There's a lot that could be said about what to change or add to Twilight Princess so I'm keeping it to my top 5 so this doesn't go on for so long. This will include mode additions as well.
5. Faster Animations and/or quicker movement for certain actions
Twilight Princess' gameplay in dungeons and so forth suffers from being a bit slow compared to most other Zeldas because of certain actions or animations taking too long. It often feels very clunky to go back to these slower movement speeds compared to games like MM, OoT, WWHD, and the more recently released Skyward Sword. While TP's default movement speed is fine it's specific actions such as vine climbing, ladder climbing, getting up from ledges, shimmying on ledges, and so on. This is at the bottom of my list because it isn't necessarily a want but more of a requirement and something I expect to happen because WWHD saw similar changes with things like the grappling hook grappling onto ledges faster and other speedier animation changes.
What they could do to these specifically is shift the A button's "Let Go" command to B and then add a "Climb Faster" functionality to the A button. It would feel very natural and be very similar to Skyward Sword except there wouldn't be a stamina meter (which is fine because TP wouldn't be balanced with a stamina meter in mind if they attempted to add it). This would cover most of the actions related to climbing and shimmying. Other changes would likely just involve cutting down on the time it takes to complete the animation much like the grappling hook change in WWHD.
4. Hero Mode and Boss Rush Mode
This is basically another given that will happen (well, Boss Rush mode is less so a given since it has only been in one remaster and that was OoT3D). The Hero Mode would marginally address the difficulty issues players have with the original release -- mainly that TP was just far too easy. A Boss Rush mode would simply allow players to refight bosses all in a row from Diababa to Ganondorf final phase. I would love if it also included mini-bosses since some of TP's mini-bosses feel like actual bosses themselves but I don't expect it. In addition to the Rush aspect you would also be able to fight the bosses individually similar to OoT3D where you could choose to fight a boss from a menu instead of just the Rush aspect. It would be a good idea to add the Boss Rush/Boss Mode because there's no way to refight the bosses in TP without just starting a fresh save file again.
Ideally, Hero Mode would involve x4 the damage from enemies and bosses (since enemies and by extension bosses do such pitiful damage in TP) and no hearts in grass/pots. It would be even better if they completely removed fairies from pots as well but I know for a fact they won't go that far even if it would do a lot of good to force the player to actually spend ruppees. Especially since there's never really a moment in TP where you feel like you'll run out of ruppees (except for one Heart Piece in Castle Town). It would do a lot of good to make ruppees meaningful if it meant you had to buy fairies at shops instead of the easy way out of getting a fairy in a dungeon for free or right before the boss door.
In addition, it would be great if they took the Wii mirrored world and applied it to Hero Mode much like they mirrored the world in OoT3D's MQ (Master Quest). The work is already done for it so why not? If they don't, it's no great loss to me, though.
Oh and obviously Hero Mode should be available from the start like in WWHD.
3. Hyrule Field has no loading zones, completely "open world"
Nintendo touted Hyrule Field as a big world back before TP was being released. Sadly, the world didn't feel very open or connected because it was broken up into small areas by loading zones. It's understandable that areas like Lake Hylia and Kakariko Village would be broken off with loading zones because these areas are very self-contained with their own events and AI to maintain. However, Hyrule Field itself was broken up into pieces and it felt very disjointed. Going from the first part of Hyrule Field you enter into and heading to the East you would find yourself coming to an awkwardly placed loading zone -- a road going off way farther than it actually does when you pass through it on the other side. It's very jarring.
Removing the loading zones in at least Hyrule Field would make the overworld more of a joy to run around in and create a sense of a more connected world. Even if they leave places like Kakariko Village with loading zones it will still do a lot of good for the game. It will also make hunting for bugs out in the field much less of an annoyance. And it would give us a "preview" of what an open world Zelda might be like (even if it's just, like I said, Hyrule Field without any loading zones).
This is another change likely to happen because Aonuma (or Miyamoto?) commented on having done this in their early tests for a 3D Zelda game to remaster back in 2013's Direct before they went ahead and chose Wind Waker to give the HD treatment. Undoubtedly Nintendo would have this in their list of changes they gave to Tantalus. It's just a matter of making sure it works well and doesn't cause any long-term issues (which it shouldn't).
2. Streamlining the Tears of Light Sections
This really should be my number one but you'll see why it isn't in a moment. The Tears of Light portions of Twilight Princess are infamously bad. They are a complete slog and not fun the first time through the game and they're not fun on replays (even if they are shorter because you know where they all are located). However, the Tears of Light sections are deeply rooted into the game's narrative so it's hard to say if they will actually touch them at all -- quite a few of the Tears are attached to scripted sequences and one of them is even a boss! So, obviously they couldn't remove those parts of the Tears.
