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Twilight Princess Mirrored on Wii

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ambidexterous-little-elf dept.

conigs writes "As some of you may or may not know, Link will appear right-handed in the Wii version of Twilight Princess (as opposed to the left-handed Link seen since Ocarina of Time). In order to accomplish this, Nintendo has mirrored the entire game. This includes maps, since they were apparently designed with a left-handed Link in mind." Kotaku says that this will even be true in the GameCube version of Princess, to avoid confusion.

8 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Oh kaaaay... by Megane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Since some people really will want to play left-handed (I'm a lefty only when writing and eating, so not me), why not just make it a configurable option?

    But mirroring the whole freaking game? Someone couldn't have thought of just flipping the character model a year or two ago when they still had time to do it? Then people could even play the game a second time with their off hand.

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    1. Re:Oh kaaaay... by grammar+fascist · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But mirroring the whole freaking game? Someone couldn't have thought of just flipping the character model a year or two ago when they still had time to do it? Then people could even play the game a second time with their off hand.

      Think animations. If they've got Link all lined up to interact with the world, they can't very well switch his hand and expect all the animations to line up properly. It's probably much easier just to reverse everything than to recreate all the animations.

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  2. RTFA Zonk by Karma+Farmer · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Zonk says:
    Kotaku says that this will even be true in the GameCube version of Princess, to avoid confusion.

    The article says:
    in the Wii version of the game, Link would be right-handed, although he's traditionally an elfin south paw... a character trait retained on the GameCube version of the game.

    I say:
    Zonk, learn to read and stop smoking the crack.
  3. More serious design problem here by DarthParadox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is masking a more serious design problem. A game designed for use with the Wiimote should have a setting that allows the game to be played either left- or right-handed, so as to not exclude anyone. Presumably the player's actions match up to the avatar's (in this case, Link's). Therefore, it should be possible to make Link either left- or right-handed, within the game.

    The fact that this isn't possible is troubling for the prospect of lefties being able to play this game the same way righties can.

    1. Re:More serious design problem here by XenoRyet · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I imagine many, if not most, games in which it matters will be good for both righties and lefties. However, apparently Link's handedness is a factor in the level design, so it's not as easy as just including a setting within the game.

      Given that fact, and the fact that the downside is realitivly minor (I can't imagine it being too disconcerting for a left-handing motion to produce a right-handied onscreen action), it makes sense to make Link match up with the majority of the population. If the downside were bigger, I'm sure they would have redisigned for ambidexterous dungions, and made handedness a selectable setting.

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  4. Re:Technology news that matters? by frankthechicken · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If they have mirrored the entire game, then why not give an option to be either left or right handed? Surely that would be an ideal solution?

  5. Lefties get pwned again... by TheSexican · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm tired of all this nonsense where lefties get the shaft. When will game developers (and the rest of the world) learn to make things that work for both lefties and righties? Take guitar hero for example. While they did add the option to flip the way the notes are displayed on the screen, actually using the guitar upside-down sucks; the whammy bar has to be PULLED on, and the strap gets in the way, making it just that much less fun and giving me less of a reason to want to buy it. Even games with traditional controllers can be different for lefties. Try playing Tiger Woods and using your left hand to pump the power button while swinging the left analog stick back and forth with your right hand. I mean, we lefties learn to adapt, but you righties just don't realize all the little things like this that take away just enough from things to make them annoying. I will, however, give props to the makers of Brain Age and their nice, albeit simple, way of compensating for lefties. P.S. Another reason they should cater to us lefties is because we tend to have shorter lifespans, so give us a break here and enjoy your few extra years.

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  6. Re:Yeaa for me, but hmmm by acramon1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ah, well in "Link to the Past" (SNES), Link does sometimes use his sword with his right hand (when facing east). So I guess canon is that he's ambidexterous? So for a truly correct interpretation, you'd need players to be switching with their compass bearings....

    Of course, I haven't played in a long time, so maybe I'm remembering incorrectly. Anyone better versed in the topic have anything to comment?