The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

"Link & Midna's Excellent Adventure"

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Remember the amount of hype surrounding this game a few years ago? The game had been in development for so long, been delayed again and again in order for Nintendo to truly perfect it, and the final product promised to do what had previously seemed impossible: Surpass Ocarina of Time, considered by many not merely the best Zelda ever, but the best friggin' game in the whole wide world. And indeed, upon its release Twilight Princess was proclaimed by most critics to be the best Zelda game yet, but as time passed, its star seems to have faded. Nowadays, Twilight Princess-bashing is common, the apparent consensus being that the game failed to live up to the hype and proved to be inferior to Ocarina of Time, and arguably several other Zelda games as well. So why the disconnect between critics and gamers? Why is Twilight Princess remembered so poorly? The reason could be that while Twilight Princess is, objectively speaking, a tremendously good game, it didn't really bring anything new and exciting to the Zelda series in the way Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and even Wind Waker did.

Concept

Originally developed for the GameCube, Twilight Princess got Wiified in the latter stages of development, and the Wii-version ended up being released before the GameCube-version. Twilight Princess is an action/adventure game, the 4th Zelda game in 3D and the first Zelda game ever to be a launch title (obviously, this only goes for the Wii-version). Being the only truly ”hardcore” Wii game available at the time of the console's release, as well as a highly anticipated Zelda game in its own right, Twilight Princess was naturally a smash hit commercially.

As always, you control the young hero Link. This time around, Link lives in the peaceful Ordon Village, were he helps out at the ranch and generally is a productive member of the community. However, everything changes when one day monsters attack the village and kidnap its children. Link tries to take on the evil-doers, but ends up not only being captured himself, but also transformed into a wolf by forces he can't comprehend. He manages to escape his prison with the help of the mysterious and magical imp girl named Midna, only to find out that the dark forces that transformed him into a wolf have already managed to take over most of Hyrule, and covered the land in Twilight. Link, with the aid of Midna (a creature of the Twilight herself) now has to drive out these forces of evil.

Story

Twilight Princess's story starts off well, with a nice buildup in Ordon Village before Link gets thrust into the epic adventure. The pacing is good, Midna works very well as a partner and Link gradually learns more about both the Twilight and the villain behind it, even as some parts remain a mystery. Halfway into the game though, after a series of rather predictable plot twists, the story kinda loses focus. Hyrule has by then been purged of the Twilight and Link's next task is to repair the Mirror of Twilight in order to enter the Twilight Realm where Zant, the main villain of the game, resides. With the threat of the Twilight now a distant memory, the sense of urgency and danger is pretty much gone, the quality of the storytelling falls and the last part of the game feels downright rushed as far as the story is concerned, despite the beautiful cut-scenes and high production value.

On the plus side, Midna turns out to be the best developed individual character in any Zelda game so far, to the extent that you really grow to care about her and become interested in her backstory, which is gradually revealed throughout the game. Link has had some interesting partners in past Zelda games, but none that have displayed the character development and growth of Midna, and only one that had such a prominent role in the main story. Apart from Midna though, Twilight Princess's overall cast of characters is rather weak, most of the characters being less memorable and more one-dimensional than the ones in Wind Waker, let alone Majora's Mask. As a result, it's hard to really care about what happens to them.

Graphics

Back when the Wii first came out, Twilight Princess was easily the best looking game available for the console. This ought to be something of an embarrassment for Nintendo, considering how the Wii-version looked pretty much identical to the GameCube one, and the visuals were indeed those of a GameCube game (allbeit a stunning one). Newer Wii games like Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy definitely boast superior graphics, and make Twilight Princess (especially its somewhat blurry textures) look quite dated.

Leaving that aside, Twilight Princess still has a lot going for it in terms of graphics. The enormous landscapes look truly majestic, Huryle is a beautiful world, the draw distance is impressive and the art design is great. The Twilight world (or rather, the world of Hyrule under the Twilight) looks really nice as well, with tasteful use of bloom lighting giving it a suitably surreal feel. Twilight Princess remains to this day one of the more impressive Wii games visually, especially when compared to most third party efforts.

Music & Sound

Twilight Princess's soundtrack is definitely a good one, though one could argue it relies somewhat heavily on remixes of older Zelda tunes. That said, it definitely features its fair share of original, beautiful melodies as well. While I would say its soundtrack is definitely less memorable than those of the N64 Zelda games, nobody can credibly claim Twilight Princess is lacking good music. The biggest disappointment is the fact that the music is not orchestrated, it's still Midi music (meaning the quality is inferior), which is hard to justify in an age in which even Mario platformers boast orchestrated music.

