The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Story:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess begins in the quiet Ordon Village in the land of Hyrule. A group of raiders attack the village and kidnap the children, causing a young rancher named Link to set out after them. He encounters a strange wall of twilight which soon envelops him. Awakening in a prison cell, he finds himself transformed into a wolf. With help from the Imp-ish Midna, Link escapes the prison cell and is led by Midna the tower holding the Princess Zelda. Hyrule has been covered in twilight by the villainous shadow king Zant, and it is up to Link and Midna to stop him and save Zelda’s kingdom…
Gameplay:
Twilight Princess plays as an upgraded amalgamation of The Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker with a few new wrinkles added in. Link battles monsters, collects rupees and finds hidden energy-extending Heart Pieces while exploring the various fields and villages of the overworld.. Link must enter trap, puzzle and monster filled dungeons in order to advance the story, as each dungeon will contain a new item to add to his arsenal as well as a gigantic boss that holds a magical object that Link needs to further the story. New to the game is the ability to fully battle with Sword and other items on Horseback, and the ability to transform into a wolf when enveloped in twilight.
Sections of Hyrule are covered in Twilight, which transforms Link into a wolf and allows Midna to physically assist him. As a wolf, Link can learn smells to track certain characters, jump incredible distances, use various warp points to travel quickly between areas on the overworld, focus to see hidden buried treasure and invisible Poes, and activate Ancient Stones through howling familiar songs in order to learn Wind Waker-esque sword techniques. As a wolf, Link must usually find and kill a certain number of small insects in order to chase the twilight away.
Cons
- Colours: There is a grey and gold sheen that permeates everything in Twilight Princess, making the game a drab look when compared to the vibrant colours of Wind Waker and even The Ocarina of Time.
- Length: Wolf Mode and the size of Hyrule Field are both largely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Wolf Mode seems as if it was just added to the game in order to lengthen play time rather than provide much fun to do, outside of one dungeon or two. Wolf Link mostly unlocks new areas following a small scavenger hunt for insects and is used to warp to other areas of the map. There are not significantly more dungeons than the average Zelda game, so the large size of the overworld is also a bit baffling. The same things could have been accomplished with an overworld that is half the size, so it again feels like these were just added to make the game longer rather than provide something fun to the game. Forced length does not make a game automatically epic.
- Poe Sidequest: The reward does not equal the work put in to finding every Poe. Something unique should have come out of this at least.
Pros:
- Dungeons and Bosses: The classic Zelda style of gameplay is still well represented. Dungeons provide interesting puzzles and encounters and bosses are still large and require a degree of ingenuity to beat, though some of the boss battles could have been longer or more difficult.
- New Items: Some new items make their debut here and some older items find new and interesting uses. Seeing some of these new wrinkles in action for the first time is a treat.
- Horseback Combat: Some of the most exciting battles in the game take place on horseback. There is just something about fighting raiders at full gallop during a raging thunder storm that feels epic. This is the best new feature to the Zelda formula and hopefully will remain for a long time to come.
- Zant: Zant is the best non-Ganondorf villain to come along since Agahnim. The character really helps build the tension one will feel while waiting to see when the main event player will finally reveal himself.
Summary
Twilight Princess makes some excellent additions to the Legend of Zelda franchise and is a good representative of the line. Those who lamented the colourful and cartoony Wind Waker will be happy to find that the spirit of Ocarina of Time has returned. It is guilty of trying to extend the time of the game needlessly, and the overall look is drab and somewhat lifeless. Twilight Princess still does not quite live up to the standard set by Ocarina of Time.
Grade: B
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