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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
ゼルダの伝説 トワイライトプリンセス HD
Zeruda no Densetsu: Towairaito Purinsesu HD
TLOZ TP HD.png
Game box art
Developer(s): Nintendo EPD
Tantalus Media
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Platform: Wii U
Category: Action-adventure
Players: 1
Predecessor: N/A
Successor: N/A
Release dates
N. America: March 4, 2016
Japan: March 10, 2016
Europe: March 4, 2016
Australia: March 5, 2016
Ratings
ESRB: T
CERO: B
PEGI: 12
USK: 12
ACB: M
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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is a high-definition remaster of the Nintendo GameCube and Wii title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, released in 2016 for the Wii U. Like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD before it, while the game's models and geometry are untouched, the game's textures have been mostly redone to make the game look cleaner for high-definition displays, and several gameplay changes have been made to accommodate the new hardware or fix issues in the original game.

Twilight Princess HD was released in a game bundle which comes with a Wolf Link amiibo figure. In certain regions, this bundle also features a soundtrack CD (instead offered as a pre-order bonus in North America).

Blurb

Box

Become a Legend in HD

Play as the Legendary hero Link™, and explore a vast, dangerous world. Only you can protect Hyrule from the shadow that is slowly creeping across the land.

Journey across Hyrule with the Wii U GamePad controller
Access the map and the item screens without interrupting the gameplay or experience the adventure on the GamePad using off-screen mode.

Enter the new Cave of Shadows using the Wolf Link amiibo™ figure.

Nintendo website

A dark force, shrouded in twilight, has invaded the vast land of Hyrule.

A dark force, shrouded in twilight, has invaded the vast land of Hyrule. To restore light to the world, team up with the mysterious creature Midna and embrace the darkness to transform into a divine wolf. Fight through labyrinthine dungeons, survive puzzling traps and meet a cast of characters you’ll never forget in this legendary Zelda™ adventure.

The Legend of Zelda™: Twilight Princess is a critically acclaimed masterpiece, set in a massive world bursting with life—but also shadow. A dark figure from the Twilight Realm has invaded the world of light. As Link™, a farmhand turned cursed beast, join forces with the impish Midna and trusted (albeit unusual) allies to survive a quest that'll take you to the farthest corners of Hyrule and beyond… to the Twilight Realm. This emotional adventure is now on the Wii U™ console with improved visuals and controls—and new challenges. Choose Hero Mode to take 2x normal damage, or tap the Wolf Link amiibo™ figure to unlock the tough Cave of Shadows.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is the best way to experience this critically acclaimed game
  • Explore a vast Hyrule, a mysterious Twilight Realm, and masterfully-designed dungeons
  • Restore balance to the world with the aid of the impish Midna and your divine wolf powers
  • Meet a cast of friendly folk and interesting characters, like the entrepreneurial baby Malo and even a yeti couple
  • Enhanced visuals, additional controls, bonus challenges, and Miiverse™ functionality make the game feel fresh again
  • Play in Hero Mode to take 2x the normal amount of damage—and do it without any heart drops to refill your health!
  • Nab the exclusive Wolf Link amiibo™ figure to use in the upcoming Legend of Zelda™ game, launching in 2016 for the Wii U™ console
  • Tap any of the other Legend of Zelda amiibo figures from the Super Smash series to unlock other bonuses, like extra arrows or even more challenging gameplay
Nintendo eShop

A dark force, shrouded in twilight, has invaded the vast land of Hyrule. To restore light to the world, team up with the mysterious creature Midna and embrace the darkness to transform into a divine wolf. Fight through labyrinthine dungeons, survive puzzling traps and meet a cast of characters you’ll never forget in this legendary Zelda™ adventure.

The Legend of Zelda™: Twilight Princess is a critically acclaimed masterpiece, set in a massive world bursting with life—but also shadow. A dark figure from the Twilight Realm has invaded the world of light.

As Link™, a farmhand turned cursed beast, join forces with the impish Midna and trusted (albeit unusual) allies to survive a quest that'll take you to the farthest corners of Hyrule and beyond... This epic, emotional adventure is now on the Wii U™ console.

Gameplay

The game is mostly based on the original Nintendo GameCube version of the game. The game uses a similar control setup as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, allowing the player to equip up to three items to the X, Y, and R buttons, while L is used to talk with Midna. In addition, the Wii U GamePad screen is used to display the player's inventory and map, and can be switched to use for Off-TV Play at any time by pressing the minus button. The player can also tap a button on the GamePad to instantly transform Link between his normal and wolf forms when this ability is acquired, though the original method of speaking to Midna remains intact.

Another new feature for this version of the game is Hero Mode, a returning feature from previous installments. In addition to enemies dealing twice as much damage, the game world is mirrored for this mode (similar to the Wii version of the original game) and hearts are no longer dropped. Unlike The Wind Waker HD, the player cannot switch between normal and Hero Mode at any point, though in this game the Hero Mode setting is available from the beginning.

