Why Gender Select In "Zelda Wii U" Would Actually Be A Good Thing

Gender select for ZU has been a rumor going around lately, probably based on the fact that when the game was initially released, there was a mistranslation regarding the identity of Link and for about a day the whole internet assumed that the blue tunic'd person in the trailer wasn't Link but someone else, and his extremely androgynous/feminine appearance only further fueled that, so theories like it being Zelda or Link's daughter were going around like crazy.

Things got cleared up, of course, but, well.

Gender select is a rumor I've seen going around, both in rumor posts and in posts making fun of the rumor posts (usually including things like voice acting and "extremely skyrim, no linear plot" and other stuff that's really REALLY unlikely for a Zelda U game) - I mean, it's not really a surprise. Gender Select doesn't seem that likely, but listen.

It'd be a really nice thing to have.

And, I think it is something that Nintendo should consider, really consider, just based on what Link is supposed to be. I mean, I know by this point he's a titular character and maybe they don't feel the same way about him as they used to, but when he was created, he was created as a link between the character and the player---that's where his name comes from. That's also why he was created to be so androgynous in appearance, and why you can name him.

However, despite this, Link is constantly referred with he pronouns. And, I mean, that's fine. Link the character is a boy. There's plenty other games where you can name the characters whatever you want and that doesn't mean they're you even if you name them after you. But, considering what Link was created to be (again, someone the player can project themselves onto) it's a little...

I wouldn't call it surprising, I just. I think if Nintendo wants to keep that concept for Link, that concept that as a character Link only exists so the player can insert themselves into the world, they need to include gender select.

Because, for me and a lot of other female Zelda fans, we can't name Link after ourselves. I mean, we can. But the constant "he" pronouns make it extremely uncomfortable. You see your name and then you see people referring to you as a "he" and that's, that's not. That's not right. That's not me. I'm not a boy.

I named Link after myself for the first time in TPHD, and I regret it so much. Maybe some of it is it's just unnatural to see my name in the place where I'm used to Link's name being, but the he pronouns definitely aren't helping. It's gotten to the point where, discomfort wise, I can't read the dialogue with my name in it. I have to mash through the text box because it makes me so uncomfortable to be referred to as a boy, because "Mr. rar" is not me.

I'm not the only person who had this problem, either! A friend of mine named Link after herself in Wind Waker, and ran into the same problem I did. It was always uncomfortable to her to be referred to as a boy in game.

If you want players to project onto Link, you need to make it possible for Link to be referred to with the proper pronouns for the player.

Gender select wouldn't need to be a big deal, either! I don't know how hard it actually would be, programming wise, to just have it be a switch that fills in the pronouns with either he or she depending on what was selected, but like. That's all you need to do. You don't need to change any dialogue. Link doesn't say anything to begin with, and, even if Link did, it wouldn't have to be like Fire Emblem where the dialogue and character interactions change depending on the gender. People think that needs to be a thing, but no. No characters have to say anything different just because Link is a girl. You just have to change the pronouns. (And use gender neutral words like "kid" instead of boy or girl.)

You wouldn't need a separate model, either! If Link stays as androgynous as he looks in ZU promotional trailers, then that's all you need. It serves its purpose. Link looks androgynous enough that both male and female players can project onto that face.

That's all you need, and it would fit into the concept Link is supposed to be. And that's why I think it's so important. If Link is supposed to be someone who links the player into Hyrule, then gender select needs to be an option.

Alternatively, though unfortunately more controversial, the other option is to refer to Link with gender neutral pronouns. Again, unfortunately, though using "they" pronouns as gender neutral pronouns for a single person is something we do in speech all the time ("oh no, someone left their umbrella here" or referring to someone on the web you don't really know the identity of "yeah they did this cool thing check it out") and it has caught on around the internet, but it's still... It's still not accepted in a lot of places. It sucks, and it should be accepted in more places, because language changes and evolves over time.

