The second Zelda HD re-release to arrive on the Wii U, Twilight Princess was met with pretty warm responses upon it's release in April of this year. But then again, it's always gotten positive reviews - Jonathan Metts back in 2006 gave Twilight Princess a perfect score. This time around, site director Neal Ronaghan reviewed the HD re-release, citing that while it doesn't do too much to make the game better, it does "offer the definitive version of a 10-year-old game and in the process, makes it control and look like a modern game". Two staff members, Matt West and Adam Abou-Nasr along with two other contributors are here to give their take on the game. Does it match with Neal's review, or are there some new takes on what is considered a classic title?

Adam Abou-Nasr, Associate Editor: When Twilight Princess first came out, I had never beaten a 3D Zelda. I had certainly played every Zelda game before, but I was too young and scared to have faced Ganon in so many dimensions. I mostly played Zelda games to escape into a fantasy world. I liked the colors and the music, cutting grass, playing mini-games, and messing with the animals. Twilight Princess lost me fast. My family always called it “The Legend of Zelda: Toilet Paper.” The “long tutorial” people so often complain about extends into the first three dungeons; Link explores an empty world that feels familiar and uninspired. There’s an abandoned cowboy town with a handful of children. Hyrule Field is confusing. Everything’s dull and dark and boring. After getting the Master Sword and rocketing through the air and into the desert, I took a second to look around. Link, in a deep-green tunic, holding a Hylian shield and Master Sword, looked like Link. I started to appreciate the intricate design of Hyrule field. The music grew familiar. I found the mini-games! The next three dungeons were some of the best in the series, each introducing a fun new item to the franchise. It’s hard to be down on the opening I held grudges against for so long after playing through the delightful middle third. I’ve all but forgotten the tedious “Tears of Light” missions. The next two dungeons are just okay, with one being way too long and the other being way too short.

Matt West, Associate Editor: Having only ever played the Wii version of Twilight Princess, bad waggle controls and all, my prior relationship with this game was a complicated one. While I’m of the opinion that every 3D Zelda game is an absolute masterpiece, and the pinnacle of video gaming experiences, Twilight Princess would always rank dead last whenever I made a list of them. It’s not that I didn’t love the game when it launched alongside the Wii in 2006; it’s just that it felt like a step back to me after the greatness of Wind Waker. For one, the waggle controls didn’t help, and the game also tried to adopt a darker, muddier art style that just didn’t look good even when it was new a decade ago. As someone who loves the cel shading in Wind Waker, and the impressionist inspiration in Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess has always lacked imagination in its visuals, in my opinion. All this coupled with the fact that Twilight Princess might have the longest, least interesting tutorial section in any Zelda game, and I rarely felt as if I needed to replay this game.

That said, the Wii U version does away with a LOT of my complaints about the original game. The visuals, while still not as pretty and full of life as Wind Waker or Skyward Sword, pop more thanks to the improvements made in the jump to HD. The waggle controls are gone, but the good motion controls in the bow aiming sections remain. The map and inventory screens have been moved down to the GamePad for a more convenient experience, and now you only have to catch one fish for the cat in Ordon Village instead of two! Some of my grievances with Twilight Princess remain, however. The world is still barren, and often feels lifeless when you’re travelling from place to place. The pacing of the story and gameplay has always felt a little bit off, and still does here. But the negatives far outweigh the positives; Midna is the greatest sidekick in the series, the double clawshot still feels great to use, the gameplay is still fantastic, and the dungeons… The dungeons in Twilight Princess might be some of the best in the entire series. The game is worth playing through just to experience them by themselves.

Austin Learned, Contributor: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess introduced a new mechanic which allowed Link to take on the form of a wolf, a trait the game itself shares. Twilight Princess is a unique game, in that a version exists on three different systems, each with a very different interface. Years ago, when the Wii was in its infancy, I couldn't wait until I owned the new system to play the new game so I played the first version on the Gamecube. It was straightforward and comfortable to play, and felt like a fitting next step from Ocarina of Time. I wouldn't play the game again for years, but when I did, it was a whole new experience on the Wii. A completely different controller was just the start, Link's swordhand and the entire world map were flipped, the new control scheme combined with an odd sense of deja vu were enough to create a new experience with a fun, occasionally frustrating, challenge. Even more years have gone by, and I haven't played the game again. Yet, another version of Twilight Princess exists on the Wii U, and I happen to own that system. I think it's time to give that game another play, and with another new controller that is still similar to the most comfortable version in the Gamecube, it might combine to be a fun, nostalgic experience, with a bit less of the frustrating challenge thrown in.

Daniel Claro, Contributor: Twilight Princess was the first Zelda game I’ve played since Ocarina of Time. It’s been a while as my Nintendo days have been limited since Nintendo 64. The game starts off in similar fashion, at least from what I remember with Link being the main character. I personally never understood why they called it Zelda as it always centers around Link, but that’s just me.

The thing that really sets this game apart from previous titles is the ability for link to transform into a wolf and have a whole different set of abilities. In the beginning these abilities are used for certain areas whereas Link’s human abilities are used for others. Later on in the game you can switch between human and wolf forms on a whim which grants you essentially the best of both worlds. Some temples/dungeons, hidden areas, and “side quests” are even dependent on both abilities working in tandem. All the events start as the twilight begin to invade and corrupt the spirts of Hyrule. This leads to Link having to restore the spirits to their original form by completing a series of temples dedicated to each of the four spirits. Then the main goal becomes restoring the shards of the Mirror of Twilight to allow them to get to the twilight realm. After that is completed the objective becomes finding the remaining pieces of the fused shadow which you’ve already started to accumulate. Zant winds up holding the final piece. With the Fused Shadow in tow Midna now has the power to break the seal on Hyrule Castle and confront the puppeteer behind it all.

Throughout most of the game the villain behind everything is Zant, who originally was next in line to rule twilight realm. Instead Midna became the ruler of the twilight realm for obvious reasons. In the end though the main baddie is Ganondorf which granted Zant his powers until he became strong enough to escape the twilight realm. The final battle between Ganondorf has multiple phases in which you not only fight a possessed Zelda but fight with her in another phase. All in all as it felt very similar to Ocarina of Time for me I thought it was a very fun game that had me coming back and playing for hours continuously but mostly for the story than anything. The convenience of the WII gamepad helped big time with inventory and equipment management. There are many fun side quests as well but unfortunately the additional items, armor, extra hearts, etc. don’t come in very handy in the end which doesn’t provide a sense of accomplishment for all the time spent acquiring them. I felt the game was fun but too simple. Once you learned a boss’s strategy they were generally extremely easy to beat. Some of the Dungeons though did prove a little challenging at times especially when you are unaware of a new game mechanic.