Twilight Princess Review

Twilight Princess is the third realistic graphic Zelda game.  It's two predecessors were great games with Ocarina of Time being crowned the greatest game of all time, Twilight Princess had a lot to live up to.  The game was first reveled at E3 2004 with Shigeru Miyamoto dressed as link and a brand new trailer.  The trailer showed little of the story and the name was not revealed. 

After 2 years of agonizing delays we finally have the game.  And on two systems, Nintendo's new Console the Wii and the Game cube.  The game starts you off in a village much like what Kokiri Forest was in Ocarina of Time, houses are made in trees and people run about doing chores, playing and Cuccos are walking wondrously around.  All these things give the game a realistic feel.

Twilight Princess is very similar to Ocarina of Time, with many of the same races and characters it makes you remember the good times of Ocarina of Time.  Twilight Princess takes Ocarina of Time puts it in a new world, refines all the problems and gives it a new story line.  Some of the problems that have been fixed include:

• When catching a fairy you no longer have to read 3 pages of none skipable text, it is refined down to 1.

• You can now slash your sword while running which is a very nice new feature.

• Slashing your sword while on horseback brings new game play elements which have not been seen in a past Zelda game. 

• New weapons create new puzzles and strategies.

• The Iron boots... Major issues arose from this item in Ocarina of Time, they have now been fixed by allowing you to merely push a button instead of going into a menu and changing boots.  It almost seems too easy. 

Although Twilight Princess does fix most of the issues from Ocarina of Time, the game is not without it's own flaws.  There are two parts in the game which have been discovered which can cause you to have to restart your entire game if you save at the wrong times.

The story line is very compelling and won't let you put the controller down, it gets deeper and deeper the farther you progress and shows you some history about the Zelda world which was not known until now.  Many of the past races are once again in this game such as the Zoras, Gorons, Gerudos and Hylians.  There are also new races such as the "Oocca" which help you in various parts of the game.  Some old weapons also return to the new game which you can find under the weapons section of the site.

 Up to the end of the second temple things a very straight forward to any fan of Zelda.  The puzzles are easy and you are told what to do.  Some advice to Nintendo...: Don't show us something in a cinematic in one room and then have us repeat the exact same in the next.  The items and weapons to collect in Twilight Princess are, unlike Ocarina of Time almost always found in the Temples.  In OOT there were many items which you needed to gain to be able to progress throughout the game.  Examples include the Hookshot and the Lens of Truth.  However in Twilight Princess there are very few.  There are however 2 extra bomb bags and a 3rd type of armor for you to collect in Twilight Princess which add to the replay value.

Collectables

Heart pieces, bugs, poes and bottles are the collectables of Twilight Princess.  It now takes 5 heart pieces to complete a heart container, most of which these can be found in Temples.  So you now have a reason to go back incase you missed one.  The bugs are what you would expect, however they are not skullatas but merely golden bugs, which if you collect all of them you gain a nice prize.  There are 24 bugs throughout Hyrule and can be found in pairs of twos.  The poes in this game are similar to the ones found in Ocarina of Time, they are invisible to a average human but can be seen using the wolfs "Senses".  There are 60 to collect and can be found all throughout Hyrule.  There are also 3 bomb bags and 2 quivers to collect. 

Characters

The thing I found that Twilight Princess lacked was unforgettable Characters.  There are a sufficient amount but because the game was so short you don't really get to relate to the characters.  And when you do get to visit them they may be for memorable moments but were far to few and far to short.  In Ocarina of Time you got to relate to Princess Ruto, Darunia, Malon, Epona, Raru and the Deku Tree.  Epona is hardly used for the main quest in the game and doesn't play to big a role.  I think Ocarina of time achieved this by having you go back to the Zoras, Gorons, and the Kokiri as an adult after already having explored them as kid Link.  As well Zelda doesn't play a very important role in Twilight Princess like she did in Ocarina of Time.  You are on a quest to save Hyrule and don't even know of Zelda's existence at the start of the game.  She is more like a Princess then in any other game and Link is more like a regular farm boy.  There is a very small connection between them in the game. 

Temples

The main part of the Zelda series, its temples with it's mind blowing puzzles and aw striking graphics and Twilight Princess doesn't let you down.  Both Twilight Princess and Ocarina of time have 8 temples and Ganons castle at the end.  The first 3 temples are introductory temples which are fairly easy to complete.  Some puzzles use the same ideas found in past games with new ways to solve them.  The ideas behind the temples are the same, get the tool from the temple, find the big key and destroy the boss lurking behind its huge chained up door.  The Temples for the most part get progressively harder and harder as you get father into the game.  However I did seem to find that the third temple had me stumped for the longest amount of time.  The boss's however... are a let down.  They are far to easy and if your trying your hardest could be beaten without taking any damage.  Some of the boss key rooms provided the toughest challenge as they contain some insane puzzles.  Another place the Twilight Princess falls short on is the difficulty to gain entrance to the different temples.  Ocarina, Majora and even The Wind Waker provide tougher challenges on gaining access to the temples.  Getting into Dodongos cavern in Ocarina was a time taking puzzle thinking task, as well as the Forest Temple.  In TP most temples can be easily accessed and those that do provide some what of a challenge can be entered in just over an hour or so.  Once again because there are no items found outside of temples you are equipped with the tools needed to gain access to the temples.  Except the water temple.  (Example of this from OOT is the hookshot, or lens of truth and from TWW the iron boots and gauntlets.)

Graphics, Sound, Game play (Technicals)

Twilight Princess is a game originally developed for the Gamecube.  Something which alot of people seem to be forgetting.  Sure the Wii can put out better graphics, better sound but it's not a Wii made game.  However the graphics are still awsome, the sound superb and the game play amazing.  The detail in the game are great and the water graphics are the best I've ever seen, it really gives fishing that extra little something.  Even though the sound may be great, the music is were Twilight Princess hit rock bottom.  Koji Kondo the producer for the amazing Zelda and Mario music used Midi style music instead of the hoped for Orchestrated melodies.  Non of the tunes from Twilight Princess really get stuck in your head like those of Ocarina of Time.  Zelda's lullaby, Epona's song and the Temples warp songs will still remain stuck in my memory.

Game play, this is were Twilight Princess truly shines in the Wii version, Eji Anouma didn't just hit the nail on the head, he hit it and then pounded it into the wood so deep it will never come out.  The new style of game play that the Wii's controller provides is amazing.   It immerses you into the game and truly makes the game more fun to play.  Its perfect and it takes no time at all to get used to.  Aiming with your bow and arrow, sling shot, hookshot, boomerang, slashing you sword and  casting your fishing rod are done perfectly.  The graphics are great as well.  they really stand out when you play on a High Definition TV.  They really stand out in the liquid effects of the game.  As well the boss's look absolutely amazing. 

Overall

This game is almost as good as Ocarina of Time. The story line might be lacking and the amount of hours to put into it short, but it will keep you entertained for awhile.  The replay value is hurt by the lack of mini games, side quests and over all no places you want to go back to just to chill.  The graphics are beautiful, the game play amazing and the boss battles unimaginable.  The game is defiantly lacking cinematics for my taste but for the cinematics it does contain they are great.  Part of the reason I think the game may not have lived up to Ocarina of Time is because Shigeru Miyamoto didn't turn over any tables this time round.  It's a great game with a great name and a great ending.  Plus Zelda's looking hotter then ever. 

  Overall Score- 9.5

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