The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Announced

[KingBroly]

It's interesting to note that this version of Wind Waker seems to have shadows, whereas the original didn't. It's probably the major difference between the two. Other than that, character models and ground textures appear to be the exact same.

[Jerome]

Nintendo has serious balls if they charge $60 for this.

Only $60?

God, I wished.

Personally, I'm okay to stick with the Gamecube copy I got for $1 at Goodwill.

[MoldyClay]

Nintendo has serious balls if they charge $60 for this.

They charged $40 for OOT 3D, didn't they?

This. If Nintendo felt nothing for releasing a bare minimum update to a 13 year old game (updated models/textures, Link updated entirely, flipping Mirror Quest and adding Boss Rush, in addition to LOL 3D and LOL GYRO SENSOR) for 4x the price you could get it for on Virtual Console, I don't think they will have any problem charging $60 for a game that is $20 or under now (depending) with a graphical update and off-tv play.

I would hope that this actually has more to it though.

[cortjezter]

I'm still not on the wii u bandwagon yet for obvious reasons, but this really makes me want one. Wind waker is such a gem, and to see it polished is just irresistible!

$60 is a lot for a remake; they'd have to really justify it with some legit sales pitch.

As for orchestrated music, I don't think it needs it; the soundtrack was perfect as is, and the simplicity of the midi samples really worked well with the art style. If they did change it, I hope for something minimal, like swapping in real instruments for the midi counterparts; but not rewriting the music or altering the arrangements to accommodate a live orchestral performance.

[KingBroly]

I want an orchestrated soundtrack for Wind Waker because it is literally, like 90% the same as the midi. I'm not even joking about that.

[cortjezter]

I want an orchestrated soundtrack for Wind Waker because it is literally, like 90% the same as the midi. I'm not even joking about that.

That's fine, as long as they don't add/subtract any notes or instruments. If they go to a live performance, make it note for note, instrument for instrument. I agree the wind waker score was already quite believable and in some cases sounded real. That could be a testament to their midi samples, or just the skill of the composer/arranger, but it's fantastic the way it is, and I fear that doing the "fully orchestrated" stuff that some people love is going to change what was essentially already perfect.

Trying to think of some examples off the top of my head where great classic themes were fully orchestrated and came out sounding too weird or flat for the melody and game context; I know there are some Mario and Zelda songs that already failed that transition (my opinion), and with a score like WW that I truly love start to finish, I fear any changes invite the potential for failure.

[wiiarebrothers]

Live orchestral music would kill the tranquil mood of Wind Waker. I support cort's suggestion of swapping midi tracks for real instruments (like Kirby epic yarn iirc).

As for the rendering I really love it even though the soft toon shading they're using kills a bit the "ghibiesque" feeling of the original (obviously, these shots where mostly test stuff).

Since they announced Miiverse, I was always curious of using the Pictobox in a Zelda game, and posting my photos on Miiverse. This is now possible thanks to this remake. This, and the Pikmin3 photo mode is really going to let Miiverse shine !

[MoldyClay]

$60 is a lot for a remake; they'd have to really justify it with some legit sales pitch.

This is also assuming it's even much of a remake. If it's exactly the same, but with the new graphics & LOLOLOL OFF-TV PLAY there isn't a real incentive to buy it again for $60. Looks better. Oh okay/no.

Remakes are tricky. To me, the only way to really justify the price point is if they add a bunch of the cut content back in (items, dungeons, etc) and rework the whole ocean so it's not a boring piece of crap compared to the rest of the game (i.e., add enemies to fight more often, make it easier to navigate like Phantom Hourglass, and just overall LESS EMPTY). Things need to be added to the game. Boss Rush, Master Quest (not just OH HEY PAJAMAS; Let's have remixed dungeons- and not just the same rooms with new challenges/orders; Bring back the REAL 2nd Quest) and so on.

Or, if the new Zelda has a multiplayer focus, what if they experimented with that in this remake? Link and Tetra exploring together for some of the game? Someone else actually able to play Makar and Medli?

I just want to see more effort put into it. This is their chance to make The Wind Waker perfect and fix the flaws of the original (dat Triforce quest) and I feel like they aren't going to for the sake of keeping things the same instead of surprising fans with fun and new challenges and experiences so that everyone can enjoy something new from the release.

[Jerome]

To me, the only way to really justify the price point is if they add a bunch of the cut content back in (items, dungeons, etc) and rework the whole ocean so it's not a boring piece of crap compared to the rest of the game (i.e., add enemies to fight more often, make it easier to navigate like Phantom Hourglass, and just overall LESS EMPTY).

