11-19-2006, 12:16 AM
Finally, after what it seems like an eon -- everyone can finally grasp the (right handed) sword of link and play as his character in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Wii and Gamecube. Link, a young farm boy is pulled into a multidimensional Hyrule after an evil darkness shrouded the kingdom and is forced to awaken the hero within himself and the animal in order to save the world.
Twilight Princess is the latest installment of the Zelda franchise and the first to utilize the Nintendo Wii's innovative and revolutionary controller dubbed the Wiimote (Wii Remote Control). Fans of the games were shocked when the big N announced its release on both the Wii and the Nintendo Gamecube, whilst its original console of release was on the GC, this speculated the idea of Nintendo using their new home console as a gimmick to get people buying Wii. Despite the delays and drool-flooding previews of the game within the past few months, the wait was definitely worth it.
The first few minutes were definitely a shocker, the controls were unlike any I have encountered thus far (I have refused to go to the nearest kiosk--with all the action due to the fact that I wanted it to be reserved especially for the day when I get the Wii), It has a sharp learning curve.. and it intimidated me for a small period of time until I was finally able to get used to the controls. The first leg of the game was nothing short of amazing, the beautiful lush environments (despite the criticism) and the gameplay emerged me in the land of Hyrule like no other game before it. All the other elements of a Zelda game, was visible at every corner of the screen, however it is the darkest game of all Zelda games as it starts off really dark and gradually lifted -- which I can say, really did add to how Link was literally getting rid of the darkness (or whatever it is called
). Despite the fact that this is not the first in the franchise to include two parallel worlds, Twilight Princess brought in a lot of mixed emotions with his dramatic transformation into a wolf.. When Link is within the boundaries of the "Twilight Realm", the he is able to perform majestic wolf-like attacks and gestures and the way he takes on challenges and obstacles is a huge contrast with his bipedal counterpart self.
You are able to lock on to your enemies, cross gaps and get words of wisdom (hints, tips and facts) ocationally from a shadowy creature that literally acts like our Navi in Ocarina of Time, named Midna. So whenever you are stuck, when you need some advice on how to kill a certain monster or if you are wanting to travel from one place to the other, Midna is definitely there for you.
Hyrule is a MASSIVE world, and there is still a lot of heart containers to collect - subquests and secrets to be unlocked! Personally speaking, if you are a Zelda fanatic you will not definitely be disappointed. To conclude this short review, this game is worth all the hype and all the wait we have been subjected to. With this game you are effortlessly pulled in the beautiful realistic graphics (vs. Windwaker), powerful sountrack, innovative controls and wonderful storyline. I cannot wait to finish this game and move on to the Gamecube version, as I heard from one of the developers.. "It will feel the same, but will be a fresh new experience".
Storyline: 10/10 - I cannot say it is the most original storyline.. but it worked perfectly with the whole concept of the game.
Gameplay: 9/10 - The controls were a tad intimidating at first, but warms up to you after roughly 20 mins. in the game.
Graphics: 9.5/10 - It is not as bad as many people think it is, the color schemes.. saturation.. and all the graphical efforts were flawless..
Sound: 10/10 - Did I mention, this is the best sounding Zelda game thus far? The Wiimote's built in speaker added a lot of depth in the audio department..
Overall: 93.75% / 100%
The 6.25% leaves some room for improvement.. I cannot wait for the next installment!
