The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

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The Legend of Zelda:
Twilight Princess HD
Twilight Princess HD cover.jpg
Packaging artwork, depicting the game's main characters
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Tomomi Sano
Producer(s)Eiji Aonuma
Programmer(s)Sean O'Sullivan
Artist(s)Paul Court
Composer(s)
SeriesThe Legend of Zelda
Platform(s)Wii U
Release
  • NA/EU: March 4, 2016
  • AU: March 5, 2016
  • JP: March 10, 2016
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD[a] is an action-adventure game in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series for the Wii U home video game console. Released worldwide in March 2016, the game is a high-definition remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which was originally released for the GameCube and Wii in 2006. The game was co-developed by Tantalus Media and Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo, features enhanced graphics and other new features such as a new dungeon and Amiibo functionality. It was the second game in the series released on the Wii U. The game received highly positive reviews from critics.

Gameplay[]

Main article: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess § Gameplay

Gameplay in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is largely unchanged from that in the original title, Twilight Princess. As in all previous The Legend of Zelda games, players control the series' main protagonist, a young swordsman named Link. In combat, Link primarily uses a sword and shield, bow and arrows, boomerang, and bombs.

Similar to The Wind Waker HD, many of the gameplay tweaks present in Twilight Princess HD involve its support for the Wii U GamePad. The controller's touchscreen displays a map of the current area and Link's inventory, allowing the player to quickly switch items. Projectiles can be aimed using the GamePad's motion controls; the game can be played solely on the controller via Off-TV Play. The player can swap between Link's human and wolf forms faster by pressing a button on the touchscreen. The Wii U Pro Controller is also supported.[1]

Scanning the Wolf Link Amiibo figurine transports the player character to a Wii U-exclusive challenge dungeon called the "Cave of Shadows"[1] and can carry data over to Breath of the Wild.[2] Other Zelda-related Amiibo figurines have distinct functions: Link and Toon Link replenish arrows, Zelda and Sheik restore Link's health, and Ganondorf causes Link to take twice as much damage.[1]

In the Cave of Shadows, Link fights waves of enemies while restricted to his wolf form.[1] Comparable to the optional "Cave of Ordeals" present in the original release, opportunities to recover health during the trial are sparse.[3] The player unlocks portions of the Cave of Shadows while advancing in the game.[1]

"Hero Mode", a higher difficulty setting first introduced in Skyward Sword,[4] returns in Twilight Princess HD. Activating the Ganondorf Amiibo while in Hero Mode quadruples the amount of damage Link normally takes when hit.[1]

Development[]

Eiji Aonuma, the producer of Twilight Princess HD, at the 2007 Game Developers Conference

The idea for a high-definition version of Twilight Princess first came about during the production of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo experimented with an HD version of Twilight Princess running on Wii U development kits when trying to settle on a graphical style for the new game.[5] This ultimately led to the production of The Wind Waker HD, whose success encouraged the Zelda team to pursue other high-definition remasters. After its release, which was developed internally at Nintendo in only six months, the Zelda team settled on an HD remaster of Twilight Princess. At the time, most of the Zelda team was preoccupied with Breath of the Wild, so Nintendo sought a partnership with an external development studio, the Australia-based Tantalus Media, to work on Twilight Princess HD.[6]

According to Eiji Aonuma, who directed the original release and produced Twilight Princess HD, ensuring the remaster would take advantage of the Wii U GamePad was a point of focus early in the title's development. The control scheme used in the GameCube version was adapted for the remaster due to similarities between the button layouts of the two consoles' controllers.[6]

Aonuma considered underwater gameplay in the remaster significantly improved. Other enhancements include speeding up a handful of cutscenes that seemed prolonged by modern standards[6] and reducing repetitive gameplay elements, such as collecting Tears of Light while in the Twilight Realm.[7]

A commitment to "preserving the feel of the original" inspired several design decisions, such as keeping the frame rate at 30 frames per second.[6] Tomomi Sano, the assistant director of the Wii U version, noted the degree of refinement the graphics would receive required much consideration: "When we created more precise models of objects to go with the higher resolution, we found that everything was too clear and we lost that soft and delicate atmosphere that you get in particular at twilight or with the light in a forest."[6]

Release[]

