Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Twilight Princess HD: Smaller Light Vessel, Bigger Wallet

It looks like my suggestions for Twilight Princess HD from last night are not completely outdated yet, since the Famitsu article didn't have any new information. It did have new screenshots though (scans are found and NintendoEverything) and if you take a good look, you can actually find some smaller changes in them:


It appears that there are fewer Tears of Light to collect in the Lanayru Province, since the Vessel of Light only holds 12 tears, instead of the 16 tears in the original. So, I guess, this remake really does follow in the steps of The Wind Waker HD. It has the same interface and The Wind Waker HD mainly focused on small changes, which effectively improved the game flow, like having a faster sail or less Triforce Charts.

With Twilight Princess quite some people complained about the tedious tear collecting and it makes sense that would want to shorten this up a little. I personally didn't mind these parts too much (other than completely ruining the exploration of new areas), so I'm curious to find out, what tears now are gone.

Another addition seems to be a larger wallet, which holds up to 2000 Rupees. This was actually one of my exact suggestions, so that's nice. It's nothing special, but a larger wallet is something that you could potentially add to all 3D Zelda games as an additional reward (except maybe Skyward Sword, which already has a 9900 Rupee limit). The same goes for additional bottles, which they did in Majora's Mask 3D. I also wouldn't mind a fifth bottle in Twilight Princess, which is something, the Cave of Ordeals always should have offered.

The real question is, how will you get this larger wallet. Originally all wallet upgrades were gotten from Agitha and seeing, how she grew more prominent with Hyrule Warriors, they might have expanded her quest. Less bugs in the Twilight Realm, more bugs for Agitha!

It also really could come from some new features, something related to the amiibo or a Boss Rush. amiibo would be a bad choice though, since the larger wallet is helping with the Rupee problem in this game, so it shouldn't be something, which you only can get from optional toy figurines.

And of course there's the possibility that they simply changed the capacities of the three originals wallets... Would be boring though.


But learning that this remake also will offer some improvements like The Wind Waker HD makes me confident that there will be at least an option for Hero Mode. This is minimal effort anyway... And it's kind of sad, how Nintendo managed to lower your expectations to such a minimum over the years. In the past, when a remake was at the horizon, I would dream about additional dungeons, a Master Quest mode and more. And today you're hoping for a simple option that makes you take double damage, because it's entirely possible that Nintendo might just leave even that out.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Quick question; do you consider doing both the normal mode and the hero mode necessary for 100%? I understand if it's something like Wind Waker and it has an actual second quest, but is it really necessary for games like ALBW where it just does double damage? thanks :)

-Joe

TourianTourist said...

Well, for 100% you certainly want to have a Hero Mode file. If you haven't beaten the game on its hardest difficulty, you haven't completed it yet.

In case of A Link Between Worlds it's also tied to a secret and the best ending. And it's not just double damage, it's quadruple damage, making the whole mode a good challenge, unlike Hero Modes in other Zelda games.

Only the Hero Mode in the Wind Waker HD doesn't really count, since it's an option, which you can toggle. You can basically change it at any time and there's no real "proof" that you have beaten the game on it. But since the game is so easy, you want to use it anyway... :D

Unknown said...

I get that, but what about a basic normal mode? Would you have to complete the basic mode as well? I've gotten all the Streetpass Medals in a Hero Mode file and I've already completed the game around 7 or 8 times, the only thing I haven't done is get the Giant Cucco, which I've gotten up to 500 seconds.

TourianTourist said...

Well, you wouldn't need a basic file, only Hero Mode. Though I personally like to have both. You usually have to go through normal mode anyway to unlock Hero Mode... :D

And don't feel bad about the Cucco... it's the only thing I've never done in Zelda series as well. Way too ridiculous. Though technically it does count for 100%... xD

Unknown said...

I'm not gonna feel ok until I get it, so I'm going to work my tail off. Also, I know this is a different post entirely, but I noticed on your PH playthrough on the VC that you 100%'d it. Is there Wifi on the Wii U or something that lets you obtain the Big Plays?

TourianTourist said...

No, there isn't. And since there is no way to get the Big Plays on the Wii U, I don't count them for the 100%. On the Nintendo DS they count though.

And good luck with the Cucco...!

Unknown said...

Thank ya kindly.

Though, I do have to ask about one more thing...
Little rupees and stuff that can be dug up that are basically event style quests, like, let's say, the 20 rupees that replaces the Secret Seashells once you have the L-2 sword, do you consider getting those necessary for 100% as well?

TourianTourist said...

Someone asked me the same thing recently via Email and I should probably make a blog post about this... :-D