Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess Review

In talking about perfection in games, there are very few names that deserve that kind of accolade. If the business situation demands it, once great titles may need to be compromised in the name of the bottom line. Even great gaming franchises experience bumps in the road or unexpected problems. Many players considered Wind Waker a letdown; too much ocean, not enough story. Now that Link is back on dry land, he has found his feet again. The Legend of Zelda is gaming at its pure best. Created by a man who enjoyed walking in the woods and exploring the caves near his childhood home, Zelda captures the fun, the excitement, the danger that every game dreams of delivering. For most gamers, the adventures of Link and the story of Zelda have never failed to deliver. The latest chapter in the cyclic Legend, Twilight Princess, had the fate of not only Hyrule but a brand-new gaming platform resting on its shoulders. It has - almost unreasonably well - borne up under the pressure. Link saves himself and the princess from the darkness of evil, and the Wii from the darkness of financial misfortune. Read on for my impressions of the latest chapter in gaming's greatest dynasty - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

• Title: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Publisher/Developer: Nintendo
• System: Wii (GameCube)

When I was trying to think about what I enjoyed the most about this game, what I came up with surprised me. It's not the amazing controls. It's not the story, or the realistic graphics, the sound design or the dungeon puzzles. It's the fact that, for the first six hours or so of the game you think it's 'just' going to be another Zelda game. Twilight Princess opens with some fairly standard elements. Elfin boy, lives in the forest, helps his neighbors, yadda yadda, bad thing happens, boy is the guy fortold in legend, etc, etc, oh he's a wolf that's neat, kill the bad guys, yeah, yeah. It's not bad, to be sure. It's ... well, it's Ocarina of Time. You're moving around, doing puzzles, advancing the plot, and enjoying the control scheme. If the first several hours of the game were indicative of the overall experience, I would have walked away satisfied but not overly impressed.

They go by fairly quickly during this extended introduction period, but there are hints of the differences to come early in the game. The twilight creature Midna, who sort of 'adopts' Link in his wolfen form, is unusually cynical for a Zelda title. She has an honestly funny sense of humor, and seems to delight in manipulating events towards some goal we're not privvy to. Zelda herself is distant and remorseful, the art style of the twilight world is very distinctive - the game has a serious tone from the get-go.

What begins to happen, as you pass beyond the introductory period and move into the game proper, is that you stop crawling. You start running. After the long tutorial, your legs stretch out and before you know it you're looking around at a game that demands your continued movement. The element that shifts Twilight Princess beyond Ocarina is the sheer momentum that the game builds as it hurtles forward through the story. There's so much to see, so much to do, that the game stops being 'another Zelda' and becomes Zelda in its purest form. There are references throughout the game to other chapters in the series, and you begin to realize that you aren't just playing some schmo here: you are playing with the Hero of Legend.

The gravitas which sinks that idea in is echoed in every element of the game. Link isn't the hero foretold by the marketing department when they dreamed up this game's ad campaign. Link is a hero, and you know it. You've been there, in other times and other places, helping other Links to complete the quests that made those Links into legends. When you pick up the boomerang, or the bow and arrow, it's not just another item upgrade. These are the tools of a hero, going all the way back to snagging that boomerang off of a dead moblin in the first dungeon of the very first game.

That may sound overly dramatic, but it's something that has to be experienced to be believed. The Wiimote control scheme is the first stepping stone. The fear Zelda fans expressed when it was announced you were going to have to waggle to swing your sword was palpable. They needn't have worried; holding your hands apart in your lap, destroying your enemies with a quick flick of the wrist, is the most natural thing in the world. Most impressively, you'll even find there are a few 'Wii Sports' moments in the game. There is no in-game need for you to do a completely elaborate overhand slash into the boss's weak point ... but it's a hell of a lot of fun. The control scheme turns the spin attack into a regular part of your routine, too. With no need for charging up, a simple gesture with your nunchuck hand sends mobs of enemies to their doom.

