The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, in HD thanks to emulation

by JC Fletcher on Nov 17th 2011 6:15PM

Whenever a new Wii game comes out, players set to work opening up the PC-based Dolphin emulator, upscale the graphics to HD resolution, and take screenshots for us to drool over -- like the Skyward Sword images posted on the software's forum.

The normally soft, watercolor-y backgrounds look a little strange in HD -- we can't decide if it's more of the intended effect, or just oddly blurry. But there's no such conflict when it comes to the characters -- they look amazing. We're just going to cross our fingers for upscaling functionality when the Wii U comes along.

Via: Gameranx, @patrickklepek
Source: Dolphin

Tags: dolphin, emulator, Legend-of-Zelda-2010, nintendo, pc, The-Legend-of-Zelda-Skyward-Sword, wii

Reader Comments (65)

"We're just going to cross our fingers for upscaling functionality when the Wii U comes along."

I've been asking this all along... a deal breaker for me if the Wii U does not upscale Wii games... I have an extensive backlog of Wii games with no real motivation to play them on the 'tube' TV... otherwise, upscaling AV receiver will have to be my only option.

@Lordd G It's not really upscaling that you want. Your TV upscales the content to display it on whatever resolution the panel is.

What you want is what Dolphin does, which is actually render the game at a higher resolution.... and yeah, I hope the Wii U does that too, because I've tried Dolphin and it looks amazing...I'm just not holding my breath.

@jhoff80
The problem is that some games (like Twilight Princess) have graphics issues when they are rendered in some HD resolutions. In the case a of Twilight Princess, heat radiation effects do not render properly and glitch all over the place when rendered in any widescreen format.

At least that applies to the Gamecube version. I'm not sure if that issue persists in the Wii one.

@Lordd G
Nintendo........please listen to this man....please

@jhoff80

Neither am I. And it's a shame, really...
I don't think it would be too difficult, given that the 360 could handle HD XBOX emulation (although the wise and mighty EatChildren disagrees with me), and HD Wii playback would be a system-selling killer feature, but we both know that Nintendo are too lazy to actually do it. It's a shame really; how incompetent the true veteran of the console wars can be...

@TRONdll

" In the case a of Twilight Princess, heat radiation effects do not render properly and glitch all over the place when rendered in any widescreen format."

I'd say that has less to do with how the game is rendered and more to do with QA; Nintendo put a tremendous amount of emphasis on TP as a Wii launch title and I image they spent more time quashing bugs and glitches on that version compared to the Gamecube port.

@Lordd G

As much as I currently have no interest in a WiiU, I fully agree that native upscaling of Wii games would be a huge potential selling point and it would be foolish not to include it.

@jackal

Perhaps this is simply quibbling over semantics but Twilight Princess was a Gcube game that was delayed so they could port it to the Wii not a Wii game that was ported to the Gcube.

Hence why half the complains it got on the Wii were that it looked like a GameCube game...... because it was.

@Scuffles

I understand that it's a GC game ported to the Wii, I'm just saying that Nintendo marketed the Wii version quite heavily compared to its GC twin and that more time was most likely spent polishing the version that was anticipated to move the most copies.

@Lordd G
Nah, don't worry. They will re-release these games in HD and then you'll have to buy them again. LOL! Just like what's happening now on the recent HD releases of games. :)

@Lordd G Nintendo already confirmed that Wii games will not output in HD on the Wii U.
http://www.1up.com/news/wii-games-wont-look-nicer-wii-u

@isotrex If that happens, I shall leave a Post-It on Nintendo's door that reads: "It's been real, Nintendo. - Lordd G."

Ooh very nice!!! Cant wait for that

Gotta love Dolphin. It makes Wii games look damn gorgeous.

Microsoft should buy nintendo

@Timjoy

Nah

@Timjoy Fall flat on your face then rinse and repeat.

@Timjoy
They tried.
They Failed.

Now move along please.

@Timjoy Nintendo should buy you.

@Timjoy Why is everyone so against this idea? Nintendo absolutely sucks when it comes to a system with modern day online capabilities, and things aren't looking any better with the Wii U.

@Calatia Maybe because nintendo's system are not heavily based on online capabilities?

@Timjoy
I love ninty (or their games at least) and I want them to stop making consoles. Imagine how amazing this game would look (It already looks amazing) on PS3 of 360. I do love me a 3DS, though...

@Timjoy
Since we're playing this game...
If Microsoft just dropped out of video games and nintendo hires them for cheap to do their online that would be great. There are not that many Microsoft first parties left at this point so why not?

@TwEE
Ya'll talk like the weak online components are a weakness, and to a point they are. But I can’t tell you how much I love not having to pay DLC for my Wii games. I know when I buy Skyward Sword Sunday, I’m getting the full game, not half a game where I’d have to pay another $60 for bombchus, elemental arrows, or the last several dungeons. I love not paying money to play Mario Kart or Goldeneye online. I LOVE not having online passes for used games, and I LOVE buying new games for Club Nintendo goodies like posters or Game and Watch cartridges. And I love how polished the games are upon launch, not bug ridden affairs that still need months and several megabytes of patches. Wiiware size limits and the lack of game invites or in game voicechat do suck but in my eyes that’s been a small price to pay to not deal with the rest of the industry’s BS.

No joke! Dolphin makes this game look like a constant work of art with each frame!

It's not upscaled, the emulator actually renders everything in 1080p.

