The most straightforward difference is the fact that the remake is presented in high definition. This means that the game has a much higher resolution, which provides better graphics, more detailed textures and more realistic lighting/shadow effects. Sound is now in True Digital Surround instead of Dolby Pro Logic II, and the music is also of better quality.
The interface of the game has been modified to accomodate the use of the Wii U main screen and gamepad. The interface on the main screen can be customized to display only essential information (hearts, magic and quick prompts). The gamepad is used to display all the Pause screens from the original, which included the Sea chart, Island maps and dungeon maps, as well as the Item screens. The gamepad has three tabs now to switch between Maps, Items and Tingle Bottle messages. There are no longer on-screen maps on the main screen since they are on the gamepad now. The Wind Waker is now permanently assigned to the Control Pad, and melodies of the Wind Waker are no longer stored on the Item screen (they appear on the gamepad as soon as the Wind Waker is used). The game can also be played in Off-TV mode, but then the maps and Items screens can only be accessed in the Pause screen.
Some of the (side)quests have been shortened or simplified because they were quite cumbersome in the original. The search for the eight shards of the Triforce of Courage is one of them; originally, Link had to locate eight treasure maps which needed to be translated by Tingle (for the hefty sum of 398 Rupees per map). These would then lead to the shards. Apart from the time it took to raise all that money, the search for both the maps and the shards made the quest quite lengthy. In the remake, only 3 of those maps remain, and the other 5 shards can be found immediately, in the locations where their treasure maps used to be.
Getting a Picto Box Deluxe (a color camera) has been made easier in the game; in the original, it required completing a side quest and obtaining a giant firefly, but the firefly is no longer needed. The Picto Box can hold 12 pictures instead of 3, you can make selfies with it, and if a picture meets the requirements to be turned into a statue at the Nintendo Gallery, it will receive a certification. The Nintendo Gallery itself can now process 12 statues at a time instead of only one.
Forest water now lasts for 30 minutes instead of 20 before it turns into normal water. There is even a timer indicating how long it will last.
The original game had an item called the Tingle Tuner, which could be used to link the GameCube to a Game Boy Advanced, and unlock a unique feature where a second player could help in finding hidden items. This Tingle Tuner has been replaced by the Tingle Bottle, an item that can be used to send personal messages and pictures from the Picto Box to other players via the Miiverse. Strangely enough, some of the hidden items still remain in the remake, although the game provides no clues on how to find them.
Certain gameplay elements have been changed in response to criticism to the original version. In order to shorten the time spent on sailing between islands, an item called the Swift Sail is available at the auction on Windfall Island. Activating this sail greatly increases speed and automatically changes the wind to the direction the boat is sailing to.
Using the boat itself has also been made a lot more user-friendly. Apart from the Wind Waker, the Grappling Hook and Bombs come pre-assigned to the Control Pad as soon as Link steps aboard his sailing boat, removing the need to assign them to the action buttons over and over again. Activating the Cannon will also display the bomb's trajectory, making aiming a lot easier. Using the Wind Waker on the boat to change the direction of the wind will show the wind's point-of-view relative to the boat, making it easier to decide the direction. The Normal Sail and the Swift Sail are also pre-assigned; pressing the A button activates the Normal Sail. Pressing it again activates or deactivates the Swift Sail. Cruising without a sail is considerably faster than in the original. Also, Link would always be thrown out of the boat if he was attacked. In the remake, Link will only be thrown out if he is too close to an exploding barrel.
The gamepad is motion-sensitive, which is used to control certain items in first-person view, i.e. the Boomerang, The Bow, The Grappling Hook and the Hookshot. While swinging on lanterns or the Grappling Hook, Link can change direction in mind-swing, and no longer has to come to a complete stop first. And while floating with the Deku Leaf, there is an icon displayed on the ground, to indicate where Link will land if he drops.
When using the first-person point-of-view, Link can now move. This also means that Link can move while using items in first-person view (except when using the Picto Box and Telescope), which can be advantageous when shooting enemies too far away to lock on (e.g. Sorcerors).
Link's initial wallet can hold 500 Rupees instead of only 200. When enemies at sea are defeated, the item they drop comes flying to Link, instead of Link having to pick it up.
The magic armor is no longer received from the teacher at Windfall Island for 40 Joy Pendants; instead it is the price for completing the Savage Labyrinth on Outset Island. The armor would deplete magic in the original, but here it depletes Rupees when Link is hit.
The advice given by the Fishmen can now be accessed on the Sea Chart, so there is no need to use bait on them to hear it again.
Certain animations in the game have been shortened, such as when the Grappling Hook retrieves a treasure chest or wraps around a pole, and when Link plays the Wind Waker.
The highest difficulty, 'Hero mode' is available right from the start. Attacks will do twice the damage, and enemies do not drop recovery hearts. This mode can be toggled off while loading a saved game.
