2016 is a big time for the Legend of Zelda franchise, it marks the franchises thirtieth anniversary and across these thirty years we have been on quite a journey with Link, going on some of the gaming world’s biggest and best adventures. In itself 2016 looks to have a lot of potential, there is hope that Nintendo will finally bring out the long awaited Zelda U which is looking to be one of the franchises biggest games to date, but even though we hope for Zelda U we have to be realistic and realize it might not happen next year, but this is where another game can take its place. While in recent years the Zelda franchise has been plagued by remasters these are games that need new audiences and to be enjoyed by more people and so remastering Twilight Princess 2016 could be a good year.
In 2006 we were treated Twilight Princess for both the GameCube and the Wii, this game was stunning when it released both visually as well as the sheer size of the world and its activities. Twilight Princess acted as the anti-Wind Waker, where people were turned off by the cute childlike charm of Wind Waker, Twilight Princess stepped out giving fans exactly what they had been wanting, a realistic looking Zelda with dark themes. Twilight Princess wasn’t a good spirited, bright trip across the Great Sea, this was a darker, much edger Zelda then we had ever seen before and the story, characters and look all emphasized this. This was the Zelda we wanted, the chance for the franchise to step out of the child boundaries and tell a more adult story, something it did with style and grace, this game wasn’t perfect and I mean that when I say it there were many flaws, plenty of missed opportunities but it was still the game we wanted.
Now as we wait Zelda U which has the potential to follow in a similar vein to Twilight Princess it has to be said that Twilight Princess needs a second chance. While today the story and dark themes still hold up there is still a problem that exists within the confines of the game namely the now dated look. When Twilight Princess first arrived the game looked immaculate, unfortunately time does a funny thing, as graphical capabilities improve some things just lose their initial charm, the look we once thought was brilliant now seems dated by comparison and in the Zelda franchise Twilight Princess is the game most affected by this.
Fans may have criticized the graphical choices of certain Zelda games but in the modern era these still look great, going back to play Wind Waker on the GameCube the cartoon art style still holds up, some of the charm may be lost to high definition televisions but the timeless quality still exists. Then we can look at the recent Skyward Sword, again this game features a timeless quality that can’t be removed, as the game becomes more dated we see a greater look emerge, we can look at the game and we can see an oil painting vibe and with all the colours and environments this is undeniably beautiful. Sadly, even Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo 64 don’t even seem to have aged as badly, but that is the one of art style choices some are timeless, while others become more inferior and this is the big problem with Twilight Princess.
First we have to note that the game was conceived as a GameCube title so already the game is now dated by that sense and Nintendo did little to graphically upgrade the game when it was released on the Wii. The second one is a big one, Twilight Princess just feels like a game that was made for High Definition with its art style choices being ones that would better shine in a high definition setting, in turn this would definitely counter the dated look the game now has, could you imagine the sunsets in Twilight Princess in high definition, riding on your horse across Hyrule Field with the evening shine shining brightly next to you? I can and it is beautiful.
Hidden deep within the now hollowed and worn husk of Twilight Princess lies an incredible game with a chance of shining bright as one of the most visually impressive games around, as well as offering some of the best gameplay around and a remaster to high definition would definitely help cement this. But the deeper reason for this remaster exists in the way of offering an experience and a worthy tie over while fans wait for the next big Zelda game.
It is rare that Nintendo and Zelda go down the roads of some of the darker routes, exploring scary themes as well as offering many thought provoking moments, to date Nintendo has done it twice with Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess, however it was Twilight Princess that truly shines in this manner. The story focused on a dark realm where otherworldly beings known as the Twili occupied and came to Hyrule to claim the world for their own and plunge into eternal darkness, even though this game featured some of the darker plots people wanted and a more realistic looking game many still missed it and for those that did exploring this game in high definition might just be the appeal they need.
But on another note a remaster Twilight Princess HD also makes sense for improvement purposes, while nothing major needs to be touched there are small things that can be done and how I see it this comes in story wise. There is a lot of Zelda Lore and Twilight Princess features a lot of it but I always felt they could have done more and looked deeper into the darker sides of Hyrules history and the Twili, I doubt that this would happen but for a remaster this would make sense so we can understand even more.
Who knows how far away Zelda U is, for all we know the game could arrive early next year but with little news it is hard to say where we stand, but offering a smaller tie over can be enough to shiner a bigger light and make the wait a lot more positive and Twilight Princess HD would be this perfect light. It is hard to say if this would even happen but Twilight Princess HD would fit in perfectly and be the perfect opportunity to reunite with a great game and offer the experience that we were always meant to have.