Realistically speaking, neutral pronouns isn't something I see Nintendo doing in Zelda U, at least not any time soon. And, definitely not for the main character of the game. I wish that wasn't the case, but I see gender select happening before gender neutral pronouns.

And, I mean, I don't really realistically see gender select happening either. I just think it'd be a cool thing, along with kind of important if they really want to keep presenting Link as a character that exists to be named after the player, to be a link into the realm of Zelda.

As closing: I don't super care either way, I just think it'd be cool to be able to play as myself in a Zelda game, and I think it'd be cool to truly play as a female Link, too. Or to have the option to play as a female Link! And, not any of this Linkle "not actually the legendary hero Link" BS. Truly, honestly, the same exact story but with a different gender, female Link.

I think me and a lot of other fans would like that.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Mother 3!!

I'm over a week late, but Mother 3's anniversary was on April 20th. I didn't think in advance about doing a post for it, but seeing all sorts of Mother 3 tributes around the 'net has made me think about doing my own. I figured late is better than never, especially for a game like this.

I found Mother 3 through someone I followed on tumblr. She drew and posted a lot of fanart for it, and eventually I was like "hey, what is this from? It looks kind of neat." By that point I'd been spoiled for a pretty large twist in the game, but knowing that particular fact only made me want to play it all the more. A story about brothers seemed right up my alley, and I'd always been curious about the young boy named Lucas with psychic abilities that I saw and mained in SSB: Brawl.

the enemy descriptions in this
game are fantastic

Of course, in looking to play it, I discovered that Mother 3 has actually only ever been released in Japan. It has a pretty awesome fan-translation (headed by professional translator and huge Earthbound fan Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin), but at the time, I was extremely hesitant about emulating anything. I'd never done it before, and wasn't sure my computer could handle it.

Instead, I watched a walkthrough of Mother 3 on youtube. I was immediately taken by the game's charm and wonderful story. It was well crafted, had a ton of characters and tropes I cared about, and while I won't talk about the ending, we'll just say I was absolutely floored. Even despite having one of the game's biggest twists spoiled for me!

Within literal days (it was like, two) I decided that my hesitations about emulation didn't matter. I was going to play the game myself.

So I did. I downloaded an emulator, a Mother 3 rom, and the English Translation patch, and I experienced the game fresh. I was now able to go through the game at my own place and explore what few places the walkthrough didn't. You'd think that it being the second time I'd experienced the game, I wouldn't feel so strongly for it as I had before, but I did. In fact, the plot seemed to wash over me twice as hard as it had the first time! Perhaps because I'd put myself more firmly in Lucas' shoes, but, who knows.

The thing about Mother 3 is that it's just so undeniably good.

Sure, it starts off as a bit of a drag, considering you spend three chapters playing characters who aren't Lucas, and that becomes sort of a chore at points. And the gameplay, while an improvement over Earthbound's (run button, prettier menu), doesn't exactly add anything new to the formula. But those things aren't what make Mother 3 so great.

Mother 3's story is what makes it so wonderful, and what makes it stand out so much. Mother 3's story is what make fans go on and on about how much they loved it. As a writer, avid reader, and general consumer of works that tell great stories myself, I say with great confidence that Mother 3 is one of the best and most well-written stories I've ever experienced.

I was serious about those
enemy descriptions

Mother 3 touches on darker themes without ever giving off a sense of complete and utter despair. It's not Dark and Gritty (TM) like most "serious" games these days.It tackles challenging themes, but it balances those with humor. (If you're a Paper Mario fan, the feeling is much the same.)

Mother 3 also has some of the best foreshadowing I think I've ever encountered. Undertale is the only other game, off the top of my head, that I can think of with foreshadowing as subtle and as great Mother 3's. Perhaps its telling that Toby Fox, creator of Undertale, was inspired by Mother 3 when he made Undertale.