The interface of the game has been modified to accomodate the use of the Wii U main screen and gamepad. The interface on the main screen can be customized to display only essential information (hearts, magic and quick prompts). The gamepad is used to display all the Pause screens from the original, which included the Sea chart, Island maps and dungeon maps, as well as the Item screens. The gamepad has three tabs now to switch between Maps, Items and Tingle Bottle messages. There are no longer on-screen maps on the main screen since they are on the gamepad now. The Wind Waker is now permanently assigned to the Control Pad, and melodies of the Wind Waker are no longer stored on the Item screen (they appear on the gamepad as soon as the Wind Waker is used). The game can also be played in Off-TV mode, but then the maps and Items screens can only be accessed in the Pause screen.
Some of the (side)quests have been shortened or simplified because they were quite cumbersome in the original. The search for the eight shards of the Triforce of Courage is one of them; originally, Link had to locate eight treasure maps which needed to be translated by Tingle (for the hefty sum of 398 Rupees per map). These would then lead to the shards. Apart from the time it took to raise all that money, the search for both the maps and the shards made the quest quite lengthy. In the remake, only 3 of those maps remain, and the other 5 shards can be found immediately, in the locations where their treasure maps used to be.
Getting a Picto Box Deluxe (a color camera) has been made easier in the game; in the original, it required completing a side quest and obtaining a giant firefly, but the firefly is no longer needed. The Picto Box can hold 12 pictures instead of 3, you can make selfies with it, and if a picture meets the requirements to be turned into a statue at the Nintendo Gallery, it will receive a certification. The Nintendo Gallery itself can now process 12 statues at a time instead of only one.
Forest water now lasts for 30 minutes instead of 20 before it turns into normal water. There is even a timer indicating how long it will last.
The original game had an item called the Tingle Tuner, which could be used to link the GameCube to a Game Boy Advanced, and unlock a unique feature where a second player could help in finding hidden items. This Tingle Tuner has been replaced by the Tingle Bottle, an item that can be used to send personal messages and pictures from the Picto Box to other players via the Miiverse. Strangely enough, some of the hidden items still remain in the remake, although the game provides no clues on how to find them.
Certain gameplay elements have been changed in response to criticism to the original version. In order to shorten the time spent on sailing between islands, an item called the Swift Sail is available at the auction on Windfall Island. Activating this sail greatly increases speed and automatically changes the wind to the direction the boat is sailing to.
Using the boat itself has also been made a lot more user-friendly. Apart from the Wind Waker, the Grappling Hook and Bombs come pre-assigned to the Control Pad as soon as Link steps aboard his sailing boat, removing the need to assign them to the action buttons over and over again. Activating the Cannon will also display the bomb's trajectory, making aiming a lot easier. Using the Wind Waker on the boat to change the direction of the wind will show the wind's point-of-view relative to the boat, making it easier to decide the direction. The Normal Sail and the Swift Sail are also pre-assigned; pressing the A button activates the Normal Sail. Pressing it again activates or deactivates the Swift Sail. Cruising without a sail is considerably faster than in the original. Also, Link would always be thrown out of the boat if he was attacked. In the remake, Link will only be thrown out if he is too close to an exploding barrel.
The gamepad is motion-sensitive, which is used to control certain items in first-person view, i.e. the Boomerang, The Bow, The Grappling Hook and the Hookshot. While swinging on lanterns or the Grappling Hook, Link can change direction in mind-swing, and no longer has to come to a complete stop first. And while floating with the Deku Leaf, there is an icon displayed on the ground, to indicate where Link will land if he drops.
When using the first-person point-of-view, Link can now move. This also means that Link can move while using items in first-person view (except when using the Picto Box and Telescope), which can be advantageous when shooting enemies too far away to lock on (e.g. Sorcerors).
Link's initial wallet can hold 500 Rupees instead of only 200. When enemies at sea are defeated, the item they drop comes flying to Link, instead of Link having to pick it up.
The magic armor is no longer received from the teacher at Windfall Island for 40 Joy Pendants; instead it is the price for completing the Savage Labyrinth on Outset Island. The armor would deplete magic in the original, but here it depletes Rupees when Link is hit.
The advice given by the Fishmen can now be accessed on the Sea Chart, so there is no need to use bait on them to hear it again.
Certain animations in the game have been shortened, such as when the Grappling Hook retrieves a treasure chest or wraps around a pole, and when Link plays the Wind Waker.
The highest difficulty, 'Hero mode' is available right from the start. Attacks will do twice the damage, and enemies do not drop recovery hearts. This mode can be toggled off while loading a saved game.
The Swift Sail was most likely added to the HD remake due to the criticism that sailing in the original took an inordinate amount of play time. However, even if the creators had forseen this, it is unlikely that they could have done much about it. In the original game, the Great Sea could not be loaded in its entirety, so areas of it were loaded as Link was travelling towards them. Had the Swift Sail existed, it would not have done much good, because the game would have stalled with loading breaks all the time (compare it to the infamous 'door opening animations' from the Resident Evil series that were inserted to allow the game to load a new area). The Warp Cyclones were added to make jumping between areas possible, but the animation of Link making the jump could not be skipped, as the game needed the time to load the new area.
In the HD version, the Wii U can load the Great Sea in its entirety, so Link can traverse the sea at higher speed because there is no need for constant loading.
In the HD version, the Wii U can load the Great Sea in its entirety, so Link can traverse the sea at higher speed because there is no need for constant loading.
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