PixlBit

The PixlBit staff loves HD and wants to see some of their favorite franchises get the treatment.

The Legend of Zelda: GameCube Remasters

The Legend of Zelda series gives Nintendo one of its best chances to migrate their fans to the next generation of consoles. They’ve done it with Ocarina of Time on the 3DS and they’ve got plenty more material in the form of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

Mechanically, both of these titles would benefit from a release on the Wii U. The new controller would better integrate many of the games’ features. The touch screen can be utilized as an intuitive treasure map. The player could focus on part of the map with the tap of a finger, while a double tap could zoom out to a full view of the map. Routes for ship rides could be easily established by swiping a finger. Why not add a quicker way to change the winds and play other songs at the bottom of the controller’s touch screen? Not having to listen to those songs every time would immediately make it a better game. Nintendo could even adapt the Game Boy Advance features to the new controller. Then again, some players might not want all of that Tingle.

Technologically, each of these titles will benefit from high definition overhauls. Twilight Princess already has 16:9 widescreen compatibility (Wii version only), and could be ported with ease. It may not be a great idea to launch two consoles in a row with the same Zelda title, yet few would argue that Twilight Princess would do anything but bolster Nintendo’s  Wii U library. While Iwata stated that Nintendo would not initially focus on 3D compatibility for its Wii U console, the Wii U will have the capability. Similar to Ocarina of Time 3DS, a refined Twilight Princess - hopefully packaged with Wind Waker in one collection - can convince hundreds of thousands of hardcore fans to purchase the game again. Even though Twilight Princess looked decent for a Wii launch title, there were plenty of jagged edges wherever the gamer looked. Twilight Princess in an SDTV looks grainy with muddled textures. The Wii U has the anti-aliasing capability to fix that. Wind Waker whispers its signs of age as well. 480 progressive scan can only save some of the textures; Wind Waker deserves more pixels so its backgrounds won’t look so washed out. Then it can truly shine as the cartoon centerpiece to this storied franchise. Sure, the Dolphin PC emulator can hide some of these problems by converting Twilight Princess and Wind Waker with a wicked-fast computer. However, we want the official Nintendo seal of approval, since we don’t legally condone any homebrew or emulators. Give it the classy treatment it deserves with special features, unlockable artwork, and behind-the-scenes videos. If Nintendo could find it in their hearts to think of a way to reward us with medals for our accolades without detracting from the overall experience, it would make us feel special, too.

As far as legends go, few series reach the standards that The Legend of Zelda has set. Using Wind Waker as a metaphor, millions of gamers have adorned the green tunic as a right of passage. For any young gamer, these legends should be required. What better way to learn good from evil than when your sister is kidnapped on your birthday? What better way to teach kids to trust people for their actions, rather than their appearances when Link must trust a band of pirates to aid him in his quest to save his sister? We have to ensure that classic legends such as these can be accessed simply, so all can be inspired by the story of Link’s bravery and courage. By playing through these experiences for themselves, the next generation of gamers can modernize these legends as their own.