Porting TP to the Wii

Can someone remind me why they ported TP GC to the Wii, which is a console with backwards compatability? I mean, all you need is a GC controller and memory card. I don't mean for this to turn into a TP bashing thread, because goodness knows there are enough of them, and I realise that to some people the Gamecube is a "dead" system, but I just don't see the point.

TP was originally made for the GC, and GC games are compatable for the Wii. The only difference I can remember between GC and Wii TP is the control scheme and mirrored world for the sake of making Link right handed.

Maybe somebody told me, and I forgot. Or maybe my thought process just doesn't work the same way as other poeple. I've just been thinking this over as I play one of my Gamecube games on my Wii system.

I guess it was a way to please the fans... which ironically was the main reason Zelda fans hated it so much. I guess the idea was to get Nintendo fans all hyped up for a Wii Zelda game. I thought the game would be much better off as a Gamecube-exclusive game... It would have been the perfect farewell for the Gamecube, and I guarantee people would have liked the game much better.

A lot of people, including myself, thought it was the exact opposite: the GC version was an inferior port of the Wii version. So when I bought the GC version, I felt as though I had the "bootleg version". In fact, I was almost stupid enough to buy the Wii version, but I stumbled across ZU, and found out that it was only a port, and after playing it at the mall, I was glad I didn't buy it.

As stupid as the idea was, the idea of being able to control Link with the Wii remote, and probably the misconception that the Wii version had much better graphics, led a lot of uninformed people to purchase the game.

I too though it would be a great way to send the GC system off. One more great game before we move on to the Wii. I know some people sold their GCs just so they could better afford a Wii, but all fans didn't do that.

It definitely would have been more justified if the Wii wasn't backwards compatable, but it is. And like you said, some people actually think the Wii version is the true version.

There are a couple of minor differences (such as the mirrored world).


For the most part, it was mostly to make more money on Nintendo's end. A simple marketing scheme to sell some extra copies. Of course, we all know it worked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_anbEJsr6s

That's why.

It's sad really. The wii version is plagued by port glitches and lacks a free camera. This alone automatically makes the gamecube version the better of the two.

But from a marketing standpoint, TP would not have sold as well as it did i not for it's wii release. Nintendo was smart for tricking people into thinking it was something more than a last minute port.

For the record, flipping the world is a very very small change. There are games that offer a flipped version of itself as an unlockable! (Diddy Kong racing anyone?)

Originally Posted by Tigerboi

For the record, flipping the world is a very very small change. There are games that offer a flipped version of itself as an unlockable! (Diddy Kong racing anyone?)

Jak and Daxter come to mind as well.


My list of pros and cons:

Wii version:
- Two extra item slots (+)
- Can be played on wide-screen (+)
- 16:9 aspect ratio (+)
- 480p resolution (+)
- Link holds sword with left (-)
- Easier aiming for bow and arrow (+)
- Iron boots glitch (+)
- Sometimes faulty controls (-)
- Charge time for spin attack (but easier to do) (-)
- Crappy Wiimote speaker (-)
- Mirrored (-)

GC version:
- 480p only if you have older model GCs (+)
- Link holds sword with left hand (+)
- More precise and responsive controls (+)
- Free camera control (+)
- Infinite spin attack (+)
- True, non-mirrored version (+)
- Two less item slots (-)
- 4:3 aspect ratio (-)

Give or take a couple of minor things.

You can also backjump off your horse anytime on the GC version, and I heard you can use your shield on your horse on the GC version, not sure about that one. The shield is Automatic on both versions of the game right?

I believe the shield is on auto in both versions, and you can duck down to avoid damage in GC.

So I guess there are other differences. But besides them just trying to make more money, it doesn't make sense. I guess as a fan, I do have a different mindset than the makers, like I said earlier. I just want a quality game. They want to make money.

I remember most fans being heated over the idea of TP going on the Wii. This is when the Rev turned into the Wii and I remember tons of people including myself saying that the Wii was going to be a failure when it's name and controller were originally shown. I told everyone I'd get the GCN version because I didn't like the Wii, then they delayed the GCN version and I changed my mind.

When I saw that Link's sword would be controlled by the Wiimote I got pretty excited, and the pointing looked cool as well. It was a good marketing move because people like me decided to wait out in the rain for a brand new Wii because of Twilight Princess. And I still don't have the GCN version. D=

I dunno, taking away the free camera alone was enough to piss me off. That was like one of the BEST new things about the GCN games.

People wanted it with wii controls, so they decided to port it over to wii. I havn't tried the gamecube version, but from what I'm hearing, a free camera sounds awesome.

Also, I have a few questions...

How do the shielding mechanics differ in each version?
What is the iron boots glitch?

Originally Posted by Tigerboi

It's sad really. The wii version is plagued by port glitches and lacks a free camera. This alone automatically makes the gamecube version the better of the two.

I own the Wii version and have never experienced a single glitch. This is because I own one of the later discs, so that's not really a flaw because most disks don't have those glitches. But the free camera would have been nice, but I don't care much either way. The Wii version offers 16:9 mode...which I never really saw the difference of.

