It’s perhaps fitting that the world in Twilight Princess is split between light and shadow,
almost as if the developers knew that that the game itself would divide the real-world
too.
For some, Twilight Princess is the peak of the 3D Zelda games.
For others, it’s the valley.
Which makes reviewing Twilight Princess HD a little tricky, as it’s potentially catering
to 3-different groups of people: 1) Those who loved the original and wonder if it’s
worth picking up again, 2) those who didn’t care for the original, but want to know if
the improvements make it worth trying again, and 3) those who haven’t played the game
at all.
And I’m going to attempt to address all three groups in this review.
So let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way--I wasn’t a big fan of the original
game--for reasons I’ll get into later.
BUT--and this is a big but--I wasn’t a big fan of the WInd Waker either...that is, until,
Wind Waker HD, which completely resolved my main issues with the game and ultimately won
me over as a fan.
And it’s for that exact reason that I found myself oddly excited to try Twilight Princess
again--hoping that the HD remaster might prove to be similarly transformative.
So did it?
Well, I’ll get to that soon.
But for now, I want to address the remaster on its own merits and whether it’s a worthy
update to the original game.
So let’s not beat around the bush: it is.
To me, this is undoubtedly the definitive version of Twilight Princess, taking everything
fans loved about the original game and making it even better.
And nowhere is that more evident than in the visuals, which trade in the blur and vaseline-covered-lense
for ultra crisp HD visuals.
This game looks sharp!
And that’s partially in thanks to the revamped textures across the board that look truly
fantastic.
I kid you not when I say there were times I would just stop and stared at a wall...yes,
a wall.
If you played the original game, you’ll understand.
Unfortunately, while the textures were redone, the low-polygon character models and environments
remain a relic of the past and serve as a constant reminder that this is most definitely
not a current-generation game.
And yet, despite its dated appearance, there are moments of true beauty throughout--moments
where I would stop in my tracks just to soak it all in.
The vastness of Hyrule FIeld, or looking out upon a winter wonderland from a high perch,
or watching the sun set over the desert.
These are moments where this game really is gorgeous--and the HD remake allows those moments
to shine.
Essentially, Twilight Princess HD looks like how you remember it--instead of the reality
of how it actually appeared--and that’s a very good thing.
Sure, while I do wish the developers went a little further to modernize the visuals,
the game holds up remarkably well.
Beyond the graphics, the game’s gameplay has also been tightened up in various ways.
Remember the--some might say laborious--Tears of Light quests?
They’ve been truncated from 16 collectibles down to 12.
The interface has also been improved thanks to the Gamepad, allowing you to check the
map or swap out your inventory in real-time which is convenient, though perhaps not quite
as useful as in Wind Waker HD since there’s rarely a good moment to take your eyes off
the screen.
And like that game, you’re also able to aim your weapons in 1st-person using motion
controls--which works pretty well and should appease those who played the Wii version of
the game.
Oh, and if you are in fact coming from the Wii version, the new camera controls lifted
from the GameCube version are a huge improvement--I can’t believe I ever played without them!
Other small tweaks include faster climbing and swimming animations, a touchscreen toggle
for transforming, visible horse grass icons on the map, a lantern to help track down poes--oh,
and remember that super annoying Rupee message that appeared way too often before?
Yeah, you’ll see it this time too--but only once--then never again.
Thank god.
Now I should mention that both the GameCube and the mirrored Wii versions of Twilight
Princess are represented here, but unfortunately, the former is locked to Normal mode, while
the latter is locked to the more challenging Hero Mode--which is a little annoying if you
wanted to mix and match the world with the difficulty.
Now In terms of entirely new content, you’ll now find Miiverse Stamps hidden in chests
scattered across the land.
And then there’s amiibo support, which allows you to scan in each of the Zelda series of
amiibo once per day for a quick health-boost in the case of Zelda & Shiek, or an arrow
refill for Link & Toon Link.
But if you scan in Ganondorf, it’ll actually make the game tougher by having you take double-damage--which
is a decent--if not ideal-workaround for the lack of a Hero mode toggle for the gamecube
version of the world.
But annoyingly, you’ll have to rescan Ganondorf every time you die or restart the game.
