The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
As one of Nintendo’s timeless franchises, The Legend of Zelda has been around, in one incarnation or another, since the days of the NES. Longtime fans of Link’s adventures know exactly what to expect whenever a new title in the series is announced: a sprawling, epic adventure that retells the enduring story in a new and exciting way. Save the princess, save Hyrule, and uphold the principles of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is one such adventure. How does it hold up to previous hits such as Nintendo 64’s Ocarina of Time, or GameCube’s Wind Waker? Fortunately, Twilight Princess takes the torch and runs with it, and while it may not be the best Zelda outing ever, it’s certainly no exception to the quality we’ve come to expect from each sequel.
In contrast with Wind Waker, Twilight Princess forgoes the vibrant colors and cel-shading that drew so much criticism in 2002, instead steering toward the more realistic end of the graphical spectrum. When you start Link’s adventure, you’ll see a much grittier, more detailed Hyrule than ever before. It’s very pretty and manages to bring the fictional kingdom to life better than any of its predecessors. The lighting and bloom effects cast an ethereal, fantastical atmosphere on the entire setting, making the land feel interestingly half-in, half-out of reality. It feels a bit overdone, but it looks impressive regardless. In comparison to Ocarina of Time, in particular, the world feels (and is) far more vast – and nearly boundless – as you’re able to see rolling hills farther out than you are actually capable of traveling.
For Link’s first Wii adventure, you’ll begin in Ordon village as a simple ranch hand, but after familiarizing yourself with some basic gameplay mechanics, circumstance will thrust you into an alternate world known as the Twilight Realm. Link can’t retain his human form while there, so he is transformed into a wolf and must master a different set of skills under the tutelage of his new companion, Midna. The introduction of these mechanics feels quite natural, and your mysterious helper is probably the best assistant yet in a Zelda game – over the course of your quest, her character will be fleshed out in surprising detail, which could factor into why she isn’t nearly as annoying as the owl you meet in a few prior excursions.
Speaking of character, Nintendo really nailed the storytelling aspect of Twilight Princess. While the game retains a fairly simple plot and outline for its adventure, we do see a dramatic increase in cinematic interludes (Link himself still never says a word), and that addition definitely creates a more emotional connection with some of the characters. It’s no RPG-level narrative, but it doesn’t need to be – that’s not what Zelda is, and too much of it would diminish the Zelda-ness of the experience.
Unfortunately, there are a few downsides to Twilight Princess. First, you’ll frequently get the sense that you’ve done a lot of this stuff before. It’s not simply a matter of having explored Death Mountain and Lake Hylia in previous Zelda games – it’s that a lot of the puzzles are repeated from those games, and the fact that you’re guaranteed to use the item found in a dungeon on that dungeon’s guardian, among other things. You’ll absolutely run into some delightful surprises (one of the final dungeons pays impressive homage to an important location from Ocarina of Time), but it’s still a bit disappointing.
Second, this particular adventure seems more linear than what would normally be expected from The Legend of Zelda. In your quest to banish the Twilight from the land of Hyrule, you’ll progress through very specific locales in a very specific order, but even after that’s over, you still get the sense that there’s nothing to do or no one to talk to until you go and complete whatever task your main advisors are telling you to do. There aren’t really any side quests (other than collection) to speak of, which almost makes it feel as though you have a huge world that is somewhat empty – a rough criticism after the watery expanses of Wind Waker. And most dungeons are essentially one-path affairs, as any keys you pick up are used in that same room, or in the next.
Despite these flaws, there are plenty of positives. You’ll encounter some interesting new items that’ve never been seen in Hyrule before, and although the boss battles are pathetically easy, the dungeons themselves have their own sets of brain-bending challenges and beautiful environments. (My personal favorite is Snowpeak, which is vaguely reminiscent of Blind’s dungeon in A Link to the Past due to the NPC interaction.) Twilight Princess pays numerous tributes to Link’s past games, tying itself tightly to established lore. The game is the longest legend yet, and even with the lack of side quests, there are some enjoyable secrets to be discovered in every corner of the land. Prepare to expend copious amounts of bombs while exploring.
In closing, Twilight Princess is a definite winner. Top-notch graphics, a familiar (but ageless) story, and a lengthy, challenging mission in a huge world make it a must-have for any Zelda fan. It borrows a little too heavily from Ocarina of Time in places, and the landscape isn’t used to its full potential, but it’s indisputably a worthy entry in the franchise. If the GameCube was capable of this kind of quality, it’s amazing to think of what a Zelda game built from the ground-up on the Wii would bring to us.
| Graphics | 8.3 | Beautiful, but as a GameCube port, it doesn’t utilize the Wii’s full potential. Lighting effects are a little too much in places, particularly in the overworld. |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | 7.8 | It sounds like Zelda, but the compositions are MIDI rather than orchestrated, which feels too artificial in this day and age. No voice acting aside from grunts, but it doesn’t detract from the game. |
| Experience | 8.0 | The land and dungeons will wow you, the Wii-integrated controls surpass anything previous Zeldas have given us, and the story has matured into something truly special. |
| Lasting Value | 7.5 | Exploring every nook and cranny will net you a good 60-70 hours of adventuring. You might not replay Twilight Princess as often as some of its predecessors, but it deserves a couple of playthroughs. |
| Overall: 8.0 (Not an average) | ||