Link remains a silent protagonist and none of the other characters in the game speak either (except for Midna, who speaks gibberish). While it might strike some people as weird for such a cinematic game to be without voice acting, I hardly find it a major problem. The sound effects are good, and the classic Zelda sounds and noises are still included in this game.

Gameplay

Being very much a traditional Zelda game, Twilight Princess's gameplay is what you've come to expect: A finely tuned mix of action, adventure, puzzles, set pieces, mini-games and sidequests. During the course of the main adventure, you will be going from Temple to Temple, overcoming lots of different challenges in order to get there. There are also plenty of towns and places to visit and explore, people to talk to and secrets to uncover. It's the classic Zelda formula and it still holds up incredibly well, making Twilight Princess a joy to play despite a handful of imperfections. More on those later.

Controls

Before the Wii-version of Twilight Princess came out, gamers were very curious about how the motion controls would impact the game. As it turns out, the motion controls for Twilight Princess were pretty much tacked-on, but Nintendo did so in a competent manner. By shaking the Wiimote you make Link swing his sword, and when shaking the Nunchuck he performs a spin attack. Hardly earth-shattering stuff, but it's easy to pull off, as well as reliable and responsive. Aiming a weapon is now done by using the Wiimote's pointer functionality, which is a real improvement on the old control scheme and very well executed. Fishing is also much more realistic and fun with the motion controls. On the other hand, using the bow in combination with the Hawkeye item (which turns the bow into a long-range sniping weapon) is made more difficult with the Wii-version's controls. All in all, I would still say the motion controls are a net positive for the game, and makes it feel somewhat more fresh.

Apart from the motion controls, Twilight Princess controls pretty much like any other 3D Zelda game, and I mean that in a good way. The controls are responsive and precise, intuitive and easy to learn. Z-targeting still works great. However, combat has been tweaked and improved, Link can now run while swinging his sword and learns a number skills throughout the game. Some of these won't be of much use, but others (like the ability to stab an enemy already knocked down) are definitely very useful. Wolf Link controls well too, and Epona the horse controls much better than she did in Ocarina of Time, both when riding her and during fights (horseback combat is greatly improved).

Items & Abilities

Most of the typical Zelda items (like bombs, the boomerang and the bow) are included in this game, as well as items more often associated with 2D Zelda games (like the lantern). Later in the game you will also get your hands on some very cool new items, unfortunately, these new items are rarely useful outside of the specific Temples where they can be found. One very neat aspect of Twilight Princess is how old items have been given new abilities. For example, the boomerang now has the power of wind, and the iron boots can actually enable Link to walk on magnetized walls and ceilings. Some items can also be used in combination with each other, with results like bomb arrows and the sniper bow.

When he steps into the Twilight, Link will automatically be turned into a wolf. After the Twilight has been driven out of Hyrule however, he becomes able to transform into his wolf-form at will. As a wolf he can reach hard-to-reach places (with the help of Midna), he has his own set of offensive moves and the wolf's senses are sharper than those of human Link. Maybe the most original and clever ability is the way Wolf Link can keep track of specific smells, enabling him to ”see” a trail of smell, which can help him track down missing people and navigate his way through dangerous terrain. The wolf form is a nice addition to the game, though the transformation-system doesn't hold a candle to what Majora's Mask had on offer.

Hyrule

The world of Hyrule in Twilight Princess is at least 10 times bigger than the Hyrule in Ocarina of Time. Maybe even bigger than that. Twilight Princess is an absolutely massive game, and nothing exemplifies this more than Hyrule. The overworld is not only gigantic, but also rich and varied, featuring plenty of different environments, landmarks and enemies. Traveling the world on foot would take ages, but fortunately you get Epona early in this game, and the horse is also much faster than she was in Ocarina of Time. You also get the ability to warp around the world halfway into the game, making the world so much more manageable and the traveling process much less tedious than in Wind Waker.

Bigger isn't always better though. While nicely designed and pretty to look at, Hyrule turns out to be a pretty empty world when you inspect it more closely. Sure, there are secrets, collectibles and various objects to be found here and there, and if you add them all up the total number might even seem somewhat impressive, but in a world so vast, they will inevitably seem few and far between. Putting it bluntly, what good is a giant world if exploration is not rewarding and there simply isn't that much to do in it?

