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 One of the most anticipated titles to launch with the Wii is the next edition in the Legend of Zelda series, Twilight Princess. While not a Wii exclusive game, it’s still a flagship game in a long and popular series and may draw some fans of the series who don’t already own a GameCube. This particular review is for the Wii version, but the GameCube version by all accounts is fairly similar and supposedly is different in that it only has the map flipped, so east and west are reversed.
Gameplay
The biggest question going into this, and any other Wii game, is how the controls work (which is why I start off with gameplay before immersion). The game uses the Wiimote with the Nunchuck, and the learning curve on them is pretty quick. For the Nunchuck, the stick moves you around, the C button lets you look around without moving, and the Z button is used for targeting which can make combat and aiming much easier, as well as how you try to block with the shield. You attack by shaking the Wiimote, the B button is your special item, and the D pad is for selecting other specials quickly. The A button is a catch all, attacking, interacting, putting items away. If the item needs aiming, like your slingshot, you aim using the Wiimote, which is fairly intuitive. You can also aim using the Z button, but this is not always easy to do, and it has a range limit. The other Wiimote buttons are used as well for maps and menus. You can also unleash your spin attack by shaking the Nunchuck, and later, learn your shield bash by moving it forward. This proves to be a bit difficult, as the Nunchuck is not as sensitive as the Wiimote, so you may find yourself doing a spin attack instead of a shield bash, or occasionally neither, but that seems to be the flaw in an otherwise very intuitive and well designed control setup. The controls don’t get in the way of the story, and the ability to save anywhere is a big plus, though where you start when you save is often unexpected and can be a mild irritant if you thought you might start somewhere else, but traveling for the most part is not extremely tedious, nor does it take very long to do, and there are many shortcuts you can find to make travel go even faster. Even during your time as a wolf, the controls don’t deviate from the normal scheme, making learning a new form for Link not that hard to get used to. The game itself is not too terribly difficult, with much of the difficulty being hidden more in the side quests, which make the rest of the game easier (allowing you to carry more supplies, money, new combat maneuvers, etc). While you might find yourself dying on occasion, it will likely be a rare occurrence, and restarting from death is far from being something extremely challenging. Immersion (Story/Environment)
Twilight Princess brings us (back?) to Hyrule, as players lead Link on his journey to fight the Twilight realm, which has infringed and endangered the residents of Hyrule. On his journey, Link will learn much of the lost history of Hyrule, gain a companion, a twilight creature named Midna, and even learn to deal with being a wolf on occasion. The story has the usual Legend of Zelda similarities. The cast of Link (or whatever you name the main character), Zelda, Gannon, the Zoras, the Gorons, and many of the regular baddies make an appearance, and it’s set in the Kingdom of Hyrule. Also, like most of the other games, there is generally no link to the other games other than subtle winks or nudges, so there is no prior Zelda experience needed. The game features other characters in it more prominently than previous versions, and you will find many helpful allies and entertaining side characters through out the adventure. Characters will move around to various locations and towns, and things actually happen to them beyond minor interactions. There is a sense of time flow as well, as day turns to night and shops close, but also things change between dungeons, which gives the game a real flow. The story is fairly solid, and the characters are well written, with interesting dialogue, and as usual, Link never actually says anything. While the plot makes the game somewhat linier, there are plenty of side quests and jobs to distract you from this, and for the most part you never feel like you’re very confined to one direction. You have the usual Zelda smattering of levels, and the familiar level design of find the unique object in that level, find the big key, kill the big boss, usually using the new found object. Still, the levels are well thought out, and each one has a very different feel about them that makes them all quite fun. There are also some new toys in Link’s bag, in particular, the Spinner is one of the most fun items in a Zelda game I’ve seen in a long time, and I wish they’d made more use out of it. Graphics and Sound
The graphics are well done, and are an upgrade from the previous generation consoles, but not by a lot, which shows off the fact that Twilight Princess is in fact a game originally slated for the GameCube. Still, the art is very well done, and the graphics do look sharp and crisp. It adds to the level of Immersion, particularly that each region and dungeon has a little bit of distinctness to it as well. The animations are smooth, and well done, and even some of the little extras are there, like Link stretching if you don’t move him after a while, or Midna yawning and the wolf sitting. Still, some of the graphics, particularly some of the bosses, are fantastic, and it is perhaps the sharpest looking game out for the Wii at launch. The music in Twilight Princess is well done, and is unique to each location. You can also pick up cues from the music, such as if an enemy is near, or something you’re looking for is close. Some of it can get a bit repetitive, but it generally doesn’t get in the way of the game at worst, and at best it adds a lot to the feel of a particular location or scene. The sound effects are good for the most part; the only noticeable thing lacking is voiceovers, which would have added a lot to the game. The sound effects from the Wiimote speaker are a little weak, but it is a fairly cheep speaker, and it seems to be more a hardware limitation at that than a problem with the game in particular. Unfortunately, you can’t turn them off without potentially missing some cues that only come across that speaker. Above and Beyond
This version of Zelda has, in my opinion, some of the more memorable bosses and levels in any Zelda game yet released. It’s not often there’s a ‘Wow, that was cool’ factor in a boss fight, let alone multiples. The dungeons aren’t simply dungeons either. They are places with their own setups and reasons for existence as well. They have non-combatants in them, locations and layouts that make sense, and even some well timed humor in them. The world feels big, and alive, but not so big you feel overwhelmed as a player, and the over all game play is fun. Really, the only negative to the game is the startup is almost tediously slow, almost enough to test your patience after an hour or two, and admittedly, most of that is to allow the player to get used to the Wii’s control scheme. With all kinds of hidden goodies, there is some fairly high replay value in the game, to either try to collect all the hidden goodies, or perhaps try to make it through the game without them, which is also possible. The game will take you a while to finish, probably a good thirty to forty hours on the first run, but the length of the game doesn’t seem particularly drawn out, and it is rare when you feel you’re wandering aimlessly looking for what you’re supposed to do next. And if you’re really lost, you can always ask Midna. Overall
Twilight Princes has many strengths as a game, including to show how easy it is for the most part to use the Wii controller in an already well established genera and series. It shines in most areas, and its few flaws are small, and don’t truly blemish the overall game experience. It is one of the better Zelda titles released to date, and a fine addition to the Zelda series, the Wii launch set, and anyone’s gaming library. Bront’s Score: 9.8 out of 10 Discuss this review in the Forums. |
