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:::Review:::>>> Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess >>> Wii

Posted by edit-undo - October 26th, 2007


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I have tried to make this review as spoiler-free as possible.

Vital Stats
Players: 1
Released: 2006
Core gameplay hours: 40 (How long it takes to complete the main story of the game)
Addtl. Gameplay hours: 15 (How long extra it takes for 100% completion)
Genre: Action-adventure
Controller: Wiimote + Nunchuk
Cost: £40 on it's own, £20 when bundled with a Wii (Virgin Megastores) (as of October 2007)

Story
You play as Link - obviously - a farmhand in a small forest village in the south of Hyrule. Link is very popular with all of the residents of the village (all 13 of them), especially the children, who see him almost like their leader. The mayor of the village wants you to run a small errand to Hyrule Castle, as you are the only person with a horse - but alas, monsters invade the village and steal all the children. Why this happens is never properly explained. So now you set off to find them. One problem though: there's a massive wall of darkness by the only exit from the village, and Link gets sucked into it. The darkness causes him to morph into a wolf. He is then knocked out and imprisoned by dark monsters - all the time being watched by a dark elf thing.

Link, in wolf form, wakes up in a jail cell, and the elf thing just happens to be there. She's called Midna and there's someone she wants you to meet. She leads you to the top of the tallest tower of what turns out to be Hyrule Castle, and surprise surprise, Zelda is there, expecting you. She's got a little problem - twilight is engulfing Hyrule, and you are the only one who can stop it. So, you have to revive the four guardian spirits of Hyrule by returning their light to them, and defeating the boss which resides in the nearby temples.

At this point, I felt a wave of disappointment as I thought there would only be 4 temples altogether - but don't worry, this game has 8, just like every Zelda game before it, so you won't be disappointed; you're in for one hell of an adventure.

There are lots of little side-plots too, and I felt really involved with characters. The compelling story really motivated me to finish the game.

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS
First Impressions

Graphics are awesome. I love the details on the characters - you really get a good idea of their personalities and emotions. The controls are exactly what I expect, and am used to, in a Zelda game (the last Zelda game I played was Majora's Mask on the N64), so it was easy to pick up and play without much hassle. Within ten minutes I'm already on easy-training-type missions, eagerly awaiting the real plot to appear - when it does, at just the right time (an hour in), I am not disappointed. There is an awesome atmosphere - the colours, the effects, the sounds, dialogue, and characters all combine perfectly. The game is so far living up to what I expect of a Zelda game.

Mid-game impressions
After having wandered around Hyrule Field for hours (deliberately, for the fun of exploration), I'm starting to realise that the graphics aren't so great, on the scenery at least. The walls (cliffs?) surrounding the field do seem very blocky at times, and I've spotted several 2D graphics, where I've come to expect 3D. Don't get me wrong though - the graphics are great compared to previous titles, just not quite up to the standard of other next-gen games. All of this is trivial to me, though, as I much prefer gameplay over graphics, and I am not dissatisfied; the dungeons are challenging, interesting, and varied, with many a perplexing puzzle to stall me for a few hours total.

SPECIFICS
Gameplay

The gameplay, in my opinion, was perfect; perfect learning curve, perfectly placed puzzles and dungeons, perfect controls. There isn't much new, gameplay-wise, compared to it's predecessors; but that's not a problem, it still didnt take away the feeling of playing something completely new and exciting.

The gameplay wasn't only consistantly paced and of high quality, but it varied in styler greatly throughout the game; one scene, your following a monkey as he leads you through poisonous fog; another, you're fighting off a horde of giant warthogs on horseback; another, you're calmly working your way through a tasty test of logic; another, and you're in an epic struggle with an epicer boss. That's something I truly love in this game, which sets it apart from others - the epic boss battles. There wasn't a single boss which was less than 10 times the size of Link - the boss of the water temple is a giant see monster at least 300 feet long, which makes them really satisfying to beat. You'll have to think on your toes to beat the bosses too - it's not always obvious how to expose their weak spot. One thing the game lacks, in this respect, is the ability to replay bosses; I'd love to have a rematch with the boss of the Arbiters Grounds level, just because it's fun and innovative.

A nice addition to the game is the secret skills that are scattered throughout Hyrule - 7 in total. While only one of them is compulsory to learn, they will make you just that little bit stronger in battles against the cleverer enemies, allowing you to jump over their heads, or knock them down to decapitate them, or roll around to get behind them.