Information about an HD remaster of Twilight Princess was leaked online after the Wii U eShop was datamined for upcoming digital releases. Twilight Princess HD was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on November 12, 2015.[2] The game was released in North America and Europe on March 4, 2016; in Australia on March 5, 2016;[8] and in Japan on March 10, 2016.[9] Certain bundles of the game include a Wolf Link Amiibo figurine.[2] A CD containing 20 musical selections from the game was available as a GameStop preorder bonus in North America, and was included with the limited-edition bundle in other regions.[10] A three-disc original soundtrack consisting of 108 pieces from the game was released in Japan in July 2016.[11]

In the first week of Twilight Princess HD's release, the remaster was the second best-selling game in the United Kingdom and the best-selling game released for a single platform in the country.[12] The title was also the second best-selling game in Japan during its debut week, where 52,282 copies were sold.[13] By comparison, 30,264 copies of The Wind Waker HD were sold in its first week in Japan.[13] Twilight Princess HD's sales dropped 84% in its second week in the U.K., making it the ninth best-selling game in the country.[14] In the United States, it was the third best-selling game sold in brick-and-mortar retailers throughout March 2016, according to market-research firm The NPD Group.[15]

Reception[]

Twilight Princess HD holds a score of 86/100 at the review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]

The title received the Nintendo Game of the Year award at the Golden Joystick Awards in November 2016.[28]

Sales[]

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD sold 52,282 copies during its first week of release in Japan, which placed it at second place in the video game sales charts.[29] The following week, it came in at number 9 on the charts, selling an additional 7,705 copies.[30]

Notes[]

  1. ^ ゼルダの伝説 トワイライトプリンセス HD (Japanese: Zeruda no Densetsu: Towairaito Purinsesu HD)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Otero, Jose (February 4, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Looks (and Plays) Better Than You Think". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Otero, Jose (November 12, 2015). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Announced for Wii U". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  3. ^ Phillips, Tom (January 21, 2016). "Zelda: Twilight Princess HD's Amiibo-exclusive dungeon revealed". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  4. ^ Otero, Jose (August 22, 2013). "The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Offers a Definitive Experience". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ "Breaking Conventions with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - YouTube".
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Aonuma, Eiji; Sano, Tomomi (March 2, 2016). "Interview: Eiji Aonuma and Tomomi Sano Shed Light on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD". Nintendo Life (Interview). Interviewed by Thomas Whitehead. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b McElroy, Griffin (March 1, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD review". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Hyrule Warriors: Legends, and New Nintendo 3DS XL Hyrule edition provide a Triforce of releases to start 2016". Nintendo. January 22, 2016. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (January 29, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD story trailer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Jenni (February 19, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD's Sound Selection CD Features 20 Remastered Tracks". Siliconera. Curse. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  11. ^ Rosario, Kristen G. (June 9, 2016). "Twilight Princess HD original soundtrack to be released in Japan on July 27th". Zelda Informer. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (March 7, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Leads the Way for Nintendo in UK Charts". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Sato (March 16, 2016). "This Week In Sales: The Division Raids In, Twilight Princess HD And Summon Night 6 Follows". Siliconera. Curse. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  14. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (March 14, 2016). "Twilight Princess HD Holds Top 10 Place in UK Charts". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  15. ^ Grubb, Jeff (April 14, 2016). "March 2016 NPD: Ubisoft, Nintendo shake up sales chart with The Division, Zelda". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for Wii U Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  17. ^ Crossley, Rob (March 1, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  18. ^ Otero, Jose (March 1, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  19. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (March 1, 2016). "Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  20. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (March 1, 2016). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  21. ^ Bailey, Kat (September 12, 2021). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Wii U Review: The Long, Twilight Struggle". USgamer. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  22. ^ Watts, Steve (September 12, 2021). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Review: Cry Wolf". Shacknews. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  23. ^ "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD review | Aces high". GamesRadar. September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  24. ^ Minotti, Mike (September 12, 2021). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD erases my Wii resentment". VentureBeat. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  25. ^ Carter, Chris (September 12, 2021). "Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD". Destructoid. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  26. ^ "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Review | Aces high". GameRevolution. September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  27. ^ Orme, Cody (September 12, 2021). "Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) Review". Computer Games Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  28. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (November 18, 2016). "Eiji Aonuma Wins Golden Joystick Lifetime Achievement Award as Pokémon GO Picks Up Two Gongs". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  29. ^ Sato (March 16, 2016). "This Week In Sales: The Division Raids In, Twilight Princess HD And Summon Night 6 Follows". Siliconera. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  30. ^ Sato (March 23, 2016). "This Week In Sales: Pokkén Tournament Brings The Fight, Digimon World Follows". Siliconera. Retrieved February 25, 2017.

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