The story alone makes this THE best game I've personally ever played and it has stacks of features to support that too.
GAMEPLAY - I've played Zelda on the NES, SNES, Gameboy, N64 and Gamecube and never before have I found the the gameplay to be this good. Considering the quality of play from OOT onwards that is a strong statement but honestly the amount of things Link can do in this game is staggering, honestly, TP Link beats other Links in battle hands down. The Hidden Skills add a layer of play absent in the past, they make you feel like you can truly handle yourself in a one-to-one sword battle but even without them there are enough unique new items and twists on classic ones to equip you for any situation. Playing as Wolf-Link is a great new twist and the controls work really well, it feels really different than any incarnation you've had before. The horse-related gameplay is better than it has ever been with horseback combat allowing for some great open-field encounters. I also like that you can now take damage whilst on your horse, unlike the N64 games where hopping on Epona saved you from any and all dangers. It would take me forever to break down all the different ways you control actions in this game but to keep it short it is truly immersive and intuitive.
GRAPHICS - In virtually every review you will find of this game you will hear comparisons to the Gamecube version and word is that it is visually identical. I say word is because I have not seen the Gamecube version in action myself but I own a Gamecube and have seen the graphical limitations and I would be very surprised if the above statement is true. I say with confidence my Gamecube is not capable of producing the visuals you will see in Twilight Princess. Every detail is thought of, in the past things like Hyrule Castle have just been distant renders that offer no interaction but now it is a fully fledged, incredibally animated fortress. There are a great deal of moments in this game that will leave you blown away, for example leaping the roof-tops of Hyrule Castle, in which you won't have time to put it into comprehensive thought as the action is so high but trust me you will be stunned. The cutscenes too are incredible and because of these visuals the game feels more epic than any Zelda has before. Character models are the most impressive thing though, Link has such detail in his design instead of a single shade of green.
SOUND - Another common complaint is the sound from the Wii-mote but it sounds fine to me. I don't want THX coming out of the thing, as long as the effect is created and I think it is. I was more concerned about the non-adjustable (as far as I know) volume as I found myself playing this game in the early hours of the morning whilst my family were asleep. As for the television related sound effects go this is a masterpiece. There are endless effects and a great deal of musical themes, some familiar and some new. It's what you expect from Zelda. Every game so far has had one or more old themes or effects re-used or re-mixed and it keeps them feeling Zelda. With Wind Waker this was one of the key things that made you say to doubters of the cel-shading "It feels like Zelda". Finally I swear I could swing for the next person who says Zelda should have voice-acting. It's never had it, it never should. I have played many games that are ruined by voice acting and if we ever got a person playing Link you know there would be uproar as everyone perceives Link in different ways.
REPLAY VALUE - Well it's a Zelda game afterall, it has tons! Side-quests add a good 20 hours to the game if you want to TRULY complete it. If you're happy just playing to the end then you will be left with a feeling of emptiness when it's over. For a few days you will say to yourself that you won't start over again for a long time but give it a week and you will miss it and long to play it all over again. It plays like a movie, no a trilogy of movies. You are compelled to continue and this does not fade the second time through. I will grant you that there are parts you would rather not do again but there are far more that you would trade a limb to play again. And who doesn't love fishing?
STORY - I have touched on this already but I'll say it again, this is the best story in the history of Zelda, possibley all games. Heck, it's better than most films I've seen recently. The new darker theme makes it feel all the more epic and some of the cutscenes are so memorable you will clammer for some kind of theatre option to replay them, probably a clever ploy to make you play it again, not that doing so will bother you. This Zelda feels more polished, like they took Ocarina of Time, a basically perfect game, and asked how they could make it better. The final fight for me is the best of the series as you get a feeling closure lacking in the past. You feel you really went toe to toe with the bad-guy, though it should be obvious to all who it is, I won't spoil it.
FINAL THOUGHTS - For me this is the best game I've ever played. I don't remember being so addicted to a game before. I don't remember one that got to me on such a deep level like this did. It felt like something special that I felt unworthy of. I would have paid the price of the Wii for this game alone, NO JOKE. Everyone compares Zelda games to Ocarina of Time to judge how good they are and I'd say that's fair, it is the best game ever made. Well in my eyes that changed Decemeber 8th (Europe). To me this feels like Ocarina of Time+. If they were to remake OOT for current consoles it would resemble TP. The gameplay, story and visuals make this a distant winner for game of the year. COME ON, IT'S ZELDA, DID YOU EXPECT LESS?!?