The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
ESRB: T for Teen
For the Nintendo Wii
Twilight Princess was the most anticipated Zelda game ever, and perhaps the most anticipated game in gaming history! It sure doesn’t disappoint either.
You start out as a goat herder named Link who will soon find himself launched into an epic adventure to save the mighty kingdom of Hyrule. With help from many allies and that of a mysterious creature named Midna.
The story is what you’ve come to expect from a Zelda title, save Hyrule from the evil which has begun to take it over. Although this story is much darker and you would probably think that with so many Zelda titles released the story must be milked to the bone by now, no. This game delivers a very good story and has many twist and turns.
I think a great addition story wise was Midna, the creature that substitutes Navi. Midna actually has a big part in the story and actually contributes to the story, and plays key parts throughout it.
There are many other aspects that contribute to the story, one being the twilight realm. It ads a whole new level of playing that is somewhat reminiscent of A Link to the Past. Although you do not go through portals in the ground and can only go in when a land is covered by the twilight. But it leads to new gameplay and founds the main principle to the story.
The story advances through areas you may remember from Ocarina of Time. Such as Kakariko village, Zora’s lake, Death Mountain, Hyrule castle, and those are only a few that you’ll remember. But there are also many new places to explore in your adventure. These new places are welcomed openly as they add a whole new level to the story and are nice to have.
The story was probably one of the best Zelda stories written to date. It in my opinion outdoes Ocarina of Time due to its shear depth in the story. Ocarina of time’s story was good. But this story takes the trophy ands does a little bow.
The visuals in Twilight Princess are outstanding! Now I’m not talking beefed up graphics like on the 360, I’m talking the art design and how they’ve incorporated it so well into the game. You can see great distances when out in Hyrule field and other such places. Probably the best example would be the desert. It is truly massive and lays forth to beautiful visuals, as you can see for a very long distance.
Another thing that I find they did very well was the twilight realm. The eerie look gave you a real feeling that this place is an area of despair. I sure know that it gave me that feeling. Plus the little particles of twilight actually looked good. I’d have to say that they did a very good job with the twilight realm in terms of visuals it was done just right.
All around the visuals look great, like in the temples. That’s were the visuals shine. I’d have to say that the temple of time has the best visuals in my opinion. Everything just seemed so polished and worked to the last detail. Which can truly be said about every temple, Hyrule Castle had beautiful visuals which could be proven when looking straight up at the castle when standing in the courtyard, it literally boggles the mind!
All in all the visuals in twilight princess were incredible and most likely the best art work and visuals alike out there on the Wii. If you want good visuals in your Zelda games well your prayers have been answered.
Twilight Princess Gameplay cannot be rivaled by the other Zelda games. There are tons of dungeons to play through and tons of hearts to collect. The gameplay is staggering, there is at least 70+ hours of gameplay in Twilight Princess, which derives from the main quest and the many, many side quest that you may embark on during your quest to free Hyrule.
The dungeons are enormous and a few are not what you would come to expect but are still incredibly fun to play. They vary from a Forest, to mountains, to houses! There are tons and they will keep you busy fro many an hours. But the temples are not the only aspect there is a lot of time spent before you enter the dungeons completing certain tasks so that you may advance to the dungeons. As which is with the first three you must collect spirit bugs in the Twilight Realm to return the area to how it normally was and then fight your way through the epic dungeons.
Now we cannot forget the many side quests that will easily consume your time. One of my favorites is collecting the Golden Bugs for Agitha. She rewards you with Rupees and bigger wallets which can help you a lot since there are many coins to be collected and much to buy. Alongside that there are the heart pieces. There are many heart pieces scattered throughout the land and will take some patience and perhaps a strategy guide to fin them all. Not only that, but there are many treasure chests spread out throughout the land, that’s right there not only in the dungeons!
As you can see Twilight Princess’s gameplay is incredibly varied and will have you wanting more and more, I believe that speaks for itself!
Twilight Princess’s controls were really well done, from swinging your sword to firing arrows at those distant enemies, the controls worked just right. I found that the flicking of the Wii-Remote to use your sword felt incredibly natural and good, as did flicking the Nunchuk from side to side to perform a spin attack. I don’t think I would ever go back to having to push a button, it just wouldn’t feel right now. Another new feature was aiming your projectiles. This was well done and felt fine, you actually got better precision by aiming like this and it gives you a little more freedom, and trust me nothing is more satisfying then popping of a headshot with a bow.
The normal controls for running, switching your weapons, and riding Epona are what you’ve come to expect. Walking/running/riding Epona is done simply by using the analog stick on the Nunchuk attachment (although when riding Epona you can click A to make her go faster). Switching your weapons is easy and well done, you click the – button to open up your inventory screen and then set items by either clicking left, right, or down on the D-Pad. Which is also how you use them in gameplay, click one of those buttons and then you can use those weapons with the B button. It all feels good and smooth when using it.
Now you can also call for Midna to get some help. This is easily down by pushing up on the D-pad. If you’re in the normal world then Midna will come out of your shadow and ask you if you want to talk to her, transform into a wolf or teleport (the last 2 options only open up later into the game). If you’re in the Twilight Realm then she’ll just talk to you from on top of your back. All of these controls feel good and will never overwhelm you, so I think they really did a good job control wise.
The music in Twilight Princess is wonderful, although it would have been nice to have had a fully orchestrated soundtrack. But I still have to say that the music was wonderful and I rather enjoyed it. You’ll notice quite a few tunes from Ocarina of Time, such as the Temple of Time music, which you’ll hear in the temple of time obviously. The music gets intense when fighting which is what you’d expect and they do it well as you really get into the fight. I find that it was well done but have to say that the fully orchestrated music would have brought the music al the way to the top.
One thing that was nice was the Wii-Remote’s speaker, I know many people say that it’s not so great because of the low quality, but I find it adds a nice layer to the gameplay and the audio isn’t that bad. I love hearing my arrow go from my Wii-Remote straight to my TV that is one of my favorite audio sounds in this game. Also when you find treasure and you hear that ever so loved Zelda chime come from your Wii-Remote, you’ve got to love it!
Sword swings, shield hitting, rolling, Epona, those are just some of the things that give off some very nice sounds. When riding Epona and you make her go faster she’ll neigh and start galloping, which all sounds great, especially the horse hoofs clocking on the ground, I personally love that noise. Sword swinging gives a satisfying sound along with a sort of battle type cry from Link, the well known HEEYAH! Still the sound and music is well done and does deserve to be recognized.
Twilight Princess is more then worth the money you’ll spend to get it. With the many hours of gameplay and the sheer largeness of the game you’ll be occupied for hour on end. This game actually has great replay value for a single player game. It’s so good you’ll just want to come back and play it over and over again. I highly recommend the game and remember you will NOT be disappointed with this purchase.
Story- 9.5/10
Visual- 9/10
Gameplay- 10/10
Controls- 9.5/10
Audio- 9/10
Value and Replay value- 9.5/10
Overall- 9.7/10
(Not an average)
I hope you enjoyed my review and would appreciate some feedback!
-alex51011