The controls fit seamlessly with other traditional Zelda elements, as well. Complex themed dungeons and brain-breaking puzzles litter the game. Each holds not only the simple pleasures of tackling room after room of enemies and traps, but pits you against a mini-boss and a end-boss for each labyrinth. The bosses further the game's seriousness, pitting you against devious creatures which require unique strategies to put down. Likewise, puzzles are likely to force you to utilize every tool you've been taught and every item you've been given to overcome them. Even if you have to spend twenty or thirty minutes staring at one puzzle element, you'll always get it eventually. Twilight Princess has no cheap tricks or unfair moments; solving a puzzle is always a cause for celebration, not for throwing your Wiimote.

It's the Wiimote, of course, that makes these bosses and puzzles work so well. Aiming for targets with the boomerang or bow and arrows is just a matter of pointing. Because all of the buttons (A, B, C, Z) are so close together, and so distinctly placed on the two parts of the controller, performing quick presses with any of them is just a matter of reacting. There's never a need to think 'Which one is B, now?' You just know.

The slow buildup at the start of the game is what makes that possible. Your thorough grounding in the 'basics of Twilight Princess' leaves you well-prepared for the unpredictability of the later portions of the game. You'll bounce back and forth between light and darkness, freeing portions of Hyrule as a wolf, and then returning to the light to exterminate the twilight beasts with your sword and shield. In the twilight realm, Midna rides atop your furry back, while in the light she hides within your own shadow. In both realms, she offers advice whenever she feels it's appropriate, as well as hints as to what to do next. Once you've begun defeating shadow creatures, she'll offer you teleportation services across Hyrule as well. It's a truly great experience, to have the option to bop across Hyrule or make your way via more conventional means.

The game's teleportation service, and the availability of Link's horse Epona throughout the majority of the storyline are just more pieces of the well-made path the designers have laid down: Even though this title is in the neighborhood of 70 hours of content, there are no wasted moments. As good as Final Fantasy XII is, the need to grind levels means that some portions of your quest are, ultimately, forgettable. Twilight Princess is just the opposite. You'll never find yourself unable to do something you shouldn't be able to. Traveling between dungeons, you'll find hidden niches of goodies, new heart containers, even mini-dungeons that make you suspect every boulder and bush of containing an unseen realm. If you see something you can't reach you can move on without frustration; you'll get back to it eventually.

Whatever that unattainable object is, chances are you can see it from quite a ways away. Despite the (relatively) underpowered nature of the Wii, Twilight Princess is a very, very beautiful game. To an eye used to the slickness of the 360 or PS3, some portions of the games textures can certainly appear muddy and dull. The difference in image quality between AV cables and component cables is also quite striking; unartistically abstract portions of the game pop to life with the increase in visual quality. What the game lacks in graphical power, though, is more than made up for by the sheer amount and precision of the graphics. Zelda's huge environment is lovingly laid out, with every portion of the world having received careful attention. Places like Hyrule Castle, Death Mountain, and Kakariko Village are instantly recognizable, but look quite different from previous incarnations. The game's audio needs no qualifiers. I've been a fan of the music in Zelda games since the original 8-bit theme kept me up at night. This title's score is equal parts tradition and originality. The twilight realm, especially, moves the horizon of the game's musical landscape. Twisted, vaguely mechanical sounds are now a part of the instrumental selections, and the game's use of music to build mood is carefully laid down. Both visually and auditorally, Twilight Princess is a feast.

The game is not flawless, of course. If you don't like adventure games, or the Zelda series, there is nothing here that will change your perspective. Likewise, while I don't think the extreme visual style of Wind Waker would have been appropriate here, I wouldn't have objected to some slightly more stylized graphical elements. Titles like Okami and Final Fantasy XII have proven what you can get out of an aging console if you focus on style over realism; it might have been interesting to see what such a marriage could reap with a Zelda title.

These are minor, minor quibbles. Zelda is nothing less that the most precisely crafted adventure game of the last several years. Twilight Princess may be the finest adventure game ever made, for the simple reason than it encompasses the entire possibility range that the genre offers. Every single gameplay element you could think to see in an adventure game is here, and many novel and interesting new pieces besides. As you move forward through the game you're constantly challenged with new ideas, new items, new puzzles, new gameplay elements; what you are actually doing within the game never stands still. If boredom can be defined as repetition, you will be hard pressed to point at any section of the title and call it boring.

