The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

When The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was first released, it seemed to be a direct response to complaints about the cartoony art style of the previous major Zelda game, Wind Waker. Not only did we have a return to a more realistic art style, but the game was distinctly dark in tone, with the game’s world becoming enveloped in the monster-infested Twilight Realm, its titular princess(es) of twilight forced to surrender their kingdom to an invading force, and protagonist Link transformed against his will into a wolf. At the time, it was seen as everything that fans wanted in a new Zelda game.

When Twilight Princess finally released, its initial planned GameCube release was delayed to December 2011 and it was superseded by the game’s Wii version releasing a month earlier, making most players associate this game with that Wii release. It made creative use of the Wii remote’s motion-sensing abilities that made things like aiming a bow and arrow into a more immersive experience, and the dark story with interesting characters were applauded by critics and series fans alike.

However, time is a funny thing. As years passed, opinions of both games evolved. While Zelda fans were initially revolted by Wind Waker’s cartoony cel-shaded style, the game would gradually come to be seen as a highlight of the series, with a memorable art style that aged surprisingly well, and delightful gameplay that used that unique art style to make for some wonderful over-the-top gameplay. Meanwhile, while Twilight Princess is still usually remembered fondly, it seems that few rank it as their favorite game in the franchise – its core gameplay is mostly unchanged from the series’ 3D progenitor, Ocarina of Time, making it one of the “safer” games in the franchise, the Wii “waggle” needed to so much as swing your sword was now seen as unnecessary and tedious far more than it was inspired, and the “dark” story didn’t seem to quite capture fans’ imaginations like the favorite of many players, Majora’s Mask.

Five years later in 2016, Twilight Princess would be reborn in a new HD release on Wii U, once again following in the footsteps of Wind Waker, which received a similar HD treatment in 2013. While Wind Waker’s port was handled internally at Nintendo, Twilight Princess’s remaster was handled by Tantalus Media, the same developer who years later would handle the Nintendo Switch port of the Wii game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. As with Wind Waker, the game’s visuals would be improved, and the game would be updated to work with the unique features of the Wii U.

When it comes to controls, this game was evidently built on the back of the GameCube version of the game, which means that players wanting to use this game using strictly only gamepad controls now have that option – this is because unlike Skyward Sword, where the motion controls were largely “baked in” to the gameplay, Twilight Princess was never reliant on them. Additionally, players have the option to supplement these controls using the Wii U gamepad’s gyroscopic motion controls for aiming, much as we saw in the Wii U version. This works out to be something along the lines of a “best of both worlds” sorta’ thing, meaning you can take advantage of the best features of both the GameCube and Wii control schemes without being saddled with the “waggle” of the Wii version every time you want to use your sword. There is one small frustration, though – trying to exert fine control over your horse in the game is a pain. Thankfully, this is only rarely necessary over the course of the game.

Players who use the Wii U’s gamepad also get the added functionality we saw in Wind Waker, that lets players quickly swap items using the touchscreen, or make use of an interactive map. It’s a nice addition, albeit not a game-changing one. Players with Zelda series Amiibo figurines can also make use of those figurines to refill health and arrows, make the game more difficult, or in the case of the Wolf Link Amiibo, to unlock a challenge dungeon. In addition, there have been numerous smaller gameplay adjustments to the experience overall to make the game more enjoyable.

As for the presentation, the main change here is just the increase in resolution from the original game’s 480p resolution has been increased to 1080p, as well as improved textures. The other elements of the presentation from the original game have largely been left intact – the framerate is still a steady 30FPS, the character models and environments have been left untouched from the original versions, as has the soundtrack. While the original game looks a smidge blocky by today’s standards, overall it has aged fairly well, and still looks good, with the new higher resolutions and improved textures making the game seem significantly less “fuzzy”. As for the soundtrack, I tend to think Twilight Princess’s dour and sometimes atmospheric soundtrack is one of the less memorable ones in the Zelda series, but it nevertheless continues to work well enough for setting the mood of this game.

As for the game itself, Twilight Princess is still an excellent Action-RPG, though it can be a little too linear and the pacing can sometimes be a bit slow, especially in the early hours of the game. Still, even being a “mid” Zelda game means this is one of the best games in the genre, with some extremely clever puzzles, superb level design, and some fantastic boss fights. Plus, the new gameplay in sections where you’re in wolf form helps to add some variety into the game and keep it from feeling like too much of a retreat of Ocarina of Time.

If Twilight Princess wasn’t your favorite Zelda before, will Twilight Princess HD change your mind? Probably not – this is at its core the same game. However, this is still an outstanding Action-RPG, and what’s more it is clearly the best way to play it, giving players the best elements of both the GameCube and Wii versions of the game, with an improved presentation and a few more extra features for good measure. If you have a Wii U, consider this game a must-have.

tl;dr – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is a port and remaster of the GameCube and Wii Action-RPG that gives us the best elements of the control schemes of both prior versions, along with a few extra features and a wonderfully updated presentation. This is still at its core the same game, with the same issues with pacing and linearity, but it is also an outstanding entry in the genre, and this is additionally clearly the best version of the game too. If you own a Wii U, this is a must-have game.

Grade: A-

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