The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Review

Return to the twilight realm with Link and his companion Midna to save Hyrule from the forces of evil in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. With new items to aid with side quests and hero mode on arrival, not to mention the glittering and glorious sharp visuals, it still remains one of the best Zelda games in the franchise to date.

It’s been almost a decade since The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was released for both the GameCube and Wii. Since its release in 2006, it was a game that blended darkness and deceit with innocence and courage so beautifully that it struck the hearts of many Zelda fans and became known as one of the most definitive games in the franchise, namely for its art style and innovative motion controls. It has, over the years, joined the likes of Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask and Wind Waker, earning its rightful place among the franchise’s most beloved titles; though perhaps has never quite topped fans’ list. Twilight Princess was a return to the darkness seen in Majora’s Mask, and for many – myself included – it was a game that satisfied cravings for a deeper, richer and more sinister antagonist back story.

For those that have yet to experience the original, Twilight Princess was the thirteenth instalment in the Zelda series. Directed by the notable Eiji Aonuma and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, the game was developed by Nintendo’s EAD division and takes place in both Hyrule and a parallel world known as the Twilight Realm.

After series’ protagonist Link and the village of Ordon is attacked by a series of Bulblins, Hyrule is engulfed within twilight, where Twili beasts roam and attack those on sight, turning them into beings of spirit. Tasked with finding the village’s children, Link is dragged into the world of Twilight and transformed into a wolf. But in order to restore Ordon village and Hyrule to its former glory, Link – along with the Twili imp-like creature Midna as his aide – must find the spirits of light, as both beast and the Hero of Legend, to defeat the Usurper King Zant and the Dark Lord Ganondorf.

Twilight Princess HD gives players the chance to explore nine in-game dungeons and one extra, The Cave of Shadows, unlocked via the Wolf Link and Midna amiibo. And as Zelda fans will expect, each dungeon offers intricate puzzles to solve via crystal switches, pushing blocks around, pulling chains and shooting targets, as well as fighting the multitude of enemies in each area. If you’re a seasoned franchise fan, you’re unlikely to miss the motion controls that came with the original Wii version, however, they aren’t missed in the slightest and hark back to the GameCube version of play.

Having looked back at the visuals in the original Twilight Princess and compared them with that of the HD release, there are stark, noticeable differences. For instance when loping around as Wolf Link, the Twilight realm is no longer seen through murky water vision, but rather has this surreal haze washed over the land with a slight glow. And the temporary blindness given to you when pushing the button to activate Wolf Link’s senses in the past is also gone, replaced with a static green tinted vision that’s lighter and easier to pad around within.

Stunning new Twilight Princess HD artwork reveals Zelda

Wolf Link merged with Link

The Twili Beasts

The Usurper King, Zant

The Dark Lord, Ganondorf

There are also changes to characters; their eyes, outfits and hair seem to be more realistic. While the Hylian landscape is brighter with a richer sheen over the architecture. Enemies in the distance aren’t just dots on the horizon either, you can distinguish them quite easily even without the Hawkeye. Players may remember having to target a particularly slim pole in the distance at Kakariko Village as part of a mini-game with Malo and Talo; quite a ludicrous and by-chance shot to make without the Hawkeye. However, in the HD version it’s easily seen and I was able to target it within two shots with the bow and arrow alone. If you fell in love with the visuals in the original, prepare to fall head over heels this time around as Twilight Princess HD is simply beautiful.

Not only are the visuals worth their weight in gold in Twilight Princess HD, but there are a number of changes to main and side quests within the adventure puzzler that have many fans giddy with joy. No longer do we get frustrated with asking permission from Midna to change into our wolf form, there’s now a handy touch button in the upper right-hand corner of the GamePad to do so. You don’t even have to be using the GamePad either, players can use the Pro Controller and still use the GamePad’s wolf touch button – it remains active throughout your adventure, which is handy for the fantastic mini-map and item selection, too.

One of the main struggles early on within the game was the collection of sixteen tears of light when locked in wolf form. Nintendo heard fans’ pleas and have reduced the amount to a much more balanced 12 over the three core stages. It means finding the tears in Kakariko Village is less of a throw-your-controller-in-tantrum issue now – and yes, it’s still worth performing the moonwalk with Wolf Link afterwards.

Speaking of quirks though, the fishing rod trick during the final showdown with Ganondorf has seemingly disappeared. I pulled it out (several times), threw the bobber at him and he responded by flexing his sword muscles and attacking me. You can sob now. I’ll try to catch the little pieces of heart that flutter and break around you.

Another new feature Nintendo has introduced is the arrival of the Ghost Lantern. Handed to players after collecting 20 poe souls for cat-maniac Jovani, the ghost lantern aids players by glowing blue when in the area of a poe. So feel free to run around until your sides get sore, as this quest just got a whole lot easier. And while treasure chests with rupees now remain open even if your wallet is full in Twilight Princess HD, there are also up to 50 Hylian Stamps to collect for posting to Miiverse; personally the Sad Midna stamp and Cucco are my favourites. Both are a fantastic addition to the game, alleviating grievances and giving a little more flavour to the HD release.

Subtle changes to the game’s Golden Bug collection side quest have also been made, too. Once you’ve collected 12 out of 24 of these sparkling creatures, you’ll receive the big wallet which holds up to 1,000 rupees in comparison to 500 in the original. And, of course, players can unlock Hero Mode from the beginning, which not only deals double the amount of damage, it’s also a mirrored version of regular Hyrule and no heart drops from enemies are given. Couple that with the double damage given from the Ganondorf amiibo and you’re in surreal quadruple damage territory. Ouch. But at least Zelda cares, right? Sheik and Princess Zelda amiibo both send you love by restoring hearts, while Link and Toon Link restore your arrows; phew.

Twilight Princess HD is not without some minor flaws, though. The game’s camera angles are almost nightmare-induced fuel with its strange jittery motion, as if it’s been out on the town for too long and had one too many. It’s most noticeable when Link backs himself into a corner and the camera is positioned behind him – Arbiter’s Grounds was difficult to say the least. Sometimes enemies will back themselves into an inaccessible spot, too, giving the camera nauseating headaches that just continue to pulsate. There are also odd lags when opening chests with pieces of heart, the dungeon map or the compass, where the iconic music will play and Link’s shocked face will drop, but there’s no item shown on screen.

In addition, although Epona feels more fluid when riding, there are still moments when she can be difficult to control – particularly during the wagon escort sequence as part of the main quest. Plus there’s also frustration when playing off-screen with the GamePad and losing the ability to use in-game items seamlessly.

And while Twilight Princess always felt a little easy when it came to fighting bosses, there is still no middle ground for players who aren’t quite up to the challenge of Hero Mode but would like some degree of difficulty. For instance, I played with double damage from the Ganondorf amiibo and only had to refill my potions a few times during gameplay on normal mode. But again, these are minor grievances at best, and won’t dilute the level of enjoyment fans receive when revisiting the Twilight Realm.

With Midna’s sardonic and sassy nature, combined with characters that many fans know so well, Twilight Princess HD is an absolute delight to play and, with the changes, it’s close to touching the base of perfection. Just don’t get caught up in the scenery too often, Midna will get bored.

9/10