Aonuma confirms previously cut dungeons will not come to Wind Waker HD

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When the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was initially released for the Gamecube in 2003, longtime series director Eiji Aonuma went on the record that at least two dungeons were cut because of time constraints. In place of those missing dungeons, a Triforce scavenger hunt was added to pad the game’s length, which was met with mixed opinions. Once the HD remake of the Wind Waker was announced in January, fans expected that those missing dungeons would finally make an appearance. Well, Aonuma struck down those possibilities by confirming that no new dungeons will be added to Wind Waker HD.

In an interview with Eurogamer (full quotes below), Aunoma confesses that the previously cut dungeons won’t be added to the HD re-release because their ideas have already be used in previous Zelda titles (it is unsure which Zelda titles where these ideas were implemented . Furthermore, Aunoma mentions that the development team does not want to affect the other parts of the game and stay completely true to the Gamecube original. This news may come as a bit of disappointment to fans who wanted a true director’s cut of Wind Waker, but Aonuma did hint earlier in the week about fixing the pacing/Triforce hunt in the game’s second half.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is slated for release on the Wii U in North America this October.

“Quite honestly, those dungeons we removed we used in other games, so we can’t use them in this version! I’ve received many questions about additional content beyond what was in the GameCube version of the game, but our desire is to stay true of the story that was in the original. If we add dungeons then that will affect other parts of the GameCube version, which we really want to stay true to.”

“If it felt like there were maybe too few dungeons then I feel that what was wrong with the GameCube version was the pacing. It was thrown off because it took longer to get to certain dungeons. There was a waiting period, and then when you arrived there the experience maybe didn’t feel as big, as you’d waited so long to get there. We’re tuning the game to alleviate all that. The pacing should feel appropriate to the overall experience this time… We need to tighten those [gaps] and make the overall experience and story feel tighter.”

What do you think about Aonuma’s decision not to include the Wind Waker’s lost dungeons?Does this change your decision to pick up the HD remake? Tell us in the comments below.

Harrison Milfeld is a writer, editor, and freelance journalist from Missouri. Ever since he could walk, Harrison has been an avid fan of the world of Nintendo. For years, he has purchased every one of the company's subsequent products (yes, including the Virtual Boy and eReader). It wasn't until he was a young teen when he bought a PS2 that he began to embrace cross-console relations, a decision he doesn't regret. When he's not gaming, Harrison is looking to break into the magazine journalism industry and realize his dream of becoming a features reporter.