The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

"Definitely a Zelda to remember"

Few events in the gaming industry garner as much attention as the release of a new entry in the Legend of Zelda series. Since its inception on the NES, the Zelda series has wowed gamers with innovative gameplay and an immersive world that is hard to pull oneself out of. Now in 2006, we not only have a brand new Zelda title but Nintendo's Wii, a system the Big N claims will revolutionize gaming as we all know it. Whether or not the Wii will succeed in the long run is still anyone's guess but if games like Twilight Princess are any indication, Nintendo's loyal fans are in for a good console generation. On to the review. Just a note: I was, in my opinion, extremely harsh on some parts of this game. The Zelda series is my favorite, and likely always will be, and so I put each new game thoroughly through the gamut when deciding how good they are.

Story: 10/10

I almost hate to do this, but I'm giving the story in TP a 10 simply because, well, it exists. Yes, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker have stories. But they really are nothing compared to the tale woven by Twilight Princess' masterful storytelling. For the first time, you actually care about why things are going on in Hyrule and the motivation to enter the massive dungeons and defeat the bosses lurking within is present in a way not seen in the Zelda franchise. As I was playing, I was reminded of some other the more elaborate RPGs on the market - the game follows the typical humble beginnings to grandiose, world-saving adventure that practically every Final Fantasy game has employed. There is even something of a plot twist in this game, but I obviously won't say anything more on that. It was a nice, and much welcomed surprise to see a story unfolding in the land of Hyrule. Let's hope that this becomes the norm with the franchise.

Graphics: 9/10

I feel the need to start with the game's graphics simply because, well, graphics are the first impression anyone can have of a game. Many of the other reviews I've read of TP have simply ignored some of the technical achievements the game offers by passing it off as a GameCube title that pales in comparison to such other next-gen offerings as Resistance: Fall of Man and Gears of War. It is entirely unfair to criticize TP's graphics by comparing them with visuals from the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Nintendo has said, time and again that the Wii is not capable of competing in the graphics category. That being said, TP is a huge achievement visually. From the opening cinema, it is plainly obvious how much care went into designing a Hyrule that perfectly captures the epic feeling characteristic of the Zelda franchise. Character models are very well done and with the exception of the oddly flamboyant gesticulations of Link's young friends early in the game, are also well animated. Of special note is the Twilight World: bloom effects, particles, and a special signature effect are all in abundance in Hyrule's counterpart that serve to distinguish it from the "Light World". Never has a "Dark World" seemed so beautiful and so ominous all at once. Dungeon graphics are also breathtaking with some of the most diverse architecture ever seen in a video game. Also, for some odd reason, I can't get it out of my head how amazing the lava effects in this game were... Ok, I could rave and rave about how wonderful this game's visuals are, but as you probably noticed, I docked it a point. Why? Simply because while the game's visuals are great, there are certain bugs that bothered me from time to time. For instance, Nintendo, why can't the moon be anything more than a 2D sprite floating across the sky? Majora's Mask demonstrated with aplomb that it's possible to put a 3D orb in the sky without being too much of a strain on hardware so why only flat disks in TP? Also, there are the occasional jaggies and textures blur when up close, especially on ivy covered walls. All-in-all though, these are just nitpicks. TP truly is a testament to what talented graphics designers can do when given enough time.

Gameplay: 9/10

Obviously the most important part of a Zelda game, or any game at all for that matter, is how well it plays. Suffice it to say that TP never fails to disappoint in its diverse offerings of action and puzzles. I don't want to go into this too much and accidentally spoil something but I will simply say that there is never a lack of something new to do. Dungeons are the only reason I gave gameplay only a 9. Not that they are in any way badly designed. But some of the puzzles, specifically toward the second half of the game leave something to be desired. It's not that the puzzles are unfairly difficult, but it's that they are stupidly easy. You will be sitting in a couple rooms in the last two or so dungeons scratching your head, wondering how to proceed, when you'll suddenly stumble onto the answer. And it will be so obvious, you'll feel embarrassed that you didn't notice it sooner. What I'm referring to is switch placement. I can't even begin to count the number of times I was ready to stop playing for awhile out of frustration when I realized that there was a switch in some peculiar location that was needlessly difficult to see. Honestly, that was my only gripe and the game wouldn't have lost any points at all if it weren't that this was a common occurrence among roughly the last third of the dungeons.