There are of course plenty of sidequests to do and secrets to find when you don't feel like completing dungeons, along with numerous mini-games. Most of these will reward you with large amounts of rupees, or pieces of heart, which you now need 5 of to complete a new heart container. Initially, I was slightly put-off by needing 5, but then I realised that it meant more minigames!

Hyrule is enormous in this game - the field area is split into 4 areas, and each of those is at least twice as big as the field in Ocarina of Time. The usual domains make an appearance - Castle town, Kakariko Village, Zora's Domain, and Death Mountain are all there, which fans of the series will appreciate, along with the colourful races one expects to see, each, of course, having their own problems and dungeons to solve.

The controls are very easy to get used to if you've played previous games - up to 4 items can be assigned to the d-pad and B button, with the A button performing actions like talking and rolling. Pressing up on the d-pad calls Midna, your mysterious sidekick for this adventure. Holding Z will target enemies so you don't lose sight of them, and also raises your shield, C takes you into a first person view, and the + and - buttons go to inventory menus. So, what about the sword, I hear you ask? Nintendo have ingeniously used the Wiimote's motion sensors for that, and while I was sceptical at first, it actually works really well. You shake the Nunchuck to perform a spin attack, and swipe the Wiimote to do simple slashes. The pointing function of the Wiimote is also used to pinpoint-aim arrows and slingshot pellets.

My only complaint, gameplay-wise, is that the dungeons, and in particular, the bosses, seemed much easier than their Ocarina-of-Time counterparts; most boss battles didn't last longer than 2 minutes, which was a shame, because they were the most fun parts. The puzzles were quite satisfying though, making you smack your head, thinking "Why did I not see that before?!".
Gameplay: 9.5/10Absoloutely perfect except for being slightly on the easy side

Graphics
The graphics on the characters, enemies, and weapons are amazing, definately the best out of all the game I've played. You get a good feel for their personalties and emotions, really making you feel "in the game". However, the scenery and backgrounds aren't as great. They are still awesome, and you don't really notice if you're not looking closely - I just expect them to be better.
There are some stunning visual effects, especially with water and explosions, amongst other particle-oriented effects.
The landscape is stunning from a distance - the view over Lake Hylia is definately erection-worthy, as is the waterfall basin in the Zora's area.
I think it's the little details in the graphics which help make this game be so enjoyable to play - the way Link's hair darkens when wet, the realistic movements of the Wolf Link's chain, the expressions on the faces of the neighbourhood brats. Things you don't notice often, but when you do, it's like OMFG PREEEEETTY.
Graphics: 8/10 Awesome details, OK close-ups

Sounds
As in previous Zelda games, the background music is very cinematic and orchestral, which I love; I also enjoyed how the music on Hyrule Field changes pace depending on how you're moving - the music picks up and becomes more epic as you speed along on Epona (or Gherkin, Pete, Knobber, whatever you decide to name your horse - you can choose a name at the start!), and it calms down to a more relaxing pace when you're strolling slowly. The ambience in the dungeons, in my opinion, wasn't so great though; sure, it set the atmosphere well, but I would have preferred some actual music, something more audible anyway; all the dungeons sounded the same.
As for the other sound effects, I was initially slightly disappointed that the characters still had no actual voices other than the occasional "Heyyy" or "Awwwrrghh", but in the long term, I suppose it would have ruined the Zelda style if there were voiceovers. I felt that there could also have been more variation in the noises made by the enemies - three different grunts for each enemy is not enough in this age of technology. Not to say the current sounds don't work well, tohugh - they do. The sounds are altogether quite good; it's what I expect, but nothing more... although still fantastic anyway.
Sounds: 8/10 Great overworld music but nothing out of the usual elsewhere

OVERALL
This is the best game I've played in a long time - possibly the best game I've ever played. The graphics are beautiful, and work well with the ambient sounds and orchestral soundtrack. The gameplay is varied and involving, with very nice transitions from one mini-adventure to the next. The sotry is deep, and is nicely amplified by the detailed and lovable characters, and emotional side-plots. The bosses are huge, but short-lived.

This is a must-have game for every Wii owner, and a worthy sequel to Ocarina of Time.

Summary
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 8
Sound and Music: 8
Overall: 9.5 - LOVE IT.

- Scott Griffiths

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:::Review:::>>> Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess >>> Wii


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