When one thinks of time-tested, classic video game franchises, it is difficult NOT to think of The Legend of Zelda. Now the series that has wowed gamers time and time again has been introduced on
Nintendo's new
Wii console, with The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. The only question that remains is, does this spiritual successor to The Ocarina of Time stand up to the task, and is it worthy of the Zelda name? The answer - yes, it is everything gamers have come to expect from the franchise, in just the same way they've always experienced it...but in this era of gaming, is that enough? The desire to stay close to what has made the series great in the past operates both as a boon and as a hindrance to Twilight Princess. Familiar trappings such as well-designed dungeon areas, deep boss battles, interesting characters and a variety of useful items make this an enjoyable (and lengthy) adventure, but issues with control, pacing and an overall feeling of
datedness keep this game from achieving all the glory of previous editions.
Twilight Princess is the tale of another young lad named Link, who comes from humble beginnings as a goatherd in the small village of
Ordon, just south of "
Hyrule Proper." An unfortunate series of events sends Link to the rescue of a few of the villagers, but before he can make it very far, he is drawn into an alternate world known as the Twilight Realm. It is here that a good portion of the game will take place, and serves as this game's analog to the light and dark worlds from A Link to the Past, or even Link's childhood and adulthood in The Ocarina of Time. In this digitized dark filter of
Hyrule, Link is transformed into a wolf, and has a different set of abilities than while in his human form. Wolf Link is able to dig into the ground for items, and even pass under obstacles such as gates and walls. He also possesses the "sense" ability, which reveals things that would otherwise be imperceptible, such as scents or apparitions. If these aren't enough, a little twilight-dweller named
Midna joins him on his quest, and grants him new combat techniques and the very nifty ability to make seemingly impossible leaps in rapid succession. The dichotomy of the two worlds along with Link's two forms creates a sense of variety in
gameplay, which is more fully realized later on in the quest, but falters slightly when first introduced.
Early on, Link must venture to various portions of
Hyrule, in traditional Zelda fashion, complete a series of dungeons to collect a group of items to eventually save the land of
Hyrule. The difference here is that each area is initially veiled in Twilight, and Link is charged with the task of locating "tears of light" to
de-
twilightize it. This is where the alternate world mechanic feels wholly unsatisfying, and efficiently spoils the game's pacing. Collecting these tears of light simply amounts to a few glorified fetch-quests, which take up way too much time and do not offer any significant captivation or development. In all honesty, during these segments I found myself playing more for the prospect of returning to human form than for the actual
gameplay itself. It just feels like fluff or filler, and is not even a necessity in terms of the broader scope of the game. Combine that with excessive hand-holding at the outset, and you have the ingredients for a laboriously slow introduction.
Otherwise, the design of the game is predominantly very good.
Hyrule is huge, approximating roughly five times that of The Ocarina of Time, and it is put together such that it unfolds to the player naturally and elegantly. As Link traverses the landscape, load times are few and far between, and when they do rear their ugly heads, it is brief and relatively painless. This applies to dungeon areas as well, which, as always, are superbly conceived and executed, with very well thought-out progression and plenty of interesting new puzzle ideas. These are really the meat and potatoes of the game, and provide the essence of the Zelda experience. There is generally a point within each dungeon where the
gameplay is stepped up, presenting a new set of challenges to the gamer. These points coincide with the acquisition of one of the game's many new secondary weapons and items. Of course there are the old standbys, such as the bow, boomerang, and bombs, but Twilight Princess also incorporates a slew of new toys for Link to play with, and even adds slight tweaks and new uses for the recycled items in order to keep things fresh. The new controller is a great advantage here, and makes aiming Link's projectile weapons incredibly intuitive. You simply point at the screen, and fire away with the B trigger. Alternatively, you can elect to disable the pointer and aim with the control stick, but I think the pointer works better in this case. Another nice alteration is that Link's tools no longer dwell within the shadows of random treasure chests, but are acquired by defeating mini-bosses within each dungeon. The sense of achievement involved is reminiscent of the recovery of abilities in
Metroid Prime. Link earns his weapons now.
Similarly, the player must also work to gain new combat skills. Gone are the days of the static move set. Twilight Princess grants seven new techniques to the player at points throughout the adventure, but only after locating special howling stones and subsequently sparring with an ancient spirit. It is possible to eschew these altogether and complete the game as an untalented swordsman, but the skills provided by this spirit add much depth to the combat system, and make swordplay much more entertaining. It's a good thing they do, because combat suffers under the new control style of the
Wii. Yes, the very portion of the game that was anticipated to
benefit the greatest from the
wii-mote is actually
impaired by it. This is not to say that combat is entirely broken, but that it would likely be a smoother experience using the traditional button-mapping. This game implements a sort of gesture-mapping, rather than the direct input that is seen in a game like
Wii Sports. Link's sword swings DO NOT directly coincide with the motions produced by the player - those motions simply initiate the very same animation that a button-press would. This sort of control certainly takes some getting used to. In the first 10 or so hours of
gameplay, I experimented with all types of motions, ranging from full arm swings to slight flicks of the wrist - vertical, horizontal and diagonal. My conclusion is that the
wii-mote works best when treated AS A BUTTON. A quick up and down motion (as if tapping a flat surface - like a button) is the most effective in producing the desired response in the most timely manner. As in older Zelda games, the most cumbersome part of combat is the initial slice, because Link first has to unsheathe his sword, and then swing. In the past, a quick reaction to an approaching enemy requires nothing more than a few rapid button presses, but in Twilight Princess, the same maneuver takes more time, as the system needs to sense the entire range of motion for the first gesture, respond, and then reset to receive the next input. This premise is true of any combat situation requiring a more rapid assault, and makes battles with larger groups less feasible, and less enjoyable. I feel as though battles with generic enemies could have been much more varied and elaborate had the gesture-based combat been omitted. I even found myself sometimes avoiding confrontation, while in older Zelda games, I would do my best to engage nearly every enemy.
