critics in the history of Metacritic, with a score of 99 out of 100, a record it’s held for a long time.

More than 8,750 users have submitted scores for Ocarina on Metacritic, so that score isn’t necessarily being affected by a small sample size. It should absolutely be noted and emphasized that Metacritic does not require a verification of purchase for a user to submit a review score, so it’s theoretically possible that some people are adding numbers to the mix in either direction without having played the game.

The Ocarina remake has also only been in the general public’s hands for a little more than four days at the time of publication, so these takes are coming in piping hot, and people could change their minds over time.

We also would be remiss not to mention that Grand Theft Auto VI launches on Nov. 19, so there’s a chance (albeit a small one) that Ocarina doesn’t sit atop the user review throne for very long.

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For years now, some of the biggest players in the AI space have been investing in smaller startups — which in turn use the same exact money to purchase services from the same large companies.

Investors have watched this circular financing with quiet but growing trepidation. After all, as the Wall Street Journal points out, if the AI bubble were to pop, the consequences could be dire. Now, with fears over a sudden collapse are as palpable as ever, such a “tangled web of AI bets,” as the newspaper puts it, could spell disaster.

The signs aren’t exactly hard to identify. Just last week, Google’s parent company Alphabet experienced the biggest drop in its market value in its history, wiping out well over half a trillion dollars in value.

The accompanying crash likely didn’t just send jitters across tech markets. Since the AI industry is effectively propping up the entire US economy, its failure could have far-reaching consequences to a public that’s increasingly skeptical of its offerings.

Since most of these companies’ fates are inextricably linked by circular financing, a major economic downturn or weakening demand could have cascading repercussions, especially considering much of the sector’s financing is based on debt.

Beyond the tech industry’s very bad week, data center operators aren’t looking much better. Nvidia customer CoreWave, which analysts have dubbed the “AI trade’s canary in the coal mine,” has also seen its shares decline over months, raising plenty of flags.

Despite the widespread unease, enormous data center expansion efforts are in full swing, major bipartisan backlash notwithstanding. It’s an unprecedented all-in that could jeopardize the entire economy if it were to collapse.

Even beyond the US, the circular financing is starting to worry investors in Asia. The Bank of Korea recently warned of a “semiconductor version of Dutch disease,” an economic concept describing a booming sector that overtakes all other tradable market segments.

Yet the country is doubling down, with president Lee Jae Myung pledging today to “boldly invest in AI and future growth engines,” effectively doubling AI and chip spending for next year.

Only time will tell whether that’ll be the right move as more and more investors get cold feet.

More on the AI bubble: Stock Market Bloodbath Spikes Fears of AI Bubble Bursting

Shubao, the youngest giant panda at Everland, has drawn about 50,000 visitors in roughly 10 days since she first went on public view, the theme park’s operator said Tuesday.

Samsung C&T’s resort division, which runs Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, said the cub began appearing at the park’s Panda World enclosure on Oct. 30. She was on view for about an hour a day in her first week. Everland has since raised that to three to four hours as she gets used to visitors.

Shubao was born June 3 to mother Aibao and father Lebao. She is the fourth giant panda born in Korea, after Fubao in 2020 and twins Ruibao and Huibao in 2023. Fubao moved to China in April 2024.

Crowds are also coming to see the twins before they leave for China in the third week of December. Under international conservation rules, giant pandas born outside China must move there before they turn 4, when they reach breeding age. About 100,000 people have visited the twins at their enclosure in the month or so since Everland announced their departure.

The twins will start a month of quarantine on Friday, but will stay on limited public view until Dec. 11 — the last day all five pandas will be together at the park.

Everland has planned a series of farewell events. On Wednesday and Thursday, zookeepers including Kang Cheol-won — known to fans as “Panda Grandpa” — will hold a talk concert and share stories about raising the twins. Through Wednesday, a large LED screen in the park’s Four Seasons Garden will show footage of the panda family.

Graduation-themed merchandise for the twins, including albums, gowns and caps, goes on sale Nov. 20, along with special food and drinks. Since June, fans have been collecting stamps in a nationwide travel project themed around the twins. Those who completed it can trade the stamps for certificates and medals.

Two photo essay books about the twins by an Everland zookeeper and the park’s photographer opened for preorder Nov. 3. Both made the bestseller lists at major Korean online bookstores that day.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.