Less than 48 Hours Remain: Twilight Princess HD

Once upon a time it was the 11^th of November, 2015, during a Nintendo Direct when we finally got official confirmation that Twilight Princess HD was in fact on its way and now, just like in both versions of Majora’s Mask,48 hours remain before the latest remaster sees its 2016 re-release and we can’t wait. (It would have been 72 hours but this post is a little late of the bat).Sure there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference between the two, as most of the character art has remained untouched, whereas the world around them received a little touch-up, making the smallest of details really pop, but Twilight Princess is still one of the best Zelda games to date. TP is no OoT, or MM, but it does exist in the same darker grittier world that a large portion of the Zelda community, really love to see. Don’t get me wrong, Skyward Sword was visually bright and beautiful to look at, and the Wind Waker was just packed full of charm and a joy to play, but the likes of Ocarina, Twilight and Majora do a great job of displaying the darker times in Hyrule’s and Termina’s history, which only makes me want to save it a hell of a lot more.

Even though they may be deemed “minor” changes, Twilight Princess HD does differ from its original 2006 release in quite a number of ways. Differences such as:

• The inclusion of Hero Mode.
• A much larger wallet to store all your rupees in.
• Is playable in both GC & Wii image format (normal and mirrored)
• Fewer Tears of Light to collect
• Improved horse-riding controls
• New inventory controls and shortcuts
• Fresh new look to exploring Hyrule Castle town
• Takes full advantage of the Wii U GamePad
• Zelda U easter eggs can be found within the game
• Incorporated the use of amiibos, especially the Wolf Link amiibo, which enables you to access an all new area, the Cave of Shadows. A cave in which your progress is limited by how far in the main game you have progressed. The further along you are, the deeper into the rabbit hole you can progress and every time you have gone as far as you are able at that current moment, you can then save your progress to the Wolf Link amiibo and then pick up where you left off the next time you tap the amiibo to the GamePad so that you can continue inside the Cave of Shadows.

And for me, those changes are more than enough for me to pick up my copy and play away to my heart’s content and if you think about it, yes this may be the 4^th remastered game since Ocarina kicked off the remasters in 2011, but it is a needed instalment. After all, both the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are set over 100 years after Ocarina, two instalments which continue the time-line in different ways and as for Majora’s Mask, well what is OoT without its sequel? Plus it is the year of its 10^th anniversary and I suppose I wouldn’t be a true fan if I didn’t get it, but for those of you who may be on the fence about getting it, considering as how it Wii version is already playable on the Wii U, here’s an assortment of trailers and vids all to do with the game and its upcoming release:

And if you’re still not convinced Twilight Princess HD is worth the purchase, it is at the end of the day your decision to make and it just means you save yourself a few bucks to purchase some of the other titles Nintendo have due out this year titles such as Pokkén Tournament and Star Fox Zero!

Till next time folks. You’re never too old to get your GAME on!