Mother 3 is fundamentally a story about change, but it's also a story about family. It's, actually, the only game I've ever played that has the theme of family so intricately woven into its climax---and it's definitely the only game I've played that does so without use of any old or annoying tropes. I can't personally name any games that do this specifically, but I know how common the theme of "one brother turned evil and did terrible things and now the brothers are sworn enemies and have to fight" is. Mother 3 isn't like that. Mother 3 is....

Well, I shouldn't spoil it. But it's good, and I'm so grateful for it.

Mother 3's family

And, there's so many other things to love about Mother 3, too!

One of the most striking, and my most favorite things, is that the villains (the Pigmasks) are all extremely human. It's hard to give concrete examples, but in short they really feel like that old cartoon trope of "all the goons are really just guys with a job and have lives outside of this". Some Pigmasks are genuinely nice to you, one takes a paid vacation in the middle of battle, most are all fans of the local rock band... They get flustered, they get worried, and the game lets you see that side of them (multiple times!) and it honestly feels so good.

Mother 3 devotes so much attention to detail, and it pours so much charm and thought into the world and its characters.

The soundtrack is super killer too, with somewhere around 250 tracks. There's so many good songs, but a few of my personal faves are: Tragic Reconstruction, Natural Killer Cyborg (of course!), Gentle Rain, and Phantasmagoric.

There's so much good stuff in this game, and you should really pick it up.


And, if you're lucky, you won't have to be restricted to a walkthrough or an emulator in order to experience it!! Hopes for an English release of this game are higher than they've ever been.

Even if you don't pay attention to the rumors going around, there are so many other signs pointing to an English release of Mother 3 in the future. Mother 1 (localized as Eearthbound Beginnings) was released for the Wii U Virtual Console at last year's E3---the first time it's been released outside Japan!

Mother 3 itself was released on the Virtual Console in Japan just a few months ago. That's really only a step away from an English release on the Virtual Console. That, on top of the fact this year is Mother 3's 10th anniversary! And, we know Nintendo likes doing things to celebrate important anniversaries. Earthbound Beginnings was released as part of a 25 year celebration of the Mother series, and so it seems likely if they'll ever release Mother 3, it'll be in the year of its 10th anniversary!

Sure, it wasn't released for the actual anniversary of Mother 3, but, I've got high hopes for a release at E3 this year, like Mother 1! And if not at E3, then maybe later this year. (After all, the localization process does take time, and could be taking longer than they anticipated, especially considering some of the content Mother 3 presents.)


My hopes are high. This really seems like something that's gonna happen.

We'll just have to wait and see.



Anyway, if you don't want to wait around for an English localization to experience Mother 3, then check out one of these things!

-  Here's the walkthrough I watched when I first got into it! It's nice and simple, with no commentary, meaning the game speaks for itself. A swell way to experience Mother 3 if you don't want to emulate it / don't have the time or energy to play it yourself.

- Here's the English Translation patch, if you want to play and emulate it yourself! The page links emulators to use (personally I used VBA), and, uh, you're on your own for a rom.

- If you've experienced Mother 3 already, then you can check out this playthrough of the game by the guy who did the English Translation patch, featuring his wife! They provide interesting notes about the game and the translation choices they made, and that's pretty neat. ~*MEGA SPOILERS*~ though, so don't watch if you haven't already experienced the game. ((They also joke around a lot, even during a few of the more serious scenes, so I definitely recommend not watching this until you've experienced the game otherwise first.))

Trust me. You won't regret playing Mother 3. It's a wonderful, beautifully told game that's been life changing for me and a lot of people.

~ I believe a dream can still come true  

Why shouldn’t I believe the same in you! ~

Games I played in 2015: Majora's Mask

2015 was a really good year for me, for a lot of reasons, but chief among those reasons was all the video games I played for the first time that year. They were all really good, and each meant a lot to me, and I've been meaning to do a post about each one of them for a while. So, I'm turning it into a series.