And then, of course, there’s the new Wolf Link amiibo which unlocks the Cave of Shadows--an
entirely optional challenge similar to the Cave of Ordeals, in which you’ll battle
through multiple floors of enemies as Wolf Link.
Now I won’t spoil the reward, but I found it to be pretty underwhelming given its benefit
doesn’t really solve a problem in the game--so rest assured, you won’t be missing much
if you don’t have access to this particular amiibo.
At any rate, unless you’re an absolute purist, this is the ideal way to experience Twilight
Princess.
Which brings us back to the three groups of people that the game might cater to.
Okay, so for those of you who haven’t played Twilight Princess at all, but are interested
in trying: This is the version to get.
The game is more accessible to new players than ever before, while not looking half-bad.
Now for those who played Twilight Princess before and loved it, the question really is
then, is it worth picking up again?
And I’m not even going to attempt to give a definitive answer because it’s so subjective,
but I will say this: There is very little actual new content in this game, so if you
weren’t bothered by some of the issues with the original game that the HD remake fixes,
there’s not much new for you to experience here.
With that said, the game also has never looked better--but whether that’s worth the price
of admission is up to you.
And finally, that takes is to group three: those who played the original...and perhaps
weren’t crazy about it...like me.
Weeeeeeeeeeeell...
TRIGGER WARNING: Tune out now if you don’t want to hear opinions you might not like.
Okay, so here’s the thing about Twilight Princess HD: it’s still
Twilight Princess...in HD.
Yeah, that may sound redundant, but my point is this: while there are indeed numerous improvements,
they don’t prove to be transformative like Wind Waker HD was.
Which is perfectly fine if you’re a fan of the original, but if you’re not--well,
I don’t think this one’s going to change any minds.
Because although Twilight Princess HD certainly smooths out some of the rough edges, it would
take a lot more than just sandpaper to overcome my main problems with the original game.
And my biggest problem with Twilight Princess--and now Twilight Princess HD--is a matter of pacing,
in that it feels like there’s A LOT of near-meaningless filler that connect the parts of the game
that actually matter.
Whether it’s hunting down certain items, mindlessly battling countless groups of Twilight
creatures, or following smelly trails--there’s a lot of repetitive busywork that I didn’t
find to be terribly fun.
Hell, even though there are fewer tears of light to find now--I don’t think I would
have even noticed had I not known about that change going in--and those quests in particular,
drag the game’s pace to crawl
Then there are other annoyances--that while not dealbreakers in and of themselves--start
to add up.
Such as how there’s no way to speed up time, meaning you might be standing around for close
to 10-minutes at a time,while waiting for a particular time of day--such as if you’re
going Poe hunting.
Or how you can’t transform from human Link into Wolf Link while someone’s watching--I
get what the developers were going for, but there are times when realism needs to be sacrificed
for gameplay.
After all, no one batted an eye when I would transformed from a kid into a bulky Goron
in front of their face in Majora’s Mask.
And then, of course, there’s the game’s infamous opening which draaaags on and on--this
is the one thing that I’ve argued the developers NEEDED to change...and they barely touched
it.
It was seriously a good 6-7 hours before I reached a point in the game that I actually
began to have fun.
And make no mistake--there are moments in Twilight Pricness HD that I did genuinely
enjoy.
I loved defending the carriage from attack while riding horseback.
Or following a mysterious spirit through town to learn its secret.
Some of the temples were pretty great and featured interesting puzzles--gravity defying
walls of Death Mountain or the wind-based puzzles of City in the Sky--plus I really
can’t get enough of that Double Clawshot.
And I have to say, the Spinner item, though woefully underused, might be one of my favorite
Zelda items ever.
And I was also reminded of how charming the game could be at times--how could I ever forget
about you Telma?!
The problem, for me at least, is that those moments of brilliance are surrounded and overshadowed--heh--by
tedious quests that feel more like filler.
Twilight Princess HD is a game that’s epic in scale, but not in scope.
There’s a solid 20-hour game in there that’s wrapped up inside a nearly 40-hour one.
And that is why, for me personally, I felt meh about Twilight Princess HD as a whole--which,
keep in mind, is still an improvement over how I felt about the original.
But don’t worry Telma, I’ll still always love you.
Thanks for watching and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain for more reviews and other
things gaming too.