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Review by PugSuperStar
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Launching alongside one of the most anticipated consoles of
the next-generation hardware, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess had a lot
of expectations to meet.
One of the pillars of the Nintendo franchise base, The Legend of Zelda games
have always succeeded in delivering the best gameplay experience, Twilight
Princess is no different. Starting its life as a final generation Gamecube
game, Twilight Princess was pushed back to launch on the Wii (and Gamecube) in
November 2006. This delay allowed Nintendo to add more polish to the gameplay
and presentation and more importantly, Wiimote (and nunchuck) control scheme.
By taking the proven track record of The Legend of Zelda games as a vehicle to
show what can be done with the Wii was an excellent move by Nintendo.
The game follows the standard sequence of events for a Legend of Zelda game in
the beginning. An innocent youth is swept up into a conflict that will
determine the existence of the world he lives in, he finds out that he is the
chosen one to defeat the evil that threatens the world and then undertakes a
long and dangerous quest for the items and artifacts that will allow him to
confront this ultimate evil. A standard framework and time-proven, allowing the
game designers to focus all of their attention on the gameplay and
presentation.
Twilight Princess shines in the extraordinary design of its areas and
“dungeons” and all of the parts that are integral to that. Level design,
puzzles and a wide variation of locals all add to the great experience. From
wide open grassy fields, deep lakes, vast deserts and more, the player is
treated to an ever changing environment. The “dungeons” all take on the
attributes of where they are found. For example, the dungeon located in the
desert area feature numerous quicksand traps and pockets of shifting sand. The
water dungeon is a half flooded network of caves that require various modes of
transportation to navigate. This feature is carried over through each section
of the game.
Another feature that makes Twilight Princess great is the Wiimote control. You
use both the Wiimote and nunchuck to manipulate Link around the environment and
control the sword and shield in combat as well as other weapons found through
the game. There are fighting techniques to be discovered through training
sessions with an undead sword master. The techniques involve both the Wiimote
and the nunchuck and are all useful in the right situation. The Wiimote does
have a bit of sensitivity problem when it comes to the direction of the sword
attack, it gets confused easily when you try a vertical or horizontal slash,
mostly resulting in you swinging the Wiimote crazily until your enemy is
defeated. Even with this draw back, it is a welcomed change of pace to
button-mashing of the past.
The visual component of Twilight Princess ranks as the best looking Legend of
Zelda game to date but do show that the game was originally developed for the
Gamecube. Most areas in the game are relatively sparse with a few buildings and
trees to accent the area. The colors are good and they are generally kept
within the theme for the area. The detail work, including the moss/vines that
grow on the walls are kept 2D and can disappoint at close ranges. The enemies
are varied and are animated well and the helpful characters are memorable if
not strangely designed and presented.
The sounds for Twilight Princess continue the trend of using the base sound
effects found in the early games and manipulating or simply leaving them alone.
The music and ambient sounds effects are good and fitting for the local. The
boss music is rousing and conveys a feel of adventure and danger. Some of the
games basic sound effects are issued through the Wiimote. Finding a secret area
and shooting of the bow and arrow are examples of the low-fidelity sounds that
the Wiimote can handle. These sounds offer a sense of nostalgia to the game for
those who experienced the original Legend of Zelda adventures.
The adventure clocks in around 25-40 hours depending on how much effort you put
into locating each treasure chest inside a dungeon or the various sidequests
which present themselves through the game. There is no online play whatsoever
for those looking for add-ons or multiplayer modes but with the overall
gameplay time clocking in at 2-3 times longer then your typical adventure
games, you are not left with a just another used game after a week of playtime.
The Legend of Zelda is a worthy successor to the Zelda franchise and a welcome
start to the next-generation offerings from Nintendo. A definite “must have”
game for the Wii in the early stages of its lifecycle, The Legend of Zelda:
Twilight Princess is an excellent game and should not be missed.
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