The path the designers have laid down leads from the last generation to the next. They've built this game on series traditions, and fitted the stones into place with the tools of their 'new gen' console. The highest praise I can think to give to a game is to say that it is fun. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is an awful, awful lot of fun. Not only is it a reason to buy a Wii, it's proof that despite all of our doubts, despite the fears that they'd gone crazy-nutso with this 'waggling' thing, they really know what they're doing. Truly, perhaps, the best part of this whole scenario is the date on the calendar. This was a launch title. If they can so finely craft the entertainment experience of a Wii title this early in the console's life, one can only hope that future titles will be able to build on the lessons of Twilight Princess. Zelda won't be the best game on the system. Down the line, I look foward to more memorable, physically involving, and deeply moving experiences on Nintendo's little white box.

Any Gamecube reviews?

Has anyone reviewed the gamecube version? I realize that the wii is the more inexpensive of the new consoles, but it is still outside my price range. I'm interested in hearing how the game is without all the waving and what not. Will this be like having a 3-d movie but no glasses for those of us still on the cube?

Re:Any Gamecube reviews?

The GameCube version doesn't come out until Wednesday or so. My guess is they didn't want it cannibalizing into Wii sales. Personally, I'll probably be getting the GCN version simply because I can't find a Wii to play on.

Re:Any Gamecube reviews?

I'm interested in hearing how the game is without all the waving and what not. Will this be like having a 3-d movie but no glasses for those of us still on the cube?

Twilight Princess was originally developed for the cube, then ported to the Wii late in development. So it's likely that the controls will not feel unnatural to anyone who's played Ocarina of Time.

Re:Any Gamecube reviews?

Ocarina of Time is at least a seven year old N64 game, not a gamecube game.

Twilight Princess is more of a direct descendent of OoT than of Wind Waker. While those who played Wind Waker loved the game, it was met with some rather critical reactions from Zelda fans. So Nintendo went back to the tried and true formula established in OoT to produce a new, yet traditional Zelda for the Gamecube. Unfortunately, development took a LONG time. (A couple of years, in fact.) By the time they were ready to release, they decided to just delay the game and release it for the Wii.

Re:Any Gamecube reviews?

I dunno if I would agree that everyone who played Wind Waker loved it. Most of us got over the "but it looks like it's for little kids" bullshit, the artistic style was the least of my worries (as well as most other people who finally played it, that I've talked with), but the "huge boring ocean" does really cut into the enjoyment factor quite a bit, it turns what could have been an "excellent little game" into a "excellent but extremely flawed little game".

Twilight Princess is neither flawed nor little, though. Sure, the OoT references are many, and the traditional dungeon progression is back, but it's not OoT for the sheer reasons that the story is about 10x as deep, the atmosphere is darker than Majora's Mask (my previous favorite in the series), and its character portrayal could go give a contemporary Final Fantasy a run for its money, any day of the week... not typical for Zelda.

I now understand that when Nintendo was talking about making Zelda a more mature game, they weren't talking about adding gore or death or sexual references, they weren't talking about making Link into the 15-year-old male's teen idol... they were talking about making the whole experience more sophisiticated, for lack of a better term, and I think they outdid themselves in this regard.

Unfortunately, it's holding at 11th best game at GameRankings.com, when OoT has always remained #1... strangely, however, almost everyone who pits it against OoT agrees that it is a far superior game, so I don't know how they get off with that. I think TP is even more gutsy, breaking away from its traditionally 2-dimensonal (story and character-wise) roots, then OoT was for its time.

Re:Any Gamecube reviews?

1up doesn't have its GameCube review up yet, but there is a fairly extensive preview [1up.com] of the game on that system.

I honestly can't imagine playing it without the Wiimote, though. Slashy slashy!

All said and done...

... I think I liked Okami better.

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/920500.asp [gamerankings.com]

I thought Zelda was *very* good, but I think the controls turned out a bit... awkward, for lack of a better word. I think they worked quite well, but it never felt really natural. Also, it's honestly time for some voice acting Zelda. All in all a fantastic game though!

Re:All said and done...

Why is it time for voice acting?

Text works perfectly fine and you don't have to deal with crappy dubbing as it crosses the ocean. Just use your imagination and you have all the voice acting you want.

Re:All said and done...

