Reviews// The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The Full Review (Wii)

Enchanced Wii control...

Posted 7 Dec 2006 20:00 by
First off, I'd like to apologise in advance if I gush but damn I love this game! When I first turned it on, after years of anticipation, and a brief taste at this year’s E3, I had high hopes. Upper atmosphere-like expectations that had me giddy the whole way home from the midnight launch. I very nearly trembled with excitement. I was, of course, disappointed. It didn't look as great as I hoped.

The controls were good and felt like the Zelda I knew, but they also seemed to have the same issues I'd known since 1999's Ocarina of Time. Was this really all that three years of the big N's best developers could muster? In spite of my initial let down, I pressed on. I herded some goats, helped out a remorseful cat and put up with an obstinate girl who stole my horse. Then, magic happened. The story slowly, oh so slowly, began to unfold. Hours rolled by, and I was completely sucked in.

I was around five hours in when I got to the first dungeon. I’d already fought multiple enemies, explored a patch of land as big as the Hyrule field from Ocarina of Time and learned a fighting technique or two. It was then that it struck me, the biggest difference between this and previous Zeldas was not in its graphic presentation, nor its new Wii-specific control scheme. What makes this Zelda special is how well its story is not only written but how it is told. In between the nine main dungeons is a deeper, more well-told story than I had ever hoped for.

Now that I've seen every square inch of the latest version of Hyrule, killed everything from a tiny rat to a giant sea monster, and dramatically rescued all sorts of things via exciting horseback sword play, I can safely say, this is the "best Zelda ever". There, I said it. Look for that on the back of the platinum edition next year.

Everything about this game is just as good or better than its predecessors. The world has the stunning “realistic fairy tale” look of Ocarina of Time, but thanks to a few more years of practice and better hardware the characters have beautifully believable expressions. Rather than messing with perfection, the control scheme matches that of the Wind Waker, but with better aiming and more tactile fighting thanks too the Wii Remote. Most of all though, for lack of a less clichéd' term, this game is epic.

The story, in as non-spoiler form as possible, is that you, Link, are charged with delivering a special sword from your village to Hyrule castle as a gift. On your way there however all hell breaks loose, so to speak, and the whole world as you know it is cast into perpetual twilight. Then you turn into a wolf, with earrings.

You come to find out, by way of the slightly annoying but still endearing creature Midna, that this is the work of the self-proclaimed king of twilight, Zant. Midna, who rides on your back while you're in wolf form, is a bit standoffish but appears to be interested in rebelling against the king and helping to restore your world to its once sunny self. Together you set off to talk to people, solve puzzles and save princesses.

Of course the first thing that grabbed my attention when starting the game up was the Wii “enhanced” control scheme. As you may or may not know, sword swinging and biting (when in wolf form) are mapped to the motion sensing in the Wii Remote itself. A quick shake of the Remote will unsheathe your sword and continued thrusts will string together multiple hit combos.
-1- 2 3 4   next >>

Read More Like This


Comments

Showing the 20 most recent comments. Read all 21.
billson 8 Dec 2006 00:41
2/21
well have to post out reactions to the game ourselves here, but no spoilers, GOD HELP YOU if is see spoiler, like the one where u are actually playing as princess zelda not link, woops.......only messin!
RiseFromYourGrave 8 Dec 2006 06:31
3/21
i think that the lack of speech also leaves more to the imagination. after so many many years of them speaking in my head, i dont think i could bear to hear my gaming heroes seemingly possessed by some american cheeseball
more comments below our sponsor's message
billson 8 Dec 2006 18:17
4/21
gd point,and also, anyone whos played oblivion will know that after 20 hours of the same 5 voice actors, you get a little antsy...
phoo 13 Dec 2006 01:46
5/21
You actually can have more than three save slots.

Save whatever you want in the three slots, and you can back up the whole zelda save file (or any other game save file) to an SD card in the Wii data management menu. Put that data on a PC and you essentially have infinite backup save space. Continue playing on the save file that remains on the Wii and just copy the back-up file to the Wii anytime to relive all you best catalogued moments.

