I first heard of Zelda TP 2 years ago when I was reading the press coverage from IGN.com and found out that Nintendo lied about the next Zelda using Wind Wakers graphics engine, on the screen laid a beautiful OOT looking Hyrule with an OOT Link traveling it. While sad that cel-shaded Link got a vacation I was still hyped about the next Zelda game on gamecube. Well two years have passed and the game was moved to the wii.
I got the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess one week after I had gotten my Wii, the reason for the one week delay I found a wii but ironically all copies of Twilight Princess was sold out in my area. Anyways I have been playing it a lot since I got it and I finally beat it today, so does it live up to the hype as being the best Zelda game ever made, well it’s the biggest Zelda game ever made and the best we had in years but there are a few flaws to it.
Story.
Twilight Princess is a stand alone story in the Zelda universe and really doesn’t connect any two games like
Wind Waker did. If there is any reference to any other Zelda games it would connect OCT to LTTP.
The story starts out with Link being an average teenager in Ordon village, a small village just outside the kingdom of Hyrule. On the day he is to take a sword and deliver it to Hyrule castle a group of monsters attack the village and kidnap the other children and his horse Epona. Link gives chase and stumbles into the twilight realm, a realm where shadow and light mix and those who enter become ghosts or monsters. Link being “the chosen hero” turns into a wolf. A short time later he meets Midna a small impish character that calls this realm her home. She’ll help Link get back to the world of light and regain his human form but he will have to help her find the fused shadows that rest in the dungeons in the world of light.
So the adventure begins with Link traveling the kingdom of Hyrule to get rid of the veil of twilight that surrounds everything, and to help Midna get the treasure she seeks. This of course the first half things get a little more frantic after words and of course taking a trip to the temple of time to retrieve the master sword of course becomes necessary.
Now out of all the Zelda games this is the most cinematic Zelda ever and there are lots and lots of cut scenes, while it’s still spare compared to the modern day Final Fantasy there are plenty of them to help tell the story and even the minor characters in your village become of an importance later in the game.
Graphics.
Ok the Wii isn’t going to blow away anyone with a 360 or PS3 but Zelda is none the less a beautiful game with a lot of eye candy to it. You can see just as far down Hyrule field as you could see down the great sea in wind waker. You can see things like Hyrule castle, the smoke from Death Mountain, or the snowy peaks of Snow hill just looking around the field. As for character designs go Link is done with a lot more detail then he was done in OOT and you can see things like stitching in his cap and even the bag that he manages to stuff things like the iron boots in. Bottom line Zelda is gorgeous to look at.
Sound.
The music in the game is also pretty good and I like both the over world themes that play during the day and night. While the original Zelda theme is saved just for the credits the over world theme during the day is just as memorable, and the one at night as an eerie softness to it. And then of course while journeying through the twilight realms music is even softer but definitely gets the creepy mood on. Sound effects in the game are pretty cool with a lot of them coming through the Wii mote speakers, I like hearing the sound of the bow and arrow thwack coming out from where my hands are. The main problem with the sound is no real voice acting is done. Come on Nintendo I am ok with Link not talking at all, Midna does all the talking for him but put some voices on them, especially if your going to do high quality cinema scenes to the series.
Gameplay.
Ok for once a Zelda game doesn’t revolve around a dark or light world motif. Despite the story the twilight realm isn’t your usual dark world, rather it’s a cloud that is infecting Hyrule itself. When Link enters it he becomes a wolf and won’t become human again in till he banishes the twilight from that area of Hyrule, to do that he will have to find and kill several bugs that hold the power of the light spirit in that area. Once all the bugs have been squashed Link becomes human again and the veil will be lifted from that area of the game. Once all the twilight is gone that is all you see of it in Hyrule, of course this is the half way point and there is more to the game then that.
Also rather then a musical instrument to solve puzzles in the game Link will of course use Midna who not only acts like a less annoying Navi, but helps him in battle with a wolf form. While in human form Midna will give him tips and tell him where he should go next. Once Link recovers the master sword he will be to transform into a wolf when no one else is around by talking to Midna. In wolf form Link can use Midna to jump accorss large pits. He also can dig up items and use his senses to detect things like ghosts or items that he normally wouldn’t be able to see.
As for the controls go they fit the Wii perfectly. The nun chuck attachment will be used to walk Link around. The Z button the nun chuck will be for lock on and the C button will be used for first person view. On the Wii mote side of the thing A is used for actions and the control pad and B button is for equipping and using special items. A flick of the wrist will let Link attack with the sword. And using weapons that require aim like the bow and arrow for example will have you point at the screen and fire through a reticule, it’s a pretty cool set up.
Along the way Link will learn new sword techniques and a few of them will be from the wind waker but there now done manually. To do the helm splitter this time you have to first hit the enemy with your shield by pushing the nun chuck controller forward a little bit, then press A while the enemy is stunned. Of course the most enjoyable special move is the spinning attack that as been in Zelda since LTTP, but it’s now easy to use in battle. Rather then having to rotate the stick and hope your fast enough, or charge to do it. All you have to do is twist the nunchuck controller around to let Link do a spin attack. And it will be necessary goes baddies can swarm Link several at a time.
As for horse combat it’s goes pretty smooth as well, swinging the controller cause Link to swing his sword back and forth while mounted to Epona. While twisting the nunchuck will do a spin attack. It’s pretty seamless and a lot of fun knocking off moblins from there bores. What’s cooler is that if you want you can change rides and ride one of the boars, the boars don’t go as fast but they can charge into stuff and knock him down, plus they don’t tire out when they charge.
Now for a few of the bad things, which mount to two little nick picks but I have notice them so I might as well complain. First off Link is right handed in this one, now this isen’t some fan boy rant about changing Links hands, problem is a few areas represent that this was a last minute change. Some areas which require close corners combat I notice Links sword hit the wall a lot of times while unsheathing his sword were a left handed Link would have been able to squeeze by, this as gotten right handed Link knocked on his butt several times by enemies.
2nd the game is only a notch higher on the difficulty then wind waker. While Link isn’t quite as super and falling off pits give you one hit of damage and there are some enemies that will deal out damage, a lot of enemies give you a quarter of heart worth a damage at most. Not that dying is a big thing because even without a fairy dying in Zelda TP sets you back about as much as Lego Star Wars. Ok maybe a little worse but you start off in the same room you died in, and inless that room is a giant one it’s not much of a set back.
Final Recommendation.
Zelda is probably the best game out for the Wii so far and if you’re planning on getting a Wii Zelda TP better be on the list. The Gamecube version should be out in a couple of days to if you don’t want to bother tracking down a Wii.
