This is old news actually, but with the WiiU on the horizon this is getting more interesting. With the Wii Dolphin emulator you can play games in HD. They are basically just scaled up and usually it doesn't look so good, for example Twilight Princess with its gritty textures doesn't really look much better. However, there's one game, that really profits from the HD feature and looks absolutely gorgeous. It's The Wind Waker, its cell shaded graphics can be easily upscaled and they look very sharp and great in HD. Watch this video or take a look at the following pictures:
Here's a gallery with many more screenshots of The Wind Waker in HD.
Considering it even looks more likely that The Wind Waker is going to be one of the first games ported to WiiU. Nintendo already announced an "HD Classics" programm for the WiiU, similar to the "3D Classics". They make you buy old games again on the 3DS by adding 3D effects and they will make you buy old games yet again on the WiiU by offering HD resolution. And The Wind Waker looks like a perfect candidate for the HD treatment (though probably not as a downloadable game), since you can scale its graphics up so easily without the need of adding high resolution textures.
It would also easily profit from using the new controller as a second screen. Primarily because of the sea charts. Normally when you salvage a treasure you might have to switch between the treasure charts menu and the game multiple times in order to place your boat exactly over the treasure's location. This wouldn't be necessary if the WiiU controller just shows the maps. The controller could also be used for the Tingle Tuner, maybe they would even enhance this feature to make it more interesting.
An important question would be the controls. Should it use simple Wiimote controls like Twilight Princess? Would they even mirror the entire game for this? These controls work, but they are also very gimmicky. And WiiMotion Plus probably isn't an option, because the original game wasn't designed with 1 to 1 sword controls in mind. However, they could use it to control the Wind Waker. Or should the game simply use the WiiU controller all the time? But the controller really looks uncomfortable...
Some might suggest a The Wind Waker 3D remake for the Nintendo 3DS, which also profits from two screens and where the controls wouldn't be in question. And while I support the idea of making Majora's Mask 3D, I'd say a The Wind Waker 3D might be overdoing it. And considering the nature of the game's graphics, it's much more likely that it's getting a HD remake/port. The game easily looks great in HD and I don't think that Nintendo will let this opportunity slip.
Here's a gallery with many more screenshots of The Wind Waker in HD.
Considering it even looks more likely that The Wind Waker is going to be one of the first games ported to WiiU. Nintendo already announced an "HD Classics" programm for the WiiU, similar to the "3D Classics". They make you buy old games again on the 3DS by adding 3D effects and they will make you buy old games yet again on the WiiU by offering HD resolution. And The Wind Waker looks like a perfect candidate for the HD treatment (though probably not as a downloadable game), since you can scale its graphics up so easily without the need of adding high resolution textures.
It would also easily profit from using the new controller as a second screen. Primarily because of the sea charts. Normally when you salvage a treasure you might have to switch between the treasure charts menu and the game multiple times in order to place your boat exactly over the treasure's location. This wouldn't be necessary if the WiiU controller just shows the maps. The controller could also be used for the Tingle Tuner, maybe they would even enhance this feature to make it more interesting.
An important question would be the controls. Should it use simple Wiimote controls like Twilight Princess? Would they even mirror the entire game for this? These controls work, but they are also very gimmicky. And WiiMotion Plus probably isn't an option, because the original game wasn't designed with 1 to 1 sword controls in mind. However, they could use it to control the Wind Waker. Or should the game simply use the WiiU controller all the time? But the controller really looks uncomfortable...
Some might suggest a The Wind Waker 3D remake for the Nintendo 3DS, which also profits from two screens and where the controls wouldn't be in question. And while I support the idea of making Majora's Mask 3D, I'd say a The Wind Waker 3D might be overdoing it. And considering the nature of the game's graphics, it's much more likely that it's getting a HD remake/port. The game easily looks great in HD and I don't think that Nintendo will let this opportunity slip.
Hey, I really like this site. I'm always checking it out for the articles. How about you see my blog "ZeldaFacts - The Hyrule Blog" at zeldafacts.blogspot.com? Can you even follow it? Thanks a lot.
ReplyDelete