REVIEW
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii
Nintendo
Reviewed by: Eric Leamen
For years, Ocarina of Time has been considered a pinnacle in 3D gaming, and the best game of the entire Zelda series. In 2000, Nintendo showed off a demo of a more adult Link, battling Ganon. Many believed this to be the graphical style of the next Zelda title. But instead, we got Wind Waker. In 2004, Nintendo debuted a trailer for the next Zelda game, the game that everyone really wanted. That game, is called The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess takes place in the fictional land of Hyrule. A young farm boy, named Link, must save the local children when they are kidnaped by Twilight beasts. Link unknowingly stumbles into a land, known as the Twilight Realm. For some strange reason, Link transforms into a wolf. He is rescued by a creature, known only as Midna, who will become your trusted companion and best friend in the game. And thus begins your journey!
First off, this game is huge! The world is so vast, you could get lost. Almost any area that you see, you can go to. This video game world feels like it is a REAL world. Not only is it huge in that way, but the game takes around 50-70 hours to complete! In real time, we're not talking video game hours here, folks! Everything about this game feels so realistic. A horse ride from one town to another could actually take you a good 5 minutes to complete. Bottom line, you can't really experience the large scale of this game without playing it all the way through. And it's challenging! The games has so many puzzles and battles that will either leave you scratching your head in confusion, of throwing your Wii remote at the wall in frustration. But, boy is it addictive!
There are at least 10 different dungeons. Most of which you've visited in past Zelda games. But everything looks so much better now. Familiar settings, like Hyrule Castle, Hyrule Field, and all of the dungeons look so good in 3D with amazing graphics and textures.
Twilight Princess for Wii takes full advantage of the Wii remote’s unique motion sensing capabilities. You use the remote as you would a sword, just swing it to attack. You can also use the Wii remote’s pointer to use weapons like your Bow and Arrow, or a boomerang. What about Link's spin attack, just spin the nunchuck! The other basic controls include using the d-pad to select items, pushing up on the d-pad let's you talk to Midna, using the A button to roll or talk to someone, use the B button to use your selected weapon, - takes you to your inventory, + pauses the game and takes you to the info screen, and 1 shows your map. The nunchuck attachment is used to move around, C puts you on first person mode, and Z is used to center the camera.
What about being a wolf? You can only transform into a wolf when you're in the Twilight Realm... at first. Eventually, you can turn into a wolf whenever, which will prove useful in certain dungeons. You use the same controls to attack as a wolf as you do a human, with slight limitations.
All of the controls function very well, and using the motion sensing to swing your sword feel so natural. Although you may look a little weird doing so, but it's all about gameplay! The only problems I've had with control are when you have the remote in your lap and the pointer doesn't work right away. But other than that, the controls are pretty much flawless!
Twilight Princess is the first 3D Zelda game to be released on a system that is capable of generating very nice graphics. Obviously, since Ocarina of Time, people have wanted a more realistic looking Zelda game. And Twilight Princess pulls that of tremendously well! No, the graphics don't look like a real person walking around with a sword, but they look real enough that you say "Wow. That looks really good!". The environment itself is so vast and so huge, that you look at it and it's almost as if you're playing in a real world. By far the best parts of the game, graphic wise, are the people. Link, Midna, and the other characters that you encounter throughout the game look very good. And I think that the game designers did a great job of portraying what Link would look like grown up, as opposed to being a child in Ocarina of Time.
The characters are so well portrayed in this game, that you almost develop an emotional attachment to them. The children in the village that you live in get kidnaped, and you feel like it's your duty to protect them. And Midna is by far one of the most developed sidekicks in a video game, EVER! You kinda hate her at first, because she treats Link like dirt, but despite all of that, you still have such a strong emotional attachment to her.
There are a few "flaws" in the game. As any other game, Twilight Princess is full of cheats and glitches that have been exposed on the internet since the games release. Every now and then, you will encounter a graphical error within the game, but that's to be expected. However, there are some major flaws in the game that, if executed, will disable you from completing your quest. For example, if you save your game while inside the "cannon room", you will not be able to exit the room the next time you turn on the game, hence ending your journey.
In terms of sound effects, I enjoyed them. The sword slashing noises, the sound effects through the speaker, those are all pretty good. In the way of music, it is still MIDI, so those of you looking forward to orchestrated music will have to wait for the next epic Zelda adventure. Now we get to the really bad part. Voiceovers. Not in this game! Nintendo still believes that teaching people to read is more important that making a game with voiceovers. Another hope and wish for the next Zelda game.
As all of the other Zelda games before it, Twilight Princess is absolutely packed with side quests, and even a few minigames to play! The number of side quests in the game is phenomenal, and could easily add an extra 15 hours of gameplay. Some minigames include fishing at the fishing hole, Rollgoal, also at the fishing hole, Iza's Rapid Ride, Snowboarding with Yeti's, Flight by Fowl, and more!
I haven’t been able to describe all of the amazement that is Twilight Princess. This game is so huge and so awesome, that it would take me a long time to write a completely extensive review. Heck, I haven't even finished the game yet! I urge you all to please tune in to GameCorner episode 4 for a full video review, and more in depth look at the best game of 2006!
