Why are people begging for the lazy, ugly Zelda HD remasters? (Comparisons inside)

Zuo

Member
With nothing but scorn for the original games, which is what you can see under every Nintendo post about the upcoming WW port right now. I remember us pretty much unanimously agreeing that Nintendo's Wii U bloom is disgusting and compromises the art style

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From a timeless cozy anime look
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to this overexposed Play-Doh mess that looks like those BotW bugs where people manage to disable Link's cel shading
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Weird green hue for some reason
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Ofc there are a few nice additions like the faster sail (tho any emu lets you speed up the game if you really need to) and you can buy and enjoy WWHD, but if you love the original you shouldn't be happy with such half-assed remasters let alone beg for them with no appreciation for the originals that hardly even aged
 
There is a lot more wrong with all the remasters, from graphics to controls, but this pic actually covers it nicely
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Just like Ninja Gaiden 2(BC), Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden Black 2, simultaneously existing on the Xbox store right now, gamers prefer more choices rather than forced choices.

Are you ok with Nintendo conditioning people to only accept 1 choice?
 
Myself, in most cases I simply can't start a remake, or remaster with lots of changes, if I haven't finished original version at least once.

Btw, speaking of remasters, and how available old versions actually are, I honestly would rather get a remake of any kind (1:1, reimagination, whatever) which is its own thing, but still recognizable.

Even PS3 / X360 era is already at the point when it should get at least Demon's Souls remake treatment.

EDIT: Btw, it's incredible what mod community has done above FFX/X-2 remaster visuals.

wQRDh3s.png
 
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This game is one of the reasons why I don't like "visual enhancements" and prefer just minimal improvements like frame rate, resolution, aspect ratio, make texture quality, stuff like that.

I think the game looks good, but there are two caveats: 1. The excessive sky bloom and 2. I haven't checked well but the cell shading effect is lost, is it?
 
I like the original GCN release and I was ready to hate the Wii U HD version as in the screenshot it looked overly bloomy and there other issues with lighting of faces making them look more 3D and less cell shaded / anime looking… then I played it and I… liked it…
 
I enjoyed Wind Waker HD.
Also since Nintendo would charge $70 for it anyway, would it be too much to expect them to adjust the visuals a bit, lower the bloom and getting it looking closer to the original while maintaining the QOL improvements from the remaster?.
 
Honestly there have been far more worse HD remasters to the point it makes these remasters look really good. I do understand some of the changes are bizarre and unfortunate, but they are not bad but taken in the wrong direction. Nintendo is kind of ridiculous at times. I'm still very confused on why OOT/MM HD were not on console. I learned it's just Nintendo and they know people will buy it regardless of how accurate the HD ports are.
 
A bit torn on this, depending on which port.

OoT 3D is worth it. The 3D effect is perfect for the game, framerate bump is welcome, and having item selection on the lower screen changes everything... you're saving a cumulative several hours of pointless slow menu toggle by the time you reach the end. The only other solid option for OoT these days is the decompiled PC port with some of the same QOL, but even then, having 3D effect is worth more to me.

I agree on WindWaker's visuals, but the second screen menu is once again amazing and might even be worth the visual change.

Twilight Princess HD... I don't really see the point in playing it. I'd prefer to play Wii version and get the wii pointer controls for archery. I definitely wouldn't touch Skyward Sword HD, because that game's motion controls were good despite the online hate, and non-negotiable part of the original game design.
 
The horse controls in Twilight princess HD were freaking terrible and I honestly thought removing some of the light bugs made those sections worse. I'm never touching that rubbish again.
 
WW HD is great imo, definitely not lazy relative to, say, TP HD. Not only are the visuals and lighting actually updated, it has lots of great QoL updates that really add to the overall experience as well.

The 3DS versions of OOT and MM are fantastic as well imo. I don't really get why people dislike them.

The only one I could call lazy is TP HD which basically looks and plays indistinguishable to me outside of the resolution bump.
 
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WW HD fixes way too much about the original issues of WW to care about the different lighting and other details.

Having played both I would never recommend playing the original.
 
Next thing you know, they'll add skippable cutscenes or modern controls and we simply can't have that. Gotta preserve the sacred ritual of changing wind direction every five minutes or it's not real Wind Waker, right?
 
A bit torn on this, depending on which port.

OoT 3D is worth it. The 3D effect is perfect for the game, framerate bump is welcome, and having item selection on the lower screen changes everything... you're saving a cumulative several hours of pointless slow menu toggle by the time you reach the end. The only other solid option for OoT these days is the decompiled PC port with some of the same QOL, but even then, having 3D effect is worth more to me.

I agree on WindWaker's visuals, but the second screen menu is once again amazing and might even be worth the visual change.

Twilight Princess HD... I don't really see the point in playing it. I'd prefer to play Wii version and get the wii pointer controls for archery. I definitely wouldn't touch Skyward Sword HD, because that game's motion controls were good despite the online hate, and non-negotiable part of the original game design.
Some people cannot tolerate or enjoy the 3D effect, but for those that are able to it was a game changer visually for a lot of games.

Although I preferred the 3D effect in Super Mario 3D Land (brighter colourful graphics means that the ghosting / doubling effect of parallax barrier glass-less 3D was not a problem), the 3D effect in a store demo unit sold me Zelda OoT 3D and the 3DS console.