I just want to see more effort put into it. This is their chance to make The Wind Waker perfect and fix the flaws of the original (dat Triforce quest)

Well said.

I liked the idea of having freedom to sail the open ocean, but the world is so absurdly empty, with almost no sizeable land masses at all. As for the Triforce fetch quest, I put up with it my first time through the game (though it seems like it took up about a third of my total play time), but as I've only got past the fire dungeon my second time through, I wonder if I'll have the patience for it another time. That's one of my biggest gripes about collection-based games, I might be able to get through them once, but I usually don't want to go back. I'm still surprised they released the game with so much blatantly obvious padding. It's like "All right, Hero Link, the final challenge is before you and the world is hanging in the balance... But let's just leave it hanging there for a while, because here's a ginormous shopping list for you to fill out first".

[MegaShock100]

The new "improved" aesthetic looks terrible. There are something I like more, like the sky, but everything else is way, WAY too bright and has this "perfectly formed" and sterile look, instead of WW's original "imperfect", blurred look. The characters especially, they look like the generic Western CG movies that Pixar popularized with Toy Story. I hope these are just rushed screenshot instead of the final build.

I like WW, it's one of the better Zelda games, but unless there some significant new content, there's no way I'll be paying retail price for more tedious sailing and rupee hunting, especially not if the game will look like this.

I would have preferred a MM remake in the same style as that fan-made trailer released around E32012, but I wouldn't expect that much from Nintendo since all they seem to care about is Toon Link and OoT. Seriously, they are talking about taking Zelda to new levels and talking about breaking the standard formula when they already did that with MM and LA! But really, I wouldn't a remake, unless there's was some really great new content.

[Sammet]

I think they're going to rerelease MM on 3DS like OOT - after all they were originally made using the same engine and (almost the same) character models, it wouldn't take a lot of effort for them to do the same thing again.

[kmc2482]

what I would like,
KEEP ORIGINAL MUSIC - it was amazing
fix Triforce 'hunt' quest - make it something more epic
Put cut content in the game!

Will these happen - we will see, not getting hopes up though.

[bomblord]

I hope they do an orchestrated soundtrack for it.

[Excalibur Zero]

I probably won't purchase it when it comes out. However I think it will be a good way for Nintendo to fully test out the Wii U's capabilities. I think Nintendo made a good decision doing a remake to test new graphic capabilities instead of jumping to the next new Zelda game. It should really help them to fine tune what they want it to be, so that it will be even better.

[FadedAreWii]

Wind Waker already looked beautifully timeless. This is going to be amazing.

[Devil_Rising]

I've been critical of Nintendo's handling of the Wii U since last E3 but with announcements like this, I'm sold. Now I am excited about what's coming to Wii U. This Nintendo Direct was the kind I was expecting out of Nintendo's last E3. With Smash and 3D Mario coming, this year's show is already guaranteed to be better than the last two. Hype!

Back on topic:

Wind Waker is probably my all time favorite game on the Gamecube. I'm totally blown away seeing some of the screenshots. Looks a lot sharper and vibrant. I have a sister who loved the game and she'll probably go nuts if she sees this. I can't wait to see the trailer. And them giving us a HD version to hold us over for the new one is highly appreciated.

The problem is, too many gamers are just too impatient these days. Most longtime Nintendo fans know full well that the "Big N" doesn't just give updates left and right. That's never been how they operate. In fact the Nintendo Direct is the most frequent they've ever been about that kind of thing. But people assuming "nothing's coming" just because it hasn't been officially announced yet, is and always will be a very silly form of non-logic.

I'm not pointing this out in you specifically, just stating in general. These games were always coming down the pipeline, that was never NOT the case. Just because we didn't know about them yet, didn't mean Nintendo "wasn't handling things well" with regards to Wii U. Personally, as I've stated in the past, I think they had a pretty killer launch window lineup, and while yes, having a slight lull in Jan./Feb. does stink, fact of the matter is, again, Nintendo has ALWAYS put priority on putting finishing touches on a game, instead of rushing it out.

Bottom line, the Wii U is bound to have an excellent software library, as evidenced by these announcements, and the many more games to come we still have no idea about yet.

[Berrix]

The problem is, too many gamers are just too impatient these days. Most longtime Nintendo fans know full well that the "Big N" doesn't just give updates left and right. That's never been how they operate. In fact the Nintendo Direct is the most frequent they've ever been about that kind of thing. But people assuming "nothing's coming" just because it hasn't been officially announced yet, is and always will be a very silly form of non-logic.