On the topic of "why," TP would have failed miserably in the commercial sense on the Gamecube. That version only sold 1.5 million copies, whereas the Wii version made about 4.5 million. So from a commercial standpoint, porting it to the Wii was a brilliant move.

If there was no Wii version, then Gamecube version would have sold much better. Maybe even 6 million, what with the 4.5 million fans not spending on another version.

Just a thought, if Nintendo released TP exclusively for the Wii only, people would never have known that the Wii version is mirrored. They would have just thought TP Link is right handed and other bits and bobs are supposed to be the way they are on the Wii version, thus no comparison.

Nevertheless i dont really know what other difference's there are on the Wii version besides TP being mirrored since i've only played the GCN version. So if i did play TP on the Wii, i would probably find it a bit awkward.

I think it was for two reasons:

1. Aonuma wanted to use the Wii controls for something Zelda related, and they saw the opportunity in TP.

2. Making it a Gamecube only game would not have been as beneficial for them.


All in all, it's a pretty logical choice they made by turning it into a Wii game to stand beside the GC title. Which is the superior version is irrelevant (hurr GC), it's all about pleasing as many as possible and simultaneously profit on it. I think they did that just fine with TP on Wii.

Plain and simple: It was a ploy to sell more Wii's.

End of Story.

Really, it's that simple. If they left it as a GC exclusive, who the hell is going to buy a Wii to play it? No one, thats who. They released the GC version later, meaning when it first came out if you wanted to play... you needed a wii. Then after they released the GC version, they limited production, meaning that if you were not among the first to get the GC version, you were forced to get a Wii.

In the end, the sole reason it was done was to help launch the Wii as at the time, the Wii had literally no momentum.

Originally Posted by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc

Plain and simple: It was a ploy to sell more Wii's.

End of Story.

That's the truth. They needed a strong first-party title for the Wii's launch, and as there were no Mario/Smash Bros available, they decided to turn TP in this launch title...

Originally Posted by Xeno

Jak and Daxter come to mind as well.


My list of pros and cons:

Wii version:
- Two extra item slots (+)
- Can be played on wide-screen (+)
- 16:9 aspect ratio (+)
- 480p resolution (+)
- Link holds sword with left (-)
- Easier aiming for bow and arrow (+)
- Iron boots glitch (+)
- Sometimes faulty controls (-)
- Charge time for spin attack (but easier to do) (-)
- Crappy Wiimote speaker (-)
- Mirrored (-)

GC version:
- 480p only if you have older model GCs (+)
- Link holds sword with left hand (+)
- More precise and responsive controls (+)
- Free camera control (+)
- Infinite spin attack (+)
- True, non-mirrored version (+)
- Two less item slots (-)
- 4:3 aspect ratio (-)

Give or take a couple of minor things.

- The hand Link holds the sword is neither a pro nor a con, it makes no difference since 1) Link is ambidextrous and 2) its a new generation of Link rather than one already existing

- There is no "fake" mirrored land so there is no "true" land. It doesn't matter which one you play, neither is the better one

- The camera control seems dumbed down from windwaker, despite being made on the same engine

- Regardless of how good the quality of the wiimote is, it shouldn't be a con at all if its included, even if it is bad

- The controls are much more precise on the Wii by a long shot. You can actually aim at enemies in battle that you can't lock on to, unlike in the GC version. It is much easier and faster to hit that pole in Kakariko without the hawkeye when you use the wiimote, rather than the GC controller.

Originally Posted by Aleitheo

- The hand Link holds the sword is neither a pro nor a con, it makes no difference since 1) Link is ambidextrous and 2) its a new generation of Link rather than one already existing

I only mention it 'cause some die-hard fans prefer to stay true to the series.

There is no "fake" mirrored land so there is no "true" land. It doesn't matter which one you play, neither is the better one

See above.

- The camera control seems dumbed down from windwaker, despite being made on the same engine

Nevertheless, having some camera control is better than having no camera control at all.

- Regardless of how good the quality of the wiimote is, it shouldn't be a con at all if its included, even if it is bad

It sounded so bad, I had to turn the damn thing off. That's a con in my book.

- The controls are much more precise on the Wii by a long shot. You can actually aim at enemies in battle that you can't lock on to, unlike in the GC version. It is much easier and faster to hit that pole in Kakariko without the hawkeye when you use the wiimote, rather than the GC controller.

Aiming aside, the movement controls rarely lag at times for the Wii. For instance, it seemed as though every time I would climb some finds the nunchuck would screw up along the way somehow.

the reason that tp was ported to the wii is because Nintendo these days are fat money grubbing A**holes i mean just look at the way they have marketed the wii its a freakin joke i mean there is a good game for the wii released like once every year and thats like one game i mean do you guys remember back to when none of the next gen systems were out yet and if somebody asked you "So what system are you looking forward to" i would immediately yell "NINTENDO REVOLUTION FTW" and i would just get blank stares and when i got my wii i felt betrayed because i had learned the sad sad truth..................NINTENDO HAD SOLD THERE SOULS FOR MONEY