Because Shodan wouldn't be nearly as creepy nor is Irenicus nearly as cold-blooded if they were just text. Bad voice acting can ruin a game, but it's no reason to not even try.

But this is an adventure gaming genre where "Magic sword east. Good luck!" tends to be considered the height of exposition. So the bar isn't particularly high after all.

I agree

I have to say that I agree with your opinion of this game. When I first purchased my Wii, this was the one additional game that I purchased and I've been very pleased. Fortunately, my wife isn't interested in adventure games -- or else we'd be fighting over game time.

wow

I have always been a huge Zelda fan, but I wasn't sure if I could justify purchasing the wii just for twilight princess. Now I'll have to rethink that decision.

480 resolution?

Where are these high-res (relatively speaking) images coming from, since the Wii only produces 480p?

Re:480 resolution?

These images look _remarkably_ like the screenshots that have been floating around for months - screenshots that look _far_ nicer than the in-game screenshots taken by other reviews.

How about snapping your own, Zonk? Or at least making note that Nintendo basically handed these out?

Re:480 resolution?

I get all of the images for the Slashdot videogame reviews from GameTab [gametab.com], which hosts the buckets and buckets of promo screenshots that game companies put out. I'm not actually on that many PR lists, so I use this resource to ensure there are shinies on our game reviews.

I agree with the implication you're making: Twilight Princess did *not* look that good on my TV. But, it didn't look half bad either. I just got the component cables for the Wii the other day, and on my set (which does up to 1080i), it looks really really nice. I'd rather have slightly nicer-than-the-real thing images than nothing at all, which is what my choice was here.

The request you're making, that I take my own screenshots, is something that I'd very much like to do myself. However, I'm just not set up for such a thing here. See, the first step along that path would be to hook a PC up to my home entertainment setup. As I have a.) a wife and b.) no spare PCs lying around, that plan pretty much stalls out before it even leaves the hanger. :)

Weirdest Wii attachments

Am I the only one with visions of attachments like these [tinypic.com] developing to the extreme. The sex industry only has to copy THX-1138 and make millions!

Nice work

Well done, Zonk. A most excellent review: one of the best I've read for anything

So I don't "exactly" control the sword?

I posted this in the Two Weeks of Wii thread, but this seems more appropriate here.

I'll admit. If I look in the mirror I might just see a Nintendo flavored Kool-Aid mustache.

But...

I am all for the new innovation the Wiimote offers, but after playing Zelda TP for about 20 hours, I really don't think its integration with the Wii is anything special. I understand it was originally a GameCube game, but even as great as the game is, I think it still is a GameCube game for the Wii. Where with Wii Sports the movements of the players mimic what you do, with Zelda you just shake the Wiimote when you want Link to strike with his sword. I noticed in the E3 vids showing gameplay of Mario Galaxy (or whatever its called) you shake the Wiimote to do a superwarp or superjump. That struck me as weird, like it wasn't an instinctive motion. Why can't you just map that to a button? Did you need to put the motion sensitivity in there somewhere so sword equals jiggle the Wiimote, THERE YOU GO? If the motion can be replaced by a button, I don't see it causing excitement. I see a lot of developers thinking "How can we incorporate the wiggle?" I hope soon enough they figure out how this new interface really works. Hopefully Trauma Center and Elebits can be used for a future template on why there is motion sensitivity in the first place!

Re:So I don't "exactly" control the sword?

Some elements of TP really do use the motion sensing to good effect, I think. The aiming of the slingshot, bow, and grapple are not that interesting, since the same thing can be accomplished using the analog stick. But Link's shield attack is invoked by jabbing the nunchuk, which is pretty intuitive, and the stab is done by stabbing with the Wiimote. And you reel in your fish by reeling on the nunchuk. Overall I thought the control scheme was pretty good.

But I still think the best part of the Wii controller is that I can use what amounts to a Gamecube controller cut in half. I don't have to sit with my hands cramped together.

Whatever Nintendo does they'll always be bashed...

The game is not flawless, of course....I don't think the extreme visual style of Wind Waker would have been appropriate here, I wouldn't have objected to some slightly more stylized graphical elements. Titles like Okami and Final Fantasy XII have proven what you can get out of an aging console if you focus on style over realism; it might have been interesting to see what such a marriage could reap with a Zelda title.