By scanning the Wolf Link amiibo, the player can access the new Cave of Shadows, an enemy gauntlet that only allows the player to play as Wolf Link. After completing the Cave of Shadows, the amount of hearts the player has remaining can be saved to the Wolf Link amiibo, which determines how many hearts Wolf Link has when the amiibo is used in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Other The Legend of Zelda amiibo are also compatible with this title: scanning a Link amiibo refills the player's arrows, scanning a Zelda amiibo or the Sheik amiibo refills the player's hearts, and scanning the Ganondorf amiibo causes Link to take twice as much damage.

Development

After development on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD had concluded, the team decided to move forward and create a high-definition port of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.[1] According to Eiji Aonuma, the main reason the team wanted to develop a high-definition version of the game was the increased picture quality.[2]

Because development on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild had fully begun by that point, Nintendo instead contacted Tantalus Media to develop Twilight Princess HD, having noted their reputation with ports and remakes.[1][3] Tantulus worked for several months to convince Nintendo that they would be able to develop the port to their standards, meeting with Aonuma's team in Kyoto to discuss ideas and working on several experiments and tests before beginning full development.[4] The game took over eighteen months to develop, with a staff of around 40 people.[4]

Taking advantage of the Wii U GamePad was a key aspect of the game's development.[1][5] The Nintendo GameCube version's control scheme was used as the basis for the Wii U port due to the similar button layouts between both system's controllers[1], and due to the game making heavy use of maps.[5] While some aspects of the game, such as the swimming controls and the speed of certain cutscenes, were altered for this release to streamline the game, others, such as the original framerate, were unchanged for the port to keep the experience and feel of the original game intact.[1] The game's graphics were also a key focus of development, as the producers wanted to keep the "soft and delicate atmosphere" of the original game.[1][6]

Technical details

Technical Details
Media

Wii U Game Disc
Digital download

Download size

5375.3 MB

Supported features

Nintendo Network (Miiverse), amiibo (read/write)

Input / compatible controllers

Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller

Gallery

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Interview: Eiji Aonuma and Tomomi Sano Shed Light on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. Nintendo Life (March 2, 2016). Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  2. "The GamePad was certainly important for improving the controls and realising some new functions that weren't available in the original versions of the game, but, to be honest, the main reason we wanted to make a Wii U version was the picture quality!" Aonuma on Miiverse (April 15, 2016). Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  3. "As you know, we've got our hands a bit full with making a new Zelda game at the moment, so even though we wanted to make Twilight Princess HD, we didn't think we could. That's when I found out that there was an overseas developer with a great reputation for making HD remasters. I thought it must be fate, so I contacted them right away!" Aonuma on Miiverse (April 15, 2016). Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Tantalus on Zelda: Twilight Princess HD – landing the job, Nintendo's involvement, amiibo, dev length, much more. Nintendo Everything (April 23, 2017). Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "We always want to make the best game we can for our players. On top of that, the map plays a very important role in this game. For these reasons, rather than phrase what we did in a negative way by saying that we removed the Wii Remote controls, I'd prefer to say that we focused on creating a great gameplay experience by making the most of everything that the Wii U GamePad has to offer." Aonuma on Miiverse (April 15, 2016). Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  6. "They certainly did! We wanted to recreate what we felt was the main feel of the graphics in Twilight Princess - that soft, mellow glow - so we took a long time to get the graphics just right. I lost more than a little sleep comparing the versions and worrying about them." Aonuma on Miiverse (April 15, 2016). Retrieved January 2, 2017.


The Legend of Zelda series logo
Main series

The Legend of Zelda (Classic NES Series) • The Adventure of Link (Classic NES Series) • A Link to the Past • Link's Awakening (DX • Nintendo Switch) • Ocarina of Time (Master Quest • 3D) • Majora's Mask (3D) • Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons • The Wind Waker (HD) • Four Swords (Anniversary Edition) • Four Swords Adventures • The Minish Cap • Twilight Princess (HD) • Phantom Hourglass • Spirit Tracks • Skyward Sword (HD) • A Link Between Worlds • Tri Force Heroes • Breath of the Wild • Tears of the Kingdom

Other games
BS-X games BS The Legend of Zelda • The Ancient Stone Tablets • Triforce of the Gods
Tingle games Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland • Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love • Tingle's Balloon Fight DS • Dekisugi Tingle Pack
Other games
Picross games Picross NP Vol. 5 • My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Unreleased games / demos Mystical Seed of Courage • Retro Studios prototype • Tingle horror game • Zelda HD Experience
Publications
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia • The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts • The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Explorer's Guide
Related NIWA Wiki: Zelda Wiki icon English Zelda Wiki icon • Zeldapendium icon German Zeldapendium icon