This essentially. I remember back when Nintendo sold Rare, MS followed up with announcing to release five of their games in the next 2 years. People said Nintendo held them back, many who know Nintendo laughed and knew they'd be lucky to get -ONE- game by the second year.

Knowing this, we were right... And the salt-to-wound was it was Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Ouch.

I brought that up cause it's a similar case here with Nintendo, we always know Mario and Zelda are coming, we know some major surprises come as well along with it. Punch-Out!! and Sin & Punishment 2 were prime examples last gen. Most who don't know Nintendo don't take that into account, they take their time. And it shows.

[cortjezter]

We have threads for general wii u discussion and also it's state of affairs.

Any posts that don't specifically relate to the WW remake will be trimmed.

[KingBroly]

I've been critical of Nintendo's handling of the Wii U since last E3 but with announcements like this, I'm sold. Now I am excited about what's coming to Wii U. This Nintendo Direct was the kind I was expecting out of Nintendo's last E3. With Smash and 3D Mario coming, this year's show is already guaranteed to be better than the last two. Hype!

Back on topic:

Wind Waker is probably my all time favorite game on the Gamecube. I'm totally blown away seeing some of the screenshots. Looks a lot sharper and vibrant. I have a sister who loved the game and she'll probably go nuts if she sees this. I can't wait to see the trailer. And them giving us a HD version to hold us over for the new one is highly appreciated.

The problem is, too many gamers are just too impatient these days. Most longtime Nintendo fans know full well that the "Big N" doesn't just give updates left and right. That's never been how they operate. In fact the Nintendo Direct is the most frequent they've ever been about that kind of thing. But people assuming "nothing's coming" just because it hasn't been officially announced yet, is and always will be a very silly form of non-logic.

I'm not pointing this out in you specifically, just stating in general. These games were always coming down the pipeline, that was never NOT the case. Just because we didn't know about them yet, didn't mean Nintendo "wasn't handling things well" with regards to Wii U. Personally, as I've stated in the past, I think they had a pretty killer launch window lineup, and while yes, having a slight lull in Jan./Feb. does stink, fact of the matter is, again, Nintendo has ALWAYS put priority on putting finishing touches on a game, instead of rushing it out.

Bottom line, the Wii U is bound to have an excellent software library, as evidenced by these announcements, and the many more games to come we still have no idea about yet.

The problem with Nintendo is they recently went to a 'we only announce games coming within 6-8 months' policy or something close to it. It's put a lot of Nintendo fans on edge because of it. By announcing stuff like X and Bayonetta 2 (which aren't scheduled for this year I think) it's given some people a sigh of relief.

Just like Wind Waker HD. It's something people have wanted to see (although they'd simply like a straight up-scaling of assets with 1-2 more games in a Collection than a straight-up remake) and by announcing it now it gives people something to look forward to that isn't your standard fare. Personally, if they're going to remake it, and they've talked about changing the game up, people would like to see cut stuff added in as well as some changes like the Triforce Hunt minimized.

[motherbra1n]

I'm glad they're remaking a zelda game but if they were to remake any non-wii 3D zelda game wind waker would have been last on my list, they really should have gone with majoras mask. I don't think it's because they're lazy (if anything majoras mask was much smaller than wind waker so would probably be easier to make) I think it's because majoras mask is so hated by many fans, probably the same "fans" that keep screaming "HURR DURR STOP REHASHING THE SAME ZELDA GAME EVERY YEAR NINTENDO"

[2NE1]

I think it's because majoras mask is so hated by many fans, probably the same "fans" that keep screaming "HURR DURR STOP REHASHING THE SAME ZELDA GAME EVERY YEAR NINTENDO"

Wait... what?

[FadedAreWii]

I think Majora's Mask was hated somewhat early on. I think every Zelda game is hated early on, but once it gets old enough and the minority of vocal haters have moved on to hate something else, the real fans come out and it ends up being better than the newest Zelda's, etc. LOL.

I'm even seeing more appreciation for Wind Waker now. That game used to be hated on constantly, but now you will notice people talking a little more fondly about it. Might see an uptick in haters now that this version is coming out, but I guarantee you every Zelda will eventually be remembered as an amazing game, 'cause they all are.

[wiiarebrothers]

I really want them to handle this remake the same way they made OoT3D: making sure they respect the original intention. OoT3D had some minor difference (mostly controls, animation, graphics, and a bit of work to make the water temple easier). I've seen a lot of comments (not so much here, but it's probably coming) from people who "hated" the sailing, or people who "hated" to change the wind's direction. This is parts of the core mechanics of the game. Chaging this wouldn't be respectful to the original work.