Today we'll start with Majora's Mask, mainly because I've been thinking about what I wanted to say about it for months and, well, I'm finally getting around to actually doing it.

Intro

As I've talked about before, Twilight Princess is my first (and favorite) Zelda! But, Majora's Mask is easily second favorite, and honestly if I didn't feel like I was betraying Twilight Princess by saying Majora's Mask was my favorite, well...

There was something about Majora's Mask and its vibe that I really loved. I don't think I've had such a positive experience with a Zelda game in a long time. Playing it was honestly just so satisfying. I have a lot of things to say about Majora's Mask, but, hey! That's what this blog is for.

If you haven't played the game: I suggest you give it a try! If you have played it? Well, I hope you read this anyway. I'm not here to sell it to you, I'm just here to talk about my experiences and what the game means to me. Maybe you'll see the game in a different light, once you're done reading!

Prelude: I Hate Time Limits (Before I played the game)

I got Majora's Mask for the first time shortly after I'd finished Ocarina. I don't remember why, or how, or whether it was a birthday present or just something I talked my parents into. I remember very vividly booting it up, though, and playing it for maybe an hour. We were cleaning the house that day, moving things around, and being only 12 or 13, I wasn't much help hauling furniture. So I sat and I played Majora's Mask. The clock was ticking down. My family was jokingly piling things around me. I couldn't find the fairy piece to restore the Great Fairy. It was well into the second day. I was getting extremely anxious, had no idea what to do, wasn't going to look up a walkthrough...

So I quit. I turned off the console, declared I hated games with time limits, didn't touch it again.

All I knew about Majora's Mask was that it was a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, and to a lot of people, even better than it. (The fandom---or what little of it I participated in at age 13---seemed split on that idea, though.) I knew the Happy Mask Salesman was creepy. I read the Ben creepypasta.

I slowly built up an image of Majora's Mask in my head from what I had heard about it on the internet. It was supposedly the creepiest in the series. A lot of fans considered it the Best Zelda Game Ever, but most that did and who I interacted with came off as stuck-up and rude. A comment still burned in my mind is one where the author said, basically "any person who considers Ocarina better than Majora is dead wrong and a disgrace to the fandom". Then there was all the entitled clamoring for Majora's Mask 3D, and Operation Moonfall....

Let's just say my opinions on the game before playing it weren't very positive ones, and leave it at that.

And yet somehow, I was convinced

It was February 23rd of last year when I booted up Majora's Mask again to actually play it for real. Majora's Mask 3D had just released a week before. A lot of people were posting about it and the game in general. I was intrigued, though still a little skeptical. Two major things played a hand in changing my mind and giving Majora's Mask another chance.

First: A Zelda blogger on tumblr I followed at the time, guru--guru, got an ask about Majora's Mask. The ask consisted basically of "Hey, what are your thoughts on Majora's Mask? I own the game, but I've never really played it. Should I?" The answer was simple. "Drop everything you're doing and play it right now."

Second: I found a Majora's Mask fanmix that I fell in love with immediately after listening to it. It was the exact vibe of songs I love above all others, that blend of dark and haunting and entirely fantastical all at once. The mix has since been taken down (or, the site it was hosted on was, anyway) but you can still locate the tracklist here. 

I loved the mix to death. I spent an afternoon listening to it, it ended up reminding me a little bit of Twilight Princess's vibe and I went "I'm going to play Twilight Princess!!!" 

Instead I booted up Majora's Mask. I'd been warming up to it over the past week, I trusted guru's judgement, I figured it was time I tried the game again.

So I did.

Are these your expectations? cool. [dumps them in the trash]

All I expected from Majora's Mask was "Ocarina of Time but better, probably" and that didn't really set my expectations high. I can appreciate Ocarina of Time for what it is and what it did for the gaming industry but, man, it's definitely not my favorite Zelda. Maybe that's just because I hold Twilight Princess so close, but, who knows.