Gameplay: 9
Story: 8
Graphics: 8
Controls: 9
Re-playability: 10
Tilt: 10
Editor's Score: 9/10
For years, Ocarina of Time has been considered a pinnacle in 3D gaming, and the best game of the entire Zelda series. In 2000, Nintendo showed off a demo of a more adult Link, battling Ganon. Many believed this to be the graphical style of the next Zelda title. But instead, we got Wind Waker. In 2004, Nintendo debuted a trailer for the next Zelda game, the game that everyone really wanted. That game, is called The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess takes place in the fictional land of Hyrule. A young farm boy, named Link, must save the local children when they are kidnaped by Twilight beasts. Link unknowingly stumbles into a land, known as the Twilight Realm. For some strange reason, Link transforms into a wolf. He is rescued by a creature, known only as Midna, who will become your trusted companion and best friend in the game. And thus begins your journey!
First off, this game is huge! The world is so vast, you could get lost. Almost any area that you see, you can go to. This video game world feels like it is a REAL world. Not only is it huge in that way, but the game takes around 50-70 hours to complete! In real time, we're not talking video game hours here, folks! Everything about this game feels so realistic. A horse ride from one town to another could actually take you a good 5 minutes to complete. Bottom line, you can't really experience the large scale of this game without playing it all the way through. And it's challenging! The games has so many puzzles and battles that will either leave you scratching your head in confusion, of throwing your Wii remote at the wall in frustration. But, boy is it addictive!
There are at least 10 different dungeons. Most of which you've visited in past Zelda games. But everything looks so much better now. Familiar settings, like Hyrule Castle, Hyrule Field, and all of the dungeons look so good in 3D with amazing graphics and textures.
Twilight Princess for Wii takes full advantage of the Wii remote’s unique motion sensing capabilities. You use the remote as you would a sword, just swing it to attack. You can also use the Wii remote’s pointer to use weapons like your Bow and Arrow, or a boomerang. What about Link's spin attack, just spin the nunchuck! The other basic controls include using the d-pad to select items, pushing up on the d-pad let's you talk to Midna, using the A button to roll or talk to someone, use the B button to use your selected weapon, - takes you to your inventory, + pauses the game and takes you to the info screen, and 1 shows your map. The nunchuck attachment is used to move around, C puts you on first person mode, and Z is used to center the camera.
What about being a wolf? You can only transform into a wolf when you're in the Twilight Realm... at first. Eventually, you can turn into a wolf whenever, which will prove useful in certain dungeons. You use the same controls to attack as a wolf as you do a human, with slight limitations.
All of the controls function very well, and using the motion sensing to swing your sword feel so natural. Although you may look a little weird doing so, but it's all about gameplay! The only problems I've had with control are when you have the remote in your lap and the pointer doesn't work right away. But other than that, the controls are pretty much flawless!
Twilight Princess is the first 3D Zelda game to be released on a system that is capable of generating very nice graphics. Obviously, since Ocarina of Time, people have wanted a more realistic looking Zelda game. And Twilight Princess pulls that of tremendously well! No, the graphics don't look like a real person walking around with a sword, but they look real enough that you say "Wow. That looks really good!". The environment itself is so vast and so huge, that you look at it and it's almost as if you're playing in a real world. By far the best parts of the game, graphic wise, are the people. Link, Midna, and the other characters that you encounter throughout the game look very good. And I think that the game designers did a great job of portraying what Link would look like grown up, as opposed to being a child in Ocarina of Time.
The characters are so well portrayed in this game, that you almost develop an emotional attachment to them. The children in the village that you live in get kidnaped, and you feel like it's your duty to protect them. And Midna is by far one of the most developed sidekicks in a video game, EVER! You kinda hate her at first, because she treats Link like dirt, but despite all of that, you still have such a strong emotional attachment to her.
There are a few "flaws" in the game. As any other game, Twilight Princess is full of cheats and glitches that have been exposed on the internet since the games release. Every now and then, you will encounter a graphical error within the game, but that's to be expected. However, there are some major flaws in the game that, if executed, will disable you from completing your quest. For example, if you save your game while inside the "cannon room", you will not be able to exit the room the next time you turn on the game, hence ending your journey.
In terms of sound effects, I enjoyed them. The sword slashing noises, the sound effects through the speaker, those are all pretty good. In the way of music, it is still MIDI, so those of you looking forward to orchestrated music will have to wait for the next epic Zelda adventure. Now we get to the really bad part. Voiceovers. Not in this game! Nintendo still believes that teaching people to read is more important that making a game with voiceovers. Another hope and wish for the next Zelda game.
As all of the other Zelda games before it, Twilight Princess is absolutely packed with side quests, and even a few minigames to play! The number of side quests in the game is phenomenal, and could easily add an extra 15 hours of gameplay. Some minigames include fishing at the fishing hole, Rollgoal, also at the fishing hole, Iza's Rapid Ride, Snowboarding with Yeti's, Flight by Fowl, and more!
I haven’t been able to describe all of the amazement that is Twilight Princess. This game is so huge and so awesome, that it would take me a long time to write a completely extensive review. Heck, I haven't even finished the game yet! I urge you all to please tune in to GameCorner episode 4 for a full video review, and more in depth look at the best game of 2006!
Gameplay: 9
Story: 8
Graphics: 8
Controls: 9
Re-playability: 10
Tilt: 10
Editor's Score: 9/10
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