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Nintendo details Zelda: Twilight Princess HD gameplay improvements

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Nintendo has a number of major changes in store for its upcoming HD revamp of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, resulting in a streamlined experience that eliminates many of the flaws present in the game’s original 2006 release.

Among other tweaks, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for the Wii U makes in-game transformations less time-consuming, and reduces the number of quest items in specific cases in order to improve the overall pacing of gameplay.

Nintendo outlined its many planned improvements for Twilight Princess HD today, including the addition of an all-new “Ghost Lantern” item that makes the original game’s infamous Poe soul-retrieving quest less tedious. When equipped, the Ghost Lantern will glow when any Poes are nearby, reducing the amount of exploration and guesswork that the quest normally entails.

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Many moments in Twilight Princess require protagonist Link to transform into his wolf form – a process that previously involved talking to partner character Midna and navigating through a dialogue sequence before every transformation. In Twilight Princess HD, players can instead tap an icon on the Wii U’s GamePad to instantly transform with no delay.

The Wii U GamePad also aids in equipping items, as players can now assign inventory slots and navigate maps using a touch-driven interface. In addition, Twilight Princess HD offers off-TV play that displays all in-game action on the GamePad itself.

Twilight Princess HD additionally increases the limit on the amount of currency that players can hold at any given time, addressing a common complaint with the original game. Rupees earned from treasure chests can now be collected regardless of whether players have reached the maximum amount of on-hand currency, eliminating the need to maintain a mental checklist of treasure chests that were abandoned throughout the quest.

Other planned additions for Twilight Princess HD include a Hero Mode that doubles the damage players take from enemies and eliminates health drops, making for a more difficult quest. Players can create an even more difficult experience for themselves by scanning a Ganondorf amiibo figurine during gameplay, further increasing the damage they absorb during gameplay.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD launches exclusively for the Wii U on March 4th.

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