The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, the high-defintion 1080p Wii U remake of Link’s toon-shaded GameCube classic, is officially scheduled to launch in October, Nintendo confirmed today in the company’s E3 livestream.
More exciting than the knowledge that Wind Waker HD is only a few months away, Nintendo has revealed some of the new features being added to the Wii U edition. One of the main changes is the introduction of the Tingle Bottle in place of the Tingle Tuner. Once Link has discovered the Tingle Bottle, players will be able to use the GamePad to post comments and screenshots to the Miiverse. These Miiverse messages in a bottle will then wash ashore to be found in other players’ games. To compliment this feature, the Pictograph will be improved to capture higher-quality images, and store a larger quantity.
Wind Waker HD will also provide inventory management and map viewing from the GamePad as well as full support for off-TV GamePad play. Perhaps best of all–at least for folks who found boat travel too tedious in the original game–the remake will offer an upgraded sail to allow Link to cruise the open sea at a faster clip.
Beyond all that, the game remains a timeless beauty. Even with the bombardment of next-gen flash from the PS4 and Xbox One this week at E3, Wind Waker HD is one of the best-looking games of the show. I know many folks hated toon Link, but dammit, I just adore the little fella!
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