Nintendo The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

If you’ve played any Zelda game you know what this series is all about. Besides the few that stray a little from the classic Zelda formula, they all still hold a certain charm and experience that this series is known for. This excludes those horrible CD-I games that I won't mention due to my great disgust.

Overview

So what is this world renowned recipe that so many have tried to imitate but only to be found themselves steps below? It’s an epic adventure action game, lead by our hero Link; off to save the land of Hyrule and the lovely princess Zelda. It’s cliché but it works, it works so well, Zelda is known as one of most popular series in the gaming world. But I don’t need to tell you that, so onto the review.

Story

Here we have one of the more complex stories in a Zelda series, but that says very little. Zelda hasn’t really been known for its stories, so I’ll keep this short.

We have two worlds, the land of the Light and the Twilight. Twilight is in trouble and that has affected the Light world. The land of Light is slowly being engulfed in darkness, headed by a mysterious entity named Zant. Of course with the world in grave distress, Link is seen as the chosen one, foreseen by the sages to save both worlds. A cute little imp named Midna accompanies him on this epic journey.

Visuals and Audio

When I heard that Zelda was heading towards a more realistic direction in terms of visuals, I thought of the bland and overdone imagery in so many other games, but this is not the case. Fully fleshed out in a more realistic art direction, Twilight Princess has one of the most engrossing worlds I have ever played. Everything is done very nicely; characters, dungeons, and the overworld all hold great beauty and style.

The graphics aren't on par to what some would consider "next-gen" but the artistic style of Twilight Princess, or of any game, holds so much more value than the graphical output.

You have your classic Zelda music and sounds only enhanced by the Wii-motes little speaker which ups the level of game immersion. I commend Nintendo for adding such a cool little feature. Although the sound from the Wii-mote is a bit jarring and loud at first, you get used to it and only intensifies your battles.

Controls

Flawless… Ok maybe not flawless, but damn close. I didn't have a moment where I was troubled by the Wii-mote and it all seemed very natural. The aiming with the Wii-mote is such a blessing to this game. Side stepping while taking out baddies shooting flaming arrows down at you is a great experience. Thinking back to the old days of aiming makes me shutter. The Z-Targeting system was great as usual and seemed even more on point than the previous games. The camera is auto but I have no complaints here. Before I played this game I read about complaints in this aspect but after the first 30 minutes I didn’t even think about it.

Gameplay

Here is where the game shines. I was anxious to see what Nintendo had done with Twilight Princess to make us wait so long, and after playing through the game it is understandable. Everything in this game screams classic Zelda but in a new refreshing manner. It’s the subtle nature of the world and dungeons are what impressed me about this game. The dungeons in this game were like no other in the series. The first few were simplistic and were what we expect from a Zelda game, but as the game progresses, we see Nintendo work its magic. You get in touch with the various characters you meet and you really feel like you are on an epic quest to save Hyrule. For example, when you enter the ice dungeon, you don’t say to yourself, "Hey it's the ice dungeon, where can I find my fire weapon and kill the master", instead you find yourself conversing with 2 friendly abominable snow beings that welcome you into their home; that has been infested with the evil from the Twilight. Differences like this make Twilight Princess what it is and not just another Zelda game.

The weapons are also classic but refreshing. Unless you’ve read about them, I’m pretty sure each dungeon will have you guessing a little about what you will get in that big treasure chest. Like I said before about the ice dungeon, this also applies to weapons. To say the least without any spoilers, you won't be getting a fire weapon in the ice dungeon.


FINAL THOUGHTS

This is definitely an instant classic, and sits right beside the other classics in this series. I do have a few gripes, such as the easy bosses, and overall linearity of the game, but these are minor compared to the good points of the game. The story, visuals, audio, controls, and gameplay all put together in an impressive package. I wouldn't expect any less from Nintendo. I was apprehensive at this installment but all my doubts were quickly drowned out by the beauty that is, The Legend of Zelda.