It wasn't really needed, especially not on Wii U. The game wasn't exactly dated but a nice visual upgrade and some tweaks here and there are always welcomed, especially with games people constantly replay. It definitely helps introduce the game to the newer generation and keep it relevant with today's audience and that right there is my problem. Today.
Twilight Princess' gameplay, design, and controls were just fine. They were great then, they're great now, and they'll most likely stay great for years to come. The graphics on the other hand, which should be the focus of such a remaster, only made an old looking game look slightly better for a couple of more years (if that) before it starts to look like sh*t again. You can't say that about Wind Waker HD. I've seen people argue that Wind Waker just has a more timeless art style and that there isn't much you can do with Twilight Princess' bland visuals, but I refuse to believe that the game is doomed to look horrible.
Case in point, the Zelda tech demo for Wii U, which showcased just how beautiful Twilight Princess' visuals could look on better hardware. But let's be real, that was never going to happen. I never expected those kind of visuals. Not on Wii U and not even on NX. But, before the game was announced, it had been leaked along with images featuring this piece of art.
THIS is exactly what TP HD should have looked like and after how amazing Wind Waker HD looked (despite some unfortunate lighting) I expected no less from Nintendo which was exactly why I was so shocked by the end product.
Sure, what we have now looks better than the original but not noticeably so. Yes, the visuals are sharper and clearer than before and it's in HD but you don't get that same wow feeling you should get from a good remaster like Wind Waker HD or Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora's Mask 3D.
If Wind Waker could look even more vibrant, colorful, and timeless than we previously imagined and Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask could look exactly like the game's art work intended, why couldn't Twilight Princess be just as visually spectacular? Maybe the Wii U couldn't handle something as beautiful as the art work displayed above (which is exactly why they should have waited until the NX) but I also highly doubt that what we got now was the best they could do either.
When Halo Combat Evolved was remastered, they didn't just clean up dated visuals, they created brand new ones and layered them over the old ones so that the game looked as if it was made for modern consoles. This should have been the same story with TP but instead, we ended up with something that felt rushed.