Open areas in games felt more immersive and wide open, platforming was easier, etc…
 
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Myself, in most cases I simply can't start a remake, or remaster with lots of changes, if I haven't finished original version at least once.

Btw, speaking of remasters, and how available old versions actually are, I honestly would rather get a remake of any kind (1:1, reimagination, whatever) which is its own thing, but still recognizable.

Even PS3 / X360 era is already at the point when it should get at least Demon's Souls remake treatment.

EDIT: Btw, it's incredible what mod community has done above FFX/X-2 remaster visuals.

wQRDh3s.png
Are these backwards? The mod looks worse
 
This is actually pretty interesting to me - I wasn't aware of the shortcomings of the re-releases. WWHD did have a lot of QoL stuff, so I feel like it's a little unfair to ignore that.
 
To me best kind re-releases are XCDE/XCXDE and NieR Replicant 1.22.

Not only they improve the overall visuals but also add significant improvements and give you brand new content.
 
Majora's Mask 3DS is the worst of the bunch only because they changed the original spooky moon to a goofy one for some reason.
 
The HD remaster of Wind Waker is one of the most disgusting things in gaming. It isn't so much the over-saturation of bloom that's the problem. The real sin is how it fundamentally changes the lighting system and how it interacts with the cel-shading. Characters on GameCube blended into the scene, creating an impression of a cartoon come to life. There was an impression of 2D which was by design. On Wii U, the shading makes characters look more three dimensional, sure, but that ends up making them resemble plastic dolls. The softer shadows were also more realistic, and i'm pretty sure they also added ambient occlusion too - both of which are completely antithetical to the visual point of the game. I absolutely hate it and no amount of quality of life features can make up for it being gaming's equivalent of the Ecce Homo restoration.
 
i like my textures to not look like mud sorry
Don't you like your games having proper atmosphere too?

Just look at this:

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There are more examples of this, but the last scene is the worst offender, total fuck up:

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... oh and Link's design too. He went from cool looking to dork.

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This was one of the worst offenders, and a primary reason why I've always stuck to the PS2 International release as opposed to any of the HD versions. Yes, Tidus looked like Meg Ryan. But at least that was an actual design, not some mobile game-adjacent slop like what the new models ended up as. I genuinely don't know how somebody signed off on that.
 
Isn't wind waker just a GameCube VC title?
On switch 2, yes but OP's talking about people port begging the hd remaster

Which is not a straight port, the wii u version has several qol changes like making the triforce hunt towards the end much easier
 
Myself, in most cases I simply can't start a remake, or remaster with lots of changes, if I haven't finished original version at least once.

Btw, speaking of remasters, and how available old versions actually are, I honestly would rather get a remake of any kind (1:1, reimagination, whatever) which is its own thing, but still recognizable.

Even PS3 / X360 era is already at the point when it should get at least Demon's Souls remake treatment.

EDIT: Btw, it's incredible what mod community has done above FFX/X-2 remaster visuals.

wQRDh3s.png

Wait what?

Her face is more full / more manly looking.
 
Greedy Ninty loves their fans

retro games lemmings GIF
It's interesting how some justify questionable practices simply because they're profitable. The "target audience doesn't know any better" argument essentially means "let's take advantage of them." It's cute to see how some believe that defending and cheering for a company's profits (that they're not even benefiting from) will somehow bring them any advantage.
 
Wind Waker HD is the better game, that's why.

even if you dislike the visual changes, the gameplay is just better.
however, one of the biggest reasons it plays better would not actually work on the Switch 2, and that's the gamepad screen being there to give you easy inventory access on the fly, as well as a detailed sea map while on the boat.
edit: well, with the game sharing feature I guess it would actually work... as you could in theory use a Switch 1 (or 2) as a controller with the Wii U Touchscreen Features on the Switch screen.
Game Sharing is designed around multiplayer games, but the tech in theory can also be used exactly like a Wii U gamepad.


other changes like being able to move while in first person, gyro aiming, the fast sail and the Triforce quest changes would still apply tho.

the best case would be a port of Wind Waker HD that gives you a toggle to switch to the old artstyle.
 
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I loved Wind Waker. I remember all of freakouts over the Wii U version. It came out, I played, it looked slightly different, didn't bother me one bit.

TP, I have no strong feelings about. Probably my least favorite 'main' Zelda game, but I don't hate it. Whatever version they dein to release on Switch 2, I'll play it, and I won't give two shits if the graphics are "off." IMO it always looked rather shit anyway.
 
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Plus the more streamlined triforce hunt at the end.

Thats the one part I'm not looking forward to replaying on the GC VC

Pretty sure this version is for people that never played it before because if you played the Wii U version and then try to go back and play the GC you are in for a surprise with the pacing.
 
Quick sail and updated control is enough to prefer the remaster. Better graphics is the cherry on top

it was super annoying when you went into first person to aim with the grappling hook, only to be 1m too far away.

meanwhile in the HD remaster you can actually just walk a step forward without going out of first person... it's just so nice...

also if I remember correctly the swinging with the grappling hook itself felt more responsive on Wii U, but maybe I misremember.
 
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