Wow. You're not the first one to say that. It's funny how Nintendo were completely lambasted for making the Wind Maker cell shaded so they decided to take Twilight Princess in the art direction that the fans wanted. And now they're criticized to making the game too dark and gritty?

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Re:Whatever Nintendo does they'll always be bashed

I actually *loved* Wind Waker's look. What I didn't like was that it was rushed out the door to meet with the demands of Nintendo's corporate strategy. It (almost) felt like the over-compensated with Twilight Princess. Wind Waker is short, and kind of spartan, while Twilight Princess is just *so much game* that it can feel a little overwhelming at parts.

As for Princess's look, I just think that the art style they used in the twilight realm was infinitely more interesting than the off-the-shelf fantasy feel of the light world. I'm like most gamers: I like seeing new stuff. More newness in the visual style would have just been even more icing on an already delicious cake.

Veers away from classic Zelda

I purchased this game along with my Wii. Having played most of the previous Zelda games (NESx2, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, OoT, Seasons, Ages, Minish Cap, Wind Waker), I have a certain idea of what I expect in a Zelda game versus say Final Fantasy games. I am currently 9 hours in to Z:TP and have been sorely disappointed. Never before has Zelda included required+very difficult mini-games (sumo training, jousting, sumo match, etc). While I enjoy the main game, and the control scheme is pretty intuitive, these mini-games make me feel like I'm playing something other than Zelda.

The Zelda scheme has always been get item, use new item to beat dungeon, use new item to get to next dungeon, repeat. All sidequests/mini-games have been optional. That's what puts all the past Zelda's in the 'epic adventure' category of games. Z:TP falls in to the classic RPG category. While both are enjoyable, they should not be confused and Nintendo should not have moved Z:TP from epic adventure to RPG.

(@&*%^ Zonk

All you're doing is selling more Wiis to people who are not me. This does me no good at all. I've been holding off on this Zelda thing until I felt confident that the series had some staying power, and I was just about ready to pick one up. Well... thanks a lot, you selfish jerk!

Contrary...

I have to disagree with some of what's been said. Firstly, and perhaps more importantly, I have NEVER been a fan of ANY Zelda game, and it is Twilight Princess that's the one game that's totally turned me around on the land of Hyrule.

Yes, Zelda games have already had beautifully composed music, and Twilight is no exception. But it was about damn time Nintendo grew up and abandoned it's AWFUL MIDI-esque synthesizers and recorded some orchestral audio. Very bad form Nintendo, this game deserved better instruments.

Regardless of whether or not this was to be a GameCube game first, the WiiMote is a totally natural way to play this game and I think it's essential to the way I've experienced the game.

This IS Zelda at it's most distilled and finest, and I finally feel like a part of the genre which so many enjoy but which I myself have had trouble adopting.

Summary?

Anyone else notice the summary was about half the article? So much for snippets...

Creativity from Japan is amazing...

Americans are supposed to be leaders in creativeness and innovation but some of the recent products, like the wii or the Prius, from Japan are simply amazing. The Nintendo Wii is an extremely creative and innovative product. By comparison, the xbox 360 (from an allegedly free-to-innovate american company) already looks like a dinosaur.

Most gamers, maybe...

"For most gamers, the adventures of Link and the story of Zelda have never failed to deliver."

Only because most gamers were spared the horror of playing one of the two CD-i Zelda games. I picked up a refurb CD-i dirt cheap for the time ($100 w/the MPEG cart) for the 7th Guest and decided to try out the Mask of Gamelion (sp?) while I was at it. Not only was that easily the worst game I've ever played (and I've played ET for the 2600), I was dumb enough to pay $35 for it. That is one scenario where the "adventures of Link and the story of Zelda" SERIOUSLY failed to deliver.

Another Glowing Review *shock*

I have a Wii, I have Twilight Princess, but I am not a Zelda fanboy (I only played the first Zelda and Majora's Mask).

This game is good, but it is not the best game ever made. Period. All these fanboy reviews that say the game is the second coming are seriously blinded by the (Nintendo) label on the front. Furthermore, the main problems with it aren't the ones that all the fanboys talk about.