Anyway, all I expected from Majora's Mask was "Ocarina of Time 2", along with it to be the "creepiest" game in the Zelda series. It... It was neither of those things. It was so much more than I'd ever given it credit for, and it was so good.

My experience with it was so satisfying. Maybe it was because I'd been craving a fresh dose of Zelda for a while. Maybe it's just because Majora's Mask truly is an astonishingly good game.

I instantly fell in love with its atmosphere, the vibe it gave off, the way it made me feel. I don't think I could fully capture it in words, but anyone who plays the game knows what I'm talking about. It's not really creepy, it's not really dark. Haunting might describe the tone the best, or perhaps somber. Maybe it's a little of both? Whatever it is, I love it so much.

I think the mechanic in Majora's Mask is extremely interesting, the idea that the fruits of your efforts are erased, because you have to reset time, you have to constantly reset time. Yes, you keep the mask, you keep the item, but no one remembers you. You make it spring in the mountains, but then it's not spring anymore once you reset. Or, the road to Romani Ranch is blocked off again. Not to mention, for Link, to think about him being forgotten by the friends he's made and the people he helped, for it to be like he never helped those people to begin with. It's hard to think about, and it adds an interesting dynamic in the game.

Majora's Mask also has a different style of story to it than most other Zelda games. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the whole "ordinary boy becomes a hero" stories, but as a veteran to the Zelda series, it's kind of refreshing to have a Link who's been through all this before.

And, though the story is ultimately about Link, for the longest time it feels like it isn't. It always feels more like it's about the citizens of Termina, and the transformation masks play into that. Most of the citizens don't see Link as Link, they see him as someone else. The Dekus see him as another Deku, the Gorons see him as their lost hero, the Zoras see him as a famous Zora---who none of them know is dead. And, by the time it is a story about Link, it's an extremely personal story about Link. It's not about him saving Hyrule (or in this case, Termina) or otherwise achieve something he was fighting for.

In Majora's Mask, he sets out in his quest in order to find Navi. Of course, he never finds her. Majora's Mask is more about him moving on---someone's even pointed out that each of the areas of the game corresponds with one of the five stages of grief. And, if you play the game, or think about the game with that in mind, you see how much it fits. It's amazing, and, maybe that's what makes the game so good.

Closing

All in all, Majora's Mask took every expectation I had for it and flipped them on their sides. My experience with this game was extremely positive. It was refreshing and wonderful experience. A part of me wants to say I wish I'd played this game when I was younger, but in reality, I don't think I'd have appreciated it as much if I'd had.

Majora's Mask is a wonderful game, it's easily among my favorite Zeldas and favorite games in general. It deserves all the praise it gets.

Twilight Princess: My First Zelda, My First Love

I've talked a little before about Twilight Princess and what it means to me, but, I've wanted to give it it's own post ever since TPHD was announced. So! Here we go.

Twilight Princess was my first introduction to Zelda, and per the theme, it's likely my favorite. (Ask any Zelda fan---their favorite is probably their first.) I played it a lot at my friend's house long before owning it, and, though all we really did was fly around Ordon and Kakariko on cuccos, I was quickly hooked. I always liked the concept of Zelda, and was familiar with the characters from Smash (Melee, specifically) and just in general being a Nintendo fan, since, uh, birth, basically.

I bought it for myself the moment we got a Wii, and at 11 years old, I was completely obsessed with the game. I didn't just play it a lot, I played it every waking moment of an entire summer. I'd play it over and over again. Once I beat it, I'd let it sit on the ending screen for about and hour, if that, then I'd restart and play it all over again from the beginning!

I know the game like the back of my hand. I have the story and its atmosphere burned into my mind. For months I'd lull my often restless mind to sleep by retelling myself the story of Twilight Princess. The village of Ordon is like a second home.

I dunno, it's hard to really articulate my feelings for this game into words any more concretely than that. So I'm gonna just! I'll just list a few of my favorite things about it. (In, uh, no particular order!)