Wind Waker's sailing is pure exploration and discovery. The sea is constantly changing (the waves, the color of the sea, weather condition, etc..) The sea goes from white in the morning with the grazing light, to completely blue, dark blue, dark green during a storm, etc... The sky is also constantly changing. If you don't have the patience for this... the game is not for you.

[FadedAreWii]

I absolutely loved the sailing and I absolutely loved the Tri-force hunt as it had you explore little nooks and crannies and see little new areas. Probably helped that I found some pieces before the hunt ever needed to happen as well since I enjoy exploring. I've never gotten any of those complaints. That's why I loved Skyward Sword's overworld too, it reminds me a lot of the sailing and little islands everywhere with secrets hidden all over.

[MoldyClay]

I'm glad they're remaking a zelda game but if they were to remake any non-wii 3D zelda game wind waker would have been last on my list, they really should have gone with majoras mask. I don't think it's because they're lazy (if anything majoras mask was much smaller than wind waker so would probably be easier to make) I think it's because majoras mask is so hated by many fans, probably the same "fans" that keep screaming "HURR DURR STOP REHASHING THE SAME ZELDA GAME EVERY YEAR NINTENDO"

Majora's Mask was 'disliked' when it came out for the time aspect and simply not being OoT, and every game since OoT will always suffer from not being OoT (except TP, which some think is too OoT, which blows my mind).

Now, while I have loved the game since it came out, and there are certainly many others, as with anything, people just started discovering how awesome the game has been in recent years. Some are just being hipster bandwagon folks, liking it because it's so underground, but a lot are legitimately just like "I never gave this the time of day, people seem to keep mentioning it so I gave it a chance again and MAN DID I LIKE IT".

I don't recall people hating Majora's Mask though. And I mean, there are campaigns of people asking for an MM remake and Nintendo *knows* people want an MM remake. So I mean, that can't really be the reason.

The biggest reason for going with The Wind Waker, in my eyes, would be because Gamecube did the worst of all their consoles (despite being, in my eyes, one of it not the best) and not a lot of people actually played The Wind Waker. Not to mention, you can play EVERY OTHER console Zelda (except FSA) aside from The Wind Waker, on Wii U. You can play Majora's Mask via VC in Wii Mode. You can't play TWW at all. This brings that game back, for everyone who didn't play it and for all the people who sold their Wii and Gamecube (why?). It also gives it a chance to get all the cut content added back in. Majora's Mask, as much as I want a 3D and an HD remake, was complete. It's a full game, packed with content. It's perfect as is and doesn't need a remake as much as TWW does. Granted, if they DON'T add stuff back to TWW, then the whole thing is sort of a waste.

Majora does need that second wind though, but this is also an awful time for them to do it, since we just had OoT and Four Swords remade (and by remade, I mean, updated ports and remade graphics for OoT), and getting TWW remade, people are gonna go insane if they remake a 4th Zelda in such a short time span. And if they did, Majora's Mask would get lost again from people not wanting to support them constantly remaking Zeldas.

That said, I think Majora's Mask is one of the greatest games of all time and the best Zelda, and I honestly wish that Nintendo would go back to that and use it as an example of how to make a Zelda game. And I don't mean they have to make less dungeons or a timer-based system. I'm saying, the way the world, characters and sidequests all connect. The ability to just do whatever you want. It felt extremely non-linear (though I did the dungeons in order anyway) and the world just felt like there was so much to do that you could explore and do things at your own pace and EVERY character had a story, a background and a life, as well as a schedule they stuck by. I love that concept, and it's why I love Deadly Premonition. Things like that are more important to me.

Skyward Sword came DAMN CLOSE with some of those things and did a lot of other really cool things. I say, take MM and SS, all the ideas presented by them, and make a Zelda built on those concepts, and it'd be the best game ever. The problem with most recent Zeldas is the fact you basically are just an errand boy for some deity going from dungeon to dungeon in a straight path with a little fuss to break it up and some padding (especially TWW and TP, my god) and there aren't even enough enemies in these constantly growing worlds. I love the idea of an enormous world. But fill it up. I want huge towns full of life and characters, sidequests and events. I don't want a huge barren wasteland. I don't want an enormous ocean with only 4 major areas and a bunch of tiny-ass islands with a single heart on them or something. I certainly don't want a sky with NOTHING in it.

Nintendo (or Eiji Aonuma) have had a lot of great ideas dispersed throughout everything since it hit 3D, but they really need to combine these great ideas instead of abandoning them.