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We explored this iconic dungeon in Nintendo's high definition update of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Most of my concerns about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

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Rough Beginnings

I didn’t always feel this positive about Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. When Nintendo of Europe posted a story trailer for the game, it set off a panic amongst some Zelda fans. The lighting in some shots looked rough, and the new look didn’t appear to live up to what we all expected. Some shots of Link’s friend, named Ilia, looked washed out. It’s unclear if the unimpressive early trailers were due to poor video capture and compression or the use of early development material, but the footage Nintendo chose to show looked bad.

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See how the Wii U port of Zelda: Twilight Princess stacks up against the original release on GameCube and Wii.

Playing Twilight Princess HD for 60 minutes, however, changed my initially negative perception. It looks like Nintendo has wiped away many of its graphical imperfections. The result is a lot of smooth edges and clean-looking environments. As I fast-traveled between the desolate Mirror Chamber, Ordon Village’s tree-filled paradise, The Temple of Time, and the icy fields of Snowpeak, I could see that the jaggy-laden visuals of the original game have been smoothed away. I’ll admit that some background elements can look a little out of place at times, but the geography wasn’t designed with higher resolutions in mind when this game was in development all those years ago.

My only nitpick so far has been the lighting engine. The original Twilight Princess had it’s share of bloom lighting. In the current HD version, it’s been replaced by a dreamy haze that looks fine in some areas but makes the visuals appear flat in others. The inconsistent shadows -- Link casts a much better looking shadow, but most enemies and objects don’t -- constantly reminded me I was playing an HD port. In the end, I definitely got the sense that Nintendo could have pushed this high definition graphics makeover a little harder and have given the world more life with better lighting and contrast. But I have to admit what’s here looked much better than I expected, and it makes this almost-ten-year-old game feel much more modern even if it's not quite as detailed as current generation games.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Gallery 13 IMAGES

…But What Else Is New?

Twilight Princess HD has a bunch of new features. Nintendo and co-developer Tantalus have added GamePad support comparable to what was offered in Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. Here’s a big list of what's new in this version:

You can swap inventory on the fly using the built-in touchscreen

Use a handy map view tab on the GamePad to get the idea of a room’s layout

Off TV play returns in case you need to give up the precious TV

You can use the GamePad’s motion control sensor to aim (or just switch it off)

Transform into Wolf Link and back by pushing a button on the touchscreen

Post pictures or special stamps (50 in all) to Miiverse

If you don’t want to use the GamePad, you can use a Wii U Pro Controller instead. Ultimately button-based controls make this a much better playing version. I don’t miss waggle of the Wii original (even though it had its own unique charm) but aiming arrows with motion controls on felt snappy and intuitive.

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Re-live the opening moments as Link in Nintendo's HD update to Twilight Princess.

Nintendo has made some other interesting changes to Twilight Princess. Hero Mode, a harder version of the campaign where you take more damage from enemies and receive zero heart drops, also flips around the perspective. The graphics match up with the original Wii version – the port of the GameCube game that initially flipped the graphics to give motion-controlled players a right-handed protagonist to match. The flipped perspective is a welcome addition, but I should note that this game does not include support for Wii remotes, so swordplay is still handled via button pushes.

The last major change comes in the form of amiibo support and each member of the Zelda figurine family has a unique effect on the game. The Link and Toon Link amiibo replenish your arrows, while Zelda and Sheik refill lost hearts. Ganondorf doubles enemy damage. If you really want to test your skills, try Hero mode plus a swipe of Zelda’s signature bad man for a nightmarish difficulty setting where you’ll lose 4x the damage. I tried it and died within minutes.

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Watch 3 minutes of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD's amiibo challenge area.

Lastly, there’s Wolf Link, a new addition that unlocks The Cave of Shadow, an optional challenge dungeon where you have to fight through a gauntlet of enemies in Wolf form. Nintendo told me players can access the first segment of this special area after collecting the Tears of Light in Faron Woods and obtaining the Hero’s Tunic. Subsequent sections will unlock as you progress through the campaign. You can record your best time in the Cave of Shadows to the figure and share it with friends.

Based on of what I’ve played, Zelda: Twilight Princess isn’t the middling HD makeover I thought it to be. Nintendo made lots of graphical changes, and I’m sure the passionate Zelda fan community will uncover even more once it's released. But refreshed graphics can only go so far. This HD port looks and plays like a modern game. And if you missed out on its initial GameCube/Wii releases, it’s a Zelda game you should play. For the rest of us, this re-release of Twilight Princess is an appetizer that will keep us until more details on the next installment in this legendary series are revealed later this year.

Jose Otero is an Editor at IGN and host of Nintendo Voice Chat . You can follow him on Twitter