1) Midna

I don't think anyone dislikes Midna?? She's so good. She's sassy she's snarky she's only in this for herself. Well, she starts that way, but in the end she's grown to care about the World of Light, or at the very least, Link and Zelda.

She's so great. I love her so much. She's cute and she's funny and some of the most quotable lines from the game are from her. She's one of the best partners Link has ever had, in my opinion, because she's just brimming with character and she's generally a joy to have with you. (Er, when she's not insulting you, that is.)

2) The atmosphere

Gosh, I, I love the atmosphere of Twilight Princess so much. It's one of my favorite vibes or aesthetics (harsh saturation, bright colors on a dark background / an overshadowing darkness balanced with hope and the persistence to keep moving, balanced with a story that wrenches at your chest). I dunno if I love these things so much because I always have, or because of all the time I spent in Twilight Princess's world, but, man! I love them a lot.

3) The character designs??

This is a smaller thing but, honestly, Twilight Princess has some of the best (and, strangest) character designs, especially for NPCs. Weird NPCs is a trend in all Zelda games, but you don't have quite the variety you do in other games like you do in Twilight Princess. Maybe that's just because other games don't have Hyrule Castle Town, which brims with a very large amount of colorful characters.

4) The story!!

Before this point I'd only ever played Mario games, and, while Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door was something I'd already been exposed to, I still wasn't that familiar with games that had stories! The concept was a little strange to me, and seeing so many vibrant and complex characters was wonderful!

I love, man. I love so much of Twilight Princess's story. I love the concept of Wolf Link, of Midna, a princess thrown out of her kingdom and avoiding detection while she finds what she hopes will be her and her people's salvation. I love Zelda, a princess in mourning. I love Link---local farmhand who gets pulled into something bigger than himself.

I love traveling with Midna, gradually learning more about who she is and where she comes from. I love her character in general---which I've already said!---but I love the role she plays in the story, I love how this story is almost, above anything else, a story about her.

I love Ilia and the Ordon kids!! Colin's a gift and a sweetie. I love watching his narrative progress, as well as the other Ordon kids. I love how often Twilight Princess tugs on your heart strings.

Link manages to return from the Twilight Realm, but he's still a wolf. He has no idea where his friends are. He finally finds him, but his first meeting with them---they have no idea he's there. The Bulblin King kidnaps Colin, makes you fight for his freedom. You find Ilia, but she doesn't remember you. You save Ralis, Prince of the Zoras, but his mother is dead, all she can offer you is a gift to help you along.

There's more, there's so much more. Twilight Princess is a constant balance between light and darkness, between joy and loss, between despair and hope. You can probably argue in a lot of games that Link always keeps moving, always gets back up and keep going but it's not just Link, in Twilight Princess. It's everyone. 

Colin stands in the face of danger to protect his friends. Ilia helps a lost Zora kid despite not remembering who she is. Telma and the Resistance constantly fight for hope and freedom in a land where Hyrule's soldiers are laughably weak. Midna makes herself keep going despite all she's lost---for her, it's not because she believes in a better world, but because she has to. And that's alright.

Twilight Princess looks like this dark and edgey Zelda game on the outside because oh Link transforms into a wolf, oh it's rated Teen, oh Zelda get's freaking possessed at one point, oh the whole atmosphere of the Twilight Realm is dark but...

Twilight Princess, a thousand times over, is more a story about hope.

5) There's so much to discover!!

There's a million little things in Twilight Princess to do or to find. All Zelda games are like that, but, there's so many in Twilight Princess that stand out to me. There's the clawshot game in Castle Town (and the discovery that the guy's shady and not as kind as he seems). There's Agitha, and all the separate places you can find her. There's Corro and his birds nest of hair, there's that purple rupee forgotten in Link's basement. There are at least two hidden caves to explore in Hyrule field. There's the Cave of Trials. There's the guy with the guy with the canon and the funny little tune it plays. 