However, I am a firm believer they could streamline these so the player isn't spending as much time as many commonly did in the original release. Probably the best way to accomplish this is simply cutting down the sections by a few tears. Remove some of the extraneous tears, the ones that aren't attached to scripted sequences. Of course, they have to keep some of the non-scripted ones but there's enough of them in each section where they could remove like three or four and the game would be all the better for it. These sections really stay far longer than they are welcome, especially because these sections comprise at least 3-4 hours of the beginning of the game! In fact, it's because of the first Tears of Light collecting you don't even get to the first dungeon until at least well into the first 2-3 hours of the game.
These sections are extremely similar to the Triforce Quest in Wind Waker. They pad the game out for the first three dungeons and they are not fun. Playing as Wolf Link in other parts of the game is more enjoyable but during these parts he is not fun -- it makes returning to TP dreadful and I hope Nintendo was aware enough to jot down some ideas on how to streamline these sections for Tantalus. Otherwise, slogging through these again will just be a solid reminder that the beginning of TP (the first 8 hours) is just a mess.
1. Streamline the Introduction (aka from Ordon Village to Obtaining the Sword)
What most people remember the most from Twilight Princess is not the final boss. No, what people remember the most (in a not so fond way) is the beginning first two hours of it -- from when Link starts in Ordon Village to obtaining his sword (some people even consider up to when you get to the first dungeon as well). The beginning is terribly notorious for being overloaded with unnecessary tutorials, hand-holding the player, and particularly bloated with story (though you can skip cutscenes as you wish, but that still doesn't cut down the beginning very much). Yes, it makes sense for the beginning of the game to establish characters and story but this is Zelda and an introduction in Zelda should take no more than 10 minutes -- hell, even less than that if A Link to the Past is anything to go by.
Twilight Princess' beginning introduces a ton of characters that have no plot relevancy the moment you leave Ordon Village. You spend time with these characters through the course of "3 days" (as denoted by the game, not real life 3 days time) and help them with various boring chores. The chores are meant to act as tutorials but. . . unfortunately these chores barely reflect what you will actually be doing inside dungeons and in Hyrule Field.
You have to rescue a baby from a monkey, fish for a cat to get some food (you get the slingshot for doing this if I remember correctly, either that or it's a free bottle), you use a hawk to knock down a bee hive for a man who wants the honey, herd goats (twice!), "show off your skills" to some random kids (where only one of them has any plot relevancy later in the game), and rescue one of the kids which acts as a combat tutorial with your sword.
A majority of these chores, no, 90% of these tutorials are completely irrelevant to the game after Ordon. You never interact with these characters again (save for a few) and what they teach you can already be figured out on your own or don't teach you anything (such as the hawk nonsense). Most of these tutorials have no application in the game anywhere after you have completed them -- they are only there to blurt out story and try to give us a reason or motivation to go after Illia. Which, frankly, in a Zelda game the player barely needs any reason/motivation to rescue anyone.
Anyway, my suggestion for streamlining the introduction is simply this: in the dialogue tree of any of the villagers you have to help, at the end, they need to ask "Will you do this for me?" And you will be given a Yes/No option. If you pick No, you will skip the chore entirely and continue onto the next story beat/tutorial. The player misses nothing important to the narrative, only skipping the completely unnecessary tutorial. The only thing this would not apply to would be the second time you have to herd Goats as it is essentially a requirement because story happens during it if I recall correctly. But you could absolutely apply it to the first time you have to herd goats.
If you pick Yes, you will obviously have to do the chore/tutorial for the person. Anything that has a "reward" attached to it for doing it would either be required (so you may have to still do the fishing) or something the player can return to do before leaving Ordon on the 3rd day.
If they do not touch the introduction to the game at all, this HD remaster was a completely missed opportunity to remove some of TP's blemishes and frankly would be extremely disappointing. But unlike the Tears of Light sections, I have some optimism for this to be altered in the way I want as Nintendo is keenly aware TP had pacing issues at the beginning of the game and they have long since trying to get away from long introduction sequences in Zelda games (see: A Link Between Worlds and even to some extent Skyward Sword, though its intro is still one of the longer ones but not as egregious as TP).
Honorable Mention
Yes I have an honorable mention and it's more of a personal desire than something I expect them to do and I'm sure I'm the only person who really wants this...
Unlockable Ordon Clothes Upon Save File Completion
You read that correctly. I want the clothes Link wears while in Ordon Village at the beginning of the game to be obtainable in the same way Link in Wind Waker wears his pajamas after you've beaten the game once and save to a new save file slot. Just imagine the hilarity of seeing Ordon clothed Link in cutscenes and especially in serious ones or vs Ganondorf! It would be great and give a reason to play TP a second time. I thought for sure they would do this in the original release but alas they did not.
It would be even more amazing if they gave you the shirtless option as well (the version of the outfit Link wears in the wrestling mini-game vs the villager Bo to obtain the Iron Boots). It would be a great combination of fan service and add comedic value.
So, those are my Top 5 changes and additions I want to see in Twilight Princess HD. Do you agree with my list? Is there something you think is more deserving instead? What are your top 5 changes or additions? Sound off in the comments! (If you want...)
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