The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess/Controls

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For more details on advanced combat, see the Hidden Moves page.

General[edit]

GameCube Wii Wii U Action
Neutral control Neutral nunchuk Neutral lstick Move
Up cstick C button Press rstick Switch to first-person view
Neutral control Neutral nunchuk Neutral rstickNeutral lstick Move camera in first-person view
A button A button A button Perform action
L button Z button ZL button Focus or Lock on
Z button Up dpad L button Talk to Midna, Transform, Warp
Start button Plus button Down dpad Access Collection Screen
Up dpadDown dpad Minus button Plus button Toggle item-selection screen on/off, Wii U Gamepad Pause (TV mode)
Left dpadRight dpad 1 button Up dpad Access overworld map
Left dpadRight dpad 2 button Left dpadRight dpad Toggle onscreen map on/off
Start button Plus button Minus button Skip cut-scene, Toggle Wii U GamePad mode on/off
N/A Remote button N/A Move the targeting reticule onscreen

Link[edit]

GameCube Wii Wii U Action
X button Y button B button Y button X button R button Use selected item. On the Wii version, you can map three more items to Left dpad, Down dpad, and Right dpad to easily switch the item currently mapped to B button, effectively giving you four item slots.
Hold and release B button Swing Nunchuk button Hold and release B button Spin attack
NeutralSpin control+B button N/A Clockwise nunchuk/CounterClockwise nunchuk+B button Quick spin attack
B button Swing Remote button B button Swing sword. The direction of the sword swing depends on which direction the Control Stick is being held and whether Link is targeting or not.
R button while locking on Thrust Nunchuk button ZR button while locking on Shield attack

Wolf Link[edit]

GameCube Wii Wii U Action
A button A button A button Dash
B button Shake Remote button B button Bite
Hold B button Hold B button Hold B button Energy field
Hold and release B button Swing Nunchuk button Hold and release B button Spin attack (every fourth attack on GameCube/Wii U is a spin attack)
NeutralSpin control+B button N/A Clockwise nunchuk/CounterClockwise nunchuk+B button Quick spin attack
X button Left dpadRight dpad X button Activate wolf's senses
Y button Down dpad Y button Dig
Z button Up dpad L button Send Midna across gaps
Switch vs Hold
"SWITCH" causes the target to stay locked onto after the lock on button (L button for GameCube, Z button for Wii, ZL button for Wii U) is released, and pressing the lock on button a second time will change the target, or exit targeting if no other target is present. To remove targeting when others are present, Link must pull away from the enemy. "HOLD" requires the player to hold down the lock on button to target an enemy; releasing the button will disengage the lock. These settings can be reached by going to the option menu on the main menu.
Analog vs Motion
Analog controls allow for greater precision, for example, when aiming with a bow and arrow. For this precision, you sacrifice speed. Using motion like the Wii Remote gives you faster movement for your right hand as long as you keep it steady. However, you should ensure that you have sufficient room to swing your arm when using the sword. As with switch and hold, experiment with those methods to see what suits you. On the Wii U, you can move your Gamepad like a gyroscope as an option, as with using either first or third person view when using projectiles. Compare to Gamecube and Wii which is restricted to using the first person view when it comes to using projectiles.