Almost 10 years after its initial release, Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess HD. Does Twilight Princess HD hold up to today’s standards? Will it live up to the legend and should you buy it.. again? We’re going to look at the game, the options and if it holds up to today’s modern standards.
Visuals
For an HD remake it’s obvious to start with the visuals. And they look good. Compared to many other HD remakes, the textures look extremely sharp and detailed. The game runs smooth, the draw distance is impressive and as a whole the visuals are very nice. But the moment you look past the sharp textures, you notice this HD upgrade it just that, an HD remake. They used the old models and slapped on higher resolution textures. This makes the game, compared to more recently released games, look blocky and a bit dated, but nothing that will remotely make it look bad.
Gameplay
In the gameplay department, you can’t go wrong with Twilight Princess HD. In the grand scheme, not much is changed. Nintendo took the chance to make a few adjustments, but nothing that will overall change the game in any noticeable way. And that is a good thing, because the game holds up remarkably well even 10 years later. Exploration is still as fun as it has always been, the world, though a bit empty, is still a joy to traverse in the many different ways and the story is still as enjoyable as it ever was.
Nintendo made some awesome little changes to Twilight Princess HD. Have a look at our other article where we sum up our favourites!
Does Twilight Princess HD hold up to today’s standards?
Maybe the most important question is if Twilight Princess HD still holds up in this day and age. The answer is short and sweet. Yes! Hell yes! Whether you played the original on the Wii, the GameCube or not at all, Twilight Princess is still a joy to play. Some of the controls feel a bit stiff, especially riding your horse, but non is in anyway restrictive of your fun!
But should I buy Twilight Princess HD.. again?
Well, as with anything, that is up to you. But let us advice you on the matter as this game is a bit different from your regular ‘must buy’ game. Before considering if you should buy it, you should ask yourself a couple of questions; “Have you played the game before?” and if so, do you want to play it again? If you never played The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess before, and enjoy a Zelda (-like) game, then absolutely! Twilight Princess HD is well worth your money. Did you play it before and do you want to revisit it? than it really is just a question if you prefer to play this game in the best way possible or want to go with the old version and get yourself a (almost) full price game on the side. The choice is really up to you, but if you do wish to re-visit a stunning looking Hyrule again, this is pretty much your best option while waiting for The Legend of Zelda WiiU.
New to The Legend of Zelda? Then this game might be a very nice entry into the series. As said, it plays well, is worth well over 40 hours of gameplay and is an easy place to start. While The Wind Waker (HD) is a stellar game well worth your time and money, we believe Twilight Princess HD trumps it for newcomers to the series.
PressQuit Editor in Chief Björn is currently playing The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD on a (very) casual pace and shares his experiences on Twitter.
