| Product: |
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) |
| Date: |
08.02.07 (792 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Music | Exploration | Gameplay
Disadvantages: No Ocarina | Lack of Character development.
21 years ago Shigeru Miyamoto created the first Zelda (1986), a free roaming top view adventure where you play as young adventurer link on a quest to collect the eight pieces of the legendary Triforce to rescue princess Zelda, princess of Hyrule. With many sequels and prequels since, and an unconfirmed timeline which fits them all together, the series has had a fair share of praise, especially with the transformation to the Nintendo 64 where Hyrule became a decent sized 3D land and Link battled his way through the dungeons of Hyrule to take down the evil Ganondorf in what most fans consider to be the best game of the series-Ocarina of Time (OoT), a game that is still at number one spot on IGN’s top 100 games. Since then Link hasn’t returned to Hyrule in 3D, with both Majora’s Mask (MM) and The Wind Waker (WW) taking place on different lands.
With this being the first 3D game to return to Hyrule and with the addition of realistic graphics, Twilight Princess probably has been the most anticipated game of all time, with it being delayed over a year in proper Nintendo style. Originally planned just for Gamecube release, it is pretty obvious that by putting a Zelda game as a Wii launch game, Nintendo were trying to sell a few Wii’s. This is effectively a Gamecube game with Wii controls, even shown by the fact that they have switched the land round to make link right handed (for motion sensing controls) but the Gamecube version doesn’t feel the same after you have played the Wii version.
~Story~
You play as a boy from Ordon Village, who, after being sent to deliver a message to Hyrule castle gets knocked off a horse and is plunged into the world of Twilight, still Hyrule, but totally different. And Links friends, Ilia and Colin are also missing. Whereas most people turn into little more than a ghost, you turn into a Wolf, a wolf who is locked in a cage and is helped by an imp with some magical powers, Midna to escape and return to normal Hyrule, as long as you help her to retrieve some items, making you her slave. Set out on a quest to discover items, you are told you are the Hero of Time and must save Hyrule from an evil being. So you set out in a green Tunic to kick some ass.
You quickly discover who is behind this, a mysterious member of the mysterious race, though in true Zelda style, things are not what they seem, and this story evolves far, far beyond that.
The story itself is superb, and although I was naughty and read the spoilers before I got the game, it didn’t stop the feeling of awe when it was unravelled, because this game is immense. My only early concern was the bit about Colin and Ilia. With a lack of character development I was for more interested in the main story than finding out what happened to them.
~Controls~
With a new Wii control system, means new controls and although many were worried about this, it works like a charm. The remote is your sword, or and weapon. Unlike the other games when the sword was assigned to a button, this time it is your remote, and you have to swing it like a real sword, and master many techniques picked up in the game like the backslice to perfect your sword skills. It is extremely addicting and feels extremely comfortable from the start, with no need to practice at all virtually. Obviously the sword can not do anything you can do with the remote (or people would windmill into battles), but it does copy the basics which is great for a battle.
Then there are the secondary weapons such as the ones picked up in dungeons. Early weapons you receive are the gale boomerang, a boomerang which created a mini tornado, which can be used to knock enemies off their feet or can be used for various puzzles, and the Hero’s bow, a bow and arrow which can be used to pick off far away enemies. To do this you have to assign them from the directional buttons to the ‘B’ button and then manually aim at the screen with the wiimote sensor and release, like a real bow. There is also auto aim (or ‘Z’ targeting), but this lets you pick off enemies out of z targeting range, and also gives a more realistic feel to the game.
This game probably provides the best weapons which are used a lot more. Unlike other Zelda games where only a few weapons are used outside the dungeons they were received from, it is notable that even in the later dungeons, some of the first weapons you got are still used.
Then there is the basic moving which is done with the nunchuk attachment. Still motion sensing, you can perform one sword attack (the spin attack) though this is mainly used to move, with the c button being used to look around, with Z to aim and lock on.
~Wolf Link~
There is a similar control scheme here, with the wolf doing a jump attack if you flick the wiimote, and a spin attack if you shake the nunchuk. Unable to use weapons though, you only use one secondary attack and that is in the form of Midna. She creates a large energy circle that, if an enemy is in it, when released, wolf link will jump about and destroy all enemies in the zone.
This is extremely limited though with wolf Link not being nearly as fun as normal Link to fight with. The enemy’s wolf link fights are far less fun too. Whereas Link attacks many types of enemies, wolf Link’s enemies are far more boring, with one large enemy that comes in groups. If you kill those off one by one they revive so you have to kill in pairs. This is extremely dull compared to normal link fighting but as the game progresses and you play as wolf Link less and less, it is more fun to play as him because, although the combat is not the best, his speed is definitely an advantage in getting through Hyrule field, though using the horse is a lot faster and more fun since you can shoot enemies down with the bow at the same time. Altogether good gameplay as the wolf but limited, very limited.
~Environments~
A large part of Zelda, and with the N64 OoT having a superb environment, it had to be beaten. This time the environment is far larger and more realistic, with the towns being more realistic, as with the field, full of towns, hills and caves, all explorable. Not always a good thing though.