One aspect of the game's combat that NEVER disappoints are the boss fights. As is expected from the Zelda series, the boss battles are all excellent. Each is multifaceted, requiring a few different skills working in conjunction to succeed, and most are multi-staged. There is considerable variance between these conflicts, because each one is reliant upon the primary employment of a specific weapon, and each one makes use of an entirely different
gameplay mechanic. No two bosses are the same, and that is greatly appreciated. Another addition to Twilight Princess's combat system is the ability to fight on horseback. Link is no longer limited to using his bow, but can wield his sword and other weapons while perched atop his trusty steed. Mounted swordplay is incredibly satisfying, but unfortunately there are only a few sequences that highlight it as it should be. All other times, gamers will just have to enjoy the fact that Link can now swing his sword as he runs, without interrupting his stride. It is a small improvement, but a noticeable one.
Nothing is as 'noticeable' as the camera, though. Twilight Princess takes a huge step backwards from the excellent camera in Wind
Waker, and completely revokes camera control. There is no way to adjust the camera's position on the fly and all that remains is a vestigial scheme from 1998 and The Ocarina of Time. Z-targeting and a first-person view are available, and both produce a horrible stutter in the
gameplay experience when used. No longer can the player survey his surroundings while running around a room, but must stop, enter first person mode, look around, and finally return to the default view. Trying to achieve the best possible view is difficult, since all that one can do is center the camera directly behind Link. Even this becomes impossible if any enemy, character or
targetable object is nearby. It is terribly frustrating. The camera tries to be "smart," and is often successful, but a better solution would have been to control the camera with the
wii-mote's d-pad. Items could be put on the + and - buttons, menus and maps could be combined onto the 1 button and
Midna could be put onto the 2 button. I am certain these simple changes would've helped produce a much more pleasant experience.
Although the camera is what I might call broken, what is available to look at through that camera is quite appealing. Of course the visuals don't stand up, technically, to
HD-era games, but artistically, Twilight Princess is solid. It looks very impressive for a
Gamecube 1.5 game, although textures and animations (the horse and wolf running motions, in particular) can seem lacking in today's graphical battleground. The land of
Hyrule is presented as a complete world, with varying land and sea -
scapes, as well as a vast desert and stormy tundra. Each dungeon carries a unique theme, which is integrated not only in the the graphical presentation but straight into
gameplay. The visuals are actually functional. Beyond the familiar
Hyrule horizon is the digitized Twilight Realm. This dark, computerized world is highly stylized and presents some cool effects, like the materialization of warp holes in the sky, which remain visible in the distance at all times. Everything in the Twilight Realm is composed of little black squares, in a sort of
pixelated dream-world. When warping, the pieces composing Link will break apart and come together, just as the Twilight creatures do when defeated. All the models in the game are done well, and even though the game has been billed as a more mature-looking title, it maintains a
cartoonish look in its characters, who are caricatured and very expressive. Polygonal graphics doesn't mean realistic, and Twilight Princess functions as an artistic exhibition more so than a technical display.
The same statement is applicable to the audio. Twilight Princess includes a wonderful score that will constantly poke gamers in the nostalgia center as it remixes tunes from the Zelda archives. The mood is set perfectly in most areas by the appropriate orchestral instrumentation and engrossing compositions. The only problem here is that the sound samples are still not produced by real orchestras, but by their synthesized counterparts. Ambient noise and sound effects are well done, reusing some old sounds to keep things very "Zelda," but adding in strange bits here and there to exemplify the very obviously different themes that are already presented visually. Lastly, the player might think that the controller is talking to him, because it is. A variety of sounds come directly from the
wii-mote speaker, such as the slash of a sword or the stretch of a bowstring, and although the speaker is a tinny-sounding, low quality one, the effect is innovative and effective.
All in all, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a welcome addition to the Zelda franchise, and stands strongly among its brethren. At its core, it is that same game that gamers have been playing for years, and suffers from a handful of imperfections from a bygone era. It often feels dated, and seems in need of evolution, which frankly has not been provided by the
Wii remote. Despite its shortcomings, however, it still manages to produce the magical effect that Zelda games are known for, and gets better and better as the hours wear on. The bottom line is that it is a very enjoyable experience, and is impossible not to recommend to any gamer.
PS - do i REALLY need to know EVERY time i get a fucking blue rupee?!! i've been getting them for 20 years!! As for those who haven't, I'm sure they can grasp the fact that they're worth more after being told once!
