The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

"Definitely the Best Zelda Game"

This is by far the best Zelda game ever that is out. This game introduced a lot of new concepts to the Zelda series. I would like to point out a couple of things about the game that will be explained in better detail below. First of all, they introduce Link being turned into a wolf. Second, they create a brand new antagonist for the game. Third, you get a new partner, and fourth, you get to explore different regions of Hyrule unlike before. What could be more perfect than a large vast world to explore, many cool items old and new, very easy yet creepy bosses, vast dungeons to explore some of which are just plain evil, being able to go through Hyrule as a wolf or human, and with new things to collect? I loved how Twilight Princess added new side quests and things to collect such as heart pieces, golden bugs, and poe souls, all of which will be mentioned below. The new antagonist of the game was really cool. He was the main dude who messed with you on your adventure and wasn't Ganondorf for a change. There was actually a number 1 villian in this game other than Ganon, which I thought was a very nice change from the usual feel and flow of the Zelda series. I know that you'll love this game if you are a true die hard Zelda fan. Even if you're not a Zelda fan, this game can very well draw you into the series as I've seen it do so for many fortunate gamers.

Story 10/10
Twilight Princess had the best story in my opinion. They did have the whole light versus dark theme, but they portrayed it in a different way. Being able to turn into a wolf was also a cool addition to the story. I liked how you could sense stuff in wolf form and dig through the ground. Being able to talk to animals as a wolf was cool, especially getting to talk to Epona. The story is similar to the other Zeldas. It's one of those get 3 items, obtain the Master Sword, get some more items, Zelda gets kidnapped, you save the world. That story may sound repetitive and boring after a while, but I don't think it's really that bad. This game has a very good story. You get to explore the different parts of the light and dark worlds in this game. The only way to return to the light world from the dark or Twilight World is to dispel the darkness. That's probably one of the coolest features about the game. Midna, your new partner, was also cool and made the story more interesting. She's kinda like Navi in terms of being annoying, but definitely more helpful. As far as the whole Triforce bit, that part isn't in the story which was a nice change. I was surprised that people complained about this game having the same story as the others when the Triforce wasn't even mentioned in this game. Taking out the Triforce made a good addition to the story. If they could take out the Triforce in this game and still link Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf, they could do this for every Zelda game still to come. A very good story and is definitely a newer form other than the previous Zelda games. In my opinion, I thought this story was more like A Link to the Past with the whole trying to merge the two worlds together.

Controls 10/10
The controls for this game make you feel like part of the game instead of just sitting in front of the TV like a programmed robot pushing buttons. I honestly can't see how people can complain about the controls. One controls Link's movement and spin attack with the Naunchuck Controller. You also use the Naunchuck Controller to Lock on to enemies. The Wii Mote is your item, attacking, and everything else controller really. You will use all of the buttons on the Wii Mote in the game except for the Home and Power Button, depending on how you prefer to turn off your Wii. People were complaining about the controls tiring out your wrist or not pushing a button, but I don't agree with them because I found the controls to be simple and making me feel like a part of the game. Best controls for a Zelda game. Speaking about the controls, there was one little thing that bothered me about the controllers and that was the aiming. Don't get me wrong, the Wii controls are very cool, but the aiming was just brutal. Pointing at the screen was hard because if you moved your hand at all or pointed the wrong way, it is very hard to try and hit your target. Also, you can't fire anything that requires aiming until you point the Wii mote at the screen which requires you to point it level with the censor bar. Because of this process, it sometimes will take you a while to try and aim, but you'll be too late because by that time, your target will have already hit you. Dispite that one little disadvantage, I still give the controls a 10/10 because the use of the Wii mote with the sword balanced out the hard aiming system.

Graphics 10/10
The Cel Shaded graphics and dark background definitely gave Twilight Princess a look of ominous feelings and a dark gloomy plan that would destroy the world. The graphics are what dubbed this game Twilight Princess in my opinion because the graphics were totally appropriate for the title. A lot of people were complaining about the graphics and comparing them in the terms of most scary with Wind Waker. Folks, I assure you that these graphics have nothing to do with Wind Waker. These graphics were realistic and made the story and background more epic and dark. Wind Waker's graphics were cartoony and colorful, which makes the game unrealistic and like the creation of a 5 year old. I seriously don't see how people could compare these graphics to Wind Waker as they are nothing alike. These graphics are the best for the Zelda game and were majorly improved after 20 years of the retro graphics.

Tunes 10/10
It wouldn't be a Zelda game without the classic tunes we all know and love with some new ones thrown into the mix. You will notice a lot of familiar tunes such as the Temple of Time music, the lost woods theme, and of course the traditional theme of Legend of Zelda. It also wouldn't be a Zelda Game without the classical figuring out music when you solve a puzzle. The classic tunes mixed with the new ones gave off great audio for this game. I hope that the Zelda games continue to add new tunes with a mix of the classic ones to entertain Zelda fans all around. The new tunes make this game very interesting because even though the classic tunes are always the best, they do tend to get a little repetitive and old after a while.

Game Play 10/10
This is the best part of the Zelda game. The gameplay for this game is incredible and will give you hours of enjoyment. You will start off as a young man who finally learns of his destiny to save Hyrule like the previous Zeldas. They also added in a new antagonist by the name of Zant. He claims to be the ruler of the Twilight and will continually get in Link's way on his adventure. The one thing I love about this game is they didn't make it obvious as to where you had to go next. You had to explore and figure out where to got next like the retro Zeldas. This is a true feature of a Zelda game. The exploring is one of the best parts. The dungeons are also a lot harder with harder puzzles to solve then previous Zeldas. The dungeons appear kinda linear because you hardly carry more than one key at a time and the bosses are really simple, but the massive size of the dungeons and the hard puzzles make up for the linear dungeons and easy boss fights. This game also has a few sidequests to complete and the traditionally collect every item and heart containers. They have also added some more stuff to collect. You must now hunt for 60 poe souls and 24 golden bugs which are scattered all throughout Hyrule. In terms of replay value, this game is so long and has little after the game stuff, most people are gonna be like once or twice for me and then I'm done. Not much replay value, but it's a Zelda game so what do you expect? There are a lot of fun things to do in this game, so don't let the little replay value hinder your decision. It's basically a matter of opinion. Most people think this game doesn't have any replay value because it is so long. Other people will say that this game has a lot of replay value because of all of the heart pieces, poe souls, and golden bugs to collect. Whatever you decide to classify it as is your decision.

Overall 10/10
I would definitely recommend buying a copy of Twilight Princess for the Wii. The Gamecube version is similar to the Wii one storywise, but everything is mirrored. In the Wii Version, everything on the left becomes right in the Gamecube version and vice versa. Both are great games and one of the top 10 Wii and Gamecube games. Although this game got a lot of complaints, I see nothing wrong with it except for the difficulty of the bosses which again is made up by the vastness and hard puzzles of the dungeon. I know that you'll enjoy this game, and I bet you it'll take you a good 50 hours just to beat the story on your first playthrough.

Conclusion
Overall, this game is the best Zelda out there so far and pawns all of the other ones. Good story, awesome controls, great graphics, wonderful tunes, and outstanding gameplay make this the best and most epic of the many Zelda games out there. This game is definitly worth your time.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/07