There's the two guys in Castle Town that constantly stare at each other. There's an NPC that looks like a witch. All those cats that just flock to you when you walk up to them!! There are Gorons waiting around all over the place---not just on Death Mountain, they're everywhere! That never felt like something you saw a lot, in other games.

Each character had their own story, and, it seemed really special and unique in Twilight Princess. I didn't just fall in love with the main characters, I fell in love with the minor ones, too.

There's, I dunno, probably a lot more than this, but really, just!! Twilight Princess is so close to my heart and of all the games I played obsessively as a kid I'd probably consider this one the most like Home. You ever have a video game like that? That's just home, to you? Twilight Princess is that for me.

I have so many fond memories of it, I love every detail about it (except, uh, needing to point your wiimote at the sensor bar to work half your items, lol) and I'm. Hoooo. I love it so much. 

I can't wait for Twilight Princess HD. I can't wait to return home, and to have home look a thousand times better than it ever has.

This game is such a huge part of my life and such a huge part of who I am and I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully articulate those feelings, but, hopefully you have a game like that too. A game that you know like the back of your hand, a game you'd consider home, a game that seems to make up a component of your soul.

I love Twilight Princess so much, I....

See you later......

If they put the Wii map in the game, why is it only in Hero Mode? (Twilight Princess HD - What's New)

So Nintendo released a trailer for Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and I'm so hype!

I think I've talked about it before, but, Twilight Princess is one of my all time favorite games. I was absolutely obsessed with it six or seven (or, eight, maybe?) years ago and spent a whole summer literally playing it non-stop. I'd beat it, let it sit on the ending screen for an hour, then just restart and play from the beginning all over again.

So, obviously, Twilight Princess has a super special place in my heart and I'm super excited for this HD remake because I can't wait to step back into this world again. (Also it looks so good in HD? I'm gonna cry?)

Here's the trailer they released a few days ago: "LoZ: Twilight Princess HD - What's New"! 

The opening notes of the trailer music alone just get me so excited -- this is one of the orchestral pieces they released as promos for Twilight Princess. It's not my favorite orchestral piece for the game (that one's the song that plays in the intro trailer), but it's still really good to hear it!

Hearing the music, seeing this game, it just fills me with so many memories and emotions, I'm so excited for it, and I really really really can't wait to play.

- - - 

1 - the HD

Obviously, the HD is really kind to this game. I don't even, need to go in depth there. Everyone already knows it looks pretty as heck. The models are updated? Everything is rounder and smoother? Their faces look so good??? I'll cry again??

It looks so beautiful - honestly, out of all the Zelda games to get an HD port, Twilight Princess might benefit from it the most? The game already was shooting for a semi-realism style, and the HD makes that a lot less "nitty-gritty" and a lot smoother. The style of Twilight Princess benefits greatly from an HD update.


Of course, other than the obvious changes to make it HD, this game's had a few other modifications and added features as well. I'm gonna talk about a few of the things they added, and, brought up in this trailer here.


2 - Hero Mode

Just like any other Zelda Hero Mode, it features taking double damage every time you're hit.

It also features one more thing, though. The thing I'm most excited about, and, a most skeptical about.

Hero Mode is flipped! Like the Wii version of the game, Link is right handed. Originally, this was done because they figured the majority of people are right handed, so it would be comfortable to the majority of people to hold and swing the Wii-mote in their right hand. (See also: Skyward Sword.)

Of course, at the time of porting Twilight Princess to the Wii, they'd already made a large portion of the game for the GameCube, in which Link was left-handed. Rather than rebuild everything, it was easier at the time to just mirror it. Meaning, Link is right handed, while Zelda and Ganon become right-handed. All the cutscenes get mirrored, as well as the scenery and map. East becomes West. Right becomes left.

To anyone who's familiar with one version of the game, it's extremely disorienting to play the opposite version.

