There have been some rumors recently that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be getting a second remake, and I can’t think of a better Zelda game to get this treatment. Although my first two Zelda games - the influential A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time - will always hold a special place in my heart, Twilight Princess is my favorite of the series. However, it isn’t just my personal bias that makes me think Twilight Princess is the most deserving game for a remake.

Although it was released more recently than remakes of older Zelda games like Ocarina of Time or Majora’s Mask, the remake of Twilight Princess is not easy to find. Re-releasing it wouldn’t only make it more accessible to players, and I think it could also impact the future of the Zelda series if it is a major success. Of course, I also just wouldn’t mind being able to play my favorite Zelda game on the Switch, as opposed to having to pull out my Wii U just to play a single game.

The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess Is The Pinnacle Of The Original Zelda Formula

Zelda's 3D Formula Has Changed Over The Years

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduced a brand-new style of 3D Zelda games, but I’m still partial to the original formula. I like the mixture of open-world elements and more linear dungeons that was originally introduced in Ocarina of Time. This classic 3D Zelda structure was a best-of-both-worlds situation because it offered the sense of adventure that open-world games have, but also offered the tight level design of more linear games when inside dungeons. I think there is no better example of this formula than Twilight Princess.

Compared to other pre-Breath-of-the-Wild Zelda games, Twilight Princess had a large map. Its greater sense of scale added more weight to Link’s adventure, because Hyrule felt like a whole kingdom. Twilight Princess also did a good job including a variety of different biomes, from the scorching sands of the Gerudo Desert to the frozen tips of Snowpeak. These different regions also had beautifully realized dungeons that made sense as part of the world. One example of this is the Goron Mines on Death Mountain, which really felt like a mining facility and not just a random dungeon full of monsters.

Twilight Princess also has some of my favorite Zelda minigames. As someone who enjoys white water rafting, Iza’s Rapid Ride down Zora River has always been a series highlight for me. Snowboard racing against Yeto also brought back fond memories of playing 1080° Snowboarding for the N64. While I enjoyed some of Breath of the Wild’s minigames, they just don’t feel as complete as the ones from Twilight Princess, where the world was built specifically around them.

A Successful Twilight Princess Remake Could Convince Nintendo To Reintroduce Some Classic Zelda Elements

Sales Seem To Influence The Course Of The Series

Aside from just wanting a chance to play an updated version of my favorite Zelda game, I also think a Twilight Princess remake could be good for the series as a whole. Since it came out, I have been less than thrilled with the direction of the 3D Zelda games. Skyward Sword stands out as my biggest disappointment, as it felt much too linear for my liking. Skyloft felt less like an overworld in the way that Hyrule field is in Twilight Princess, and more like an old-school level select screen with extra steps.

Breath of the Wild was a huge relief after playing Skyward Sword thanks to its freedom. It was also a huge departure for the series, and that novelty helped me really enjoy the game the first time through. However, due to its massive scale and somewhat empty world, I revisit it far less often than other Zelda games. I would hope that, if a Twilight Princess remake was a financial success, it would show Nintendo that Zelda fans miss certain elements of the older Zelda design.

While I know the ship has probably sailed for getting a Zelda game exactly like Twilight Princess, I still think there is room for the series to reintroduce certain elements of the older games. Namely, I would love more elaborate dungeons with a stronger theme. In a perfect world, a future Zelda game would also scale down the world a bit to create more deliberately designed areas like the Zora River in Twilight Princess, instead of going for a large but somewhat less distinct map.

The Original Twilight Princess Is One Of The Best-Selling Zelda Games

A Twilight Princess Remake Could Be Very Popular Based On Previous Sales Numbers

It isn’t too much of a stretch to think a Twilight Princess re-release could be a big hit for Nintendo. According to the Nintendo Wiki, Twilight Princess is the third best-selling Zelda game. Were a Twilight Princess remake to perform well again, Nintendo may be more likely to consider adding back in some elements from the game in a future installment that are currently missing from the series.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that sales numbers influence the direction of the Zelda series. Skyward Sword had one of the worst-performing initial releases for a 3D Zelda title, which led to the complete reimagining of the series in Breath of the Wild. In contrast, Breath of the Wild sold incredibly well, leading to the series staying the course with Tears of the Kingdom. Although the first Twilight Princess remake is one of the worst-selling games in the series, I don’t think a newer version would have the same issue.

The Previous Twilight Princess Remake Was On An Unpopular Console

The Wii U Sabotaged The Last Twilight Princess Remake

Twilight Princess HD was originally released on the Wii U, which is the worst-selling Nintendo console, according to Nintendo's own metrics. Looking at the number of consoles sold and software sold, the Nintendo Switch has over 10 times the sales of the Wii U in both categories. Not only did far fewer players own a Wii U than own a Switch, but Twilight Princess HD came out right near the end of the Wii U’s lifecycle. At that point, nobody was going to get the console to play the game with a new Nintendo console on the horizon.

This also means that finding copies of Twilight Princess HD has become difficult. Because fewer players bought it originally, there are far fewer in circulation, which has driven the price of the game way up. Trying to snag a copy online will cost players around $200, which also comes with the risks of buying a game secondhand. A remake of Twilight Princess on the Switch would make it much more accessible. Even if I’m wrong about it being one of the best Zelda games, I still think The Legend of Zelda fans deserve to play Twilight Princess and decide for themselves.

Sources: Nintendo Wiki, Nintendo