The Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess HD Review

In the gaming world, 10 years is a long time. A lot can happen and change.10 years ago, Nintendo gave us The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. After some of the initial backlash born from the design and look of precious moments Link in The Wind Waker, Nintendo created a darker, grittier Zelda game. It’s what the fans wanted. Something more realistic, but still stayed true to the magical world we would escape to when playing a Zelda game. Twilight Princess was originally dual released on the Gamecube and Wii and was  a huge success (mostly on the GameCube). There hasn’t been a Zelda game like it since. 2011’s Skyward Sword seemed to blend the visual style of The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess together, creating an interesting look. But nothing as realistic as Twilight Princess.

The Wii version relied on the new motion controls of the WiiMote for swinging your sword. It felt unrefined and even uncomfortable at times. But there was a sense of satisfaction from firing arrows from the tip of your remote. However, It was not enough to make it better than the GameCube version. So fans of the GameCube version will be happy to hear that the HD version on the Wii U has gone back to gamepad style controls, offering two options; Using the Wii U gamepad and the Wii U Pro Controller.

The Pro controller offers a more original experience, whereas the Wii U gamepad offers quite the different experience. Using the gyroscope and the accelerometer to help aim, I found the shooting experience to be just like the one in Ocarina of Time 3D on the Nintendo 3DS. You can still control your aim with the joystick. You can even shut off the feature completely. But I recommend getting used to it early, as it makes those minigames so much easier once you have mastered it.

While we are on controlls, I couldn’t help notice that something felt … off. For example, when racing through Hyrule field with Epona, it was really difficult to be as precise with the steering. Someone on reddit described it perfectly. They said it was like trying to steer an elephant riding a unicycle. I definitely think the controls have been tuned differently in this remake. Even the targeting mechanic feels a little broken with airborne enemies, and there were instances where Link would run the wrong way because of a sudden forced camera pan, and the controls didn’t respond to the change.

Using the Wii U gamepad adds a lot of functionality to the game. Quick item switching, maps, and other information easily accessible to you as you play. And the Wii U gamepad supports off screen play which was awesome when I wanted to kill some free time hunting down those poes but the TV was being used. The only notable downside I happened to notice while playing on the gamepad was that there were frame rate issues at times. I suspect it has something to do with the graphics which are now 1080p, trying to run at 30fps, in the Wii U’s limited memory bandwidth over wireless. But honestly, a game this beautiful deserves to be played on a television.

The new HD version sports a fresh layer of paint. Textures have been updated to look more detailed, lighting has been improved, and some visual aspects have been completely reworked; like Link’s hair for example.

There are times where you will notice it’s an older game. The polygon count is still the same in some areas and with characters that weren’t important enough to get a rework. This is most apparent in the overworld, while traveling Hyrule field and looking at the edge of the cliffs. The new textures seem to just highlight this fact. But characters important to the story definitely had their polygon count increased.

The texture reworks are really well done. Midna’s helmet, Zant’s mask, foliage, and stone look really fresh. These visual updates help breathe new life into the game, and helps it look better on modern televisions, but the lack of shadow casting or ambient occlusion makes a lot of things look flat.

Twilight Princess is the spiritual successor to Ocarina of Time, and at the time of writing this, follows as a sequel to Majora’s Mask in the child timeline.

Taking place at least 100 years after Majora’s Mask, this game tells the story of Hyrule falling into a state of darkness as an evil sorcerer named Zant tries to cover the land in eternal Twilight. Link, who was raised as a farmhand, gets caught up in the events that unfold. When Twilight falls over Hyrule, Link’s body transforms into a wolf instead of a spirit. Midna, a mysterious imp like creature from the Twilight Realm, realizes there is something different about Link because of this, and partners up with him to regain his natural form, save his friends, and in return recover pieces of an artifact that will allow her to beat Zant and restore order to the Twilight realm.

And that’s just scratching the surface of the plot. The story makes many references to other games in the series. Majora’s Mask, Ocarina of Time and even Skyward Sword.

Out of all the Zelda games to date, the storytelling in Twilight Princess is one of the finest in the series. Characters are full of expressions, personality and development. Even Link, who is often void of any personality to be a blank slate for the player, has a unique personality in this game. You can tell he has a strong sense of justice, and plays the part of role model to the kids of his village.  Often teaching them acts of kindness, bravery,  and determination through his actions.

Seeing the children grow and become inspired by Link is one of the best parts of the story. They all want to help save Hyrule, but being just children they can only do so much.

Midna happens to be one of my favorite companions in the entire series, which surprised me because starting off, I thought she was a selfish little twatwaffle. Learning more about her history, her goal and her background, and seeing her character change throughout the game, I became quite attached to her.

By the time you finish this game, you grow so attached to all of the characters that made up the meat and potatoes of the story, that the ending will do a number on you.

Nintendo really wanted to tell a different kind of story with this Zelda game. Something that hadn’t been done in the series before. Oh and the last battles… just pure epicness. I wish I could talk about that here, but I really don’t want to spoil anything.

