5
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess brings you back tot he land of Hyrule, as you uncover the mystery behind its plunge into darkness. Link, a young man raised as a wrangler in a rural village, is ordered by the mayor to attend the Hyrule Summit. He sets off, oblivious to the dark fate that has descended upon the kingdom. When he enters the Twilight Realm that has covered Hyrule, he transforms into a wolf and is captured. A mysterious figure helps him break free, and with the aid of her magic, they set off to free the land from the shadows. Link must explore the vast land of Hyrule and As he does, he’ll have to enlist the aid of friendly folk, solve puzzles and battle his way through dangerous dungeons. In the Twilight Realm, he’ll have to use his wolf abilities and Midna’s magic to bring light to the land. Revisit classic and new characters – Link, Zelda, Midna and many others
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great game, more complex story (than previous games), and strongly recommended. A good story experience.
I’ve been playing the Zelda series since the original in 1987. I’ve followed the stories, how they combined together at times (the legends told in “A Link to the Past” explain what was happening in and at the end of “Ocarina of Time”, and although they were slightly different that is to be expected when several hundred years pass and people forget the details). I like how so much of this game is more interactive than before. They really made use of the Wii’s capabilities to introduce a new way of playing Zelda.
Before you even start the game, sit through the entire title screen and intro video. It tells a basic outline of the story (up to getting the Master Sword), and kind of sets the mood for game play. It was a very well done intro and that alone could be a commercial for the game.
Although graphics don’t purely make a game great, they certainly do add to the enjoyment. As you go through this game, take a look around at the attention to detail the developers put into this. Look up in a dungeon and see the details the put in the architecture, even in areas that will be overlooked by most players. There is so much that can be missed if you just play the game rather than take your time to enjoy your surroundings as if you were really walking through the area. Since you’re not timed, and then why not spend the additional time to do this?
I’ve read some reviews where there is question of the teen rating. In my opinion it is partially due to the story, but I think it is more on the basis of “teens and up will have an easier understanding of what is going on”. Part of this rating may be due to the transformation scenes (not a normal “poof” type of transforming, but a mutation forced by a dark power, and the facial expressions of characters at times like this). One dialogue that comes to mind which could be helping the teen rating is when the Zora princess explains about her mother being decapitated in front of all of her people as a symbol to fear Zant (the bad guy). In another part early into the game, a certain character (avoiding spoilers so not saying who) appears to destroy themself in attempt to pass their power to someone else. Certain discussions like that might have just barely pushed the game into a teen rating. I’m sure Nintendo would rather give it a teen rating and have people wonder why than give it a lesser rating and have some complaints that it should be questioned for possibly needing a teen rating.
The story is something to pay very close attention to. There are many twists that it takes and things you’d be less likely to expect will happen. My wife was saddened to see a certain part of the ending scene (no spoilers). I’ll not give the details, but once you finish it you’ll understand. This was the first time I saw a Zelda game take a more realistic turn and show that sometimes things need to be done which may prevent a fully happy ending for the characters involved but are ultimately in the better interests of the world. Anyone who has played much of the Final Fantasy series or certain other RPG games (Secret of Mana is one that has a similarly “not so happy, but necessary ending”). Some characters have personal relationships that developed for themselves or with themselves and someone else. Some of these wont be clear until the end of the game. The story of the characters and the history of how the Twilight Realm came to be is a standard example of what happens when people find power and become too greedy with it.
The quests are not too hard but can be long. Some are long and annoying but still fun. The bug finding quest is interesting and the comments the lady says when you bring her the bugs are even funnier at times. Though some quests try to rapidly drain your money, the bug collecting helps fill them back up.
Game play is easy to get used to, and you’re taught 7 different special moves throughout the game. You have to master that move to continue and learn another. When you go to learn the next, you’re re-tested on the last one to make sure you didn’t just master it long enough to pass the test. The items you get are a mixture of some old and some new. I personally liked the ball and chain which was a great weapon and useful for cutting grass or breaking ice and worked as a replacement to bombs for breaking large rocks in the fields. The new use of the bow and arrow is different now that we have the Wii’s “mouse pointer” ability on the screen.
There are occasional jokes that are hidden in the game, most of which adults are more likely to pick up on (due to more knowledge and experience than the content, everything is kid-friendly being a Nintendo release). For example, one character dreams of moving their store “Malo-mart” into the castle’s city for the purpose of offering quality items and discounted prices. Another set of characters make fun of modern day advertising by commenting about how they really want to buy something even though they have no idea why they want it.
One final thought for the more technical type (many of which who are interested are already familiar). I’ll not go into detail but it can be searched for and easily found. This game is yet another time when a save file exploit is needed to install the Homebrew Channel and allow for us to run home-made applications on the Wii. (Of course remember the standard disclaimers with running unofficial software, using at your own risk, warranty issues, stuff like that. But if you’re really worried, having a 2nd Wii is good so you can play with one and use the other. We’ve only had this ability less than a year and the Wii software development kit has been greatly updated with a lot of new features.)
I really look forward to the next Zelda release for the Wii (or non-portable console). We’re going on 2.5 yrs now so I hope it is this year. After playing this game you can see why it takes years between major releases like this one (I’m not counting the DS ones, those could be put together in far less time since far less is involved due to more technical limitations on that console).
5 Stars the best game ever made
this game is a true classic great music great game play great story this game has it all buy this game you wont be sorry
5 Stars Soooo much fun!!
This game is great! It is packed with detailed levels and puzzles. There are loads of side tasks to do as well as the main objective of the game. Very entertaining and fun! 
3 Stars Pretty good but very weird game.
When I borrowed this game, I was very excited. I am a huge Ocarina of Time fan so I instantly started playing.
It started to get a little weird close to the beginning, but it was just typical Zelda weird. It slowly got stranger and stranger. The ending was so weird that it gave me a headache and I instantly gave it back. It was by far the strangest game I had ever played.
Also, there was way too much copied from Ocarina of Time. Half the items were nearly exactly the same as the Ocarina of Time. Changing the names from hookshot to clawshot and Zora Tunic to Zora Armor doesn’t make them new items. The Bombchu was copied too. A little reference to the Ocarina of Time would bring a smile to any game player’s face, but this is an overdose.
Without the copying and strangeness, this would have bee a very good game. The fighting is absolutely superb, but easy enemies and bosses take away the chance of showing off or getting better. The puzzles can be a little bit boring, but not too boring. The mini games are pretty good too.
This could have been a superb game. Next time Nintendo should make a game with new ideas and normal Zelda weirdness.
4 Stars Zelda as a gift
I purchased this game as a gift. My father said that it is alot of fun and very challenging. Keeps you entertained for long periods of time. Worth the money.