Have fun!
billson 13 Dec 2006 02:49
6/21
cool, thatll save sum space on the system memory as well, cheers. I actually think this IS the best zelda game ever made, not the best game ever tho, that will in my opinion always be Deus Ex or Ocarina of Time.
majin dboy 13 Dec 2006 09:38
7/21
nice idea phoo.

everyone,was like,"omg,no voice acting" people like PJ,every group of friends has one PJ in them.

and even ign,bashed it for feeling clostraphobic,but billson raises a good point,for epic games there is to much repatition,which can lead to it feeling false or even dare i say "produced",if u know what i mean.

wen i play zelda,i dont think,oh god i hav2 read for cut scene x or conversation y,u r just lost in the world, and therefore dosnt matter that ther is no voice acting.
RiseFromYourGrave 13 Dec 2006 12:11
8/21
i imagine the people who complain about the text speech in Zelda are the same imbeciles that complain about subtitles in those foreign films theyre so miffed by
LUPOS 13 Dec 2006 14:37
9/21
phoo wrote:
You actually can have more than three save slots.


Good on you for thinking that out. I never even tried it but in truth the one downer to that would be quiting out of the game evertime you saved in order to manage the memory.

I don't think i'll be going through and saving all my saves from now on since it's kind of a pain but it's good to know it's possible.

Besides, someone will probably just put all the cutscnes compiled on youtube anyway... if they aren't already there.
____________
billson 18 Dec 2006 03:29
10/21
Zelda-30 hours in (No Spoilers)- Zant=W****r, Midna-loyal companion and more of a friend that Navi ever was!, Link-Legend as always. Who here would dare to commit sacrilege and rename link in their own name?
RiseFromYourGrave 18 Dec 2006 03:49
11/21
billson wrote:
Who here would dare to commit sacrilege and rename link in their own name?


haha i thought the same when i restarted ALTTP today. i always give it some thought at the name input screen but i can never bring myself to call him anything but link. it seems like a lie :D. it pretty much is one, come to think of it
majin dboy 18 Dec 2006 13:57
12/21
yeah,i really should have called him link,but i dont regret calling the hero dboy,the wii is all about immersion after all.
billson 20 Dec 2006 03:29
13/21
yeh, but Link is LINK, not dboy, the hero of time is epic not a fanboy!!!
OptimusP 20 Dec 2006 07:58
14/21
I named him Tim...after...me...that's always fun to do...and i'm stuck! I can't get the last tear of light in the Zora domain...it's in the passage way that leads from the Zora domain straight to hyrule field and both entrances are sealed with rocks...i can't blow those things as a wolf!
majin dboy 20 Dec 2006 09:08
15/21
i dont think u have to blow them up,no u just not bash into the wall and it falls off?maybe im thinkin of the wrong tear.


the last insect is "difficult"
LUPOS 20 Dec 2006 14:20
16/21
OptimusP wrote:
I named him Tim...after...me...that's always fun to do...and i'm stuck! I can't get the last tear of light in the Zora domain...it's in the passage way that leads from the Zora domain straight to hyrule field and both entrances are sealed with rocks...i can't blow those things as a wolf!


The last tear should be in lake hylia not the zora domain. It's been a little bit since i played that section, have you already unthawed the zoras? If not thats probably your actual next step. I can tell you how to do that if you need.

_____________
Ditto 20 Dec 2006 15:15
17/21
Prehaps you guys could use spoiler tags?
LUPOS 20 Dec 2006 16:08
18/21
Adam M wrote:
Prehaps you guys could use spoiler tags?


Can we? Config?
_____
majin dboy 20 Dec 2006 16:22
19/21
what about just doing SPOILERS**************************** ,no?
TimSpong 20 Dec 2006 17:04
20/21
Adam M wrote:
Prehaps you guys could use spoiler tags?


I'd much prefer for people just to have more respect for their fellow (or fellowette) gamers... erm... man. But, hell, I much prefer cars with indicators (all German cars have 'confirmators' at best)... and drivers who use them, so what do I know?

Sure, we'll see what we can do about Spoiler tags in the pre-Xmas madness...

cheers all

Tim
OptimusP 20 Dec 2006 19:40
21/21
no need, i allready figured it out, now on my way to go into the deep-watery temple!
Posting of new comments is now locked for this page.