I was a little mad when they first announced Twilight Princess HD -- excited, mainly, of course -- but when I realized the map was the Gamecube version all I could do was let out this long-suffering sigh, resigned to get constantly lost all the time.

Finding out that Hero Mode existed, and was the mirrored Wii map, I was really excited. Now I could play that all the time, and never get lost again! A real blessing! But, then I got to thinking about it....

You see, if they're going to include both versions of the game in Twilight Princess HD, why like this? Why have one only be in Hero Mode, a mode you have to unlock?

And, if they're going to include both versions, why choose the GameCube version as default? Yes, it was the "original" version of the game, but, look at the sales! According to Wikipedia, the GameCube version sold 1.32 million, and the Wii version sold 5.82 million. That's over 4 million more copies. 4 million more people played the Wii version, are familiar with the Wii version. 4 million more people will probably struggle more with Normal Mode than Hero Mode -- at least in terms of navigation.

Sure, it won't make a difference to people who initially played the GameCube version, or to anyone who hasn't played the game before, but, still. Why choose the GameCube map as the default? Why assume the Wii map is going to be the "harder" one?

In my opinion, the game should start off with a choice -- a choice to pick which map, which version you want. Do you want the GameCube version or the Wii version? Pick, and then when you get put in Hero Mode, it automatically flips to the other version. Everyone's happy, everyone's challenged by the "Hero Mode is mirrored" thing. It's perfect!







3 - The Ghost Lantern.

This is a new item they introduced, which, according to the Twilight Princess HD official website, will glow when you're in the same area as a Poe, making the Poe soul collecting sidequest much easier. This is something myself and other fans had already speculated about, when we first saw it. It's good to see it's got an official description, though!

Even though it's pretty clear what this item is for now, I'm gonna point out one interesting thing I noticed about it.

The trailer made it explicitly clear to show the lantern glowing during the daytime---meaning not only will it glow when you're around a Poe, it also serves as a sort of signal. "Hey, there will be a Poe here at night, better wait around.

Another interesting thing, I realize, now that I'm comparing the two images side by side: Link's standing in two different spots.

The lantern glows while Link is standing down by the water, and, the Poe is up a couple levels, by Auru's watchtower. This is something hard to convey without a video visual, but the point remains. Link is in the same area as the Poe, but not right where the Poe is.

How close to the Poe do you have to be before the Lantern starts to glow? Does it glow brighter when you get closer? Some interesting things to consider.



4 - Gamepad functionality

Obviously, the Wii U Gamepad is used to play the game, and there's quite a few things it does.

1 - This wasn't in the trailer, but they mentioned it in the Nintendo Minute on the game. In Twilight Princess HD, you can tap the Gamepad to instantly transform into a wolf! It seems like a neat little thing, and I'm sure it'll make a lot of speedrunners happy.

Personally, I never minded talking to Midna to do this, but, maybe that's because I never had a faster option! My opinion may change after I've tried out this instant transform thing.

2 - Your map and items are both on the Gamepad screen! This is a semi-expected feature, seeing as Wind Waker HD and A Link Between Worlds (for the 3DS) did this as well.

It means that you can check your map and swap which items go on which buttons in real time, taking out the need to pause the game to do so. Maybe you're a little skeptical of that, since swapping items in real time is hard, but, hey. It's worked in other games. It can work here, too.

5 - Wolf Link Amiibo / Cave of Shadows

The game also includes a Wolf Link amiibo packaged with (some versions) of the game, and, not only does it look good, it unlocks a brand new dungeon called the Cave of Shadows. It looks like the Cave of Ordeals that's in the original game, but designed with being a wolf in mind.

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That's all the new content I know of, and all that was really in the trailer, but, still, I'm super excited! It comes out March 4th (three days before my birthday!!) and I already have it pre-ordered (it's a gift from my sister!!!) and I can't wait!

I really do love this game so much and I'm so excited to play it again.

Thanks for listening to me yell about Twilight Princess.