Temples & Bosses

Twilight Princess features a great number of Temples, and they are also some of the biggest Temples to ever appear in a Zelda game. Fortunately they are not just huge, but also clever, varied and superbly designed. Their increased size does not result in them being more difficult or complex than the later Temples in Ocarina of Time though, common sense and intelligent use of your items is enough to solve the various puzzles, and the many different enemies are easy enough to defeat (though fighting them is nonetheless very enjoyable).

Unlike in Ocarina of Time, the size, complexity and difficulty of the Temples doesn't gradually increase, but remains pretty consistent throughout the game. The advantage of this is that you get a greater number of high-quality Temples at your disposal, on the other hand the sense of progression and anticipation is diminished. While Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask both saved their best Temples for last, the last few Temples in Twilight Princess are among its weakest ones. They are still by no means bad though, and the variety is certainly great from start to finish: In one Temple you're rescuing monkeys, in another you'll be walking on walls and ceilings, while in a third Temple you're bringing statues to life and having them follow you.

The bosses are nothing short of fantastic, just the kind of enormous, vicious beasts that make for stunningly epic battles. Fighting them is just so much fun, and each boss is completely unique and different. The last few boss battles in particular are some of the best you'll ever encounter in a Wii game, as well as being among the best battles of any Zelda, 2D or 3D. Sure, the bosses are generally pretty easy to defeat, but when they are so cool and the fights so entertaining, how much does that really matter? Also, the mini-bosses are pretty awesome too.

Variety

Zelda games are generally pretty amazing when it comes to variety, with their wide array of challenges and all the sidequests and mini-games. Twilight Princess is certainly no exception, but does things somewhat differently. This time, many of the mini-games are incorporated into the main adventure, so stuff like Goron wrestling, goat herding and shield-snowboarding is actually part of the quest, rather than being optional mini-games. Twilight Princess also includes plenty of cool set-pieces, like dueling the Great Moblin on horseback, protecting a wagon under attack and even riding a monstrous Twilight Bird. There are also a number of optional mini-games and sidequests, but they are less numerous and generally less interesting than what you'd come to expect from a 3D Zelda game. The one big exception is the fishing game, which is much deeper and far superior to the one in Ocarina of Time.

Minor Annoyances

While Twilight Princess is generally very well designed, there are some flaws that really stick out, small though they are. For one thing, early in the game you will consistently receive far more rupees than you can possibly use or store, meaning time and time again rupee-filled chests you come over will prove completely useless. Also, every time after you've turned your Wii off, some of the game's internal memory must have gone with it, because afterwards you will get the same, useless info-message about every rupee-type you pick up that's even slightly valuable, messages that you have already gotten the last time you played the game. No, I don't need to be informed yet again that a blue rupee is worth 5 green ones, I've already gotten that message six times this week.

The day-night system remains, but now each individual day and night lasts much longer than before. This is an outright stupid change, seeing how there is no way to manipulate time (unlike in previous games) and there are a number of collectibles you can only get at night, setting the stage for plenty of mindless waiting. These flaws are all small, sure, but they are so obvious and annoying that you'd imagine they'd have been dealt with already at the playtesting stage. They are also flaws that did not exist in the very first 3D Zelda game, so why are they now suddenly cropping up in the 4th one?

A Gripping Adventure

Maybe the most impressive thing about Twilight Princess is how it kept me as a player completely hooked all the way through, despite how long the game was. Its linearity (it is pretty much completely linear, allowing for much less exploration and experimentation than Ocarina of Time) might have helped in this particular instance, however, the excellent design and the sheer fun-factor probably had a lot more to do with it. There is nothing here of consequence that is really new or unique compared to other Zelda games, but that doesn't stop it from being one amazing adventure.

Longevity

As previously mentioned, Twilight Princess is a very long game. Just simply completing the main quest can take some 40-50 hours. After that, there are dozens of heart pieces to collect, extra items to find, secrets to uncover, as well as tons of poes and bugs to hunt down. The fishing game alone can keep you playing for hours on end. There is even a secret area that will have fighting your way through 50 rooms of enemies, testing your fighting skills to the limit. Apart from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, no other Wii game can offer you this many hours of high quality entertainment.

Closing Comments

While not without its flaws and in some ways already quite dated, Twilight Princess is still a fantastic game, and a must-buy for any Wii owner. I definitely consider both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask to be superior, but when you nevertheless have a game this good on your hands, it's hard to feel disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/09

Game Release: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (EU, 12/08/06)