The Twilight Princess: Revival of the Big N's Best Franchise

Author's Rating:

Pros: New world and new game play elements.

Cons: Link's as tricky to control as ever in a 3-D Zelda game.

The Bottom Line: 
If you are a "Legend of Zelda" fan, you probably already have this game. If not, this game will make you a fan.

Author's Review
Zelda and her hero Link have had a very long and mixed run with Nintendo. From the NES classic "Legend of Zelda" which almost single-handedly created the platform adventure game genre to the "Twilight Princess" which incorporates the best of the new game play ideas, Nintendo has managed to make the "Legend" well, legendary.

"Twilight Princess" is a perfect blend of signature Zelda stuff we've come to know and love over the years and the latest "I didn't know you could do that" game elements. The game includes all the sound effects, power-ups, text-based NPC interaction and, of course rupees that say "this is a Zelda game".

Link himself looks familiar but has a undergone a virtual make-over. Gone is the green peaked cap and the Sprout-ish green shirt and pants. His new duds have a more realistic, more lived-in look. The green arm protector on his sword arm is a nod to his former outfits. He still has his piercing blue eyes and blond hair, though the hair is much darker than in the cartoonish "Wind Waker" game. After years of looking like he's a little kid, Link has been made to grow up again. He stands taller than many of the NPC's in the game. In a way, I think he's what Nintendo had in mind when they made the first "Legend of Zelda" game.

As with previous games, the world of Hyrule has been given a whole new look. The Polynesian Islands look of "Wind Waker" has given way to a pastoral "Bonanza" meets "Lord of the Rings" vibe. In this game, Link is a kind of cowboy for a sheep ranch. He even gets to ride a horse for the first time. Another all-new twist to this game is the introduction of the World of Twilight, a sort of spirit world. In this world, Link transforms into a wolf which introduces some new game play elements to the series.

Game play in "Twilight Princes" is both familiar and new. If you've played "Wind Waker" you won't have much trouble figuring out controls in this game. Link still acts according to the contextural "A" button which lets you do different things depending on what he is closest to. The "B" button is also back as the usual attack control. The "X" and "Y" buttons activate various items in Link's posession. The menu system is even more advanced than "Wind Waker's" yet is still intuitive. Combining found or purchased items is taken to new heights and makes even more sense than it did in previous games.

The game starts out a bit more grounded in real life than fantasy than it has in the past. For example, the mini-games include throwing pumpkins to get pumpkin seeds which you can use as ammo for your slingshot. Another example is being able to fish off one of the piers. You can catch small fish with just the bare hook or find bee larva for bait to catch the big fish. Fishing is fun using the yellow joystick for casting and jigging the pole. There are many other mini-games that keep the basic "rescue the princess" story from being too tedious.

One of the best additions to the game is playing songs on different plants. One plant looks like a bird and summons a hawk when you play on it. You can use the hawk to actually catch other creatures and solve puzzles in the game. Falconing with the hawk is one of my favorite mini-games. The other plant looks like a horse shoe and summons your trusty steed who you get to name in addition to naming your character something besides Link at the start of the game.

Riding your horse takes a bit of practice before you quit raring up for getting too close to things. Once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun. Having grown up on a real-life cattle ranch, I can really appreciate well-done horseback riding in games. "Twilight Princess" isn't the first game to have this feature, but it does a very good job of it. The animations are way more smooth than they were in "Gun". The horse isn't quite as smart as the one in "Shadow of the Collossus" but she's close. She won't follow you around, though she will come when summoned. Being able to wield your sword while riding along is a blast. On the flip side, I think "Shadow" might have gotten its idea of having the hero climb things from "Zelda" games. They do take it farther than Link does, but I saw climbing in "Zelda" first.

As with previous "Zelda" games, "Twilight Princess" is all about solving environmental puzzles. Finding a way to get from point A to point B when it isn't obvious how to do it is par for the course. Running errands for NPCs is too. I found the puzzles in this game to be a little easier to figure out than they were in "Wind Waker" or "Ocarina of Time". They seem to be a bit more logical to me. There also seems to be less running back to previous parts of the level to find something than in earlier games.

With all the changes, there are two things about this game that I had hoped would be a little different. One is Link's control scheme. He is still tricky to control in situations where you need to run, jump and land on small spaces. He has gotten better at grabbing the edge and hanging on when you miss the mark though. The other is the attack control for the sword. I know his control system is a bit unique and is a signature, but I would prefer a more analog sword system like they have in the "Lord of the Rings" console games where you can use a joystick to control swing direction.

Overall, I would say that "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" is the best "Zelda" game so far. True, "Wind Waker" may have it beat in the eye candy department with its cell-shaded cartoon world. "Ocarina of Time" has often been called the greatest "Zelda" game, but I think this game has it beat, especially if you get the chance to play it on the new Nintendo Wii. I haven't had that chance yet, but I hear it's truly amazing to play a "Zelda" game while wielding the Wii-mote like a sword.

Whether you have a Wii or a Gamecube, this game should not be missed.