@(Unverified) Yep, that's correct. Saying this is just product of upscaling is very, very wrong. The emulator renders every polygon and texture with their lighting, etc., from scratch. And I doubt the Wii U will be able to do much to improve Wii games. I wish emulators weren't so illegalish.

@therain83
Emulators are not illegal. Playing pirated games on them are.

@fohf Even if you own the hardware and the original game, it's illegal because you're violating the EULAs. Remember that the game is not yours, you just paid the right to play it, on the hardware that corresponds.
You can quote all the loopholes and fair uses you want, but this is black and white, sadly.

@(Unverified)

This. There is a VERY clear distinction between upscaling and re-rendering that needs to be made.

@therain83

Since when are UELA's law?

You are not breaking any laws, nor are you a criminal, by not following a company's EULA.

Violating the EULA might allow nintendo to break off relations with you, maybe ban your console, but that doesn't seem like it would accomplish much.

@Kinthalis, If you disabled WiiConnect24, Nintendo won't be able to ban your console then, now can they? I turned off WC24 a long time ago. Backed up all my legally purchased Wii games to a HDD, too. As far as I know, EULA isn't a legally binding contract, so I agree with you.

I thought Nintendo already stated that the Wii U will do nothing to Wii games.

I would go by a wii right now if it looked like that.

@Uncommon It's a great game anyway, I've been playing it all week in standard def and I'd say it would be well worth getting a Wii for.
I plan to buy it even though I could just continue to play my burned copy for free.

The only reason the Wii U won't do this is because Nintendo don't want it to. They want to re-sell you the Wii U exclusive version, heavily advertising the 'IN FULL HD!!!' aspect as if they'd performed some kind of rare magic. And don't forget the inconsequential addition of a map to the second screen on the ridiculous controller.

@Dick Socrates

No that isn't really true. While the wii gained tons of family friendly players and casual gamers with the with the wii try lost plenty due to tech limits, hardcore games and HD. While your line of thinking works when talking about the latest apple products or high profile dlc, it's silly to think Nintendo saving HD as a marketing tool for 6 years later. Sure they will market it, but it's a necessity now.

@Dick Socrates This is absolutely correct. HD rereleases would be a gold mine for Nintendo, and is probably the exact reason why the Wii U will not upscale Wii games.

Wouldn't you be interested in a Mario Galaxy HD collection? Or a Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword HD collection? Of course you would be and I'm sure Nintendo is planning on taking advantage of that.

@KentBrockman
No I wouldn't. I already own the games and they look fine in SD. Frankly I'd be pissed if they pulled that crap in the Wii U's lifecycle unless they did it Metroid Prime Trilogy style, but even then I wouldn't buy them.

Wow...you mean it doesn't look like that it the real game?

that looks really really good... too bad its all lies :(

thanks, joystiq. now nintendo's lawyers going to take down dolphin emulator. :P

To be honest, this is how I am playing the game. Yes I have a Wii and Yes I'll be getting the game.

but, the Wii is too weak and my PC is powerful. 1080p HD Zelda =D

looks great . how do u do it????

@Undulation You're dumb. You don't need to pirate to use Dolphin. You can rip games that you have purchased. Further, Joystiq left a huge disclaimer on their Xenoblade article about how they don't support pirating. That article described how to hack your Wii to play an imported game that you payed money for.

Dingus.

I don't think you actually read what he wrote

Just further proof that the Wii is a PoS. It was a borderline PoS when it was released in 2006, but now… in 2011. If it were a laptop, it would the laptop that is two cycles out-of-date that you give to you grandparents just so they could check their e-mail.

@Calatia, Here we go again http://memegenerator.net/cache/instances/400x/9/9237/9459297.jpg

@Calatia

The bitter tears of fanboys taste delicious.

@Undulation

By your logic, Eurogamer did little more than advocate piracy when they used a PS2 emulator and Team ICO's last generation games to show how certain games would look or perform like if they were remastered and re-released on the Playstation 3. Using an emulator to get an idea of how a game's visual makeup could be improved when more powerful hardware is present is not piracy nor is it an acceptance of piracy.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, in HD thanks to emulation

Reader Comments (65)

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:23PM Lordd G said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:32PM jhoff80 said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:47PM TRONdll said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:35PM legacybush said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:15PM Esposch said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:21PM jackal said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 10:07PM Scuffles said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 10:16PM Scuffles said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 6:17AM jackal said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 8:34AM isotrex said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 11:40AM KentBrockman said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 11:48AM Lordd G said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:23PM Deividas said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:23PM VolcomStone32x said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:31PM Timjoy said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:40PM The Cole Train said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:15PM legacybush said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:39PM Super Nintendo Chalmers said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:50PM Silent Intent said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 9:50PM Calatia said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 10:37PM DVecc said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 10:47PM KirbyCommando said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 11:33PM TwEE said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 12:26PM Vic Fontaine said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:32PM pluupy said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:32PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:40PM therain83 said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:01PM fohf said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:02PM therain83 said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:11PM Esposch said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 10:08AM Kinthalis said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 11:52AM therandomizer said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:41PM roaringbee said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:44PM Uncommon said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 7:23AM Berg said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:49PM Dick Socrates said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:18PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 11:49AM KentBrockman said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 1:15PM Vic Fontaine said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:52PM Timjoy said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 6:55PM PR0F3TA said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:20PM sleepwheel said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:44PM xiLeShadow said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:46PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 7:46PM Goob said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:52PM Acosta02 said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:09PM Calatia said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 9:19AM therandomizer said

Posted: Nov 18th 2011 9:47AM DekuTree said

Posted: Nov 17th 2011 8:31PM jackal said

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