Some people complain that the pacing of the game was slow. So I want to visit that concern. The game starts you off in Ordon Village. It takes about 2-3 hours before you even hit Hyrule field. In this opening act, Nintendo spends a lot of time teaching you how to play. Everything from riding your horse, to swinging a sword and aiming. But it’s not just a simple tutorial either. This point in the game sets up a lot of the characters, backstory and personalities that play huge roles throughout the rest of the game. In 2 hours you get a feel for his personality and where we are at in Hyrule’s history.

After you make it through the initial twilight sections, the game’s pacing changes drastically. It all becomes dependent on how much you want to explore between every dungeon, using the tools you acquire in the dungeon to open up more secrets of the world. Which, at its foundation, is what the Zelda series was about. Revisiting previous areas, and using new tools to find that hidden heart piece, or that hidden cavern filled with rupees. If that’s not your thing, press on. Each dungeon can take about an hour or more to finish completely. But if I could give one piece of advice, don’t rush this game. Take your time and enjoy exploring, playing around, looking at the scenery and talking to everyone. You’ll find that you enjoy it so much more if you do.

With the Wii U HD version, Nintendo fixed some complaints from the original to help adjust the pacing. For example, in the Twilight sections during the first part of the game, the tears of light needed to progress has been decreased from 16 to 12.

Other changes include the inclusion of a ghost lantern to help hunt down Poe Souls, bigger wallet capacities, being changed from 300, 600 and 1000 up to 500, 1000 and 2000. Swimming and climbing animations are sped up, rupees no longer notify you of their worth each new play session when first picked up, and the list goes on and on.

Another notable change made specifically for the Wii U is Hero mode. In hero mode Link takes double damage and everything is flipped like it was in the Wii version. That means Link becomes right handed, and the entirety of the map is flipped. East becomes west, and west becomes east. Also, no hearts drop from enemies. Let’s face it, we all know Zelda games tend to be a little easier, so if you find yourself agreeing, I recommend playing on hero mode.

There is also amiibo support. And if you picked up the physical copy of the game, you probably noticed the really cool Wolf Link and Midna amiibo included. This amiibo unlocks the new Cave of Shadows dungeon, a dungeon that’s very similar to the cave of ordeals. It’s also got other uses, like allowing you to record your progress on it as a save file, which in turn lets you jump back into your last save, immediately bypassing the save file select screen.

The Link and Toon Link amiibos allow you to refill your arrows once a day. The Zelda and Sheik amiibos allow you to refill your hearts once a day. The Ganondorf amiibo doubles the damage you take. So if you still find hero mode to be easy, try using the Ganondorf amiibo in hero mode. You’ll hear the evil laugh of Ganondorf, and now receive quadruple damage.

And what would a Wii U game be without the Mii Verse integration? Throughout the game, you will find some chests which once contained rupees now contains stamps of characters and letters from the hylian alphabet. You can use these stamps to create mii verse posts. A nice little touch, but I find it more fun to learn the alphabet and try to read the signs around Hyrule.

Lastly, and one of my more favorite changes to the game, is the instant transformation button. In the original game, in order to transform into a wolf, you had to first summon Midna, then select transform. There is now a button right on the touch screen of the gamepad that instantly transforms you. This makes certain puzzles go soooo much quicker. Thank you Nintendo for listening!!!

It’s really difficult for me to pick bad things about this game. But one thing that bothered me, even back in 2006, was that the map was massive, and felt empty. And even now, I still feel that way. Hyrule field was vast, but without something in the distance drawing me in, or more enemies on patrol, there was little reason given to want to explore. There was no incentive.  If you create a big world, you have to give it life.

The new Cave of Shadows dungeon isn’t really that enjoyable because you are forced to play as Wolf Link, and fighting in that form isn’t really that exciting. Is it challenging? Yes, it can be. Is it fun? Meh. I’d rather replay on hero mode with the ganondorf amiibo and try to survive the cave of ordeals because the swordplay is awesome.

While the Wii U has pretty much been a financial flop, Nintendo has given the hardcore loyal supporters who invested into the console as much as they can before moving on to the next generation. I get a lot of slack for being a Wii U fan. I know its library isn’t the largest, but it’s my “fun” system. I appreciate Nintendo for what they have always brought; a family console. When I have friends over, we always throw down in Smash Bros, or Mario Kart. But there is no hiding the fact that I am a long time Zelda fan. Going all the way back to the NES days. I am very critical as a fan. I really was not a fan of Tri Force Heroes, and had a really hard time appreciating Spirit Tracks. So please understand that just because you took a dump, wrapped it in a green tunic with one of those little cocktails swords, that I am going buy into it. That’s not it at all.

Twilight Princess still remains one of my all time favorite Zelda games, and this HD remaster has really made me appreciate owning my Wii U even more. It has given me something to play and play again while holding out for the Wii U’s swan song; The Legend of Zelda U.

HD remaster graphics - B

Use of Wii U Gamepad - A

Bonus Features - A

Overall Score -  A-