Hyrule field itself is huge and kind of goes in a circle so if you start off in the field you can go all the way round, through Lake Hylia, by Death mountain and past Faron Village, in a full circle. Great to explore with enemies in certain places to beat, and secret places just a bombs throw away. However, with it being in a full circle, there are some places where you can fall off an edge into nothing. It would be far more realistic is something like water (or a huge cliff going up) filled that area. There could be other improvements but these are pretty minor, and personal.
Then there are the villages, Kakariko and Hyrule Castle Town. These are extremely realistic, with Kakariko looking extremely Western and cowboy like, especially when riding through with your horse. However, it is nothing on the less realistic version of this village with OoT because it has no nostalgia value. The OoT version was extremely happy, full of mini games etc. and had a great feel whereas, although the realistic version suits the game and is great, will not stick in my mind like the OoT version did. And now Hyrule Castle Town, extremely dull. I never liked this town because of the dodgy camera angle. Now the town is larger, there is still the weird camera angle, and although full of people, most will not talk, and the ones that do are snobs. The less realistic (again) version of OoT sticks in my mind far more because of the dancing people. Great exactly, but I am just picky and love Ocarina. Provides great exploration still though and suits the game.
One major problem is that it has loading spaces between places so you cannot just ride from one area to another, but you go onto one area, the screen fades and then you appear on the other side (like what happens in OoT). This isn’t a large problem really but when you are playing I think it limits the freedom to some extent.
It is just a shame the same can’t be said about the Twilight realm. You do not visit it often, and you only do mainly to ‘purify’ the town as a wolf by collecting light pieces, but it is dark and there is a lack of vision. It definitely adds to the eerie atmosphere but it definitely does not show Hyrule in its best light.
~Dungeons~
A major part of the game and if you are going to just play the game straight through (which will still take you a while over 30 hours), you will very rarely leave the dungeons. Most of the time these dungeons really are great. Full of enemies and puzzles to keep you going, which just sit between fun and frustrating, they will definitely take you some time to work your way through and I doubt even the more veteran of all Zelda fans will do it with ease. I find it extremely good how the dungeons are set out, each room leading to new areas, some of which are pointless unless you have the dungeons weapon, meaning rooms are used several times. The dungeons are all different too with each having a ‘theme’ (grass, water etc) though later on I did find myself in a dungeon or two which was only average.
Then there are the boss battles which I think are mainly there to test your weapons out. However, I found them far too easy with some of the later boss battles I would think should have been early in the game. I didn’t die in a boss battle at all, but then again, I would still be complaining if it was too hard. Great dungeons and easily as good as in Ocarina of Time (most of the dungeons anyway).
~Graphics & Sound~
The graphics, although are improved with component cables are Gamecube graphics being honest so many things appear as flat-for example, rocky cliffs yet they are still Gamecube at their best and I really can’t complain about them, excellent, with fire in the games looking extremely realistic.
Then there is the sound. The Zelda series has a lot about sound with Ocarina of Time having an Ocarina, and in Wind Waker link had to orchestrate wind. This time there is the wolf howling and the ability to call your horse but the best part of the game music is in the background, such as in the woods, the old Saria’s song and the superb overworld music that appears in Hyrule field. Although (again) the music won’t stay in your mind ass much as the OoT music did, or have the nostalgia value, a lot of this is orchestrated and near enough perfect, really fitting in with the game.
The only bad thing about the sound is the lack of it-no voice acting still which I feel could really add to the emotions.
~Extra Information~
Released: 8th December 2006
Producer: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
RRP: £39.99 (Amazon price £34.99)
Formats: Wii, GameCube
~Replay Value~
Immense. Although the mini games are not as fun as the ones in OoT (canoeing etc) they are still extremely fun and offer a good challenge away from the story. Then there is exploration alone which can last you hours. Fishing is far more fun that in OoT because the remote becomes your fishing rod, and will offer hours of relaxation even after the game is completed, it really is addictive.
It is also one that you could complete again by trying to do a challenge set by people on forums (such as with a lack of hearts or without a shield), or just try to beat your last completion time because it is a game that, if you explore enough and have fun on it, you can complete time and time again. Then there is a great challenge that will last a while, a cave filled with 50 floors of enemies, and no health replenishments that the avid Zelda fans will not want to miss. You can complete this game in 40 hours but I am pretty sure it’s easy enough to rack up over 100 hours, with 60 hours of nothing.
~Overall~
A superb addition to a great series. It will always be compared to OoT because of the similar graphics and similar environments, and although it does not beat the game, it gets probably a 9.2/10 for me because it is so fun, the environments are fun to explore, and the dungeons are great, as are the graphics and music.
It is by no means perfect, but many of these criticisms are only small and do not ruin the game at all. 75% of all American Wii owners own this game and I think they should. It’s the best game on launch and will probably be the best (or one of the best) Wii games out for a while to come.
Summary: If you have a Wii, buy it.
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