The main problems are these:
1. Awkward camera control. There are times when you get some awkward camera angles. I, for one, have stared at epona's ass through the entirety of more than one NPC conversation.
2. Awkward traditional controls. The new Wii controls work great, but the traditional control scheme can be clunky at times.
3. Sloooooooooow story. If you don't enjoy exposition, you won't like this game. The story is good ... in fact, it may be the best video game story this year, however, it develops at a snail's pace.
4. Poor graphics. The look of the game is awesome; the art design really hangs together. Nonetheless, some of the models have a very low poly count. Yeah, it's forgivable in a game with such a consistent art direction, but after playing RE4 on the cube, I have a hard time putting up with some of these models (like most of the terrain in the game).

None of these are huge issues, but they are issues. I would still give the game a 8/10, but anyone who argues that this game is the best game of the year is taking things too far.

GC and Wii

Does the same version of the game play on both GC and Wii, or do you have to buy it twice as you upgrade your hardware?

Any differences in game play, aside from the new Wii controller?

Controls

I have a problem with how the controls work in that I feel they're inconsistent and overcomplicated. For instance there are three different sub-screens you can go to, one for your map and two different inventory screens. For the first inventory screen you press A to exit but the other inventory screen and map screen you press B to exit. The A button can attack with a sword but with a lantern it puts it out, you use B to swing a lantern. And to refill a lantern you have to go to one of the inventory screens, map a jar of lantern oil to the d-pad, exit the screen by pressing A (not B which is used to exit the other screens) then press the d-pad which usually swaps an item to your B button but in this case uses a jar, but when I want to refill a jar I have to equip it with the d-pad then press B. I think it would have been better if the game filled your lantern automatically or you did it in the equipment screen. Another problem I have is that sometimes you have to hold down the A button to push/pull objects but sometimes you press A to grab and press A again to let go.

Story

My major problem with the game was actually its story. So much in the beginning seemed to foreshadow something really great; I thought, "this story is really going to go somewhere. It's going to turn around and have some great revelation and some 'lesson to be learned' in the end."

Well, when I was still thinking that in the latter third of the game, when it still seemed to be "setting up for something great," I realized that it really would be just another Zelda story. Pretty good as far as games go, but not great by any means.

I don't want to get into details, that would mean MAJOR spoilers which is probably inappropriate here... but there are a number of issues. So many places are so close to something that it's infuriating.

So close. (TP was still an awesome game and well worth playing, but this really, really bothers me. Probably just because the rest of the game was so great, and the story was so nearly so.)

First Zelda Game played in about 20 years...

The last Zelda game I played before buying my Wii was the orginal Legend of Zelda for the NES. I cannot even recall if I finished the game.

I lucked out and picked up a Wii at my local Best Buy the Sunday after Thanksgiving. From there I walked next door the to the Wal-Mart and purchased TP.

I am only about 6 hours into the game, and I have to admit, it is a lot of fun. I am an offical 'Geezer Gamer', and I liked the fact that the controls were very easy to learn, and The game play is made to ramp up your skills before you have to use them.

I realy like the graphics, not only for their styling, but because they don't cause motions sickness! I can play the game for hours on end without getting motion sick. As much as I love playing HALO2 with my friends on my Xbox, I cannot play more than one hour straight without tossing my cookies. Same thing with the Marrowind Series.

If I've pever played Zelda....

...which game would be a good place to start? I'm curious if there ii/are one or more titles that would be good as an introduction?

Left-hande control

Can any left-handers comment on how playable the game is with the Wii Remote, especially swordsmanship? Can it be played left-handed in a natural way, or do you need to retrain yourself to play right-handed?

A slightly different perspective (spoilers ahead!)

I beat Twilight Princess for myself this past Monday. The game is completely awesome, but not without it's gripes. I pretty much agree with the positives that Zonk listed, so I won't bother listing those again. Instead, I'll touch on some negatives I found that I didn't see listed.

First, the battle camera- it's like it actually got worse from Wind Waker. When using Z-targeting, the camera tends to slowly circle Link and his locked-on foe. As it does so, the directions changes in relation to the analog stick, so if I'm trying to do a forward slash I might wind up doing a side jump. This is annoying, especially when I need to be able to look straight on.

