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Nintendo details Zelda: Twilight Princess HD gameplay improvements

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Nintendo has a number of major changes in store for its upcoming HD revamp of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, resulting in a streamlined experience that eliminates many of the flaws present in the game’s original 2006 release.

Among other tweaks, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for the Wii U makes in-game transformations less time-consuming, and reduces the number of quest items in specific cases in order to improve the overall pacing of gameplay.

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Nintendo outlined its many planned improvements for Twilight Princess HD today, including the addition of an all-new “Ghost Lantern” item that makes the original game’s infamous Poe soul-retrieving quest less tedious. When equipped, the Ghost Lantern will glow when any Poes are nearby, reducing the amount of exploration and guesswork that the quest normally entails.

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Many moments in Twilight Princess require protagonist Link to transform into his wolf form – a process that previously involved talking to partner character Midna and navigating through a dialogue sequence before every transformation. In Twilight Princess HD, players can instead tap an icon on the Wii U’s GamePad to instantly transform with no delay.

The Wii U GamePad also aids in equipping items, as players can now assign inventory slots and navigate maps using a touch-driven interface. In addition, Twilight Princess HD offers off-TV play that displays all in-game action on the GamePad itself.

Twilight Princess HD additionally increases the limit on the amount of currency that players can hold at any given time, addressing a common complaint with the original game. Rupees earned from treasure chests can now be collected regardless of whether players have reached the maximum amount of on-hand currency, eliminating the need to maintain a mental checklist of treasure chests that were abandoned throughout the quest.

Other planned additions for Twilight Princess HD include a Hero Mode that doubles the damage players take from enemies and eliminates health drops, making for a more difficult quest. Players can create an even more difficult experience for themselves by scanning a Ganondorf amiibo figurine during gameplay, further increasing the damage they absorb during gameplay.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD launches exclusively for the Wii U on March 4th.

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