Control: 10/10

So much has already been said about the controls, that I'm not going to continue to beat this dead horse. People either love the new Wii remote or they hate it. I'm just going to add that the main reason most people are having so much difficulty is that they are trying to hard. Slight movements here, people, slight movements. As long as you keep that in mind, everything works perfectly. As a side note, the spin attack and shield thrust never once failed me. If you do exactly what the game says (i.e. shake the nunchuck back and forth ONCE, not like a maraca, from left to right or vice versa the spin attack will work; as for the shield attack, all you do is thrust the nunchuck forward - I don't understand why people are having so much difficulty with this). Aiming works wonderfully with the occasional problem of having the aiming reticle jump around due to interfering light sources but this is rarely a huge problem. Swinging the sword is easy as just a simple flick of the wrist will get it going. Everything works just as it's supposed to which is a good thing as the Wii is all about innovative control schemes to help immerse the player in the game world. Twilight Princess' control scheme definitely succeeds.

Sound/Music: 8/10

Perhaps the only category in which TP struggles to maintain the high standards set by the series, the audio quality is a mixed bag from start to finish. The classic Zelda tunes are all here, remixed of course, and many have never sounded better. But come on Nintendo! What's with the MIDI instruments? Granted, they are very good MIDI instruments and some less-discerning gamers might even mistake them for the real thing, but I really think it's high time for an upgrade to a fully orchestral score. Also, as many have pointed out, the quality of the sound that emanates from the Wii remote's speaker is sketchy at best. Basically, it serves its purpose of adding to the experience, but it can be a bit distracting as well as strange to hear the famous "puzzle solved" jingle coming out of your hand and your tv's speakers at the same time. Most of the other effects that the remote speaker is used for are "real-world" sounds - bow string stretching, wind rushing past when the boomerang is thrown, Midna's laughter - so why does a sound like that jingle, a sound that technically doesn't exist if you follow what I've been saying, also come out of that? Just a small gripe, but I'm still just pointing out that the remote's speaker's use is questionable at times. The last complaint I had with the sound was the atrocity that was the wolf howling sequences. I understand that a wolf isn't meant to howl perfectly on pitch or sound like a beautiful ocarina, but it's just kind of a shame that some of my favorite Zelda melodies are basically butchered by the mournful wails of two wolves trying desperately to harmonize. If the melodies the wolves were trying to howl had been balanced UNDER the actual melody played on a MIDI harp instead of OVER it, it would have been at least ten times better. Moving on, I liked the grasses that Link uses to call Epona and the falcon, as those perfectly fit with Link's farm boy roots established in this game. Not a bad aural experience overall, but there were just a few things that made me cringe, especially since Zelda has seemingly come to embrace music as a fundamental part of its structure with no signs of letting up any time soon.

Replay Value: 9/10

This game is long. Extremely long. But I won't go as far as to say it is a "70-80 hour quest". It took me 31 hours to complete without any help at all. I have not completed all of the sidequests yet, but I can't see it taking me another 40-50 hours. If it does, I swear, I will rewrite this part of the review. That being said, there are plenty of sidequests which, while not being very imaginative with most being glorified fetch quests, offer some handsome rewards in terms of heart pieces, rupees to fund other side quests, and some interesting sub-plots. Yes, the side quests are repetitious and tedious, but they are there for those who wish to indulge and definitely add to this game's already long life-span. Once all is said and done though, it will probably only be the most hardcore of fans who pop TP back into their systems for another round. I still feel I must award the game's replay value a 9 just for the sheer length of the game.

Finally, my rating of Twilight Princess as a Zelda game: 9/10

In my mind, there is a set order of Zelda games ranked in order of their greatness, and, for me anyway, TP has dethroned Ocarina of Time as my second favorite. It has almost everything Ocarina of Time had (literally) but does it better and adds to the experience in almost every way possible. In some ways, this game came very close to attaining the top of my list by ousting my personal favorite, Link to the Past. However, that's... well, I won't say impossible, but it's damn close. But still TP deserves it's place among the Zelda pantheon and shows that the series still has plenty of life left in it.

Overall score (not an average): 9/10
Yeah, I know, I said I was being extremely harsh even though I gave the game outstanding scores. Well, I was being harsh. Twilight Princess, however, was just that good.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/07