Second was movements with the Nunchuck. Perhaps I just need more practice, but actually doing a Shield-Knock (or whatever it is called) was rather annoying. More often than not I wound up doing a Spin Slash instead. And, speaking of the Spin Slash, the movements I had to make with the Nunchuck never seemed completely constant- sometimes a little shake was enough, sometimes I'd have to flail my arms to get it to work.

Finally, I am saddened that a lot of the additions in Wind Waker weren't included in Twilight Princess. First, the ability to use the weapons of enemies. Even if they'd been less effective, it would have been fun to pick up one of the ginormous swords of the new (and much bad-ass) Iron Knuckles. Second, I kind of liked the whole picture collection thing, though there are lots of other collecting to do in TP to make up for that. Finally, the ending.

-----(SPOILERS AHEAD! SCROLL FAST!)-----







After finally defeating Ganondorf (following one fun as hell horseback fight), you kind of stand there with Zelda, and the Light Spirits bring back Midna in her true form. She says a witty line, and then credits. To me, this seems like the least cohesive of all Zelda endings, even worse than Ocarina of Time. Yes, in the middle of the credits we have a scene where she goes back to Twili and destorys the mirror on her way out, but still- what happened to Ganondorf? Did he completely die? Was he just defeated enough to be sent back into the Light/Dark World? These are really only necessary if you're trying to fit into continuity, but still... I feel like the ending was severly lacking.







------------(END SPOILERS!)-------------

And then they don't even give us some sort of New Story+. Granted, I still have 30 hours of content to go through for this initial game, but you don't even get to save at the end and unlock some nifty little things. WW allowed you the use of your normal clothes, an extra heart, being able to understand the Guardian beasts (which was well worth it) and the Photo box early on after initially beating the game.

For all that though, it was still a great game. A lot of the new items were great, too. The Ball & Chain is fun as hell, the Spinner adds new gameplay elements, and the double hookshot is also nifty keen. My $50 was definately not wasted.

My Two Cents

I personally hated the N64 version of Zelda and found my first two days on Twilight Princess to be horribly similar to the older experience. Fortunately most of the things I decided to hate had gone away the moment they put a sword in my hand. I think swinging the remote (which can be done with minute hand guestures) feels VERY natural and adds a large amount of fun factor to the game.

I would agree with just about everything said in the review except for the graphics being even considered "decent." The game to me looks like I would be calling it ugly even if it were running on a Gamecube. The textures look pre-Xbox (original) which probably stems from the fact the game was developed with the Cube in mind, not the more powerful Wii. My video game time has began to suffer as a result of leaving my college years. I have not been very excited about playing games, nor have I been playing very much. Thankfully a title so wonderful as Zelda:TP has come to sweep away hours of my life, I have no problem playing this thing for even two hours at a time while chores and life continue to pass me by. The gaming experience is simply beautiful, thank you Nintendo!

Good review if you are already familiar with Zelda

The review seems to assume that you already know a lot about Zelda. I don't--I have never played one of the games. I get the idea that there is a lot of story here, ok, but what is the GAMEPLAY like? Is most of my time spent in combat or in puzzles? Is combat action, turn-based, or a hybrid? Do I have a party or do I work alone? First or third person view? Is there an hour of reading before the game actually starts, like in a lot of the Japanese RPGs I have looked at? How do I manage inventory? What's the save system like? What's the enemy AI like? Do I bust out with the magic or are my abilities mundane?

Saying it's a great game just isn't enough. If save points are few and far between, for example, that KILLS me and I can't play the game. Sorry, I have a short attention span. Let's go ride bikes!!

financial misfortune????? Zonk?

"Link saves himself and the princess from the darkness of evil, and the Wii from the darkness of financial misfortune."

What are you talking about Zonk? You seriously can't attribute TP with single-handedly keeping the Wii from the darkness of financial misfortune. Really, they are making money on every single console, and I for one have not bought TP yet, but I have purchased 4 other titles, and I must say that the bundled Sports are also played quite a bit on my console.

I would dare say that the Wii would still be seeing it's first month's sold-out, constant success even if TP had not been a release title.

