The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD News Recap

The first day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo is starting to wrap up, but we got a lot of news out of the event. A lot of Zelda news that is.

A Wind Waker remake was announced for the Wii U back in January during a Nintendo Direct. We finally got more details during E3 today, and the week is far from over! There will be news until the conference ends! Who knows? You could Waker up tomorrow and there could be a new trailer?

…no? Waker? You wake up in the morning, and the game is called The Wind Wa… I just want to make you laugh. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. But if you just want me to recap the news I guess I could do that too.

Let’s begin the recap then!

We got to view the first footage of the game in this morning’s Nintendo Direct, and we learned the official title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. The game lives up to the term “HD,” as it is running at 1080p.

We discovered a few changes to the Wind Waker experience we know and love. There were the small things, but there was also a bigger difference announced. The Tingle Tuner has been replaced, as the Game Boy Advance can’t connect to the Wii U. We now have the Tingle Bottle, which incorporates Miiverse. Players write messages and throw them into the sea. Other players then have that writing surface on their own coasts. It’s a fun inclusion to make the game truly feel at home on the Wii U. In addition, your baton can now be controlled with the Wii U GamePad’s touchscreen.

Gyro controls will be used to control some items. In addition, the game also uses another feature of the Wii U GamePad: off-tv play. You can experience the entire adventure without turning on your television!

The whole ocean is loaded at once, allowing faster sailing, which is now unlocked through an in-game upgrade. Other news on sailing the sea includes the Triforce fetch quest many fans hated. Eiji Aonuma has admitted the portion “didn’t feel right,” and there will be improvements in the HD remake.

We also got some beautiful new screenshots and artwork. The images not only show off the graphical fidelity and sheer power of the Wii U, but also the visual capabilities Nintendo can pull off. The game is absolutely gorgeous. You can see it in action in some off-screen footage!

Here’s the off-screen footage!

You can play The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD at a Best Buy near you on Wednesday or Saturday. It comes to stores this October.

What do you think of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD? Does it make your mouth water? Or does it bore you? Sound off in the comments.