An epic game if there ever was one, Twilight Princess is an instant classic. This Zelda redefines the word "legend.
Four years have passed since TP was first announced for the GameCube. Or at least since a video was leaked over the internet. The video was a short teaser clip showing an adult Link and Ganondorf fighting in a castle. But when The Wind Waker was released, the viewers of this clip were wondering what ever happened to that battle. Well, the answer to that can be found in Twilight Princess. Although, four years have come and gone since then so the graphics have improved and interactivity was included.
But there's a lot more to the game than just that battle. Though the game starts out slow, the game delivers enough to make up for that. Beginning in a new region of the Zelda world called Ordona Province, Link is an average villager who can be found helping out anyone in the area. Herding goats at the Ranch, giving the local shopkeeper's cat a fish Link caught himself, and keeping the children out of trouble are only a fraction of the nice things he does.
The village children--as well as the adults--look up to Link. A day before Link's messenger mission to Hyrule, Link shows the children his slingshot and swordsman skills with targets and scarecrows in his own yard. Just as the lesson finishes the children decide to chase after a monkey, thinking they can do anything like Link. As always, Link has to follow after them into Faron Woods to save the children and the monkey from goblins.
The next morning, Link is ready for the big trip. Link is excited to go because he's never been to Hyrule before. But as Link is about to take his horse Epona and leave, the Mayor's daughter--who is also Link's childhood friend--appears. When she pets Epona, she notices a scratch on her. Since she cares about Epona a lot (probably more than she does for Link), she takes Epona and storms angrily away.
Knowing she would lead the horse to the spring near his house, Link follows them. But she didn't care what Link had to say. Colin, the outcast of the children (the one who is only treated well by Link and the adults), sticks up for him and tells the girl--Ilia--the entire story. She feels bad and apologizes to Link. She tells him to be careful on his journey and says her share of the goodbyes.
At that moment, a monster riding a huge creature charges through the gate to the spring. Link is left surprised and weaponless (he let one of the children borrow his sword earlier) and before he can help anybody, he gets clubbed on the back of his head. Link wakes up shortly after to find Colin and Ilia captured. Following the path of the monsters, Link is pulled inside a large twilight wall to find himself in the Twilight World. This is the beginning to the new journey of Link.
Aided by a twilit being called Midna, Link is on a new "save the princess" quest. With new abilities and weapons--as well as the occasional transformation into a wolf--Link and the player embark on another epic adventure.
Twilight Princess features astounding graphics--probably the best seen on the Wii thus far. The orange tint to the color gives the game a mood that fits the launch title perfectly. When Link becomes a wolf, the facial expressions made by Link are identical to those you see in the human form. When in the Twilight World, the player will notice black pixels falling from the sky, a strange glow in all the colors, and the amazing environments all add to the game's graphical attributes.
It's obvious at this point in the series that the game will not have voice-overs, or at least more than the occasional "hi" or laugh. Link still doesn't talk except for "hyahh!"s and grunts when he swings his sword. But all this keeps the Legend of Zelda tradition--and with good reason.
The soundtrack for the game consists of mostly recycled and remade songs, but that doesn't make it any less excellent. Though the only control the player has over the sound in this game are the wolf's howls. This is more difficult than the Ocarina of Time, but the rewards are greater--and not entirely needed to proceed in the storyline.
The howls call for a golden wolf that Link goes to find. The golden wolf transforms into a mysterious knight covered completely in armor. This knight will teach the player a brand new move to use in battle. These moves mostly take a while to learn and master, but it will help you in the future.
These moves are mostly used with the sword, which adds much more to the Wii's interactivity. The regular controls are simple: Control Stick is to move Link, the A button is used as the main action button, the + button is to bring up the main pause menu, the D-Pad is for information and to switch the B button's item, so on and so forth. The combinations for attacks such as the Jump Attack (holding Z while tapping A once) are taught to you early in the game, and can be found in the instruction booklet. The moves the knight teaches Link can't be found in there, but they are easy to remember after you practice.
A simple swing with the Wiimote swing the sword for Link, and these swings can also be combined with the press of a button to unleash an even more powerful attack. A swing with the Nunchuk causes Link to release the Spin Attack on any enemies surrounding him at the moment.
The controls respond very quickly, but the motions with the Wiimote and Nunchuk have a delayed response. Although this isn't much of a problem, it makes a big difference in timing your attacks.
I do admit that I had trouble with a few of the boss battles (and a few enemies at that), but the rest of the game is fairly easy. But the boss battles that took me quite a few tries bump the difficulty up a bit. Some of the puzzles in the game are even harder to breeze through, but it's worth it to complete it all at least once.
This new Zelda game is the longest yet, with 60+ hours' worth of gameplay. Though I doubt you'll be as daring as I was and play it through a second time, Nintendo made an attempt to give replay value. Since there's no multiplayer of any sort, there isn't much replay but with extras such as 45 Collectable Pieces of Heart, as well as Poe Souls and Golden Bugs add a little.
And what Zelda game could be without minigames? In Ocarina of Time, there was the arrow target games, the collectable masks, and even the long item trading sidequest to receive the Biggoron Sword. Well, in TP you can find minigames and sidequests such as Snowpeak Sledding and the STAR Minigame. Though most of these minigames won't keep you playing for hours, there are a few that will keep you coming back for more.
Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is most likely the best Wii launch title, and may be the greatest Zelda game ever. Twilight Princess was worth the four-year wait, and it shows. It could've waited a short while longer, but then again, no game is perfect. There are a few problems that could have been fixed, but nonetheless this game is a must-buy for anyone who has a Wii or is looking to pick one up in the future.