I know that a large portion of those who bought a console, also bought TP, but that doesn't mean that this single game is keeping the console from being a financial misfortune.

Buy a Wii?

Not only is it a reason to buy a Wii, it's proof that despite all of our doubts, despite the fears that they'd gone crazy-nutso with this 'waggling' thing, they really know what they're doing.

Twilight Princess is coming out for the GameCube as well, right? In fact it was originally developed for the GC, so theoretically it should control as good or better compared to the Wii version. So why would I pay $250 for a new Wii when I can just play the game on the GC I already own?

Un complaint

So sometimes you're a wolf, and there's a ledge 5 feet in the air that you'd like to jump to. Sorry Link, you can't jump as a wolf. Unless you're at some pre-defined location, in which Midna will gladly let you jump 30 feet in the friggin air. This inconsistency in the game's logic ruins part of the immersion.

Usage comment on gravitas

Zonk, I respect your use of gravitas to indicate the staid, heroic manner in which Link behaves. But please don't use it so close to words that make it seem to mean more like "gravity." Gravity, even of the emotional sort, does not have the same meaning as gravitas.

Ever intent on helping people to stop mauling Latin words!

Re:Another one!

Every sentence of a review needs to provide information directly relating to the game? I enjoy a little background information. It helps explain why things are they way they are.

Re:Grandma's boy

I always imagined him as the guy in Grandma's boy that lives with his parents and has the car bed.

Re:Where is this even being sold?

He probably bought it when he bought his Wii by waiting in line. Right now the Buy it Now auctions on Ebay for Zelda are about $60-$65. Which isn't much more than the game itself.

Re:Another one!

You really need to get laid. Maybe you'd relax more then.
Good luck with that.

Re:Where is this even being sold?

They have them piled up on the shelves at the local Best Buy. Of course, you'll need to find the actual hardware at some other outlet.

Re:Another one!

"developed by someone who walked in the woods" or whatever tells us NOTHING about this game


Yes it does... it says Miyamoto.... that tells a lot


-- rev. layle

Re:Anyone know...

roar! if we don't agree with someone's views let's rip him to shreds.

chill out guy. it's a video game review! you don't like it, move on!

Re:Talk about doing the impossible...

So a double negative isn't English?

Preferable? No. English? Yes.

Re:What about the GC version?

You'll regret the lack of the Wii's control scheme. Once you've aimed with the remote, you won't want to go back. There are a few other reasons, like the convenience of being able to save to the Wii's internal storage rather than plugging in a Gamecube memory card, the potential for game updates through WiiConnect24, and widescreen capability.

If you've got no other choice, go ahead and pick up the GC version. No matter which you play first, it'll be kind of a new adventure when you try the other system's version because the game world is flipped horizontally, and there's a new control scheme. I have the Wii version and beat it last week, but I'll be picking up the GC version as a fun alternative when I want to play with an Ocarina-like control scheme in the original, "intended" orientation of the game world. I also suspect the Gamecube version will be tough to find in a few years, so that's another reason to pick it up as an option for the future, if you have the extra cash. It's a bit fanboy-ish to own both versions, but there are some key differences, and I'd like to experience both versions of the game. I think cut scenes in particular look aesthetically better on the Gamecube version solely based on the Wii version being flipped.

I imagine it'd be pretty fun to have played through the GC version and then move up to the Wii version and experience the remote aiming when you're used to the analog stick. So either way, you can't go wrong picking up the game, whichever system you choose first.

Re:TP not as fun as OOC

You know, Navi never really told me anything I didn't already know. I just thought she was annoying because she always made it sound so urgent, and after I interrupted myself to talk to her I was always left thinking gee, thanks, couldn't have lived without that.

Hm, your comment about easy bosses actually makes me think I'll like it. Bosses are always more of an annoyance to me than anything. I'd much prefer having moderately easy bosses and harder puzzles when you're trying to get around places.

Re:Where is this even being sold?

Amazon sells it, but only through their third-party sellers;

You've just described about 70% of everything I've searched for on Amazon in recent years. It seems they're more interested in being another eBay than an actual retailer, and if I wanted to put up with the frustrations of eBay, that's where I'd be.

If you don't have it, you don't have it; don't give me this "used & new from..." bullshit.